situations of maddening hopelessness? The “theater of the absurd” grew out of the two world wars’ incomprehensible slaughter and the loss of faith that life made any sense. Corpses, I noticed, often figured in these plays. I decided I’d find a place for a corpse or two in mine. Last, for something truly up-to-date, I’d put in a monologue by a performance artist, one who spits on the traditions of the theater, unaware that she’s repeating its ageless themes.
Every few years, after a string of serious books, I’m ready to pack my bags and kazoo and take a vacation to comedy.
Zap
was my latest trip. I had a ball writing it. The question facing me when I finished was whether it would actually work.
When I heard that nearby Pacific Grove High School in California wanted to give the premiere, I was elated. Kelly Cool, the aptly named director, invited me to be part of the whole process, giving me a fabulous education along the way. The audiences were enlightening as well. Novelists never see the reader who chuckles or underlines a passage; playwrights are right in the same room. When the crowd doesn’t laugh where you wanted, you take note. When the room resounds, there’s no better place to be. Subsequent productions by James Rayfield’s students at Blake High School in Tampa, Florida, and at New York City’s Stuyvesant High School, under the guidance of Annie Thoms, nudged me farther along the learning curve. It’s been a thrill to watch the actors add inflections and gestures that weren’t on the page. Gratitude and bouquets to all three casts, several of whose inventive touches I’ve incorporated into the text.
My thanks go as well to Walter Mayes, Ron McCutchan, and Dan Gotch for the gift of their time and advice. And, as ever, a special ovation for my incomparably insightful and dedicated editor, Marc Aronson.
Zap
was given its first public performance November 1, 2002, at Pacific Grove High School in Pacific Grove, California, with the following cast:
EMMALINE GRAY
Lauren Reppy
BEETON
Natalie Melendez
COLONEL HARDWICKE
Chris Deacon
MRS. MARJORIE HARDWICKE
Guin Rojek
REVEREND SMYTHE
Jessica Glen
LADY VANESSA DENSLOW
Catlin Seavey
INSPECTOR SWIFT; BUCKINGHAM
Tim Cool
CLIFFORD GRAY
Elliot Rubin
IRV WEINSTEIN
Tyler Shilstone
SAMMY
Matt Cool
AUDREY MCPHERSON
Jane Franklin
RICHARD III
Ryan Kendall
LADY ANNE; PRINCE EDWARD
Gwyneth Alldis
NORFOLK; KONSTANTIN
Michael Brusuelas
NIKOLAI VOLNIKOV
Nick Stiles
IRINA
Megan Alldis
PAVEL
Sean Muhl
OLGA
Paige Dwyer
MARSHA
Michelle Maddox
MAN
Khalid Hussein
WOMAN
Ashley Brewer
BELLBOY
Whitney VanZwol
AARON PUCKETT
Kenny Neely
REGINALD
Will Cryer
CAROLINE
Heather Seavey
LUKE
Ben Middlebrook
GRANDMAMMY
Sarah Booth-Olvera
DIRECTOR
Kelly Cool
SOUND
Dana Fleischman
LIGHTING DESIGN
Mark Stotzer
LIGHTING
Scott Rudoni
SPOTLIGHT
Patrick Cool
SET ARTIST
Margie Anderson
STAGE CREW
Katie Miller, Whitney VanZwol
THE HOUSE MANAGER
The English Mystery
EMMALINE GRAY
CLIFFORD GRAY, her husband
BEETON, their butler
COLONEL HARDWICKE
MRS. MARJORIE HARDWICKE, his wife
REVEREND SMYTHE
LADY VANESSA DENSLOW
INSPECTOR SWIFT
The Comedy
IRV WEINSTEIN
SAMMY
AUDREY MCPHERSON
Shakespeare’s Richard III
Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III
LADY ANNE, later married to Richard
Duke of BUCKINGHAM
Duke of NORFOLK
PRINCE EDWARD, Richard’s nephew
The Russian Play
NIKOLAI VOLNIKOV
IRINA, his wife
KONSTANTIN, his great-grandfather
PAVEL, his cousin
OLGA, his aunt
The Performance Art Monologue
MARSHA
The Avant-Garde Play
MAN
WOMAN
The Southern Play
AARON PUCKETT
REGINALD, his father
CAROLINE, his half sister
LUKE, his stepbrother
GRANDMAMMY
A single set is used throughout. Actors are in period costume. When switching from one play to another, a loud electronic sound is heard, followed by a brief blackout, during which the actors quickly enter and exit. The speed of these cast changes is
Every few years, after a string of serious books, I’m ready to pack my bags and kazoo and take a vacation to comedy.
Zap
was my latest trip. I had a ball writing it. The question facing me when I finished was whether it would actually work.
When I heard that nearby Pacific Grove High School in California wanted to give the premiere, I was elated. Kelly Cool, the aptly named director, invited me to be part of the whole process, giving me a fabulous education along the way. The audiences were enlightening as well. Novelists never see the reader who chuckles or underlines a passage; playwrights are right in the same room. When the crowd doesn’t laugh where you wanted, you take note. When the room resounds, there’s no better place to be. Subsequent productions by James Rayfield’s students at Blake High School in Tampa, Florida, and at New York City’s Stuyvesant High School, under the guidance of Annie Thoms, nudged me farther along the learning curve. It’s been a thrill to watch the actors add inflections and gestures that weren’t on the page. Gratitude and bouquets to all three casts, several of whose inventive touches I’ve incorporated into the text.
My thanks go as well to Walter Mayes, Ron McCutchan, and Dan Gotch for the gift of their time and advice. And, as ever, a special ovation for my incomparably insightful and dedicated editor, Marc Aronson.
Zap
was given its first public performance November 1, 2002, at Pacific Grove High School in Pacific Grove, California, with the following cast:
EMMALINE GRAY
Lauren Reppy
BEETON
Natalie Melendez
COLONEL HARDWICKE
Chris Deacon
MRS. MARJORIE HARDWICKE
Guin Rojek
REVEREND SMYTHE
Jessica Glen
LADY VANESSA DENSLOW
Catlin Seavey
INSPECTOR SWIFT; BUCKINGHAM
Tim Cool
CLIFFORD GRAY
Elliot Rubin
IRV WEINSTEIN
Tyler Shilstone
SAMMY
Matt Cool
AUDREY MCPHERSON
Jane Franklin
RICHARD III
Ryan Kendall
LADY ANNE; PRINCE EDWARD
Gwyneth Alldis
NORFOLK; KONSTANTIN
Michael Brusuelas
NIKOLAI VOLNIKOV
Nick Stiles
IRINA
Megan Alldis
PAVEL
Sean Muhl
OLGA
Paige Dwyer
MARSHA
Michelle Maddox
MAN
Khalid Hussein
WOMAN
Ashley Brewer
BELLBOY
Whitney VanZwol
AARON PUCKETT
Kenny Neely
REGINALD
Will Cryer
CAROLINE
Heather Seavey
LUKE
Ben Middlebrook
GRANDMAMMY
Sarah Booth-Olvera
DIRECTOR
Kelly Cool
SOUND
Dana Fleischman
LIGHTING DESIGN
Mark Stotzer
LIGHTING
Scott Rudoni
SPOTLIGHT
Patrick Cool
SET ARTIST
Margie Anderson
STAGE CREW
Katie Miller, Whitney VanZwol
THE HOUSE MANAGER
The English Mystery
EMMALINE GRAY
CLIFFORD GRAY, her husband
BEETON, their butler
COLONEL HARDWICKE
MRS. MARJORIE HARDWICKE, his wife
REVEREND SMYTHE
LADY VANESSA DENSLOW
INSPECTOR SWIFT
The Comedy
IRV WEINSTEIN
SAMMY
AUDREY MCPHERSON
Shakespeare’s Richard III
Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III
LADY ANNE, later married to Richard
Duke of BUCKINGHAM
Duke of NORFOLK
PRINCE EDWARD, Richard’s nephew
The Russian Play
NIKOLAI VOLNIKOV
IRINA, his wife
KONSTANTIN, his great-grandfather
PAVEL, his cousin
OLGA, his aunt
The Performance Art Monologue
MARSHA
The Avant-Garde Play
MAN
WOMAN
The Southern Play
AARON PUCKETT
REGINALD, his father
CAROLINE, his half sister
LUKE, his stepbrother
GRANDMAMMY
A single set is used throughout. Actors are in period costume. When switching from one play to another, a loud electronic sound is heard, followed by a brief blackout, during which the actors quickly enter and exit. The speed of these cast changes is
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