Gary Corbin is an award-winning playwright with over a dozen productions of his full-length, one-act, dinner theatre, and ten-minute plays in the Portland area. Productions include “Happy Anniversary” at Serendipity Players, “PS, I Love Your Daughter” at North End Players and CoHo Theater in Portland, “Mama vs. The Mob” at Magenta Theater and “Murder at the Barracks” at Ft. Vancouver, WA, as well as Fertile Ground productions of “Voodoo Snowball,” “Family Hardware,” “KleptoFamilia,” and “The Exes,” among others.
In addition to his own scripts, Gary offers occasional playwriting workshops with PDX Playwrights, and writes, ghost-writes, and edits scripts. He specializes in tight, realistic dialogue involving sharply drawn, interesting characters in complex relationships.
“Streaming Jesus” at Fertile Ground
Gary’s ten-minute comedy, “Streaming Jesus,” was performed as part of the “Daisy Dukes Shorts Night” presented by PDX Playwrights at the 2019 Fertile Ground Festival of New Works at Hipbone Studio in Portland, January 25 and February 2, 2019.
Voodoo Snowball
Sometimes, the only way to heal a dysfunctional family is through voodoo.
Philip, a man of ritual, somehow reached his forties without ever committing to anything – at least, nothing that matters to his parents or his almost-fiancée Elise. But then his sister Danielle informs him that Gus, his estranged father, is dying of lung cancer and clings to life only through his wife’s prayers and his own superstition, embodied in Danielle’s gift to him of a Voodoo Snowball. Elise views Philip’s willingness to reconcile with Gus as symbolic of his ability to commit to family and, thus, to their future together. But when Philip’s half-hearted attempts fail to break through the protective shield his mother maintains around morphine-addled Gus, Elise is ready to give up on him. As Gus’s health deteriorates, Philip’s last hope is a showdown that no one – including Philip – thinks he has in him.
Voodoo Snowball will be performed as a staged reading at the 2018 Fertile Ground Festival of New Works, co-produced and presented by PDX Playwrights and Northwest Theatre Workshop. Show times are:
- Thursday, January 25 at 7 PM at Literary Arts (with post-reading panel discussion, 925 SW Washington St, Portland
- Friday, January 26, 7 PM at Hipbone Studio, 1847 E. Burnside St, Portland
Other Performances of Gary’s Plays
The 2016 Fertile Ground Festival of New Works featured three of Gary’s new works, with a total of seven performances across five evenings:
- Two new short plays, “Prefacing” and “Building Blocks,” enjoyed fully staged performances as part of PDX Playwrights‘ “Daisy Dukes Shorts Night” on January 22 and 23, both at Hipbone Studio, directed by Dave Roberts.
- Full length comedy “Family Hardware” was performed as a staged reading on three evenings at Hipbone Studio, January 24, 26, and 31, 2016. Directed by Dorinda Toner and starring Jonathan Wexler, Laurie Campbell-Leslie, Mark Putnam, Maria Aust Randall, Jo Strom Lane, and Nick Serrone.
Until it’s performed, it’s not yet a play – it ‘s just a script.
Gary believes that a play will be most successful when the creative talents of the playwright are joined with those of the director, actors, producer and tech crew. Each needs the creative freedom to contribute depth to the characters, environment and relationships envisioned in the play. Gary is happiest when he can hand the script off to a dynamic team capable of staging a production without interference substantial oversight from the playwright.
- Would you like to perform or produce one of Gary’s scripts?
- Do you need a script developed?
- Do you need assistance with your script?
Flexible terms are available for your or your theater. Contact me directly to discuss your needs or to obtain an estimate.
[All plays] [Short plays] [One-act plays] [Full-length plays] [Dinner Theatre] [Video]
Plays in Gary’s library include:
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