Cardboard Box Theatre Project is dedicated to the creation of new works. I participated in their recent, “A Night of Staged Readings.”
Partial Cast for Nature’s Mistakes: Molly Murphy, Amelia Bethel, Jonathan Murphy
I played Max in Nature’s Mistakes, a black comedy about the freak show of real lives. Julie Jigour is an upcoming playwright and this was the first staged reading of this delightfully demented play.
Here’s the synopsis:
Tight on cash, Jack and Mary Rowley sell their younger daughter to Maximillian’s Museum of Nature’s Mistakes, the freak show visiting town. As their older daughter questions her sister’s disappearance, a conniving doctor reenters the Rowleys‘ lives, a prostitute seeks revenge, and a church zealot attempts to bring down the show. Yet the showman keeps telling stories to draw people into the tent, where the reality may be less grotesque than what exists outside.
Favorite Lines:
GERALDINE
How dare you! No sinner can claim to follow in the footsteps of the Lord! Your words are evil as the abominations you’ve brought to our town.
MAX
Well you might be surprised, Geraldine. Sometimes a town’s got abominations all its own. And besides, didn’t Jesus teach to love all God’s creatures?
GERALDINE
Those are not God’s creatures.
MAX
Well they may look different on the outside, but inside they have hearts just like you and me. I mean, you do have a heart, too, don’t you?
The second play performed that night was All That Grows: A Contemporary Folk Musical by Molly Murphy (yep, that’s my sister), and Dani Lencioni. The play is a post apocalyptic tale about a brother who dreams and sister who’s trying to. The music helped to drive the story and the harmonies were haunting and beautiful.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Acalanes. A desolate mountain range void of water and color where the community has no ambition but survival. Avian and his sister Emmalyn struggle to find meaning to their dreams, and perhaps escape.
Favorite Line:
“Everyone is afraid of finding pain in other people when they feel they already have enough of of their own.”
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