Well, it looks like the world premiere of Promedy won’t take place in Queens, New York after all. Unless another school jumps the gun and produces it first, the world premiere will take place at West Chicago Middle School.
So… Promedy will launch in Chicago and then move to New York. That sounds awesome on paper, don’t you think?
Hey everyone — I am very happy to see that a lot of readers are downloading my latest play — “Tomorrow’s Wish.” (The print version is unfortunately a bit pricey at $10 — but remember there’s a very reasonable $3 download available.)
Personally, I think “Tomorrow’s Wish” is a terrific script for teen performers. But for anyone looking for a completely free children’s play, for kids from 8 to 12, you can check out my royalty-free ten minute play: Twelve Angry Pigs. That’s right, it’s a spoof of 12 Angry Men.
I published it at my Plays & Drama GuideSite a few months ago, and I am pleased that it has already popped up on stages and in schools around the world.
Here’s what I’ve found on Google so far:
I believe a private school in Dallas, (”Life School”) was the first one to perform the play.
A middle school in El Paso also performed a “reader’s theater” version of the play. Check out there link and click on the image — I think you’ll be pleased with the students’ pig snouts.
And here’s my favorite: an American teacher in Russia presented the first international production of the play. Apparently, many of the cultural references were lost upon the young Russians. But I guess the kids loved oinking. Read the teacher’s blog here. (The 12 Angry Pigs section is towards the end.)
Hey everybody, I am happy to announce my new play!
“Tomorrow’s Wish” (written by Wade Bradford) is a full-length, three act play which features a popular monologue (”I kissed a boy once…”) by a character named Juniper.
“Tomorrow’s Wish” is was published in January 2010. It is available at:
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/tomorrows-wish/6268146
(The download is only 3 dollars and the print version is $10)
The first act of the play can be viewed at:
www.wadebradford.com/tomorrow.html
Students and actors have permission to perform any scene or monologue from the play. If a school or theater is interested in producing/performing the entire show, send an email to the author: profwade@hotmail.com
You can also check out my recent blog entry about the play. There are some YouTube examples of the monologue that might interest you:
Tomorrow’s Wish: Youtube Monologues
This gives you an idea about her character: trusting, good-natured, innocent compared to most people her age…. and she also has a very special ability. She can grant “temporary wishes.” These wishes come true — but often in unusual ways — and they only last until sunset.
In my original draft, Juniper has a mental handicap — I hadn’t decided if it was down-syndrome or something similar. But as it turned out, her mental disability just didn’t work for what I was trying to accomplish.
So now, in the most recent draft, Juniper is bright but has several learning disabilities — and she’s socially impaired because she spends nearly all of her time with her grand mother on a fair off ranch in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway, to help you with the monologue, here’s what her character goes through:
She wants to be friends with her cousin Megan — but Megan doesn’t like her at first.
When Megan learns that Juniper can grant wishes, she starts to use Juniper.
Eventually, Juniper and Megan become good friends, after Megan experiences guilt for using Juniper’s “powers.”
At the end of the play, they try to get Megan’s parents back together — it works for a while, but then falls apart. Don’t worry, though there’s a happy ending.
Here’s another YouTube Monologue performance from yet another rising star. This one if from a two person scene I wrote about a year ago. The scene is called Cinema Limbo. It’s part of my plan to adapt my experiences as a movie theater employee and create a full length play. I’ve already written a novel about the topic… but that was a long time ago. I wouldn’t mind revisiting the material — and improving upon it.
Anyway, here’s the monologue:
That’s right… Promedy by Wade Bradford (me) is available at Eldridge Plays.
I am very proud to announce that the play has received its first royalty. It will be performed by a high school in Ozone Park (a neighborhood in Queens, New York). I’ll keep you posted when I get more details.
Lots of students have been using some of the monologues from the play. And one young actress decided to include Beatrix’s monologue in her audition video. I’ll post it below if you’re curious. I think she does a great job. And I must say, the video is a huge ego boost for me. The actress, Celia Aniskovich, selected a monologue from Anton Chekov, William Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, and little ol’ me. 
Well, I only have to wait about a year and three months before my picture book Why Do I Have To Make My Bed? hits the bookstores.
I’m not sure if I can officially announce the artist… But let me unofficially invite you to visit the website of this wonderful illustrator, Johanna van der Sterre.
Check out her work:
I dusted off an old blog entry from early 2009. I made a list of New Year’s Resolutions, and I thought I’d quickly go through and see how I did.
1) Be an excellent homeschool Dad. (FAIL)
I was a good homeschool dad. But an excellent one? No way. I can do much better. Sadly, this last semester kept me very occupied, and I feel that I let the kids down in the area of history and writing. (Fortunately, thanks to a website called Brainpop.com, they’ve been getting a lot of science under their belt.)
2) Develop abs of steel. (FAIL)
Ha! No. No steel abs. I didn’t gain any weight though!
3) Be a more appreciative husband. (MAYBE)
Hmm… I hope I accomplished this one… but I’ll have to ask Cheri. (Maybe after she’s had a glass of wine.)
4) Make + $20,000 from writing. (CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR)
I got relatively close to this mark. I think with my book advance, my plays, and my About.com Guidesite I raked in about $15,000 – my best year ever. So, technically, it’s a fail — but it’s one I feel very pleased about.
5) Be a more organized instructor. (WIN)
I received a terrific review from Moorpark College… and I think for the most part I was quite diligent about giving constructive feedback to my students. Sure, I missed a couple book adoption deadlines — but overall I think I’ve slightly improved my absent-minded professor ways.
6) Get an acceptance letter from a publisher. (WIN!)
Yes — I’m still grinning about this one. In case you are a new reader to this blog, I finally accomplished a life-long goal. I sold my first picture book text. The name of the book: Why Do I Have to Make My Bed? The publisher: Tricycle Press. Abigail Samoun is my wonderful editor. *Sigh* I still get misty-eyed knowing that I can say I have an editor.
7) Keep in touch with family more often. (SLIGHT WIN)
I did a bit better than previous years… mainly thanks to Facebook.
Eat more vegetables. (FAIL)
I did fine for the first six months… and then I basically ate a few carrots now and then.
9) Write a novel. (FAIL)
Nope. I did write my full-length play, Promedy. I also wrote a little Shakespeare spoof, Macbeth Mixed Up. And I’ve started two books… One is dead in the water (that’s its status, not its title) and the other is coming along slowly but surely (again, cliche state of being, not title).
10) Write another novel in case the first novel sucks. (EPIC FAIL)
Ah, how amusing that my slightly younger self believed that he could write not just one novel but two — and all within 365 days. Well, maybe in the days before children!
