Bradley Nies, Playwright

  I just had a play of mine produced about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer!  It's a docudrama entitled, "Alcohol and Muscle" and, while researching the work, I came across a series of stage plays based on Dahmer.  As such, here's a grotesque grouping of dramatic works with bite! * Apartment 213 by Joseph Ritsch:  This play proves to be a successful attempt to make the Jeffrey Dahmer story feel relevant to today's audiences.  Here, Dahmer is shown as a man cast aside when a paralyzing fear of his own sexuality leaves him unable to connect with others. * The Confessions of Jeffrey Dahmer by Josh Hitchens:  Based on true events, this solo performance puts the audience in a dark basement room alone with one of the most notorious serial killers of the twentieth century. * feeling by Paul Cameron Hardy:  This play doesn't present Dahmer as a monster.  Rather, it shows him as a traveling companion of sorts to a 29-year-old graduate student struggling to ...

I just finished reading a play called The Apple.  It was written by Avant Garde playwright Jack Gelber, and it was produced off-Broadway by New York's The Living Theatre, the "in' place for surreal plays in the 1950's and 60's.  I was interested in the work, so I checked it out. While researching this playwright, I found that he has a previous play that was VERY well received off-Broadway called The Connection.  In fact, this work won the 1959–60 Village Voice Obie Award for Best New Play, Best All-Around Production, and Best Actor.  In addition, it won the 1959–60 Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Off-Broadway Theatre, and the 1960 Grand Prix for Best Play at the Theatre des Nacions, Paris.  A feature film was produced in 1961 directed by Shirley Clarke, an American experimental filmmaker. Have any of you other theatre geeks out there ever heard of this play?  Have you seen the movie?  Please comment and tell me if you have, and don...

Sorry it's been a while since I've written on my blog!  The "new normal" is taking a little time for me to get used to.  But something good has come out of all this.  After doing a little surfing on the web, I've discovered some horror podcasts for writers of the macabre! Fear on Demand -A showcase for writers established and new, FOD offers the promotional value of having an original work produced.  In addition, they make every effort to promote their writers' works whenever possible. https://fearondemand.com/submissions/ The NoSleep Podcast -Brace yourself!  This podcast is a multi-award winning anthology series of original horror stories.  They're always on the lookout for new horror stories to perform.  So, why not send them a terrifying tale or two? https://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/submissions PseudoPod -For years, this podcast has been bringing the best short horror in audio form.  They pay their authors professional rates for original fict...

I recently finished a two-act farce, and I've just completed it's second revision.  It still needs a lot of work, so please tell me your thoughts.  Below is a synopsis of my latest "masterpiece": It is 1968 in Houston, Texas, and mediocre horror novelist, Jonas Ogelsby, is thrilled when his girlfriend gives him a typewriter previously owned by famed British occultist Aleister Crowley.  But when this magical piece of office machinery begins predicting the future, Jonas feels compelled to do whatever the typewriter tells him to do . . . even murder! Please let me know if anyone wants a read!

If you read my blog, you know I like to write about the macabre.  While talking to a fellow playwright last week, I said it's important not to be ashamed to embrace this particular genre.  After doing a little research, I found other artists who, unashamedly, disturbed their audiences: "The Playboy of the Western World" -When John Synge's play opened at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland in 1907, audience members stormed the stage screaming, "Kill the author!" "Dracula" -This version of Bram Stoker's novel opened in London's Mason Opera House in 1927, and it employed a nurse to be on hand with smelling salts for any patrons who felt faint. "Saved" -At the end of Edward Bond's play, which premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1965, audience members stood and yelled "Revolting" and "Dreadful" before marching out of the theatre. "The Romans in Britain" -Howard Brenton's c...

Those who read my blog know my obsession with those shows on Broadway that don't last long.  With that in mind, here are five fairly recent shows that had short runs on the Great White Way: Lestat-04/26/2006-05/28/2006 (39 Performances) Written by Elton John, Bernie Taupin, and Linda Woolverton, this musical was inspired by The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.  Reviews of the show were mostly negative, with one critic saying, " Lestat's contribution to art and equality is demonstrating that a gay vampire with a two-octave range can be just as dull as a straight one." Enron-04/27/2010-05/09/2010 (16 Performances) This straight play about the financial scandal and bankruptcy of a Houston-based American energy corporation last on Broadway for just over a month.  Hostile reviews, as well as the show's failure to earn any Tony nominations, were attributed to the play's closure. Wonderland-04/17/2011-05/15/2011 (33 Performances) After various wo...

I was surfing the invisible web this evening, and I found a few stage/screenplay awards that cater to us lovers of horror, mystery and suspense! Check out what I found! The Atlanta Horror Film Festival (Best Screenplay) is presented annually at the Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.  Most Recent Winner:  "Killer Date" by Brandon Shypkowski and Joey Beni (2019) The Bloody Axe Award is presented annually to the winner of WildClaw Theatre's DEATHSCRIBE: The International Festival of Horror Radio Plays.  Most Recent Winner: "Whisper Trigger" by Dan Finnen and Sarah Gise (2018) The Bram Stoker Award (Best Screenplay) is presented by the Horror Writers Association for superior achievement in horror writing for best screenplay.  Most Recent Winner:  "Get Out" by Jordan Peele (2017) The Charles Ogle Award (Horror) is presented annually for the best in fantasy and horror audio theatre.  Most Recent Winner:  "The Floodga...