So, when Andrew Gall (artistic director at the Parkway Playhouse) said, Write me a play for three male leads, I said Sure! And then he told me it should include Elvis, moonshining, NASCAR and Lynryd Skynyrd. I hope he was kidding, but regardless, we finally got it pared down to guys watching football. That is a play I can write, I said. Though what I really meant by that was, it was a play I could write with help from a friend of mine who takes football more seriously than your average face-painting yelling-at-the-TV fanatic. Enter Stephanie Stark Poling.
We got to be friends back when she and her husband first moved here because we're all Steelers fans. Which immediately says things like solid folks and excellent taste and highly intelligent. Naturally, being all of those things, it turns out we hit it off very well. Steph and I even found we had a love of writing in common (she is pop-culture and funny and I am desperately earnest).
I am a stay@home mom, yes, but I am also a writer. My first play An Uncivil Union: The Battle of Burnsville was produced at the Parkway Playhouse this past June and my first book of poetry Belonging was published in January. (It might be worth noting that my last play was a romantic comedy -- despite the fact it was set in the Appalachians during the Civil War. The new play should already be screaming comedy at you.) My poetry or essays have appeared in various publications such as WNC Magazine, WNC Woman, Main Street Rag, Now & Then, and Solander. I also host a monthly women's open-mic, help plan a literary festival, and am a sub with a SUITcase. Plus, some other stuff...
Anyway, it's been a lot of fun planning this play. So much fun, in fact, that we though it wouldn't be fair to keep it all to ourselves. Enjoy our off-the-field pre-season antics.
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| Steph on the left as the Mayor of Whoville's Wife, Britt in the center as an adoring fan and mutual friend Mary Katherine Smith-Gall as Gertrude. |
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