"Handsome" (Scenes 0 - 7)--a one act romantic comedy, 11/16/12

"Handsome", A One Act Stage Play, Scenes 0 - 3, 11/16/12 Gratiana Lovelace

"Handsome" Scene 0-- Author's Note and Prologue (R rating)

An Original One Act Stage play  by Gratiana Lovelace (all rights reserved)

[(1)"Handsome" story graphic, left]

[My dream cast:  Images representing Rodger Calendar are of Richard Armitage;

images representing Elaine Marshall are of Julianne Moore]

Handsome", Scene 0 -- Author's Note

The idea for this two character one act stage play story "Handsome" came to me when I heard about the annual Old Vic 24 Hour Plays Theatre Gala in London, England in November 2010.  The premise of the event is that several groups of play writers and actors have just 24 hours to write a new one act play, rehearse it, and then perform it the following night at a fundraising gala for the Old Vic.  This sounds both scary and exhilarating for the writers and the actors.  And, as it happened the oh so talented British actor Richard Armitage was one of the performers that weekend, appearing in "The Third Wish" [(2)], that among other things, poked fun at his romantic heartthrob status.  So obviously, Mr. Armitage has a good sense of humor. 

 I had been writing script stories in an amateur capacity--for my own amusement until I could work up the courage to share them with anyone--for about six months at the point that I wrote this one act play (November 2010).  I liked the challenge of trying to write something fast, funny, and a fixed length--just one act long and make it able to be performed with the limitations of the stage, in terms of sets.  So I set about to try my hand at stage playwriting--trying to channel the riotously funny British romantic comedy writer Richard Curtis and also good naturedly poking fun at a comic version of the persona of a romantic heartthrob that we, the public, project onto actors we admire.  "Handsome"--with some minor tweaking and wordsmithing since then--is what I came up with in that 24 hour weekend period over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I have previously shared "Handsome" on my Dreamer Fiction Story Board section under the name GratianaDS90 and then later on my blog, "Something About Love", as Gratiana Lovelace.

I will gently warn you that "Handsome" is a mature comedy with mature themes.  Hence, the R rating that I have given it.    In particular, there is a discussion of condoms that I hope you find humorous.  I blush at what I wrote, but think that it is too funny to censor--hubris on my part, no doubt.   Now, in my own defense, I claim no direct knowledge of condom varieties or properties.  Seriously--I don't read Cosmo very often.  Ha!  So my condom descriptions will possibly fail a fact check.  I relied upon the knowledge of my gal pals and my husband of now almost 23 years to verify that my imagined condom descriptions might actually exist.   Although, come to think of it, how does he know?  Hmmm?   Well, I did not probe him for details.  My husband's relationship history prior to our own happy coupling is ancient history--that shall remain unexplored by me.  Ha!  

So "Handsome" is rather saucy, but not racy. It contains the light and flirty banter that I like to infuse into my romantic comedies.   And there is quite a bit of visual comedy that is described in my stage direction that I also hope you find amusing.  Of course, this little tid bit might just whet your appetite to start reading my stage play, "Handsome" right away--but read the prologue below first.   Then the play continues for 7 scenes/parts. It is a fully contained story, in that it reaches an end.  In any event, I hope you enjoy "Handsome's" tongue in cheek look at modern relationships--friends and lovers and the blurry line in between them.   Enjoy!

Cheers!  Gratiana  ;->