OBSCURA premieres in Colorado

Emily Stiles is directing a production of OBSCURA at Adams State College in Colorado. I just spoke with her a few days ago and she is very excited about the production.

(Special kudos and thanks to Jenna who gave her the play to read!)


If you happen to be in the area, check it out. Sadly, I'm not going to be able to get out there to see it, though they are going to send me an archive video.

Here's a brief plot synopsis:

What happens to love when it is forgotten? Is love a choice? Is memory? Annie wakes up in a hospital bed after surviving a deadly car crash with two men standing over her. One of them is possibly her husband and the other is her lover, but which is which? The effects of her amnesia play tricks on her mind and her reality as she tries to piece together who she is now and who she was before the accident occurred. OBSCURA propels us into the mysteries of identity and love through a series of flashbacks and flash forwards built on the confused memories of this central character.

I have been so wrapped up in the process of 7 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT (which just received a very warm welcome from audiences gathered in Moscow, Idaho for the KCACTF) that I have forgotten about my other earlier plays which continue to be out there wandering about like little lost children looking for a home.

After winning the Getchell Award and being a finalist for the David Mark Cohen, not much has been happening with OBSCURA, which is sad, because I really am very fond of it. Some people have said its too confusing and they feel disoriented (which is like, duh, the point, since you are seeing things through the eyes of an amnesiac which can be very disorienting) and I know that some of the scenes are derivative of perhaps Beckett or Pinter, but I really made some leaps as a writer with the piece. And some times you don't always feel that way. And I really like the character, Annie. She's kind of in a tragic situation, but still struggling even though she doesn't fully understand what's going on all the time. Like all of us.

I hope that Emily and the cast and crew have an awesome opening night and a great run. From talking to her, it sounds like they will.

P.S.--that photo above is from a book by Abelard Morrel--he's awesome.