Cafe Stritch

Roy Proctor’s Fabulous Sports

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Sad that Christmas is over? Don’t worry; you’ve got one more event to add to your holiday calendar: our January 6 show at Cafe Stritch. This week we’ll be teasing you with previews of next Wednesday’s lineup, which will feature the work of a few of our favorite local writers, as well as a number of new voices from around the world. First up: playwright Roy Proctor. We can’t wait to produce his hilarious short play, “Fabulous Water Sports.”

Roy Proctor wrote his first play in 2012 after retiring from a 30-year career as the staff theater and art critic on the two daily newspapers in Richmond, Va. Since then, he has completed four full-length plays and 43 short plays in addition to audio adaptations of a number of those plays. They have been either fully produced or presented as staged readings in London, Cambridge, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff and Sheffield  in the United Kingdom as well as in New York City, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Huntington (W. Va.), Charleston (S.C.), South Bend (Ind.) and Edinboro (Pa.). Two have been published. Four are being produced for broadcast and/or podcast by radio theaters in New York City and San Francisco. Three of his many Chekhov short story adaptations, collectively titled “Russian Roulette: Shots for Chekhov!,” were part of England’s Bath Fringe Festival in 2015. Proctor grew up in Thomasville, N.C., and graduated in 1962 with a BA in English (Creative Writing) at the University of Iowa, where he wrote fiction under Philip Roth in the Iowa Writers Workshop. He lives in Richmond and is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Roy Proctor
Roy Proctor

Honors and Awards:

Richmond Folio Award (first annual award “for outstanding contribution to Richmond theatre community”), a crystal trophy presented by the merging Richmond Shakespeare and Henley Street Theatre at their first annual Bootleg Ball, Virginia Holocaust Museum, May 11, 2013.

Upcoming projects:

Right now, I’m especially proud of the podcast of one of my Chekhov story adaptations, “Settling the Score,” that was created by Amy’s Horse in Vermont. It stars Broadway luminary James Naughton (best-actor Tonys for “City of Angels” and “Chicago”) and veteran Broadway character actor John Christopher Jones, was released on Dec. 22, 2015, and can be heard free at www.amyshorse.com.

What inspired you to participate in Play On Words?

I saw your call for submissions on Facebook and said, “Why not?” I’ll jump on any vehicle that will carry me as a playwright. I don’t think a play is complete until it has connected with audiences. I’m delighted to be able to connect with folks in San Jose.

Which writers or performers inspire you?

As a theater critic, I reviewed all 37 plays in the Shakespeare canon, and I never tired of good productions of his incomparable work. As a Southerner, I also have a soft spot in my heart for Tennessee Williams.

Name a book or performance that fundamentally affected you.

Innumerable books and performances have shaped my vision, and I can’t cite some to the exclusion of the rest.

Can’t wait til next week to join the conversation? Sign up for our new email newsletter, RSVP for our January 6 show, tweet us, catch up on Instagram…and if you see us in San Jose we’ll usually accept a high five.

As a reminder, our January 6 show will be collecting $5 donations at the door. We also will be live-streaming this show with South Bay Pulse–stay tuned to learn more!

Flash Fiction Forum’s Literary Pub Crawl

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Join us this Sunday for San Jose’s first ever Literary Pub Crawl, organized by Tania Martin and Lita Kurth, the masterminds behind SJ’s Flash Fiction Forum, as well as past participants in POW shows.

There are four main stages of the event, all located in San Jose’s SOFA district:

We hope to see you there.

Tiffany Edwards & the Art of Cardio Tai Chi

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Have you ever taken a college P.E. class? How about tai chi–cardio tai chi? In case you missed it, here’s the lovely Tiffany Edwards reading “Cardio Tai Chi” by Sarah Lyn Rogers June 3 at Cafe Stritch:

We welcome any practitioners of cardio tai chi to perform alongside our public reading on July 14 in San Jose’s St. James Park. Stay tuned for the details!

Ryan Alpers Reads “Scars”

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Play On Words fans will recognize Andrew Christian’s name from when we performed his poem “Thirteen” in May 2014 at Blackbird Tavern. He was unable to join us because his son Leo was born that very day–Leo didn’t want to miss the show. This spring, Ryan Alpers performed Andrew’s poem “Scars” at Cafe Stritch. Leo was there too:

We’re also hijacking this post to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN. We heart your voice.

Don’t forget: We’re accepting submissions for our July 14th show til midnight TONIGHT! Email us your submissions at playonwordssj@gmail.com

Laurel Brittan Learns to “Swim”

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Just what does it feel like to jump feet-first into a well, when you don’t know how to swim? Today we’re delighted to feature footage of Laurel Brittan performing Pratibha Kelapure’s “Swimming Lessons” on June 3 at Cafe Stritch:

It’s summer–so good luck with all your water sports. Stay tuned for details of our July 14 show at St. James Park!

Arcadia Conrad Sees “Red”

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Have you ever wondered what’s going on in Lady Macbeth’s head? Melinda Marks lets us into Lady Macbeth’s imaginings in her monologue, aptly titled “Red.” Here is the lovely Arcadia Conrad reading “Red” June 3 at Cafe Stritch:

Interested in Shakespearean adaptations? Check out our series on annotation this past spring.

And for all you writers out there: you’ve got less than a week to submit to our July show! You know what to do.

Behind the Scenes of a Drama School Play

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Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at theater school? Mara Sherman‘s one-act, “Stage Kiss,” explores the flirtatious awkwardness behind scene partners who, um, get paired a lot. Check out Laurel Brittan and Gray Performs reading Mara’s play on June 3 at San Jose’s Cafe Stritch:

Does this inspire you to write? If so, send us your funniest, your most awkward, your most poignant stories at playonwordssj@gmail.com. Deadline for our next show is June 30!

In Which Ryan Alpers Rides the Bus to the Suburbs

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‘Tis graduation season at Play On Words!

Have you ever written an ode to your diploma? Gary Singh has–and Ryan Alpers performed “Sirs Parchment” June 3 at Cafe Stritch, along with “I Ride On the Bus Out to the Suburbs in the Searing Heat”:

Don’t forget to submit to our July show! We’re looking for short, funny, absurd, thought-provoking, surprising content that performs well aloud. Send us your short stories, essays, poems and one-acts at playonwordssj@gmail.com. Deadline is June 30, but the sooner the better!