Drama * 90 minutes * 3 Men/1 Woman
“Heads” by EM Lewis, world premiere production directed by Darin Anthony at the Blank Theater
A British Embassy worker, an American engineer, a network journalist and a freelance photographer are held captive in Iraq; as death draws close, each hostage must decide what he’ll do to survive.
“…provocative and wonderfully threatening.” — Edward Albee
“Best of 2007″ — LA Times
“Heads” at Missouri Valley College in 2012. Harold and Caroline.
“Heads” by EM Lewis at Halcyon Theater’s Alcyone Festival in Chicago.
Publications:
Publication: A scene from Heads is published in the Smith & Kraus anthology “The Best Men’s Stage Monologues and Scenes 2009″
Productions:
- 2015 — Theater for a New City — New York City, NY
- 2013 — Pittsburgh Rep — Pittsburgh, PA
- 2011 — Missouri Valley College — Marshall, MO
- 2009 — And Toto Too Theater Company — Denver, CO
- 2009 — The Alcyone Festival at Halcyon Theater — Chicago, IL
- 2007 — World premiere at The Blank Theater — Hollywood, CA
Readings, Awards and Development:
- Reading — 2009 Emerging Artists Theater — New York, NY
- Winner – 2008 Francesca Primus Prize for an Emerging Female Theater Artist: EM Lewis, for HEADS
- Reading – 2007 Chicago Her-Rah! Theater Festival – Chicago, IL
- Reading – 2007 Great Plains Theater Conference, Long Play Lab – Omaha, NE
- Reading – 2007 Kingfisher Cafe Reading Series at the Academy Theater – Avondale Estates, GA
- Semi-finalist – Beverly Hills Theatre Guild’s Julie Harris Playwright Award Competition – Beverly Hills, CA
- Semi-finalist – 2007 O’Neill Playwrights Conference – Waterford, CT
- Winner/Residency – Coe College’s 2007 “New Works for the Stage” Competition – Cedar Rapids, IA
- Reading – NYU’s 2007 hotINK International Festival of New Plays (sponsored by Atlantic Theater) – New York, NY
- Staged Reading – The Blank Theatre’s 2007 “Living Room Series” — Hollywood, CA
- Reading – Boomerang Theater’s 2006 “First Flight” reading series – New York, NY
- Reading – 2006 ALAP New Works Lab at Pacific Resident Theatre – Venice, CA
“Heads” at Pittsburgh Rep in 2014. Michael and Jack.
Reviews from the world premiere production
at the Blank Theater in Hollywood, CA:
–Charles McNulty for LA Times * THE BEST OF 2007 – Top 10 List – “EM Lewis’ beautifully acted hostage drama, set in war-torn Iraq, left out the political preaching, but slowly opened up into a metaphor suggesting both the necessity and futility of hope.”
CRITICS CHOICE! –David Ng for LA Times
“EM Lewis’ new drama at the Blank Theatre Company, tells a story so topical that it feels as if the play was co-written by CNN…”
GO! –Deborah Klugman for LA Weekly
“…the question of who we are beneath our posturing lands with such force, it jangles the nerves long after the play has ended.”
CRITICS PICK! — Gerri Garner for American Radio Network
“Lewis’ story is a sobering dose of reality, that is almost unbearable, it seems so real… tremendous chemistry between Gabriel and Nash, and Eckhouse and Broderick.”
Don Shirley for LA CityBeat
“EM Lewis’s harrowing horror story… isn’t about Iraq – it’s about a descent into total vulnerability.”
Les Spindle for IN Magazine
“EM Lewis’ hard-hitting new play sears with a disturbing sense of gritty realism…”
CJ Johnson for the Los Angeles Journal
“…a charging, intensely intimate 90 minutes… intelligent and often acerbic dialogue makes for a succulent feast of a script.”
“Heads” by EM Lewis, produced in Denver by And Toto Too Productions.
Reviews from the Denver production by And Toto Too Theater Company:
DENVER POST: “…a gripping fictional drama that raises important questions about our times.”
NORTH DENVER TRIBUNE: “Heads shows us four people, each put in an unbearable situation, each reacting differently but appropriately for who they are. The four actors convincingly deliver the raw emotions of fear, anger, desperation, despair, and denial – but also something more – a deeper look at our own humanity.”
DENVER EXAMINER: “…I am still haunted by the images that played out on the intimate Denver Victorian stage…. Heads is not easy to watch. The material is difficult, terrifying, and often heart wrenching – and this is the point. If you are looking for an evening of theatre that will get you thinking, that will leave an indelible impression long after the show has ended, and that will move you to tears – then this is for you…. In a season filled with bright musicals and silly comedies – Heads is a welcome, intelligent, and moving drama that is a must see.”
Multimedia:
Click here to watch a video trailer for the Denver production of Heads on YouTube.