Photos from my debut play: Don't Cry for the Wolves

My debut play, Don't Cry for the Wolves, which I both wrote and directed, premiered as an early workshop performance at HART Theatre in Hillsboro, OR, this past Saturday. The play was produced as part of Portland's Fertile Ground Festival of New Works. The photo above shows Sage Wilhelm and Thea Hammond performing as Wolves and Aj Graham as Grandmother. 

Here's the full cast list:

               Ruby  Abby Kelly 

Grandmother  Aj Graham 

    Newscaster  Daniel Stapp 

            Wolves  Sage Wilhelm 

                           Thea Hammond 

My entire cast gave moving, unforgettable performances. The audience reacted with laughter, gasps, tears, and stunned silence. I can't even begin to describe how magical and emotional it felt to watch this cast perform my deeply personal script. I ended up sobbing by the end.

I put this play together on a shoestring budget, and the actors only got to perform their roles on one night, but everyone enthusiastically agreed to be a part of this festival performance and generously gave of their time and their talents. They also kindly helped out with costumes and props. 

Special shout-out to my sister, Carrie, for creating the wolf paws shown in the photo above. She also designed and sewed a wonderful moon prop. 

I'm actually really sad that this performance is now over. I hope to find more opportunities for the piece in the future. In the meantime, I'm starting work on my next play. 

Yes, there will be more plays!

Here are more photos from Saturday 's performance. 

My pre-show talk.

Abby Kelly, Sage Wilhelm, Thea Hammond,
and Aj Graham.

Aj Graham and Daniel Stapp.

Sage Wilhelm, Thea Hammond, Abby Kelly,
Aj Graham, and Daniel Stapp.

Aj Graham, Daniel Stapp, Abby Kelly, and me
at the cast party in downtown Hillsboro.