Ken Anderson
Ken’s play “Mattie Cushman: A Psychodrama” was produced twice and aired on cable. It won First Place and Grand Prize in the Louisiana College Writers’ Contest (c.1965). Ken states that all his published short stories, poems, and books are “très gay.” His books include “Sea Change: An Example of the Pleasure Principle,” “Hasty Hearts” and “The intense Lover.” A screenplay version of his book, “The Statue of Pan,” is an Official Selection at the LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival.
- The Duplex: A Theatrical Fugue
Two dysfunctional families are bound by one inappropriate affair in 1963. In the Romano family, stage right, Ramon has been having a secret relationship with the girl next door to assure himself of his sexual orientation. Pete, his brother, is in love with him, even though Ramon claims that their former incestuous relationship was just “a boy thing.” Lucy, their mother, is less than a positive role model. In the Fadiman family, stage left, Frank, the father, has contracted gonorrhea from a meaningless sexual encounter. Pansy, his wife, is deluded about her standing as a socialite and artist. Ellen, their daughter, is an emotionally unstable teenager, in love with Ramon and romance.
Two acts: 2 hours – 1 set
3M: 16, 20, 41
3F: 15, 36, 39 - The Escort: A Simple Love Story
Tom, an older client, has hired Keith, a handsome, young escort, but tells him, “Some men are voyeurs. Well, I’m an ‘auditeur.’ I only want to hear.” So Keith recounts the story of how he fell under the spell of the sexy Kerry, in New Orleans, only to realize, in Atlanta, that the spell was actually a curse.
Two acts: 2 hours – 1 set
3M: two 30, one 60 - The Christmas Party
On Christmas Eve in the 1970s, Karen, a middle-aged artist, and Chris, a young gay student and poet, consider the state of their emotional lives. Karen is having a mid-life crisis, and wonders if she should live alone the rest of her life, considering the damage done to her two, estranged daughters, former husband, and in her current, innately incompatible, relationship with Clark. Chris fondly remembers his week-long affair with Karen’s friend, Tim, an army private. Then, a surprise, Tim shows up.
One act: half-hour – 1 set
4M: two 25, two 30s
2F: 30s
- Someone Bought the House on the Island: A Dream in Two Acts
A young man, Kevin Green, overcomes obstacles during his pursuit of a not-so-unusual romantic ideal. Though a serious drama, which explores Kevin’s moral and psychological growth, the play is also a great Halloween spectacle, with atmospheric lighting. The play is about a gay romance with a vampire motif. An adaptation of Ken Anderson’s novel of the same name. An operatic version premiered in Atlanta.
Won the 2008 Saints & Sinners Playwriting Contest, and was a finalist in the Independent Publishers Book Awards.
Premiere: May 9, 2008, at the Marigny Theater, New Orleans.
Two acts: 2 hours – 1 set
7M: two 18, four 20s, one 38
