Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter
10 October 1930 - 24 December 2008
"When the storm is over and night falls and the moon is out in all its glory and all you're left with is the rhythm of the sea, of the waves, you know what God intended for the human race, you know what paradise is."
From Party Time

Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Four: "It was one of those fully detailed memories."

Beware: Memory!

Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Four: "It was one of those fully detailed memories."
Performed by the author
Running Time: 7:06
All Audiences

It's October again, time to start your month long celebration of
Harold Pinter's Birthday!
October 10, 1930

Apart From That
by
Harold Pinter
Performed by the author and Rupert Graves in 2006


Handwritten Theatre, the book! Available now

Handwritten Theatre: The Book

The complete plays of Handwritten Theatre to date (plus two bonus pieces yet to be recorded) are now available in a handy take home container.
Yes, Handwritten Theatre is being released in that new delivery system sweeping the globe: The Book.
Requiring no internet connection or power source (aside from your imagination) the Handwritten Theatre book is platform transparent, carbon neutral and eligible for free shipping from Amazon.com

New and Improved

Four Women Each With a Drink in Her Hand

Is now available at Amazon.com
as either a CD or as a Digital Download.

A Handwritten Alternative

Shortly after the last Handwritten Theatre posting, I went on strike with the Writers Guild of America. Funny how a major labor action can eat up your time. Well, we have a contract now and I hope to put together new additions to the Handwritten canon soon.

In the meantime, you can find my writing in a handy take-home container. I have a new novel, Trunk Piece, available at Amazon.com.


Obtaining a copy of this book and reading it aloud will simulate much of the Handwritten Theatre experience...and pretty much guarantee no one will sit next to you on the bus.

Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Three: "Pick up."

The light is flashing on your answering machine. Pick up.


Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Three: "Pick up."
Performed by Moira Quirk
Running Time: 12:13
All Audiences.

You've got all of October to celebrate the birthday of Harold Pinter
October 10, 1930

"There are some things one remembers even though they may never have happened."
-Anna in Old Times

Read. Watch. Perform. Savor.


Harold Pinter performing Krapp's Last Tape in 2006


Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant and Paul Rogers in the 1973 film version of The Homecoming

Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Two: "Read all instructions first."

Arrange all materials within reach. Make yourself comfortable. Begin.


Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Two: "Read all instructions first."
Performed by Michael Rayner
Running time: 7:05
All Audiences



Story Salon invites storytellers around the globe to fill the world with stories on Saturday, October 20th, 2007:
Story Salon Saturday
Pick a time on that special Saturday to tell a story...to friends, to strangers, in a coffeehouse or your living room. Then send an email to
storysalon@gmail.com
and let us know what, where, and when you're going to be joining storytellers around the world.

Listen to Story Salon's series of special podcasts to be posted throughout the day starting at 12:01 A.M. Saturday, October 20th (GMT) during which we'll give a shout-out to every individual participant in the event.
www.StorySalon.com



If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at:

GhostWords@mac.com

Handwritten Theatre Twenty-One: "This was before I knew her."

The women you meet in bars always tell the most interesting stories. Sip that third martini and listen to the song of the cocktail sirens.


Handwritten Theatre Twenty-One: "This was before I knew her."
Performed by Moira Quirk and Marsha Clark
Running Time: 23:27
Mature Audiences (Contains several common vulgarities)

Handwritten Theatre on stage

Bill and Jody Bishop and Cheryl Warren performing "Note the relationship between the two seated figures in the booth" as produced by The Fremont Community Players in Fremont, Nebraska.

If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at:

GhostWords@mac.com


Birthday Wishes to
Ray Bradbury

August 22nd

"I have come up with a new simile to describe myself lately. It can be yours.
Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me.
After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together.
Now, it's your turn. Jump!"

Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007

Tack så mycket.

Handwritten Theatre Twenty: "This is how the story was told to me." (v.3.0)

Ah, summer. Travel. Adventure. Romance. Inexplicable narratives from the man in the window seat. Yes, he's back. Enjoy your complimentary cocktail and warm nuts.


Handwritten Theatre Twenty: "This is how the story was told to me." (v. 3.0)
Performed by Paul Jacek
Running time: 9:26
All Audiences

If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at:

GhostWords@mac.com



Remembering James M. Cain on his birthday.

"I drove out to Glendale to put three new truck drivers on a brewery company bond, and then I remembered this renewal over in Hollywoodland. I decided to run over there. That was how I came to this House of Death, that you've been reading about in the papers. It didn't look like a House of Death when I saw it."
-Double Indemnity

Handwritten Theatre Nineteen: "Leo speeds up when he sees a yard sale."

Handwritten Theatre returns with, if not a constant flow, at least a spurt of new plays. Sometimes we look for secrets, sometimes the secrets find us. And that can happen anywhere, even in a suburban drive-way.


Handwritten Theatre Nineteen: "Leo speeds up when he sees a yard sale."
Performed by Marsha Clark
Running Time: 18:48
All Audiences (But it is about grown-up behavior)

The book of photographs discovered by the character was inspired by an actual collection of snapshots uncovered at a flea market by Michel Hurst and Robert Swope who published a selection of their discoveries under the title Casa Susanna



This remarkable book is available at Amazon.com.


In Other News:
Handwritten Theatre Live!

An evening of Handwritten Theatre was presented recently in Fremont, Nebraska by The Fremont Community Players under the direction of Will Mitchell (Cyberjazzdaddy.blogspot.com) and featuring Bill Bishop, Jodie Bishop, Daniel Christensen, Ed Cutler, Laura England, Teresa Giesselmann, Haley Halverson, Madeline MacDonald, Kim Mitchell, Will Mitchell, and Cheryl Warren

If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at:

GhostWords@mac.com

The Pause That Refreshes

It has been pointed out to me by someone, in tones rich with sarcastic intent, that it's been awhile since the last Handwritten Theatre posting. This is true...not that I needed this guy to rub it in. But plans are underway to return to the studio and get a new series of plays on their way to your ear-buds before the long days of summer wane...or as soon as I can shanghai another bunch of actors, whichever comes first.
In the meantime, thanks for the downloads.
Your Obedient Servant,
Joseph Dougherty

Handwritten Theatre Eighteen: "He changed his mind..."

"The very act of storytelling, of arranging memory and invention according to the structure of narrative is, by definition, holy."
-James Carroll
American Requiem

Handwritten Theatre Eighteen: "He changed his mind about what he wanted to read in bed and went back into the living room looking for a particular short story."
Running Time: 10:16
All Audiences.

Salutations to Reynolds Price on the anniversary of his birth.
1 February, 1933
"I sleep long nights with few hard dreams, and now I've outlived both my parents. Even my handwriting looks very little like the script of the man I was in June of '84. Cranky as it is, it's taller, more legible, with more air and stride. It comes down the arm of a grateful man."
-Reynolds Price
A Whole New Life

Handwritten Theatre Seventeen: "The swimming pool at the Econo-Lodge was empty."

Another woman. Another series of cocktails. Another story. Lean close to her and listen.


Handwritten Theatre Seventeen: "The swimming pool at the Econo-Lodge was empty."
Performed by Moira Quirk
Running Time: 11:54
All Audiences (But it is about grown-up behavior)

Handwritten Theatre Sixteen: "I think it went well."

More communication from the corporate world. Coincidence? You be the judge.

Handwritten Theatre Sixteen: "I think it went well."
Performed by Tony Figueroa
Running Time: 5:22
All Audiences.

Handwritten Theatre Fifteen: "I look to you for advice."

Finally, some practical information on how to handle life in corporate America. Feel free to take notes. There will be a test on this material.


Handwritten Theatre Fifteen: "I look to you for advice."
Performed by David Clennon and Dan Farren
Running Time: 9:52
All Audiences

Remembering Kenneth Millar on his birthday.
13 DecemberWriting as Ross Macdonald, he took the American detective novel to a new level.

Handwritten Theatre Fourteen: "I saw the obituary while I was recycling the newspapers."

A cold, rainy, winter night in Los Angeles and a friend comes over late to see you. There's something she needs to talk about. You give her a glass of wine and sit down with her. She talks, you listen.


Handwritten Theatre Fourteen: "I saw the obituary while I was recycling the newspapers."
Performed by Donna Allen Figueroa
Running Time: 17:55
All Audiences