Murder Mystery Game For Social Distancing

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I believe wholeheartedly in the need for PLAY. Any age or station in life. It nourishes us, excites us, gives us joy, new experiences (this is one of the reasons why I love writing, directing and acting!). I love games, like Celebrity and Loaded Questions, to name a few. Games that make us interact, think, laugh, be silly or crazy or weird, and allow us chat between rounds or bring up funny stories. Murder Mystery parties have also been a staple since my parents introduced me to them when I was in college (yes, my parents! The same parents who introduced me to geocaching before hardly anyone even had a gps device!).

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Theater in a Time of a Global Pandemic

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Many of us around the world are operating under “stay at home” measures, be they called “lockdowns,” “quarantines,” “PAUSE” or probably numerous other terms meant to convey what we need to do right now—which is, for most of us: stay at home. I’m going to first give a huge shout-out to all the essential workers in all the fields right now who are continuing to go to work outside of the home, many putting others’ needs before their own.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

You are seen and noticed and appreciated!

Thank you!

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Chat-n-Read: New dramatic read-alouds of children's books

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While we were all hunkered down during this global pandemic, I started a project I’ve been interested in for years: a youtube channel called Chat-n-Read, dedicated to connecting with kids, including a little chatting and a little dramatic reading of children’s books.

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A Grinching Good Time!

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My youngest son has a Grinch-inspired holiday party coming up this week, and in discussing this, I’ve realized how many Grinch dramatizations we’ve actually seen. If you’re looking to add another Grinch-drama to your holiday mix, check out these 5 incarnations of the classic green-haired creature (and beware—there are tons more grinchy-dramas out there!).

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Parent/Child Theater: Monologue Duo for adult and child actor about halloween candy!

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Well, it’s the day after Halloween. Crisp, light candy wrappers in the trash. Piles of crushed red-dye candy coating on the floor. Parents—did you check your kids’ candy last night and “skim” any off the top? Kids—did you do an inventory last night and confirm your tally this morning? Okay, so a lot of families are happily generous with their candy on Halloween (thank you!), but transparency is nice, right?

So today, on the morning after October 31st, enjoy this duo of monologues about disappearing Halloween candy! In the first one, My Missing Skittles, Sal catches his dad, red-handed at midnight, eating his Halloween candy! In the second, A Dad’s Defense, Doug justifies to Sal that he’s never pretended to be perfect in the first place. But he comes up with the resolution that hopefully satisfies both parties (Just don’t tell Mom!).

Enjoy these funny monologues, from child to parent, and parent to child! My Missing Skittles is about 1 minute long and suitable for any child! A Dad’s Defense is about 1.5 - 2 minutes long and great for adults. If you've been looking for a monologue duo perfect for a child and adult to act out together (Parent/Child Theater, here we come!), this is a great match! Have fun!

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December 2018 Newsletter

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Check out my December newsletter.

Amazon boxes on the porch, peppermint star cookies in my stomach, Elf playing on tv while I clean up from the Holiday Murder Mystery party I threw over the weekend--this is a slice of the middle of December for me. You?

However you celebrate the holidays, it's always fun to pack in a bit of theater (I loved the one-man show of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, told in an historic Dutch church from the 1600s!). So check out some of my festive pieces below--a new monologue, a "how to" on writing your own cheesy Christmas rom-com, and more.

Enjoy the season and Happy Creating!

Warmly,
Tara

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Nostalia and the Season: My Top Three Christmas Movies You Might Not Have Heard Of

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Nostalgia rings loud and clear this time of year—scents, songs, books, movies. My mother passed away two years ago, and my childhood (and adulthood) memories with her practically explode this time of year. Our main December holiday in my family is Christmas, and my mother made this holiday so special for us. From parties to games to crafts, cookies, books, music, cards, service, prayers and more! All those singing stuffed animals in our hallway? Gifts to my kids from my mom. The burlap Advent Calendar hanging on our wall? My mom made it. The ornaments on our tree with permanent marker dates on the bottom? My mom dated of all of those. While nostalia comes in many forms, one thing that harkens me back to the magic of childhood Christmas is simply: Christmas movies. Those classic tales of…

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How to Write a Cheesy Romantic Christmas Movie in 10 Easy Steps (Or, Writing for the Hallmark Channel)

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Well, Thanksgiving is not quite here, but we’re already into November, so…you know what that means? Tis the season for Cheesy Romantic Christmas movies! On November 2, the first new one of the season popped up on my Netflix account, boasting the crazy magical cupid-like hijinx of none other than, that’s right, an advent calendar. It’s not just angels, santas and mystical animals bringing you Holiday romance anymore. It’s now inanimate calendars too! I've been watching these types of movies for years, and have learned, as similar as they may be, it never hurts to add another 25-50 new Hallmark-Channel inspired Christmas movies to the season (I say Hallmark Channel, for those old enough to know that term, but it’s not just the Hallmark anymore. The digital services have the format down pat.)! So here I've given you 10 easy steps on how to write your own Cheesy Romantic Christmas movie. And who knows, if you follow these guidelines, maybe your screenplay will be produced in the next Amazon prime line-up of Holiday-themed romances! Write away!

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New Comedic Children's monologue: Written by 8-year-old guest playwright

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Let me tell you about a talented little boy. He's a member of the Chess Club and Computer Club at his school, participates in Engineering and Swim classes, researches the mysteries of outer space, loves to ride his bike, do gross food dares during school Lunch, read like a fiend, go on hikes, and has a blast writing and illustrating his own comic book series called "Tommy Tom Tom, Mike and Joe."...

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December Newsletter →

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Has anyone else watched a "Hallmark Holiday" movie this season yet? Okay, they're cheesy and predictable, but there's kind of nothing like wrapping presents at midnight, while watching a feel-good Christmas movie where a jaded journalist travels to a snowy land and either meets Santa--or a prince! Snacking on chocolate-covered peppermint "jo-jos" helps too.

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Motherhood in Theatre Forums 2017: Breaking the Silence

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If you're a parent in theatre, and have encountered some challenges or figured out some solutions to this ever-present balancing act of art and children, check out this important new advocacy group touching on this not-talked-about-enough subject...

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Compassion, Empathy and Kindness: In Theatre and Beyond

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Compassion and empathy are essential in theatre--from its inception at the written word to the performers, directors and production team. I love that it can be a tool used to dig into our humanity to pull out the recognition of ourselves in someone else--someone whom perhaps we never saw a connection to before. I'm not the only one who is attracted to the workings of a villain, of a hero with a fatal flaw, the person who does exactly what they should not do, but yet, we discover there is humanity beneath it all. Can this villain be redeemed? Can this villain show remorse? Could we say we would act differently if we were in that situation? If we were not only in that situation, but if we were that person?...

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Mothers In and Out of Theatre

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If you're a woman in the arts (and we'll talk about theatre here), you are going to face many similar issues women in any field face, but it typically is compounded by an intimate environment, late or odd hours, no simple "Human Resources" department to turn to, and lines that blur far more easily than most fields...

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Does Your Siri Make You Smile: The Nuts and Bolts of AI Comedy

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I wrote for a robot one summer during graduate school, one of about six part-time jobs I took between school years (along with university "telefunder," lab rat, health/fitness teacher to girls in the inner city, and data entrant). It was a fantastic experience to bring personality to a rudimentary AI creation and work with a team of writers and robotic engineers. Our robo-ceptionist had high hopes of becoming a lounge singer, had to navigate the world of dating a Chevy Impala, and still encountered arguments with her overbearing Motherboard--all the while having the map of the building on hand to assist visitors finding their way around the facility....

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Hiplet Making Headway: A New Dance Form Resonates with Millions

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Don't you love it when art changes, morphs, and grows along with the culture, its people, those who speak out, speak up, or speak differently? Many do, but it is often a struggle for artists in any field to stand up and create differently initially.  This is ironic in a field based on creative expression, but critics, audiences, and artists alike sometimes have a hard time accepting new forms of something they have grown accustomed to (isn't this life for many, in general?).  There are many reasons for this, stemming more deeply than simply, "we fear change"--and how change comes about is not insignificant either--but I'm not going into that here. Having said that, judging by the millions of people viewing one new dance form (thanks, Social Media!), the masses may be ready to embrace this new artistic expression....

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Oh, the Drama of Halloween...

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A lot of holidays carry with them an intrinsic dramatic flair, but Halloween is particularly begging for theatrical opportunities. Besides the fact that, hey, we're dressing up in literal costumes, wearing stage make-up, pretending to be someone else, getting to try out accents, mannerisms, have license to do some pretty dramatic things--dramatists go to some serious lengths to bring theatre to Halloween. Or Halloween to theatre....

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Calvin and Hobbes: Perfect Summer Reading

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I was visiting my parents' house this summer which is always bound to stir up childhood memories, but I got a special burst of elated nostalgia when my 7-year-old son came to me with a comic book of mine he found at their house entitled, Revenge of the Babysat. Now, anyone who really knows the comic I'm going to talk about will immediately know who I'm talking about, and hopefully, it will bring about a huge smile for them too. I'm talking about the namesakes of that famous theologian who gave us Reformed Protestantism (touting Predestination), and the political philosopher who gave us social contract theory--yes, I'm talking about none other than Calvin and Hobbes.

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Carnegie Mellon University and The Tony Awards

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This year's Tony Awards brought out a lot of pride for CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) alumni and students, when two alumni each received one of theatre's most prestigious recognitions. Leslie Odom, Jr. won his first Tony for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical (he plays Aaron Burr in the huge huge huge hit, "Hamilton.")....

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3 Year Old Reads "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin

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Okay, so he's not actually reading here, but at three years old, this is as close as this little guy gets to it.  One thing I love about this is how you can hear his dramatic interpretation of the events (and even a slight southern accent for the farmer)...

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