YOUNGBLOOD PRESENTS:
THE TRUE LIFE STORY OF [your name here]: TOM RITCHFORD
"Youngblood opts into the $ELLOUT FESTIVAL in a truly unique way: they auctioned off the opportunity to have a one-act play written about the life of the winning bidder. The finished product, THE TRUE LIFE STORY OF [YOUR NAME HERE]: TOM RITCHFORD, is as entertaining and eclectic as its subject.
A hilariously surreal fantasia... TRUE LIFE STORY respectfully handles the events of Ritchford's life with total irreverence. The talented seven-person cast... all look like they're having a blast. Their teamwork and camaraderie onstage is terrific!"
This April, Youngblood ran an eBay auction (copied below). We were looking for one brave soul who wanted to have their life story adapted into a one-hour original production for the Brick Theater's $ELLOUT FESTIVAL.
Tom Ritchford answered that call.
(Tom Ritchford, center, surrounded by actors Gregg Mozgala and Moira Lael MacDonald).
With a winning bid of $521, Mr. Ritchford became the focus of Youngblood's collective attention for the next weeks, with a series of interviews conducted in person and via email and IM yielding eight short plays, which have been woven together into one TRUE LIFE STORY.
See pictures from the process here.
Come see TRUE LIFE STORY OF [YOUR NAME HERE]: TOM RITCHFORD at the $ELLOUT FESTIVAL:
FOR TICKETS FROM THEATERMANIA, CLICK HERE
June 2 - Friday - 8:30pm
June 9 - Friday - 7:00 pm
June 16 - Friday - 8:15pm
June 17 - Saturday - 5:15pm
June 23 - Friday - 10:15pm
June 28 - Wednesday - 9:30pm
July 1 - Saturday - 2:00pm
ALL TICKETS JUST $10
WRITTEN BY: Qui Nguyen, Michael Lew, Courtney Brooke Lauria, Daria Polatin, Emily Conbere, Edith L. Freni, Sharyn Rothstein and Annie Baker
DIRECTED BY: R.J. Tolan
FEATURING: Lucia Brizzi, Helen Coxe, David Gelles-Hurwitz, Debbie Jaffe, Moira Lael MacDonald, Gregg Mozgala and Steven Sanpietro
The original eBay auction listing:
YOUNGBLOOD, Ensemble Studio Theatre's collective of emerging playwrights under the age of 30, will write an extraordinary play about one ordinary person.
And that person could be YOU.
You are bidding to have YOUR life story adapted into a one-hour work of
theatrical genius by the up-and-coming playwrights of Youngblood. THE
TRUE LIFE STORY OF [your name here] will be presented at Brooklyn's
Brick Theater as part of the Brick's highly anticipated $ELLOUT FESTIVAL
(the follow-up to their smash hit MORAL VALUES FESTIVAL and HELL FESTIVAL),
which will take place at the Brick in Williamsburg in June 2006.
Once the highest bidder for THE TRUE LIFE STORY OF [your name here] has been confirmed, Youngblood will dispatch a team of dedicated writers to interview the winner at length (in person or by phone) and dramatize the winner's life in any theatrical genre (drama, comedy, tragedy, farce, kabuki) that the writers choose. The resulting play will be cast with professional actors, directed by Youngblood's co-Artistic Director, R.J. Tolan, and will run for six performances in the $ELLOUT FESTIVAL.
Youngblood playwrights are the cream of the young playwriting
crop - the New York Times calls them "collectively, a delight!" and Time
Out New York says they are "waggish scribes" and "saucy outsiders." This
Spring alone will see four professional NYC productions of Youngblood
members: Elizabeth Meriwether's Heddatron at Les Freres Corbusier
and Mistakes Madeline Made at Naked Angels; Edith L. Freni's
Baby Girl at Partial Comfort Productions; and Qui Nguyen's Trial
By Water at Ma-Yi Theater Co. Youngblood alums like Chris Shinn,
Lucy Thurber, John Belluso, Ann Marie Healey and Lloyd Suh have gone on
to production all over New York, the country and the world, as well as
writing for TV and films.
With THE TRUE LIFE STORY OF [your name here], the playwrights of
Youngblood have accepted the Brick Theater's challenge to "$ELL OUT" and
are selling their very creativity to the highest bidder - giving one lucky
individual the chance to have their life story produced on the New York
stage. Everyone with a life, a story or both is encouraged to bid!
NOTES ON THE PROCESS:
- The winning bidder is agreeing to have his/her story told entirely at the discretion of Youngblood and the Youngblood playwrights. The winning bidder will have no approval on the final script.
- The subject of the play will sign an agreement granting rights to his/her story, name and likeness for purposes of this production.
- The winning bidder may choose to have the playwrights write about someone else (a parent, a spouse, a friend) ONLY if the new subject agrees to the process. If you want to bid on this for someone else, make sure they'll be willing to be interviewed and to sign an agreement granting Youngblood the rights to their story for purposes of the production.
- The budget for the production will come primarily from the proceeds of the auction.
With questions, please contact us here.
For more information on The Brick Theater or the $ELLOUT FESTIVAL: