Mark, Author at Mark Brown - Writer

China the Whole Enchilada on the IHSA Circuit

China the Whole Enchilada on the IHSA Circuit A few weeks ago I received an email from Natalie Bozzetti. My first reaction was, "Good God, another restraining order?" Happily, it turns out Natalie is a high school senior outside of Chicago and a member of her school's speech team. She and her speech team partner, Nisha Riley, want to use China the Whole Enchilada in the IHSA Speech competition. What!? How do two high school girls outside of Chicago know about China [...]

China the Whole Enchilada on the IHSA CircuitMark2022-01-18T05:52:14+00:00

Facebook Friday

Here's the first (and possibly the last) installment of Facebook Friday. A collection of things from Facebook this week that made me laugh or smile. Benedict Cumberbatch Ice Bucket Challenge First up: Benedict Cumberbatch takes the Ice Bucket Challenge. He gets it not once, not twice, but five times. [embedplusvideo height="360" width="640" editlink="http://bit.ly/1pRmmSe" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/YOa7ZjxRuKM?fs=1" vars="ytid=YOa7ZjxRuKM&width=640&height=360&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=" id="ep7287" /] The Holderness Family Baby Got Class You may remember the Holderness family from their viral video last year Christmas Jammies. Now the family [...]

Facebook FridayMark2022-12-13T04:12:28+00:00

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge Inspired by Dramatic Publishing's post on Facebook today about Christmas quickly approaching, I thought I'd shamelessly post about my play The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge. I think it's a fun show with a lovely message. But then again I wrote it so I'm a bit biased. And who doesn't like watching ghosts on the witness stand? And who knew that the big old scary Ghost of Christmas is basically Woody Allen in a shroud, complaining [...]

The Trial of Ebenezer ScroogeMark2017-10-30T03:21:36+00:00

Dementors Depression

Dementors Depression Depression. The name describes it. Sort of like "what's the color of an orange?" But I've had a lot of friends tell me they can't imagine what having depression is like. That's why I think we should rename the disease Dementors Depression. Foulest Creatures That Walk This Earth Dementors are those those crazy ass creatures in Harry Potter. You know, the ones who suck the happiness out of you. "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this [...]

Dementors DepressionMark2017-02-11T05:49:23+00:00

Yosemite Bear Sighting

Does a Playwright Butt Sneeze in the Woods? I was in Fresno the other day and came within 60 feet of a couple of bears. I don't know if "yes" is the answer to the old saying "does a bear sh*t in the woods?" but I do know the answer is yes to "does a writer crap his pants when he comes within 60 feet of a couple of bears in the woods?" Yosemite Park It all started innocently enough. [...]

Yosemite Bear SightingMark2017-02-11T05:49:23+00:00

The Bipolar Express

Yesterday I posted about my lifelong struggle with depression, anxiety and my Bipolar Express. Wait. Make that the Bipolar II Express. The reaction to that post was overwhelming. I had more hits on my website than I've ever had. Here's what I learned: Depressive Disorders Affect Nearly Everyone The number of people who said they struggle with depression, anxiety or Bipolar or struggle with family members or friends afflicted with a depressive illness was staggering. I had friends email me [...]

The Bipolar ExpressMark2017-02-11T05:49:23+00:00

Robin Williams’ Depression

Robin Williams' Depression Like a lot of people, I was both shocked and saddened by the death of Robin Williams. His death is a great tragedy but there may be some good to come from it. Robin Williams' depression may finally help bring depressive illness out of the shadows. There's a stigma about depression. From both sides. I know a lot of people, including myself, who suffer from depression and are afraid to say anything because we're afraid people will [...]

Robin Williams’ DepressionMark2017-02-11T05:49:23+00:00

Tom Jones To Be Published

Dramatic Publishing I'm excited to announce that one of my publishers, Dramatic Publishing, is going to publish my play Tom Jones. Woot. It joins Around the World in 80 Days and The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at Dramatic Publishing. I've had a long relationship with Dramatic Publishing. They were going to publish my first play The Little Prince but then the rights changed hands and I was forbidden by the new rights holder to have my version published or [...]

Tom Jones To Be PublishedMark2023-11-16T00:59:10+00:00

The Town of Lanesboro

I had such a good time at the Commonweal Theatre and the town of Lanesboro, MN that I had to write two posts about it. The Town of Lanesboro A while ago I wrote about Lanesboro being named one 0f the Top Twelve Artplaces in the U.S., Yahoo naming it one of America's prettiest towns and it's distinction of being the Bed and Breakfast Capital on Minnesota. After a weekend there I can tell you it's true. First off, everyone [...]

The Town of LanesboroMark2022-12-13T04:12:27+00:00

Around the World in 80 Days at The Commonweal Theatre

In my Great American Theatre Talk-Back Tour of 2014, I landed at the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, MN for a weekend. If I had to describe Minnesota in a word it would be “spectacular.” If I had to describe it in two words it would be “f**king spectacular.” Which, by the by, should be Minnesota’s new tourism slogan: “Minnesota – F**king Spectacular.” The Commonweal Theatre generously flew me out to see their production of Around the World in 80 Days and [...]

Around the World in 80 Days at The Commonweal TheatreMark2017-02-11T05:49:23+00:00

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