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Link to company quotes from WordBRIDGE 2000

The 7th Playwrights Lab included 7 scripts selected from 50+ submissions. Interestingly, all the finalists were from the Western US. Selected scripts included an historical drama, a satire, a collection of monologues and one play was developed during the lab from a short scene. For the first time, the playwrights were housed on the campus and lunches were catered for the WORDBRIDGE company of 50 artists – thanks mainly to Artistship contributions. Vinnie Murphy, Producing Director of Theatre Emory, joined our distinquished Guest Artists that included -- Susan Mendelsohn, dramaturg/playwright/professor; and Romanian-born Swedish scenic designer, Dan Nemteanu. This year’s highly successful Tribute to Playwrights featured nationally recognized actor, playwright and NPR storyteller Kevin Kling. These Two Couples Went to Italy by Paul M. Rusconi, a comedy about two horrible American couples, received full production by Eckerd College Theatre in April and won an enthusiastic ACTF commendation for entry in the Kennedy Center national competition.

WordBRIDGE Company 2000
(click on photo to enlarge)

IceSPEAK ~ Jeanette Farr - University of Nevada - Las Vegas

Bee-Bee will do anything to be a rock-star. While walking across a frozen lake to meet the man who will lead her to success, she falls through the ice and struggles to survive. For the time she is trapped, she sees moments of her past, her dreams, and what may come of her if she lives. A story asking how and why we speak, how smart we could be, and what happens when we lose it. For Bee-Bee, to choose between the one she loves and the one who will make her a star, the answer lies just beneath the surface.

The Madagascar Plan ~ Brian Borowka - Arizona State University

is a hypothetical historical drama set against the backdrop of World War 11. Mendel is a young jemish teen sent with his family to Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa, by the German government. There he wrestles with issues of culture clashes, religious identity, young love, and family strife while trying to deal with the tragedy of the war through humor and levity.

The Bear Brotherhood ~ Michael Kranes - Univ of Texas, Austin

Though still 'in "evolution", might be described as a dark satire on the men's movement, Mormons, cults, environmentalists, linguistics, Bigfoot research, contemporary theory and religion in general. 'Me play focuses on the Bear Brothers, a group of men in Alaska who are followers of Big Bear, a real Bear and god figure that lives in the Dimension of the Lonely. The Bear Brotherhood is somewhat disrupted by two Mormons from Boise: Darlene, who becomes a nanny for a bear cub, and Steve, who is serving his LDS mission in Alaska.

Bad Faith ~ David Adjmi - University of Iowa

A middle-aged man wi th an existential problem. A young waitress who usurps his household. A I 0-year old boy *in love with a mentally impaired school Janitor. A greasy spoon chef who is also an angel of death. A story about the meaning of faith and the disintegration of a family.

Mad Women ~ Laurel Haines - Arizona State University
 [renamed: Dianalogues]
is a collection of monologues and plays about women, anger, and the edges of mental health. In this comedy, a spectrum of women from different backgrounds cope with the emotions that girls don't show.

Man & Wife ~ S. Lucia Del Vecchio - Univ of Texas, Austin

"Body and mid, like man and wife, seldom agree to die together." (Charles Colton) After the death of Sylvia Rochester, her husband Avery and her two daughters, together with their husbands, find their own creative ways to cope with her passing and with each other.

These Two Couples Went to Italy... ~ Paul M. Rusconi - Michener Center for Writers, Austin, Texas

is a comedy about two horrible American couples who keep running into each other as they travel through Italy.