We kicked off last week’s show with “Menage a Un,” a short play by Melinda Marks performed live by Jeremy Ryan, Brian Van Winkle and Melinda. Thanks to everyone who joined us at the Blackbird last Thursday!
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Introducing This Week’s Lineup
In the mood for a good story? A funny ten minute play? How about both?
Join us as we return to San Jose’s Blackbird Tavern this Thursday, February 13, at 7:30 pm. We are thrilled to showcase original work from six Silicon Valley writers, performed by local actors. Here’s our lineup:
First up is “Menage a Un,” a short play by Melinda Marks, performed by Brian Van Winkle, Jeremy Ryan, and Melinda. This piece plays with the awkwardness that accompanies unexpected romantic reunions.
Next we’re proud to feature “Platonic Affairs,” an excerpt of former Steinbeck fellow Kirstin Chen’s forthcoming novel, Soy Sauce for Beginners, which has been named a January pick by O, The Oprah Magazine and Glamour, and Chen has been named one of USA Today’s “New Voices”. Melinda Marks will be performing the piece.
Our first poem, “Vibration,” is by Darrell Dela Cruz, a recent graduate of San Jose State University’s MFA program. This wonderful piece captures the charged spirit of romance and will be performed by Adam Magill.
The next poem, “Here,” is written by Metro journalist Gary Singh and explores one writer’s journey to pin a story down. For 450 straight weeks he’s also penned a creative newspaper column for Metro, San Jose’s alt-weekly newspaper, an offbeat glimpse into the frontiers of the human condition in Silicon Valley. His poem will be read by Ryan Alpers.
Adam Magill will read Eli Hansen’s bombastic satire, “The State of Generation Y.” Hansen is an MFA student at SJSU, specializing in poetry. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2011, where he served as the poetry editor of Transfer.
Our final piece is a comic play, “The Way I Picture it Is,” by Brian Van Winkle. Brian is a recent graduate of Southern Oregon University, where he received a B.S. in Theatre Arts with a minor in Shakespeare Studies. He is also a graduate of the Foothill Theatre Conservatory and a member of the Pacifica Table Readers. His piece will be performed by Adam Magill, Jeremy Ryan, Melinda Marks, Ryan Alpers, Julia Halprin Jackson.
We hope to see you there! Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook!
Play On Words: Part Deux
Join us on Thursday, February 13th at San Jose’s Blackbird Tavern to hear the second installment of Play On Words!
Play On Words Premiere is a Success!
Play On Words’ premiere event at San Jose’s Blackbird Tavern was a huge success! We were thrilled to welcome 75 friends and family to the Blackbird’s gorgeous new show space on October 24 to kick off our new literary series. We’re grateful to our writers and performers for their excellent work, and to the gracious Blackbird staff for setting us up with a great stage, cozy tables and stocked bar.
The evening started with a moody contemporary short story by Ryan Alpers entitled “Predecessors.” It was performed by Melinda Marks and Adam Magill.
Our second piece was “Medea,” an original monologue written and performed by Melinda Marks.
Ryan Alpers interpreted an excerpt of Eric Sneathen’s engaging poetry series entitled “Glister.”
Our fourth piece was “Malleus Maleficarum,” a hilarious short play by Adam Magill, performed by Adam, Melinda, Doug York, Brian Van Winkle, and Jimmy Allan.
Jimmy Allan closed out the night with his reading of Leah Griesmann’s short story, “Slave.”
We are so excited by the work we saw performed, as well as our wonderful audience, that we are opening up submissions for our second show, to be scheduled (most likely) in February 2014. If you are a Bay Area writer or performer, and are interested in collaborating with us, please email us at playonwordssj@gmail.com to learn more. We accept original short fiction, poetry, monologues, 10-minute plays and creative nonfiction that is under 10 pages double spaced. The deadline for our next show is December 15, 2013.
Melinda Marks, Nicole Hughes, and Julia Halprin Jackson at the Blackbird Tavern.
Play On Words Premiere: October 24
We’re thrilled to announce our kickoff show at San Jose’s gorgeous Blackbird Tavern on Thursday, October 24, at 7:30 pm. Join us to hear staged readings of original work by 2010-2011 Steinbeck fellow Leah Griesmann, writer/teacher Ryan Alpers, poet Eric Sneathen, and playwrights Melinda Marks and Adam Magill.
Introducing Play On Words
Play On Words is a new curated literary performance series based in downtown San Jose. Our goal is to bring together a community of writers, poets, artists, actors and performers in the heart of Silicon Valley.
How do we Play On Words?
We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and theatrical sketches under 15 minutes long (ten double spaced pages). We pair each piece with local performers and actors for staged readings.
Who are we?
We are writers. We are performers. We believe in cultural vibrancy, so much so that we’re actively searching for it. We’re looking for creative collaborators, emerging and established artists, movers and shakers based in the San Jose area.
Want to get involved?
We have a stellar lineup for our first event, scheduled for late October (details soon), but we are always looking for collaborators, volunteers, and potential partners for future events. Please direct any inquiries to playonwordssj@gmail.com.
Play On Words 