Audition Monologues for Young Women

When I was in school, I wanted so badly to perform in the school plays.  Loved theater, the chance to escape the harsh realities of home life, to be somebody else, embody the possibilities.   Imagine.   I auditioned for many plays, only to be told there were/are no Asians in Dogpatch, Alice in Wonderland, and so on....

Naturally I was so discouraged.  And often humiliated, for even trying out.  One theater director told me I could be a flower pot.  Just stand there and look exotic.   No thanks.

I have written many things, but  I always push myself to write rich, complex characters.  Meaty roles.  Essential roles.  Roles that break stereotypes.  Roles for youth.   Some of my plays, you will notice when you buy them, the characters do not have a last name.  That is on purpose.   So that the roles lend themselves to open casting.  I know firsthand what it's like to be excluded.

Today I'm happy to report that my monologue PRETTY FOR AN ASIAN GIRL is available in AUDITION MONOLOGUES FOR YOUNG WOMEN #2, edited by Gerald Lee Ratliff, published my Meriwether Publishing.

Front cover:

Back cover:

Shine on, my friends!  Shine on!

Gray Matters

New Short Play/Comedy
For High School

Gray hates to lose, and his basketball team is on a wicked losing streak.  Desperate for a win, he reluctantly seeks help from Isabel, aka “Miss Smarty Pants,” and a master of feng-shui, in hopes of changing his luck.   But changing Gray’s luck may not be the only thing she’s after…


Gray Matters
http://youthplays.com/play_details.php?play_id=290

I Will Always Remember

I will always remember. I was there. I lost many -- friends colleagues, my former bond trading partner. We searched for the missing. Nobody slept, everybody wept. This was the first time I thought, the arts saved my life.   It could've been me up there. Eric Bogosian urged me to write about what I witnessed, lost, experienced when we spoke for the first time two years later on 9/11. The result, my play: GOOD MOURNING, AMERICA.

Teen Mogul by YOUTHplays

Tracy discovers the only way to save her family, her house, and herself is to rise up and be equal to her talent, not her age.

Published by YOUTHplays 
youthplays.com
http://youthplays.com/play_details.php?play_id=271

Dramedy.  75-90 minutes.  5-16 males, 3-13 females (8-20 performers possible).  Suitable for middle school or older.

Printed Script:  $7.95 (contains special author commentary).  Digital Perusal Script: $7.00.   Performance Royalties: $60.00/performance.  Photocopy License: $35.00 (digital script that may be copied for your cast/crew; must be purchased in conjunction with Performance Royalties). Professional rights should be negotiated directly with YouthPLAYS at info@youthplays.com.

Synopsis:
Tracy’s life is turned upside down when her mother walks out.  Her father can’t cope, her brother’s too young, and they're about to lose their home.  But if Steve Jobs once called the president of Hewlett-Packard while he was still in high school, why can’t Tracy call her favorite mogul and ask for a job?  With a little push from her English teacher, Tracy leaps for the brass ring, but it's going to take some unlikely allies to help her navigate the prickly paths of success and save her family, her house and herself in this play inspired by a true story.

Strutting and Fretting

No one goes into writing to strike it rich.

You go to Wall Street for that.  Believe me, I tried.

But no one goes into writing to become homeless either.

Ellen Lewis, my friend and fellow playwright, recently wrote about how impossible it is to create art that matters, live brave, and make ends meet.  The more "awards" you win, the less people want to hire you.  

Prospective Employers keep telling me, Lucy, you're way overqualified!

Yes, I have an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.  I've worked for NYC Mayor David Dinkins.  Traded bonds on Wall Street.   Met Nelson Mandela, Bill, Hillary, Gloria.   Won awards for playwriting. 

Prospective Employers fear I won't stay.  

Of course I'll stay.  Like everyone else, I need to pay bills.  Make ends meet.  

You should be writing.

Everyone keeps saying they admire me for pushing boundaries, being brave, making them laugh, opening their minds, going where they are afraid to go, giving voice to the less visible, taking risks, triumphing over adversity.  It's a wonderful list.  Really.  

I sure wish Everyone would buy my plays, write me five star reviews and help fill the seats.  

Ellen is moving back home to Oregon, to her family's 17 acre farm.  That's not an option for me.  I wish!  I'm not afraid of hard work.  Plus, the photos she posted look like paradise regained.  Vineyards.  Barn.  Gardens.  Fields of grain. I have no safety net, no inheritance, no parents who love me.   My father beat us to a pulp, and my mother abandoned us long ago.  Luckily, with some help from Mother Nature, I can grow some of my own vegetables.  

As difficult as it is, some talented young actors reminded me yesterday why I keep on keeping on.  I wish you could've been there, at Samuel French yesterday.  They took our breaths away.   They were brave, reading our monologues aloud and in public.  Taking risks.

Here's Sharon cracking us up with my monologue PRETTY FOR AN ASIAN GIRL.

Mark telling us not to fence him in....in MY SUPERPOWER, an Asian American boy named Stan Lee.

Here's the rest of our talented cast.

Donnajeanne Goheen manages many talented Young Performers and some of them came to show their support.  

Big shout out to today's youth, Samuel French, Steve Fife.  I bet any of these young actors could do a fine job in my new play TEEN MOGUL written for any ethnicity, and published this month by YOUTHplays.  Maybe someday one of them will hire me, for a paying job.

Samuel French Book Party for One on One: Playing with a Purpose

Samuel French is throwing a book party for One on One:  Playing with a Purpose
Monologues for Kids 7-15, Applause Books

July 18, Thursday, 3-5 PM, Sunset Blvd and Stanley in Hollywood.

I have two monologues in this collection, one for a male and one for a female:  MY SUPERPOWER and PRETTY FOR AN ASIAN GIRL

Back cover.  You'll see I'm in good company :-).

Front cover

Holly's Summer Salon, TOP BANANAS

TOP BANANAS is

a comedy

inspired by OTHELLO

a send up of American Imperialism, gender equality, affirmative action and of course, bananas!

Because if you want to the be the Top Banana, you have to peel away from a wild and crazy bunch

Sunday JULY 7th, 6:30 PM
A Reading

https://www.facebook.com/SHollysSummerSalon
6:30 pm
16105 Tuba Street
North Hills, CA 91343

Holly provides summer cocktails and guests are asked either to bring their own dinner or something to share with other pot luckers.

Check out Holly's impressive credits.  She is a top banana!

www.hollyderr.com

Come play with us!   We'll have joy, we'll have fun, we'll have bananas!