An Introduction and Promotion

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Kevin Johnson. I will be presenting a play reading of William Inge's Summer Brave under my imprint, Conundrum Stages in association with the Arts at St. John's in Miami Beach.

Normally, I would just copy and paste a press release here. I thought that would be a bit formal, so I appreciate CLJ inviting me to contribute to the Scene, and letting me spread the word.






For those of you who are familiar with Picnic, Summer Brave is a rewritten version of the play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1953. The focus is on small town people whose world gets turned upside down when a handsome rogue invades their ambience therefore creating a series of events that makes the residents realize that their small town is not as small as they would like it to be.

Inge said it best when he wrote a preface in Summer Brave, when it was produced on Broadway in 1975:

"It wouldn't be fair to say that Summer Brave is the original version of Picnic. I have written before that I never completely fulfilled my original intentions in writing Picnic before we went into production in 1953, and that I wrote what some considered a fortuitous ending in order to have a finished play to go into rehearsal. A couple of years after Picnic had closed on Broadway, after the film version had made its success, I got the early version out of my files and began to rework it, just for my own satisfaction. Summer Brave is the result. I admit that I prefer it to the version of the play that was produced, but I don't necessarily expect others to agree. Summer Brave might not have enjoyed any success on Broadway whatever, nor won any of the prizes that were bestowed upon Picnic. But I feel that it is more humorously true than Picnic, and it does fulfill my original intentions."

For more on the preparation process, I have also attached a link to my own blog: The Wonderful World of Conundrum Stages. Should be in the link up above. I'm sure if I did something wrong, CLJ will show me some tools.

The reading will be at the St. John's on the Lake United Methodist Church on Monday, July 21st at 7:30pm. Free admission. More info can be found on their website, http://www.artsatstjohns.com/.

Also take a look at my own blog which will let you know about upcoming events and inside information.