Gift of an Orange

by Charlene A. Donaghy

directed by Jackie Davis

New Urban Theatre Laboratory

Boston, MA

Gift Of An Orange

A bold new play with music.

A hitch-hiker down on his luck falls off the beaten path in Tennessee Williams' short story, “Gift of an Apple” (written in1936).

Award-winning playwright Charlene A. Donaghy, inspired by images of a young man’s innocence and an older woman’s voluptuousness has written Gift of an Orange in response to Williams' story.

The sensual new play with music is set in the wilderness of the Louisiana bayou. The pulse of African drumbeats and the smell of hot gumbo welcome the Festival audience to a hidden outdoor Garden at Wa, an oasis in the heart of Provincetown.

This world premiere production (September, 2012) comes to us from Boston's New Urban Theatre Laboratory,  who use the experimental power of theater to investigate the stories and voices of those who exist on the margins of society.

The Gift of an Orange ensemble features threee accomplished, Boston-based actors. James Bocock plays Jake, the oil rig rough-necker who comes in like a flood to take what he wants, when he wants. Recent credits include Ariel in The Pillowman for Flat Earth Theatre.

Dayenne C. Byron Walters (left) plays Oshun. Recent feature roles include Winkie Linehart in the original play, Just Deserts, by R. D. Murphy, part of the Boston Actor's Theatre Summer Play Festival, Mrs. Bennet in the Theatre@First (Somerville Theatre) adaption of Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Muller in the TCAN Players' production of Doubt, and the Actor’s Shakespeare Project’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Richard Caines (left) appears as Taurean in Gift of an Orange. He has been acting since childhood and went to Emerson College where he studied theatre, writing and radio and received a B.F.A. in Theatre.

He stays busy between Boston and Los Angeles, acting and directing theater and film. His latest film and television credits include Ben Affleck's The Town, Private Detective Darren Blue in the pilot he wrote co-produced entitled Little Boy Blue, and Safe Haven -- a short film for which he received a nomination for best actor in a short by the Action On Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Gift of an Orange is produced by Cliff Odle and directed by Jackie Davis (pictured, left). Ms. Davis is an accomplished actress, director and choreographer, whose varied interests include television, film and stage. She is the artistic director of New Urban Theatre Laboratory (NUTLab) in Boston, MA.

She regularly wins accolades for her acting work, and her directing/choreography credits include theaters such as Speakeasy Stage, Berklee College of Music and SLAM Boston.

The work of playwright Charlene A. Donaghy has been produced in New York City and around the United States, with recognition in Canada and Great Britain. She is published numerous times, with inclusion in The Best American Short Plays, Estrogenius, and In the Eye. Awards include National Partners of American Theatre Playwriting Nominee, Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award Finalist, and a two-time Kennedy Center John Cauble Award Semi-finalist.

New Orleans is Ms. Donaghy's strongest muse, with her characters usually torn between some form of "home" and longing beyond convention. She writes low-country Louisiana with desire and passion wrapped in the ever intoxicating scent of bourbon and bayou, with a hint of decay.

"I believe that the way to write a good play is to convince yourself that it is easy to do - 
then go ahead and do it with ease. 
Don't maul, don't suffer, don't groan - till the first draft is finished. 
Then Calvary - but not till then. 
Doubt - and be lost - until the first draft is finished. 
A play is a Phoenix - it dies a thousand deaths."
- Tennessee Williams

Gift Of An Orange

by Charlene A Donaghy
directed by Jackie Davis
produced by Cliff Odle for New Urban Theatre Laboratory 

Cast

Dayenne C Byron Walters as Oshun
Richard Caines as Taurean
James Bocock as Jake
Liz Raposa, Musician
Joshua Ziemann, Musician 

Production Team

Stage Manager - Samantha MacArthur
Set Design and Properties Master -  Luke Sutherland
Production Assistant - Tychelle Jackson