"My Child"
by Neville Johnson
These books and words will outlive me I hope that you find what you need And I hope the words will inspire you I hope the words will create a flame A desire to follow a path untouched
Neville Johnson is a UK veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. Follow him here. Listen to the Savage Wonder podcast episode with him here.
Sweeping Leaves in the Wind, Good Soldiers Don’t Cry, and Alone in a Crowded Room by the Veterans Collective, featuring selections from Neville Johnson.
In Love…&War: The Anthology of Poet Warriors by Dead Reckoning Collective, featuring selections from Neville Johnson.
We’re sold out for the next two weeks. That’s right, we have no tickets left for our remaining performances of Meteor Shower. So let’s get a jump on our staged reading of Ira Levin’s legendary Broadway comedy/thriller Deathtrap.
If you want the best date night possible…if you want drinks, dessert, a hilarious live performance, professional actors, an intimate unforgettable space, and pay-what-you-can tickets…if you have a Saturday night available…it simply does not get better than this. So come on out and join us at our Parlor on Quaker Avenue for our staged reading of Ira Levin’s legendary Broadway comedy/thriller Deathtrap.
Don’t know Deathtrap? It was the winner of the 1978 Edgar Award for Best Play and record holder for the longest-running comedy thriller on Broadway. It’s about Sidney Bruhl - a successful Broadway playwright with writer’s block and a recent spate of box office failures. Desperate to break his dry-spell, Sidney finds hope in Clifford Anderson, a student in his seminar class who has submitted a thriller script, cleverly titled Deathtrap as well. Can Sidney convince Clifford to collaborate and give him co-credit? Or is there a way to cut Clifford out altogether and get sole credit?
We expect Deathtrap to be sold out - so get your tickets now! As always, you’re welcome to show up and hope for a cancellation. But if you really want to see the show, why not book now and save yourself the uncertainty?
This week on the Savage Wonder podcast…
It is a real thrill to interview our first finalist from our inaugural playwriting competitions - Arthur Boatin. Arthur's play NOW DEPARTED placed third in our inaugural 10-minute playwriting competition.
A character-driven piece, NOW DEPARTED is the story of a chance meeting by small-town natives Rhonda and Clayton. They learn who have in common and compare notes on parenting, drinking, and losing a partner.
Our judges described the play as a "subtle and effective slice of life mini-drama. Realistic dialogue and a well-constructed story — not easy within such a short form!"
Arthur Boatin is a Michigan native who since 1985 has lived in Maine, where much of his writing is set. His employment history includes proofreading, newspaper reporting, foreign student advising, and teaching high school and college English. He worked as a guide in the American pavilion at the Brussels Worlds Fair. In 1959-60 he was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
Arthur’s one-act plays have been produced (2015) and stage read (2017, 2021) in Portland, Maine. His first full-length play, THE DAUGHTER OF THE RULER OF THE SEAS AND TIDES, received a Zoom reading by Maine Playwrights Festival in March 2021. His work is included in the Smith and Kraus publications THE BEST MEN’S STAGE MONOLOGUES 2020 and THE BEST WOMEN’S STAGE MONOLOGUES 2020.
Arthur has published short fiction in literary magazines, including Worcester Review, Whetstone, Anastamos, and Western Humanities Review. His essays and journalism have appeared in the Boston Phoenix, Technology Illustrated, and the Downeast Coastal Press.
Please join us in congratulating Arthur on this outstanding accomplishment!
Learn about Arthur's wife Elaine Ford here.