Let’s say it again.  We heart Philly.  7 Sins in 60 Minutes is up and on its feet. A big heartfelt thank you to actors Annette Kafplafka, Eric Rolland, Peter Zielinski and Julianna Zinkel for being a part of our journey tonight.  And director Melanie Sutherland rocked it as well.

We’re thrilled that Philly is such a sinful city. Tonight’s performance was a standing room only affair!  We could not have asked for a better audience for the new version of our hot play.  We expect that tomorrow night’s performance is equally sizzling.

Just a reminder, there are only four more chances to see 7 Sins in 60 Minutes in Philadelphia.  We perform through September 12th: Thursday at 8:30 pm, Friday at 8:30 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm and Sunday at 5:30 pm at the Playground at the Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street, just off Rittenhouse Square).

That’s right. The next stop on the 7 Sins in 60 Minutes world tour is the Philly Fringe.  We will be at the Playground Theatre (2030 Sansom St.) September 8 – 12, 2010.  Performances are Wednesday through Friday at 8:30 pm, Saturday at 2:30 pm and Sunday at 5:30 pm.

Tickets are only $7 (that’s $1 per sin!) and may be purchased in advance here.

Welcome to my fever dream!

So…. It all began when, during a recent 9-month period, I experienced two earth-shifting events in my personal life, which birthed my new mantra – seize the feckin’ day because life changes in an instant.

Suddenly, ideas, aspirations, plans, dreams could no longer be postponed. I had to do “it” now. One of those plans – take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. I had been to the Edinburgh Fringe as an audience member in 1995. How cool would it be to take a show, and live there for a month?!

In November, I collected a few hardy souls and infected them with my Scottish dream (a shout out to Anna, Arnie, Brandon, Debby, Karen, & Lanie!!!). Originally, I had thought to use a few published plays by Arnie & Debby, but after further research, determined that a touring play was a unique animal with specific requirements. After much brainstorming, we knew we had to start from scratch – the challenge: to create a short play that could travel easily, and perform in any venue. I talked about my theatre company’s Sins/Virtues project from the ‘90’s which had garnered a lot of attention and grants. Lanie blurts out – 7 Sins in 60 Minutes! Brilliant!!!! We had a title!

Now – to the play. The structure has morphed countless times in four months to find its final iteration – seven unique voices, telling one story, through the seven deadly sins. I spent many months reading scripts and talking with a gazillion rockin’ writers. Seven amazing and talented writers have jumped into the fray, they are: Anne, Cheryl, Chisa, Melisa, Natalia, Olga, & Paula. Wow! Right?!

Ok, so getting to Edinburgh this August was too daunting a task – we needed more time to create the play, get a buzz happening, and raise the funds!!!

In the meantime, thanks to the encouragement of friends, Alexis and Renee, we applied to the HERE Summer Sublet Series and Philly Fringe. And we’re in! Join us in New York City in July and in Philadelphia in September. And that’s only the beginning…..

We’ve launched the $7 Campaign (get it? Seven? All things seven for this project…) – and have many fundraising parties planned. I hope you’ll support our sinful efforts.

Welcome to my fever dream. It’s HOT……

~Melanie