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I wish I could also say "right here in River City ..." but not quite yet. However, there are companies in the US who are making it their mission to create equity, and Halcyon Theatre in Chicago is one of them. They are offering a festival of FULL PRODUCTIONS, of five women playwrights this summer. Go here and see: http://www.halcyontheatre.org/mission
This isn't their first year to produce women's plays either, but this year they went out and got five women to write plays inspired by other women's plays (from the past). Who wouldn't love to see that? If you are in or around Chicago, go see. If you can make the trip, go do. If you have funds you can share to support Halcyon's mission, please do that. Support women playwrights however you can, please. Right now, women are being produced only 20% compared to men. We are aiming for 50% by 2020. Anything you can do to support that is much appreciated. Talk to your theatre companies. Let them know you appreciate seeing plays by women, want to see plays by women, then show up when they present plays by women. Women write every kind of play. My last play is "The Godmother." It's about the mob in Kansas City during the Prohibition. In case you thought she was a fairy godmother in a silver coach with white horses. Just saying. Now get outa here you crazy kids.

The Godmother is out into the world, looking for a producer. Two Acts, simple set, 13 characters played by 6 actors, gender-bending multi-racial actors. Young, actors who want to have a great time. This play is The Sopranos meets The L Word. If HBO or Showtime comes knocking on my door, I'm ready to play. Know why? Because I am totally in love with every character who showed up for The Godmother. Everyone has a backstory and a character arc. Every body has a story to tell. There are so many A, B, C and D stories here that we can go on for years. Seriously, The Godmother is just the beginning. Tomboy wants a lovelife! Bill has to grow up and find himself. Who knows what all Corker has in store? Like I say ... they all want their stories told. Meanwhile, The Godmother needs a producer. Or local investors, we could produce it here in Portland, Oregon no problem. The director would love to continue on. The script it already out in the world, and will be in other theater's literary managers in-boxes shortly. Wish us luck.

Or however many it takes to write this last scene. We've had the dark night of the soul, the climax, and now we're wrapping it all up. Heading for that final scene, that final look at Tomboy that echoes our first look, but is totally different. The one that shows us where she is now after her journey, the journey we took with her. I love Tomboy. I hope she has a long life on the stage. I hope lots of people fall in love with her as I have. This is the first play I've ever written that I can visualize in other media. The Godmother could be The Sopranos meets The L Word if HBO or Showtime comes knocking. Or maybe it's a movie with a sequel. Or maybe it's more than one play, but whatever it is, Tomboy wants off the page and onto the stage. I have to continue to do my best for her. So, back to the coal mines I go.

The staged reading of The Godmother was a huge success. More than 50 people attended, laughed, applauded, and at least one person had tears at the end. (I saw them with my own eyes, so I know she wasn't kidding.) The actors were awesome. I had no idea there would be so many laughs, but they all came at appropriate places, so that was good. Many people asked for a copy of the script as is, many more asked me to let them know when they can see it in full length form, many more said they really hope it gets a full production soon. Me too. I was able to pay the actors from the door proceeds, which made me happy. Now. Back to work on Act Two. Must finish before Jan. 31.

Jessamyn D. Rae IS the Godmother Tomboy McCorkle. Her nemisis? Patric Callahan plays Chee Chee di Mayo. Brother Billy is played by 16 year old Miles Thoming-Gale; Sally by Shoshana Maxwell. Watch this space for more names in coming days. The full cast will be named very soon!
See a picture of The Godmother in the current of Just Out magazine, Portland's GLBTQ newspaper, where Fertile Ground made the cover for January. Fertile Ground will also be the cover on this week's A&E section of The Oregonian. We are the happening event of the month, people! Over 50 events, including world premieres of full productions, staged readings, dance productions, music, you name it baby. Come get out of the cold, see what's H.O.T. Buy your pass for ALL of it, or tix for The Godmother HERE: www.tinyurl.com/tomboygodmother

Every year at about this time, I saturate myself in new movies, trying to anticipate which ones will be nominated for Academy Awards: best film, best director, best actors (male and female), best supporting, best screenplay (adapted and original), best sound, best costumes, all that. I have a grand time. I never see them all, of course. I've seen "Precious," "Up in the Air," "Blindside," "Invictus," "Nine," and I have a very long list to see. Some just because I want to have fun. The Men Who Stare at Goats. That looks like fun to me. There were movies that came out that seemed like they couldn't fail, then got such horrid reviews I didn't even go: Fame, for one. Really? How could you mess up Fame? Apparently they did. And I was sooooo disappointed in "Nine." Like how I use and don't use quotation marks? I'm fickle that way. The story was dismal, the songs were forgettable, even the choreography left a lot to be desired except for Fergie's number and then it was hard not to think of how difficult it must have been for the dancers to deal with all that sand all day. sigh. I love movies. I want them to love me back. Entertain me. Knock my socks off. Give me that old Busby Berkeley treatment, or film noir, or Alfred Hitchcock. I did like Precious. Just wish they'd had more money to spend on it so Precious could have had million dollar fantasies. And Invictus was the feel good movie of the year for me. Mandela was a man of his convictions, and a true leader. Now if only we could make a movie out of The Godmother that would equal or top "Chicago" I'd have something to write home about. mmm.

oooh, delicious! I heard the play read aloud last night by a table full of actors, playwrights, the director and other readers. Tomboy, Corker, Black Walnuts, Uppity, Billy, they all jumped to life right there in the director's dining room. Scary, funny, and exciting all at once. I will tweak the script a bit over the next 10 days before the next rehearsal so the cast will have a clean script going into the days before performance of the staged reading. I hope we have a standing room only audience and just pack that mezzanine full of folks ready and waiting for this sassy young butch lesbian taking over her crime family as well as the stages of first Portland and then -- who knows?