The McCroskey Memorial Internet Playhouse

Strictly Kosher Live 11:2

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:31:16 -0800

This is a live performance of Strictly Kosher, a new radio play from the award winning and award nominated English/Israeli playwright Atar Hadari. A studio version of this play will be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this live show, performed at the Faire Gallery and Cafe in Seattle, Washington on November 2nd.

The MMIP Quarterly Series of Shorts Presents "The Kiss"

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:38:46 -0700

For our summer series, a love story set against the backdrop of a decadent Soviet Union: Natasha Grinberg's "The Kiss" read by MMIP veteran Alice Bridgforth.

Natasha Grinberg (natashagrinberg@yahoo.com) was born in the USSR and immigrated to the United States in 1980. Her short stories have been published in AIM, Duck & Herring, Cause & Effect, Amarillo Bay, Prick of the Spindle, Identity Theory, and other literary magazines. Her advice column appeared monthly in the Russian edition of Forward, 2001-2003.

Podcast Photo: Natasha Grinberg on the Farm. (She's on the Far Right).

MMIP Reading Series 8-17

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:47:27 -0700

Live reading of two short stories, including our selection for the Summer issue of the MMIP Quarterly Series, Natasha Grinberg’s “The Kiss”, and a special reading of Jim Snowden’s “Koba’s Bad Cut”, which can be found in bookstores nationwide in the current issue of MAKE literary magazine.

Alice Bridgforth, whom all of you know from GHOSTS and DIARY OF A SUPERFLUOUS MAN reads “The Kiss”; John Roberson, in his Seattle debut, reads “Koba’s Bad Cut”

MMIP Reading series Correction

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Thu, 6 Aug 2009 01:05:29 -0700

It has come to my attention that the last minute or so of the video podcast lacked sound right at the end (about 1:06:55). So that you needn’t download the entire file a second time, I’m uploading the final minute, with the sound corrected. I’m also going to correct the larger file and upload it, backdated to the 4th.

I apologize for the mistake and any inconvenience it may have caused.

Jim Snowden
Editor, MMIP

MMIP Reading Series 8-3

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:19:35 -0700

Live short story reading at the Faire Cafe in Seattle. 1st MMIP Video Podcast.

Ghosts Act III

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 02:46:23 -0700

The Captain Alving Orphanage burns to the ground. Engstrand tries to use the fire to get his hooks into Pastor Manders. The secrets of the Alving house spill out, and their consequences land squarely on Helen Alving.

Ghosts Act II

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:09:48 -0700

Now that Helen knows that Oswald has made a play for Regina, she must work out how to explain to him the true nature of their relationship. But she soon discovers that she is not the only keeper of secrets in her house.

Ghosts Act I

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:38:26 -0700

Western Norway, 1881:

At the great country estate of the late Chamberlain Alving, his widow, Helen Alving, is consumed with the last minute details for the dedication of the Captain Alving Memorial Orphanage. Still, she's cheerful, because her son Oswald has come home from his artist's retreat to be with her for this important occasion. In the meantime, Jakob Engstrand, a laborer at the orphanage site, is visiting his daughter, Regina, to propose a new business idea to her.

Cast: Chris Shea (Oswald Alving), Alice Bridgforth (Helen Alving), Ashley Flannigan (Regina Engstrand), Bob Stahley (Pastor Manders), Michael Blum (Jakob Engstrand)

Ghosts Program

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:35:38 -0700

Program! Get Your Program! You can’t tell an Oswald from an Engstrand without a Program!

The MMIP Quarterly Series of Shorts Presents "Desert Ice"

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Mon, 4 May 2009 03:10:26 -0700

Our final short story, "Desert Ice" takes us on a strange and wonderfully bewildering tour of both artificial sports and the artificial mechanisms couples sometimes use to maintain their hold on each other.

Aaron Heinzen has played Horatio in Hamlet, Tony Blair in Stuff Happens, and has done color commentary on television for Seattle's newest sports team, the Seattle Sounders FC.

The MMIP Quarterly Series of Shorts Presents “Velocity”

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:21:58 -0700

Doug Heckman's "Velocity" is the second story in this quarter's reading series. It speaks to those times when the teller of secret learns more than his confessor does.

Doug Heckman graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and received his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington. His short ficiton has appeared in the Beloit Fiction Journal, Other Voices, Weber Studies, and other places. He lives in Omaha with his wife and child.

The MMIP Quarterly Series of Shorts Presents "Blood"

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:35:12 -0700

The MMIP's lead off story in its inaugural reading series is "Blood", written by Australian author Felicity Bloomfield and read by Seattle actor Lezlie Moore. "Blood" is a harrowing tale of young girl's struggle to survive and avenge her family in the midst of the the bloodshed of turn-of-the-century Timor Leste.

Felicity Bloomfield hails from Canberra, Australia. Her work has appeared in the Polish speculative fiction anthology "Nowa Fantastyka" and in "Big Pulp".

Lezlie Moore is a mother and an actress. She has been working in the Seattle area for two years and has done a little bit of everything from stage to film and commercial print to voice-over. Lezlie says that she "tries to commit herself to works like "Blood" which are meaningful treasures that she can share with her son."

Christian Science II, 8 (3)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:01:47 -0800

Mark Twain reveals the identity of the Pastor Universal (hint: not a person). He also contrasts the profit margins of Science and Health with those of the Bible.

Christian Science II, 8(2)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:40:00 -0800

Mark Twain issues a clarification, and exposes one of Mrs. Eddy's gaudiest forays into self-worship.

Christian Science II, 8 (1)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:45:49 -0800

After exhaustive investigation, Twain reveals the meaning of Local Self Government in Christian Science-speak. The branch churches can take any power Mrs. Eddy doesn't want. Unfortunately--the hiring of heating, cooling, and funeral staff aside--no one has yet figured out exactly what power that might be.

Diary of A Superfluous Man Act I

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:58:28 -0800

F. Chulkaturin, now a dying man, decides to fill up the remainder of his life by writing a memoir about the series of humiliations that finally convinced him that he is an "extraneous bolt in the machinery of eternity". He begins by describing how he met his Dulcinea, Liza Kirillova, the form and progress of their courtship, and how their romance met with "a sudden sharp bump".

Diary of A Superfluous Man Act II

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:56:48 -0800

With the arrival of Prince Alexander, younger Chulkaturin's fortunes with Liza are sinking faster than the older Chulkaturin's health. As he flails around for something to win Liza's heart, or at least make himself as if he's sacrificed enough for love, the question isn't whether he'll succeed, it's how badly he'll fail.

Christian Science II, 7(4)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 22:34:47 -0800

Mark Twain wraps up Chapter Seven with an explanation of the by-laws that cover just how often Mary Baker Eddy's contributions to the hymnal have to be sung to insure that the singers will be paid that month. He also explains how Mrs. Eddy used the tricky by-laws of her church to transform hundreds of dollars of debt into a twenty-two thousand dollar personal windfall.

Additional Note: Do recall that the world premiere of the MMIP's new production "Diary of A Superfluous Man" will be hurtling toward a computer at or near you on December 12th. Stay Tuned.

Let Us Sit Upon the Ground Act 2

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 01:36:16 -0800

As the clock turns from morning to evening, we come to the horrors and follies of the twentieth century. An artist wins a pyrrhic victory over her current and future tormentor. A pair of men at the highest levels of Stalin's government mourn lost opportunities, muse on their complicity with the modern Stalinist nightmare, and tremble as they wonder what their master will do next. And a Supreme Court justice makes a desperate bid to talk a colleague out of handing the presidency to George W. Bush.

Let Us Sit Upon The Ground Act I

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:37:23 -0800

The dreamers awaken and begin the day in Athens, just before the Peloponnesian War. A slave tries to manipulate the pieties and politics of Athens to force her owner into setting her free. After breakfast, Cicero and his men make their bid to escape Mark Antony's assassins. Following a brief midmorning lull, the General of the Chinese Imperial Army faces a fatal combination of Mongolian cavalry and blinkered leadership at Tumu. And just before lunch, a message from parliament interrupts a play being performed at Charles I's court and touches off the civil war that will bring an end to the absolute British monarchy.

Christian Science II, 7(3)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:03:20 -0800

Fed up with Christian Science? Ready to get out, but finding it hard to summon up the nerve to quit? In this part of Chapter Seven, Mark Twain will show you that Mrs. Eddy has your back. She's constantly inventing new and exciting ways to excommunicate her church's members without recourse to trial or even formal procedure. She doesn't even have to hear rumors about you. She claims the power to read your mind and discover the spiritual rot within. So just think a naughty thought, or just THINK, and the psychic gaze of Mrs. Eddy will be upon you.

Please note that this podcast will be switching feeds on December 1st. Please stop by www.theinternetplayhouse.com to subscribe to the new feed, or search for this podcast on iTunes starting Dec. 8th. This will give you access not only to the Mark Twain feed, but also to the MMIP's new production of Turgenev's Diary of A Superfluous Man, opening Dec. 12th.

Christian Science II, 7(2)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 06:18:47 -0800

In this second part of chapter seven, Twain delves further into the sweeping new powers that Mary Baker Eddy grants herself in the bylaws, including the ability to fire clerks and readers for misinterpreting her writings, and the ability to terminate readers at any time, for any reason she chooses, without needing to explain her reasoning to anyone. Twain then discusses how Eddy's edict banning any interpretation of her work besides improves Christian Sciences odds of surviving into the future without dividing into sects.

Apologies from the director once again for the delay in getting this episode out. The work on Diary of a Superfluous Man has kept him in a state of frenzy since the middle of September.

Christian Science II Chapter 7(1)

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:45:15 -0700

In this first part of Chapter 7, Mark Twain runs down the list of officers for Mrs. Eddy's church and discovers that, the implications of her "Pastor Emeritus" title notwithstanding, she in fact commands and directs every office in the Church hierarchy, from board members down to preachers--who are legally enjoined from preaching any sermon that Mrs. Eddy hasn't already composed and protected by copyright.

Christian Science II, 5-6

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sun, 7 Sep 2008 16:33:55 -0700

Heard enough about Christian Science to think you might want to join in the fun? In Chapters 5 and 6 of Book Two, Mart Twain has a few tips for you. Never, ever, refer to yourself as the Mother of anything, with the exception of your own children, unless you want Mrs. Eddy's foot to hit your butt on the way out; and always bring plenty of cash, in advance, to Mrs. Eddy's college if you want to know her secrets. And no coughing, students! Even though disease doesn't exist, it's against the rules to bring it into her school.

Christian Science II, 3-4

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:46:19 -0700

Mark Twain delves deeper into Mrs. Eddy's authorship and, after taking into consideration all of her testimony on the matter, can confidently conclude that either she wrote it, or God did. Either way, it's clear that either author is useless without His or her well paid army of polishers.

To hear more of the McCroskey Memorial Internet Playhouse's podcast dramas and audiobooks--okay, one drama and one audiobook, but we're working as fast as we can here, dammit!--visit our website: www.theinternetplayhouse.com.

(This version of this podcast corrects a pair of regrettable errors from the previous version. Mea culpa! Mea maxima culpa!)

Christian Science II, 1-2

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:43:58 -0700

Twain considers the foibles that Mary Baker Eddy's autobiography exposes--including her love of her own incredibly bad poetry. He goes on to ask the $64,000 question about "Science and Health": could an author whose writing, from the age of 7-70, was consistently awkward and hard to read, produce as smooth and competently-written a piece of literature as "Science and Health"?

To listen to previous chapters, or to hear our current mainstage show, "Let Us Sit Upon The Ground", visit us at www.theinternetplayhouse.com.

Christian Science I, 8-9

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:54:37 -0700

Mark Twain looks into a crystal ball to see into the future of the Christian Science enterprise and, contra the pundits and wags of his era, concludes that Mrs. Eddy's church has enormous potential precisely because it appeals most strongly to people who don't think.

Christian Science I, 7

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:16:06 -0700

Mark Twain gives us a rundown of Christian Science prices, and discusses how the church's zealous pursuit of real, rather than spiritual dollars and their concentration of those dollars in the hands of those at the top of the C.S. Trust will help Christian Science bestride the Christian world like a colossus within 100 years.

For previous chapters and compelling audiodrama, visit us at www.theinternetplayhouse.com.

NOTE: This is the second version of this chapter of the podcast. The first contained a mistake that simply couldn't remain. Apologies to anyone who had to download this chapter twice.

Christian Science I, 6

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:29:34 -0700

Mark Twain inspects the machinery driving Christian Science: the irresponsible clique that leads it, the new personages it offers as objects of worship, and the bait it offers to converts. He concludes that C.S. may make the greatest splash of any religion since religion began, even if it kills a man every now and then.

Chapters 3, 4, and 5

jim_snowden@mac.com (Jim Snowden) — Wed, 4 Jun 2008 02:02:20 -0700

Mark Twain explores the similarities between the blind staggers produced by bran mash and drench and those produced by reading the Christian Science Bible, SCIENCE AND HEALTH. Afterwards he uncovers the psychological effects that undergird the supposed powers of Christian Science, and muses about the nature and picturesqueness of the Christian Scientist's insanity.