Plays
I, Chris Braak!, am also a playwright. I have produced three new plays in the last four years, here in Philadelphia. I’m working on another that is scheduled for February of 2011, and I have a fifth that has yet to be produced.
For your delectation! I have provided the scripts of my many plays here to be read. You may enjoy reading them for free — if you want to perform them, you may contact me at cebraak (at) gmail (dot) com, and we can discuss royalties (a subject on which you will find me eminently and improbably reasonable).
Empress of the Moon is a metaheatrical interpretation of the life of Aphra Behn, the first woman to make her living as a professional playwright. It is strange, filled with swordfights and disguises. It was also the first production, in August of 2010, of Iron Age Theatre’s experimental SOE division. I’ve talked at great length about Empress at the SOE blog. In addition to being insanely awesome, Empress of the Moon was also the first world premiere to be simultaneously broadcast on the internet on opening night.
Here’s a review of Empress of the Moon; video of the project will be available soon.
An epic reimagining of the American folk-hero, The Life of John Henry examines the life, times, and the cosmic dissatisfaction of a man freed from slavery only to find himself bound again on a prison work crew, building the Chesapeake and Ohio railway.
First performed in November of 2009 by Iron Age Theater in Norristown, Pennsylvania — here’s a review of it. Video of this production, and of the assorted talkbacks held by Iron Age, can be found on their youtube channel.
Produced by Vanity House Theater in 2007, Phallotrex! is a black comedy about advertising and super-memes. It also involves ejaculation and the end of the world. It’s pretty crazy! Unfortunately, no reviewers were able to make it out to see this, my first show, in time to review it. So, you’ll just have to read it.
A collection of short plays, featuring the award-winning “Glossolalia” and “The Locked Eye.” These plays have all been produced, on one occasion or another, and are collectively about the human mind and its repeated failures to comprehend the horror that surrounds us.
This is just a short play that recently went up in Secret Room Theater’s “Dirty Laundry” event at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. It’s a pretty silly satire about David Mamet going back in time and getting into a fight with himself, written in the style of David Mamet.
