Friends, I am so thrilled to let you know that next week I am acting in the world premiere play, John and Shawn’s Summer Vacation, by emerging playwright Lamonte at the Pillsbury House Theatre here in Minneapolis.
You mean you haven’t heard of this play? Or of Lamonte? Well, you will. It may be twenty years from now, but you will! That’s because Lamonte is a playwright with the Chicago Avenue Project – a really wonderful event that teams young children with playwright-mentors to write a play all of their own. The kicker then, is that professional directors and actors are brought on board to bring these visions to life. Leave it to the uninhibited imagination of children to come up with the zaniest stories you’ll ever see. Included in next week’s line-up, for instance are such titles as The Haunted Principal’s Office and Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream. Sounds pretty great, eh? I sure have had a blast bringing my own play to life.
That play, John and Shawn’s Summer Vacation, concerns two twin brothers who desperately want to go to Disney World but when their mom informs them that they will need to raise the money themselves, they quickly form a plan to mow lawns in the neighborhood. Of course things turn out for the duo but Lamonte has such a keen eye for his age and sense of what he wants (I hope he googles his name one day and reads this), that he is able to develop arcs for both characters in just six pages. For my part, I am trying to have some serious fun singing and dancing to the Mickey Mouse theme song and mowing some tenacious turf to “Eye of the Tiger”.
My show, however, is just one in an evening of ten plays that I would urge everyone to come see! The work put into these scripts is astounding and the kids really do tremendous work and are beyond excited. I mean, they are literally bouncing off the walls every time I see them. Calm down. (But not really.)
Here’s my info below but a link to the whole evening here at Pillsbury House Theatre.
Lamonte’s Play: John and Shawn’s Summer Vacation
Playwright Mentor: James Tyler
Directed by Addie Gorlin
Starring Vincent Hannam and Michael Hanna
NOVEMBER 2 and 3, 2015
MONDAY at 7:00 PM and TUESDAY at 4:00 and 7:00 pm
at Pillsbury House Theatre, 3501 Chicago Avenue S., Minneapolis
Admission is FREE — just show up!
VINCENT HANNAM 