"There Once Were Two Clouds in the Sky" wins Bradford Gromelski Jury Award
I’m so honored and happy to share that my new one-act play, THERE ONCE WERE TWO CLOUDS IN THE SKY, recently received the Bradford Gromelski Jury Award from Fusion Theatre, landing the highest score out of 700+ plays submitted from 40 states and 9 countries!
THERE ONCE WERE TWO CLOUDS IN THE SKY is a 2-person comedy/drama about two clouds trying to find meaning in their brief lives before they dissipate forever. When one proposes a risky way to change their fate, they have to decide, together, if it’s worth it. It is suitable for any gender and any age. You can find the play and an excerpt here.
Fusion Theatre, in Albuquerque, NM has grown to establish one of the premier ten-minute play festivals in the country, called THE SEVEN. Years back, my play, Knocking Louder was selected and produced at this festival and I loved their production aesthetic (Knocking Louder is an absurdist heightened dark comedy). So I was thrilled this Spring to learn that my brand new play, There Once Were Two Clouds in the Sky, was accepted for their professional production as part of THE SEVEN, and it had also won this juried award.
As a playwright, you write because, well, you love to/want to/need to write… There are stories in us, voices, themes, characters. My work is different—it’s often heightened, it may be absurd, fantastical, a dark comedy, characters are not always human (although their feelings are), and to some people, they might be straight-out weird. But. When you find people who connect with your work, whom your work resonates with, who appreciate your voice, style and story and who publicly recognize that…well, that is just the best tasting icing you could have on that cake! So thank you tremendously, Fusion Theatre!
Actor Clouds, Laurie Thomas and Jacqueline Reid, taking a break in costume, at Fusion’s beautiful outdoor space.
Fusion Theatre graciously flew me out and put me up so I could enjoy the entire production and meet their incredible team. And I LOVED Fusion’s production of There Once Were Two Clouds in the Sky! This play could go in a a lot of directions and has so much flexibility in what you might lean into, or how you would bring various design elements to life. And they did such a stellar job! They adeptly pulled in childilke elements and end-of-life fears at the same time. They brought out joy and hilarity but also pain and poignant drama. The sound, lighting, costumes and movement they added cast a really cool ethereal vibe. They totally got the blending of light and dark, and ultimately brought home the idea of finding hope and connection in a fairly (seemingly? potentially?) hopeless situation. In short, they elevated the play in a way that was unexpected to me; they were a perfect example of that unique theatrical necessity which you hope always benefits your play: collaboration. Director Jen Grigg was so inventive, intelligent and astute in her directing, and actors (and two of the co-founders of Fusion), Laurie Thomas (Cloud 1) and Jacqueline Reid (Cloud 2) were funny, mesmerizing and so engaging in their performances. Huge huge shout-out to these talented theater professionals!
(L to R, me with playwright Richard Perez, Executive Director of Fusion Theatre, Dennis Gromelski, and playwright Cynthia Veal Holm)
I’ll also shout out to all the other plays and teams in the production because I have been to a lot of one-act festivals, including in our great theatrical city of New York, and I will say—it is always a mixed bag of talent. But in this festival (with the theme, “The Elephant in the Room”), it was a welcome respite to find each play and production enjoyable and good. So congratulations to all the playwrights, directors, actors, design, production and technical teams for this wonderful festival! And thank you to them, as well as the front of house, parking attendants, media and publicity teams.
A few other words about visiting Fusion Theatre… I was so impressed by all the cool and meaningful work this theater is doing. In addition to this festival, Fusion Theatre has developed into a truly remarkable artistic powerhouse in Albuquerque and is the longest running professional theater in New Mexico. They put on multiple theatrical productions a year, but also have cultural events, musical and comedy performances, an outdoor performance venue (with truly mega concert level lighting); they support local artists with grants and residencies, and also “pay what you can” nights; they hold classes, workshops, forums; they have a garden, a gallery, a coffee house. And under the passionate leadership of Executive Director, Dennis Gromelski (the award is in honor of his late father, playwright and professor of theater), they stand as leaders in the community, bringing art in Albuquerque to the forefront—with compassion, thoughtfulness and amazing energy. If you are in New Mexico, definitely check them out and see what they have happening! No wonder so many artists move to Albuquerque!
By the way, I loved what I saw of New Mexico (Albuquerque and Santa Fe)! It was such a cool and unique blend of history and culture—from influences of Pueblo Indians and the “wild west,” to incredible historical architecture, including the oldest house and the oldest church in the US, and all kinds of art. To give you a taste of the uniqueness and variety in Albuquerque alone, I visited Sandia Peak via an incline/tram which took me 10,000 feet up the mountains, the International Hot Air Balloon Museum, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History and took a trolley tour which showed me historical and cultural sights, as well as various tv and film locations all over the city (due to its 310+ days of sun, Albuquerque is an ideal place to film, from Breaking Bad to Avengers!). And in Santa Fe…THE ART! From a beautiful gallery inside the roundhouse capital building and the incredible statues and galleries of Canyon Road to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum downtown and to wild experience of Meow Wolf—it was exhilarating! Oh—and I even happened upon a repurposed cigarette machine which now dispensed original artwork for $5 (you betcha I bought a tiny handcrafted forest doll!). Everyone I met in the theater and art scene in ABQ and Santa Fe had come to the state for a particular reason and felt the draw to remain. Hearing their stories and visiting these cities…honestly? I got it.
But… back to the play!
Click here for a free excerpt of There Once Were Two Clouds in the Sky, or click below for the complete play.
THERE ONCE WERE TWO CLOUDS IN THE SKY:
“Unassumingly sweet and joyous, packing a profound punch in a single line.”
~Jacqueline Reid, co-founder, actor and director of Fusion Theatre