There will be a reading of my new play at The Lark tomorrow!
And Right Now
by A. Rey Pamatmat
directed by Pat Diamond
Bookstore owner Linda and her new employee Daniel develop a strong bond after they discover the calamitous significance bullying has played in both their pasts. But commiseration that should bring them together soon threatens to tear them apart when they confront the pernicious feelings and actions they thought they had so carefully secreted away.
with Mia Katigbak and Samuel Lilja
At The Lark Play Development Center, 311 West 43rd Street, 5th Floor, Bare Bones Studio
Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 7:00 PM
And Right Now was commissioned by South Coast Repertory Theatre and was developed at The Lark Play Development Center, New York City
This play is a new adventure for me. On top of being my first full-length two-hander, it also happens to be my most realistically set play (there are four scenes all in a bookstore), and it’s my attempt to make sense of a very complex subject: bullying, particularly the bullying of LGBT teens.
Like so many people the recent rash of attacks on queer youth and the rallying cry of the It Gets Better Project emotionally bounced me back and forth from a state of abject despair to a state of inspired hope. The hate crimes, the suicides, the parents’ confusion, and the efforts of adult queers were overwhelming in their complexity.
One thing I noticed when keeping up with the events, though, was how little the news articles and prevention efforts said about bullies themselves and bullies in general. The focus was always on the victim, which relayed the misleading sense that the problem in the larger scheme of bullying is that the victims aren’t strong enough. While I understand the need to address the needs of those in trouble first, the theater gives us a chance to explore the other side of things. And so, with And Right Now, that’s what I’ve tried to do.
Also, I’ve further indulged my obsession with Frank O’Hara in this one. How many plays can I write featuring O’Hara poems? Only time will tell. Especially significant to this play is his relationship with his roommate Joe LeSueur, pictured here all the way on the right (Frank O’Hara is all the way on the left). John Button and James Schuyler are the other two figures in the photo.
The reading is already filled up in terms of reservations, but The Lark always has tickets available at the door. Come get on the waiting list, and I’m sure that you’ll get in!