This time of year, it's always good to give thanks for all that we've received. With the devastation we've all witnessed in the past couple of years, it can sometimes feel like there isn't much left to be grateful for, but the fact is there are many out there trying to make the world a better place, and using theatre to do that.
So first and foremost, I'm grateful to Passage Theatre Company, which will be performing my adaptation of A Christmas Carol next month in Trenton, New Jersey. C. Ryanne Domingues is directing the two-hander about Scrooge's visitation by his deceased partner and a trio of other spirits. It will be a one-night holiday event on December 11th.
I'm also grateful for Actors' Theatre in Santa Cruz, California. Their 8 Tens @ 8 Festival, billed as the longest running short play festival in America, will be including my short play Kew Gardens next year. The festival runs from January 14th to February 6th. Bill Peters is directing this one-woman show that stars Sienna Thorgusen.
Closer to home, Gingold Theatrical Group is another group I'm grateful to have around, not just for their wonderful production of Mrs. Warren's Profession, but also for kindly inviting me to take part in a panel discussion about the play earlier this month. They also will be having a special staged reading of Bernard Shaw's Village Wooing next month.
During the height of the pandemic, it was scrappy companies like Irish Repertory Theatre that did the most to keep theatre alive, putting many of the larger organizations in New York City to shame. I'm grateful to Irish Rep both for all of the virtual performances they put on and for their coming return to live performance with a production of Dion Boucicault's The Streets of New York.
The nights are getting longer, but there is a light in the darkness, and the dark has not overcome it. Let's be grateful for that as we try to build back something better than what we had before.
