"Lightness isn’t stupidity. It’s actually a philosophical and aesthetic viewpoint, deeply serious, and has a kind of wisdom—stepping back to be able to laugh at horrible things even as you’re experiencing them."
- Playwright Sarah Ruhl in an interview with John Lahr in The New Yorker.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
The story of how one little girl in Texas was rescued from a well, but the rest of the world was still stuck.
36 Hours for Jessica
If you want to read about our pilgrimage to Midland, click here!
The Rescue of Baby Jessica
About the play
Inspired by small-town America, the as-yet-untitled Baby Jessica play is shaping up to be a new play with music (think: anarchist-marching-band-meets-
gospel-choir). The Baby Jessica play is the story of a small town obsessed with Jessica McClure (a.k.a. Baby Jessica), the little girl who fell down the well and whose rescue captivated America in the fall of 1987. When the real Jessica McClure arrives during the town’s annual Baby Jessica Festival, the town must meet the true face of their dreams and heroes. In a time when starlets are more recognizable than politicians, when the public is more familiar with Us Weekly than with a world map, Baby Jessica is an investigation of private lives lived in public and the real people behind media-generated heroes. I consider it a tortured-yet-jubilant love song to the American Dream.
gospel-choir). The Baby Jessica play is the story of a small town obsessed with Jessica McClure (a.k.a. Baby Jessica), the little girl who fell down the well and whose rescue captivated America in the fall of 1987. When the real Jessica McClure arrives during the town’s annual Baby Jessica Festival, the town must meet the true face of their dreams and heroes. In a time when starlets are more recognizable than politicians, when the public is more familiar with Us Weekly than with a world map, Baby Jessica is an investigation of private lives lived in public and the real people behind media-generated heroes. I consider it a tortured-yet-jubilant love song to the American Dream.
Why?
My name is Laura. Among other things, I am also a playwright.
In 2004, I went to a party dressed as a mermaid. When I walked into the room, two boys, who were very sassy and very sauced, screamed, "Oh my god, are you Baby Jessica?"
I said, "Yes, I am Baby Jessica. I fell into the well and I turned into a mermaid."
Then the boys burst into an impromptu song and dance. "Baby Jessica, Baby Jessica. . . She's better than the well!"
I've been wanting to write a Baby Jessica play ever since. This blog is supposed to help me do it. If you have an idea or a suggestion, please email me.
This blog is the property of Laura von Holt. Don't steal, Baby Jessica wouldn't like it.
In 2004, I went to a party dressed as a mermaid. When I walked into the room, two boys, who were very sassy and very sauced, screamed, "Oh my god, are you Baby Jessica?"
I said, "Yes, I am Baby Jessica. I fell into the well and I turned into a mermaid."
Then the boys burst into an impromptu song and dance. "Baby Jessica, Baby Jessica. . . She's better than the well!"
I've been wanting to write a Baby Jessica play ever since. This blog is supposed to help me do it. If you have an idea or a suggestion, please email me.
This blog is the property of Laura von Holt. Don't steal, Baby Jessica wouldn't like it.
Labels
- Baby Jessica (3)
- baby jessica kitsch (4)
- collective unconscious (2)
- conspiracy theory (1)
- fame (1)
- from the mouth of the babe (1)
- heroes (1)
- Jessica's Well (3)
- media impact (2)
- Midland (10)
- pilgrimage (15)
- research (20)
- scribbles (7)
- set (1)
- small towns (3)
- the town (1)
- To Do (1)
- tributes (4)
- wells (2)
- Where were you when Jessica fell down the well? (1)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
1 comment:
So, um, excuse the enthusiasm, but I think this blog is a stroke of absolute GENIUS! I don't want to pile on any pressure, but I'm getting the bubbly ready for when this play wins the Pulitzer.
I even wrote a blog entry about the awesomeness of your blog:
http://themilkmansdaughter.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-play-is-going-to-be-most-amazing.html
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