Play Dedication
This play is dedicated to those kings of Louisiana garbage who lived explosively, with beer, belly laughs, and barbecue, legendary in their own right and etched permanently into the hearts and cypress knees of all who hold their memory. That is, of course, my dad, Greg, my grandfather, Harley Clyde, and my most favorite Uncle Landon.
Long may we reign.
Playwright’s Note
There is an experience with grief, a long lived battle with legacy that lives in my bones. There is often a gaping hole described by the grieving, a tingled opacity that squats like a rock in the stomach. This play comes from a deep seated knowing that I will never know my dad, who died when I was fourteen. I’ll never have anything but a heated and twinging curiosity about when he was like me, young, blonde, strong and foolish. When he met my mother a red headed firecracker. I’ll always wonder about inevitability. I’ll always do everything I can to emulate who through the legend that he left I’ve been led to believe that he is. Sorry, was. I question the weight that that legacy of masculinity, laughter and enormity has left on my female shoulders. In an Arthurian mix of the legends of my growing up, I hope to explore that legacy and the bark which binds it so tightly to my chest. To examine the legend of the Garbage Kings, my forebears, and meet a talking gator along the way.
Process Note
This year, for Louisiana Garbage Kings we decided to split the primary aspects of a usual playwriting project-- script development and production development-- into two separate processes, a developmental workshop and production rehearsals. For two weeks the cast and production team devised and played off of a preliminary draft of the script, working to develop both the world of the play and the characters that inhabit it. The following two weeks included a detailed rehearsal of the radio play’s performance, as well as the implementation of what design elements we decided to use, culminating in our final radio play performances.
With the ARG Creation and Research team, we took a deep and thorough look into the legend of the Garbage Kings which the play is based on, including archaeological and anthropological evidence gathered by LPCC students. For more information, click HERE.
CAST AND CREW
Cast:
Clyde/Claudette - Chloe Rice
Sarge - Victoria Fanning
Magda/Dagny - Abigail Lo
Marge - Anna Mayo
Written and Directed By: Vivian Brown
Sound Designer: Mellie Way
Dramaturgy: Kiernan Westrick
Production Stage Manager of Development: Janae Beaver
Production Stage Manager of Production: Shannah Harris
Production Manager: Max Breit
Assistant Director: Al Rosenberg
Assistant Stage Manager of Development: Taylor Samuelson
Assistant Stage Manager of Production: Nandini Tandon
Editor: Ryan Shearin
Assistant Stage Manager: Julia Walker
ARG Creative Team: Caeleigh Lillis, Julia Walker, Aurora Winger, Skyler Purvis
