Tuesday, July 1, 2008

An Introduction and Promotion

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Kevin Johnson. I will be presenting a play reading of William Inge's Summer Brave under my imprint, Conundrum Stages in association with the Arts at St. John's in Miami Beach.

Normally, I would just copy and paste a press release here. I thought that would be a bit formal, so I appreciate CLJ inviting me to contribute to the Scene, and letting me spread the word.






For those of you who are familiar with Picnic, Summer Brave is a rewritten version of the play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1953. The focus is on small town people whose world gets turned upside down when a handsome rogue invades their ambience therefore creating a series of events that makes the residents realize that their small town is not as small as they would like it to be.

Inge said it best when he wrote a preface in Summer Brave, when it was produced on Broadway in 1975:

"It wouldn't be fair to say that Summer Brave is the original version of Picnic. I have written before that I never completely fulfilled my original intentions in writing Picnic before we went into production in 1953, and that I wrote what some considered a fortuitous ending in order to have a finished play to go into rehearsal. A couple of years after Picnic had closed on Broadway, after the film version had made its success, I got the early version out of my files and began to rework it, just for my own satisfaction. Summer Brave is the result. I admit that I prefer it to the version of the play that was produced, but I don't necessarily expect others to agree. Summer Brave might not have enjoyed any success on Broadway whatever, nor won any of the prizes that were bestowed upon Picnic. But I feel that it is more humorously true than Picnic, and it does fulfill my original intentions."

For more on the preparation process, I have also attached a link to my own blog: The Wonderful World of Conundrum Stages. Should be in the link up above. I'm sure if I did something wrong, CLJ will show me some tools.


The reading will be at the St. John's on the Lake United Methodist Church on Monday, July 21st at 7:30pm. Free admission. More info can be found on their website, http://www.artsatstjohns.com/.

Also take a look at my own blog which will let you know about upcoming events and inside information.

1 comment:

  1. Hey, Kevin; welcome aboard!

    I've added a feed from your blog to the side bar, just below Christine Dolen, and above Theatre Row. It will update automagically.

    Clicking on an article will take you directly to The Wonderful World of Conundrum Stages.

    ReplyDelete