| Pensacola by
David-Matthew Barnes ISBN
#1-60513-055-9
JAC# 2009-0025
The Cast
- TRUDY BAKER: Mid 40s. A single mother, cocktail
waitress and true survivor. She appears to be a simple woman, and is
unaware of her natural beauty; her sex appeal.
CHARLOTTE NORWOOD: 26. Trudy’s eldest daughter, who visits regularly. A
young mother and a wife, she has honey-colored hair which she wears in a
ponytail. Charlotte harbors feelings of self-blame. Lacks self-esteem.
- MARIE BAKER: 18. Trudy’s youngest daughter. Still
lives with her mother. A young woman in search of her destiny. A
dreamer. A romantic. Irresistible. She radiates with youthful energy,
eternal optimism. She is the epitome of an all-American girl, the
personification of a ray of sunshine.
- BERNIECE COLE: Early 40s. She is colorful and loud,
flamboyant and starved for attention. Has an affinity for younger men.
She wears a huge wig. She has a thick Southern accent. A gossip, but a
real friend.
- STEVEN NORWOOD: 27. A young husband and a young
father. He is a dark-haired man with a baby face, a sense of permanent
lust in his eyes; a young Elvis Presley. Feels like a failure. Sexy.
Intense.
- MIGUEL CASTILLO: 22. He is very extremely handsome,
romantic, sensual, poetic and Cuban.
Synopsis
This touching and humorous play explores the
lives of four Southern women. Trudy has been a single mother since her
husband went to work one day and never came home. Since then, she has tried
to find a cure for her loneliness while working as a cocktail waitress at
The Tide Pool. Charlotte is married and has two daughters of her own.
Recently, Charlotte suspects that her husband has been unfaithful and that
their marriage is falling apart. Marie, a recent high school graduate, has
had a difficult time deciding on the right career for herself and ponders
over going to secretary school, competing for the title of Miss Florida or
becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Cuba. Always armed with the best gossip in
town, Trudy’s best friend Berniece decides to end her affair with a younger
man when a life-altering tragedy hits home. Pensacola is a powerful and
heart-warming celebration of family, love and strength.
Playwright Biography
David-Matthew Barnes is the author of the forthcoming young adult novel
Mesmerized (2010; Bold Strokes Books) that explores the emotional
aftershocks of a hate crime. He wrote and directed the feature film Frozen
Stars, which received worldwide distribution. To date, he has written over
forty stage plays that have been performed in three languages in eight
countries.
David-Matthew's literary work has been featured in over one hundred
publications including 60 Seconds To Shine, A&U: America’s AIDS Magazine,
Audition Arsenal, The Best Stage Scenes, The Best Men's Stage Monologues,
The Best Women's Stage Monologues, The California Quarterly, The Comstock
Review, Men of Mystery: Homoerotic Tales of Intrigue and Suspense (Lambda
Literary Award nominee), Rite of Passage: Tales of Backpacking ‘Round
Europe, Small Town Gay: Essays on Family Life Beyond the Big City (Lambda
Literary Award nominee), The SoMa Literary Review, Velvet Mafia, Young
Women’s Monologues From Contemporary Plays and more.
In 2008, David-Matthew won the World AIDS Day Writing Contest, earning
double awards for poetry and playwriting, and the 2008 Slam Boston Award for
Best Play. He received national awards in the 2008 Split This Rock Poetry
Contest and the 2007 New Works for Young Women playwriting competition. In
2007, he also received the Carrie McCray Literary Award in recognition of
his two-woman play Bracelets and Boyfriends. He has received two Elly Awards
for Best Original Script from the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance
and additional awards from Writer’s Digest and the Florida Freelance Writers
Association.
David-Matthew has directed theatrical productions of Eric Lane's Dancing On
Checkers' Grave, John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Cherie
Vogelstein's Date with a Stranger, Michel Tremblay's Les Belles' Soeurs,
Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias, Patricia Joudry's Teach Me How To Cry and
more.
As an actor, he has performed in over 25 theatrical productions including
roles in Once a Catholic at the Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley, The
Furthest Room at the Stella Adler Theatre in Los Angeles, Big Love at Penn
State Altoona and at The Merriam Theatre in Philadelphia, in the west coast
premiere of Sam Schwartz’s Vito on the Beach and most recently as Mark in
Michael Cristofer's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play The Shadow
Box.
David-Matthew graduated magna cum laude from Oglethorpe University with a
degree in communications and English. He received a Master of Fine Arts in
creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. In
2007, David-Matthew was nationally selected to study his craft in private
workshop with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (‘night,
Mother, The Color Purple, The Secret Garden) at the Southampton Writers
Conference in New York.
David-Matthew was the 2008 Emerging Writer in Residence at Pennsylvania
State University where he taught in the English program for one year. Today,
he lives in Sacramento where he is the Visiting Artist for the 2009-2010
season at the Lambda Players theatre company and teaches college English
classes. His current obsessions include reading Jennifer Weiner novels,
drinking iced Chai tea lattes and watching classic films.
BUZZ
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Online purchases are for single script purchases only
and include $3 S&H. For more than one script or a script package, please call us
at (781) 272-2066
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copy
$55/package (8 copies)
$35/performance royalty |
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"Pensacola depicts the lives of an eclectic
collection of Southerners in the tradition of Tennessee
Williams...humorous and witty dialogue...the authentic portrayal of
human nature...the poignant depiction of people reacting to crushed
dreams..."
The California Aggie
"Pensacola, both touching and humorous, explores the lives of four
eclectic Southern women as they discover their personal strengths and
destinies...think Steel Magnolias by way of Tennessee Williams, with a
detour through the mind of Elmore Leonard..."
Charlotte Theatre Magazine
"At turns comedic and dramatic (but always impressive), the
Southern-flavored dialogue of Pensacola brought readily to mind the
works of Tennessee Williams...warm-hearted and heart-warming..."
The Night Cap
"Recent events add poignancy to its message about the randomness of
violence and the fragility of love..."
The Sacramento Bee
"The reaction of some of the women to an immigrant as a love interest
gives Pensacola a social slant that the all-white small-town characters
of Steel Magnolias lacked...Barnes has engineered some amusing
dialogue..."
The Sacramento News & Review
"If you enjoy community theater as much as I do then you must see
Pensacola...very artistic...I was swept away and enthralled in their
lives... Truly an amazing play..."
www.seeaplay.com
Have you considered Barnes' one-act
CLEAN?
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