| J. Robinson Wheeler's An American Folktale |
About This Play
This play came to me very quickly in the weeks immediately following a blissful, spirit-reviving vacation in Aspen, Colorado in the Summer of 1996. It appeared virtually intact as seen here, although not without much concerted effort. I recall losing ten pounds unexpectedly as a result of writing instead of eating for many weeks in a row.
It was a cathartic work, conceived as an outlet for voicing the frustrations I'd experienced at USC film school in 1992-94. All of the characters except Mugsy are based on real people, and certain bits of dialogue are verbatim from ridiculous conversations I had. Of the distressing ending, I can only say that I was making visceral a most severe emotional wounding, one that did not completely heal until this play was written.
Part revenge, part reflection, this satire is one of my favorite works.
Program Notes
Setting: An art college in Los Angeles.
Act I: The first day of class. Three weeks later.
Act II: Another three weeks later.
Act III: Six weeks later.
Dramatis Personae
STORYTELLER Your guide JOHN BROWN A student WILLIAM DETROIT A student ANTHONY A student SARAH A student NADIA A student MARI A student MR. FORGERY An art professor DELLA FOGHORN A modeling teacher LIPPY Chairman of the school MUGSY Lippy's right hand man CHICOLINI A fool AMBROSE The devil About the Author
John Robinson Wheeler was born in Pasadena, California in 1970. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Stanford University in 1992. He now resides permanently in Austin, Texas. When not writing, he enjoys playing the piano, drawing, and watching movies. This is his third play.