Play and Music by
Daniel Povinelli and Claiborne Rice
Starring
Jaci Dominguez and Wesley Saucier
December 14, 15, and 16
Shows at 7:30 and 9 p.m.
The Hive
810 Jefferson St.
Lafayette, La.
Tickets $10 at
strongcoffee.eventbrite.com
Strong Coffee
SYNOPISIS
A sleep-deprived theatre major (Jane)
wakes up her shy roommate (Mary) and tries to enlist her
help with a soul-crushing assignment: writing, casting,
and performing a short play all in one day. Mary quickly
learns that Jane has conjured up a political fantasy about
a divided country, a reckless US president, and a
righteous trial in a post-apocalyptic world. She also
discovers it can’t be more than ten minutes long. And
it’s due in an hour. And it’s a musical.
Nine hours and several beers later, the playwrights realize it’s five in the morning. Danny looks at Clai: “Did we really just write a 10-minute musical about the first-ever female chief of staff for the President of the US who is about to be executed for having not poisoned his coffee before he triggered a nuclear apocalypse?” Clai responds: “Yes. Yes, I think that’s exactly what we did.”
The playwrights go home and try to get an hour’s sleep before they must meet the actors and begin rehearsals. As they toss and turn, both wrestle with the same thought: “Can we really make two random actors perform such a whacky and politically sensitive play?” An idea is born. Why not use the last remaining hour and half to hammer out a comedy about two sleep-deprived college roommates trying to write the whacky ten-minute musical? But a play about writing a play? Ugh. It’s the oldest trope in the book.
But it works! The ten-minute musical is deep-sixed and the play-about-writing-the-ten- minute-musical wins
first prize!
“But what about the musical?” everyone asks. The world cannot be denied the chance to witness the 10-minute musical the playwrights wrote at five in the morning! The solution? The playwrights will reunite the roommates (this time played by Jaci Dominguez and Wesley Rose) and force them to unveil the musical in the middle of a brand new play combining the two plays! Finally, all the world—or at least Lafayette—can celebrate the wackiest ten-minute political musical ever. (Okay, maybe the only ten-minute political musical ever.)
Come see and listen to the world premiere of Strong Coffee: A Ten-Minute Play in 35 Minutes! Featuring three original scores. Dec 14-16 at 7.30 and 9 pm each night at The Hive at 810 Jefferson Street.
BACK STORY
In March of this year, a Former Monkey
Mind Doctor (Danny Povinelli) convinces his reluctant
English Professor friend (Clai Rice) to join him in
entering an overnight 24-hour ten-minute play festival
hosted by The Hive at 810 Jefferson Street. They meet at
7 pm with the other playwrights and actors. They are
assigned two actors and draw the name of the single prop
they can use out of a hat: a coffee cup made from Legos.
During a brief introduction to the actors, Danny and
Clai learn that their actors (Etienna Wright and Alison
Wood) have considerable experience, and both have
performed musicals.
Nine hours and several beers later, the playwrights realize it’s five in the morning. Danny looks at Clai: “Did we really just write a 10-minute musical about the first-ever female chief of staff for the President of the US who is about to be executed for having not poisoned his coffee before he triggered a nuclear apocalypse?” Clai responds: “Yes. Yes, I think that’s exactly what we did.”
The playwrights go home and try to get an hour’s sleep before they must meet the actors and begin rehearsals. As they toss and turn, both wrestle with the same thought: “Can we really make two random actors perform such a whacky and politically sensitive play?” An idea is born. Why not use the last remaining hour and half to hammer out a comedy about two sleep-deprived college roommates trying to write the whacky ten-minute musical? But a play about writing a play? Ugh. It’s the oldest trope in the book.
But it works! The ten-minute musical is deep-sixed and the play-about-writing-the-ten
“But what about the musical?” everyone asks. The world cannot be denied the chance to witness the 10-minute musical the playwrights wrote at five in the morning! The solution? The playwrights will reunite the roommates (this time played by Jaci Dominguez and Wesley Rose) and force them to unveil the musical in the middle of a brand new play combining the two plays! Finally, all the world—or at least Lafayette—can celebrate the wackiest ten-minute political musical ever. (Okay, maybe the only ten-minute political musical ever.)
Come see and listen to the world premiere of Strong Coffee: A Ten-Minute Play in 35 Minutes! Featuring three original scores. Dec 14-16 at 7.30 and 9 pm each night at The Hive at 810 Jefferson Street.
THANKS ALSO to
Shawn Roy
Alyce Morgan
Natalie Piccioni
Tina Mitchell
Brady McKellar and Elsa Dimitriadis