NEWS

My short story, Metastory, was just published in Soundings East.

My full-length play, Couple of the Century, was presented on June 25, 2008 at the Downtown Urban Theater Festival 2008 at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

The German Lesson was named runner-up for the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwrighting Excellence.

Publishing News
Three short stories are about to be published: Lincoln Towers (in The Chariton Review), Chrysler (in Lullwater Review), and Dummy Copy (in Argestes). The Cross County was recently published in Buffalo Carp.

A reading of my short story, Wallpaper, was presented May 12 at the Cornelia Street Cafe at the monthly musical event, Serial Underground.

DETAILS BELOW:

Metastory published.

My short story, Metastory, was just published in Soundings East (Volume 30/Number 1: Spring/Summer 2009). In this story, a writer argues with himself as he tries to compose a short story about writing a short story. (Think of this as what the show [Title of Show] might be if it were a short story.)

For information about--or to order--Soundings East, click here: http://www.salemstate.edu/arts/soundings_east.php

For an excerpt from Metastory, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/metastory.html

Couple of the Century Presented at the Downtown Urban Theater Festival 2008 at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

The Downtown Urban Theater Festival returned to the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village this June. This festival was one of the cultural events established after 911 to help attract people back to Lower Manhattan. The plays presented in the festival reflect the diverse urban populations that make up the mosaic that is New York City. My one-act play, The Dakota, won a Best Short Play Award at DUTF in June 2005.

Couple of the Century is an expanded version of my one-act play, The Session (finalist at the Strawberry One-Act Festival Winter 2005). In this expanded, full-length version, the scenes progress backwards to show us the events leading up to the therapy session that opens the play.

For information about Couple of the Century, click here.

For an excerpt from The Couple of the Century, click here.

For rehearsal photos, click here.

Dummy Copy and Chrysler to be Published.

Argestes (Salem, MA) will be publishing my short story, Dummy Copy, in an upcoming issue. In this story, a graphic designer and her editor have a much bigger problem than their disagreement over the function of dummy copy.

For an excerpt from Dummy Copy, click here.

Meanwhile, Chrysler will be published in Lullwater Review. In this story, a man is torn between his infatuation with the Chrysler Building and his rocky relationship with his girlfriend--not to mention his indecision about whether to become a writer after all.

For an excerpt from Chrysler, click here.

A Reading of The German Lesson presented at the Dramatists Guild, April 18.

A reading of my new play, The German Lesson, was presented at the Dramatists Guild in New York April 18, 2008 as part of their Friday Night Footlights series. The reading was directed by Wendy Peace and included the following cast:

   Trevor Hudson (age 48)…………………………………...………..NIC TYLER*

   Jerry Hobart (50)/Ira Klopnick (’30s)………….………….…..GREG HORTON*

   Chuck Blazer (19)/Louie Allemano (’40s)………………..…AARON HEISLER

   Margaret Allen (’50s)/Dr. Vivian Sedler (74)……………...ELOWYN CASTLE*

   Sarah Schwalbe (’40s)/German instructor (voiceover)…..ROXANN KRAEMER*

   Beth Hudson (’40s)…………………………………….…...DONNA NIEMANN

Stage directions read by ASHTON CROSBY*

*Member of Actors Equity Association

The German Lesson (a Comedy of Manners in Two Acts) tells the story of Trevor Hudson, a PR man with a special talent for putting the best face on things. Now his life is spinning out of control, but his German lesson is part of a plan to free him from his past.

For information about The German Lesson, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/the_german_lesson1.html

For an excerpt from The German Lesson, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/the_german_lesson.html

The German Lesson Named Runner-up for the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwrighting Excellence.

The finalists and runners-up for the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwrighting Excellence have been announced, and my full-length play, The German Lesson (a Comedy of Manners in Two Acts), was among the runners-up. (The winner was Keeping Faith by Mark Scharf.) This award was established in 1984 and is given annually by the Coldwater Community Theatre in Coldwater, Michigan.

The German Lesson tells the story of Trevor Hudson, a PR man with a special talent for putting the best face on things. Now his life is spinning out of control, but his German lesson is part of a plan to free him from his past.

For information about The German Lesson, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/the_german_lesson1.html

For an excerpt from The German Lesson, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/the_german_lesson.html

May Reading.

I read my short story, Wallpaper, at the Cornelia Street Cafe on Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village on Monday, May 12, 2008. (This is the same story I read at the Mercantile Library in May 2006 and at my class reunion at Yale in May 2007.) The reading was part of a monthly variety event called Serial Underground, which Time Out NY refers to as “the subversive nightclub series” and which features the latest in experimental music.

For an excerpt from Wallpaper, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/wallpaper.html

Recently Published: One-act Play, The Session, and Short Story, The Cross County:

The January 2007 issue of the literary journal, The Distillery, was recently published (a year late?) and includes my one-act play, The Session.  The Session--about a bizarre therapy session--was a finalist at the Strawberry One-Act Festival Winter 2005 in Manhattan. This short (18-minute) play was the basis for my full-length play, Couple of the Century, a Romantic Comedy in Two Acts (semifinalist in the Open Book’s 8th National Readers Theatre Playwriting Competition).

For an excerpt and information about The Session, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/the_session.html

For an excerpt and information about Couple of the Century, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/couple_of_the_century.html

Buffalo Carp Journal has published my short story, The Cross County, in their 5th volume. In this story, a new neighbor causes friction between 5-year-old Bobby Farrand’s parents, but he's too distracted by all the new technological marvels around him in 1955 to understand what's happening.

For an excerpt from The Cross County, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/the cross county.html

Lincoln Towers to be Published.

The Chariton Review will be publishing my short story, Lincoln Towers, in an upcoming issue of the journal. Look for it soon. Lincoln Towers is about a resident of the city-within-a-city housing complex on the Upper West Side of Manhattan whose life is beginning to feel surreal.

For an excerpt from Lincoln Towers, click here: http://williamfowkes.com/html/lincoln towers.html

OLDER NEWS

Staged Reading of THE NEXT MOVE at Ensemble Studio Theatre.

The Next Move, a one-act play by William Fowkes, was presented at the Ensemble Studio Theatre's Octoberfest 2006 as a staged reading Wednesday 10/18 and Thursday 10/19. This 40-minute play was directed by Wendy Peace (director of my one-acts, The Dakota and The Session) and starred Nancy Franklin and Ed Setrakian. In The Next Move, an elderly couple bickers while waiting for company to arrive, uncovering some disturbing things in the process.

Click here for more information.

Short Story Recently Published.

My short story, A Proper Bed, has been published in the Nassau Review '06 (volume 9, number 2). An earlier version was presented at The Edinburgh International Internet Festival 2002. Copies of the Nassau Review may be obtained from English Dept., Nassau Community College, One Education Drive, Garden City, NY 11230-6793.

Description: Despite his happy suburban family life, Chip Miller struggles with the realiztaion that his need for something more -- for something very specific -- may separate him from his neighbors.

For an excerpt from A Proper Bed, click here.

COUPLE OF THE CENTURY Named Open Book Semifinalist.

My full-length play, Couple of the Century, was named a semi-finalist in the Open Book's 8th National Readers Playwrighting Competition. The Open Book (established 1975) is New York's oldest professional reader's theater company. Couple of the Century is an expanded version of my one-act play, The Session (finalist at the Strawberry One-Act Festival Winter 2005). In the expended version, the scenes progress backwards to show us the events leading up to the therapy session that opens the play.

For an excerpt from Couple of the Century, click here.

Writers Group Celebrates 15th Anniversary.

The River Writers Group of Manhattan celebrated its 15th anniversary with a public reading at the Mercantile Library of New York on May 10, 2006. The River Writers Group is one of New York's oldest continuous writing groups. The Mercantile Library of New York is a unique cultural institution, founded in 1820 before the advent of public libraries. I read a shortened version of my story, Wallpaper. The other readers (all members of River Writers) included Deborah Atherton, Claudia Carlson, Hilary Beckett, and Andrew Kaplan. In addition, Allan Jaffee, an honorary member of the group, performed original guitar rags.

For information about the Mercantile Library: http://www.mercantilelibrary.org/index.html

To see photos of the event, click here.

Also Recently Published!

My short story, Twin Towers -- dedicated to the memory of Betty Farmer, who disappeared on September 11, 2001 -- appears in the 15th anniversary issue of The Dirty Goat, published February 2006. Copies are available for $10.

The Dirty Goat is "a celebration of the best in cutting edge international poetry, prose, drama and visual art" and is published by Host Publications of Austin, TX.

Visit their web site for more information: http://www.thedirtygoat.com

For an excerpt from Twin Towers, click here.

Also Recently Published.

Two other short stories are now available in print:

My short story, Wallpaper, was published in the Fall 2005 issue of Eureka Literary Magazine.

Summary: Peter Payne—Sports Illustrated insert card writer by day, aspiring fiction writer by night—puts his rejection letters to good practical use.

For an excerpt from Wallpaper, click here.

My short story, Park Avenue, was published in the Fall 2005 issue of Queer Ramblings Magazine.

Summary: Chip Miller struggles with his attraction to men during his long runs in Central Park while his wife Sally is back in the apartment balancing the couple’s checkbook.

For an excerpt from Park Avenue, click here.

Now Posted.

Information about my plays has been posted to Doollee, a British on-line database whose goal is to collect information on all plays written or performed in English since 1956 (the year of Look Back In Anger).

Visit: http://doollee.com/PlaywrightsF/FowkesWilliam.htm

To return to Home Page click here.

William Fowkes, Playwright & Author