"1101. K-12 (+) Seltzer, Richard, The Lizard of Oz. CAST:
6f, 14m, u. ACTS: 1. SETTINGS: Bare stage. PLAYING
TIME: 50 min. PLOT: Two fish, in a fishbowl in a
basement classroom, remark on the boredom of the students. One of
the fish, Mr. Shermin, explains to the other, Mrs. O'Rourke, that
the boredom is caused by the Humbug's tune, which can only be
changed by the Lizard of Oz. One of the children Eugene, overhears
the conversation and conspires with the fish to travel to Oz in a
little green VW with several classmates. On the way, the car falls
into a pothole, and encounters a witch who gives them directions.
They meet the potheads, people with pots for heads, who help them
with more water for the fishbowl. The witch reappears at various
times, and the group meets Sir Real, who has a cereal bowl for a
head; eggheads, including Humpty Dumpty; a wallflower; an
empty-headed pothead with blue eyes (Mr New Man); Mr. Francis
Bacon, the librarian; Mr. Charon, the ferryboatman/undertaker;
Lewis Carroll; William Shakespeare; Mark Twain; and Plato and the
Muses. Mrs. O'Rourke swims off and Mr. Shermin becomes a human
teacher. The gang reaches Oz and a bevy of further odd characters
and returns to the classroom, refreshed, and with a new teacher,
Mr. Shermin. RECOMMENDATION: The adventures and the
characters are out of Alice in Wonderland, but the
overall effect is comic and interesting."
The Lizard of Oz, a radioscript.
Three
half-hour episodes, based on the novel. Originally written
for WBUR in Boston, but never produced. These are pdf
files, with separate columns and hand-drawn markings to show
sound effects. episode
1, episode
2, episode
3 (The contact information in the pdfs is
old. Please contact Richard at seltzer@seltzerbooks.com
An old man and his nephew cope with death, one by living with gusto and laughing in the face of death, the other by devotion to duty and self-sacrifice, and both find salvation in an old dog.
Without A Myth (Amythos): A Three-Act Stage PlayThe action focuses on the strategic importance of the ferry crossing that would one day become Columbia, situated between George Washington's army at Valley Forge and the Continental Congress in York. The fates of the town-to-be and the nation-to-be are interwoven, with local historical figures playing significant roles. General Thomas Conway, plotting to overthrow George Washington, tries to seize the ferry between George Washington's army at Valley Forge and the Continental Congress in York. But he underestimates the determination and resourcefulness of Susannah Wright, owner of the ferry, and her nephew Sam, future founder of Columbia.
The setting is basic training at Fort Polk,
Louisiana, in the summer of 1970. The trainees are all
reservists, with the exception of four black draftees. The
draftees have deliberately failed basic training to avoid Viet
Nam. For the reservists, basic training is a brief but painful
interruption in their lives. If nothing major goes wrong, they
will return home. But the disappearance of one of the draftees
threatens everyone in the platoon. This screen play is based on the novella The Barracks, which
is included in Saint Smith and Other Stories.
An ordinary ride down a crowded super highway
becomes surreal when the drivers realize that they have no
control over their vehicles.