An orange gummy and origin of a play
On Sept. 4, my short play, “The Bowl,” will premiere as part of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival at Duquesne University’s Genesius Theater. The Pittsburgh New Works Festival (PNWF) takes plays from all over the country through a blind submission process. Fourteen local theatrical production companies produce 14 plays over four weeks.
A director from the Riverfront Theater Company, Hannah Brizzi, picked the play from a pile of finalists.
Ms. Brizzi asked me, “Where’d you get this idea?” I will tell you what I told her.
Two years ago, I went to Deep Creek, Maryland, with some friends. We went to a cabin by the lake with the intention of hiking, playing darts, billiards, and imbibing plenty of beer.
On the first day, I sat down on the sofa and noticed a small bag of gummy bears on the coffee table. Unable to resist a sugary treat after driving two hours, I popped the orange bear in my mouth. My friend, also named Michael, ran over to me in a panic and said, “You didn’t eat a whole one, did you?”
I said, “Who eats half of a gummy bear?! What am I going to do, bite the head off and save the rest for later?”
He proceeded to tell me that they were marijuana-laced gummy bears, prescribed by his doctor to help him sleep.
Then, I lost track of time. I remember sitting around the fire, hours later, mesmerized, my mouth agape. I looked like a Neanderthal whose friend discovered fire.
The Other Michael said, “Are you angry? You haven’t said a word for two hours.”
That was the longest I’ve ever been quiet (I even talk in my sleep). Two hours of silence is my personal best! I wasn’t mad. I was in a stupor. By the time I wanted to mention something, my friends were on a new subject. My brain is a tricycle at the Indy 500.
I slept very well that night, and I didn’t touch anyone’s snacks without asking for the rest of the weekend.
It seemed like an excellent idea for a play.
When writing any fiction, a book, a movie, or a play, I like to ask myself a series of “what if” questions. I begin with the truth and extrapolate it to the most bizarre places I can take it.
“What if there was a giant bag of marijuana-laced gummy bears somewhere they shouldn’t be?
“What is the worst-case scenario?”
In the play, Kayla (Wendy Parkalo), a schoolteacher, confiscates a big bag of weed gummies from a student. Fearing the student would get kicked out of school, she takes them home instead. Her boyfriend, Josh (Liam Gannon), unaware that they are weed gummies, pours the sugary bears into a candy dish, moments before her parents (Tonilyn Jackson and Richard Garbee) arrive for dinner, before they announce their engagement. Everyone gets high, and chaos ensues.
Come out and join us Sept. 4 through 7. For tickets and information, go to www.pittsburghnewworks.org.