a Twisted Comedy
by Resident Playwright Mia McCullough
Directed by Jessi D. Hill
THE RULES OF LUCINDA'S BED!!!
LUCINDA RULE #1: must suffer from a chronic case of good-girl-itis. LUCINDA RULE #2: must have a pathological need to create rules. LUCINDA RULE #3: Always express your feelings the moment you have them. No waiting and no holding back. LUCINDA RULE #4 Trust Adam, only, but fully and with no reservations. LUCINDA RULE #5: Do not trust yourself. Not your own experience, your thoughts, your feelings, your need. None of it. LUCINDA RULE #6: If someone forces you to break the rules or gives you permission to break the rules...it doesn't count. LUCINDA RULE #7: If you actually get up the nerve to draw the line, push back, define a boundary, be sure to feel terribly guilty about it, and you know, probably apologize for it. LUCINDA RULE #8: Never look under the bed.
MONSTER RULE #1 : Always keep your target/opponent confused and off-balance. This way you will always have the upper hand. MONSTER RULE #2: Never admit to having feelings. Unless it would cause your target/opponent a great deal of distress; then emote away. MONSTER RULE #3: Always keep yourself heavily armored with aloofness and indifference. MONSTER RULE #4: If you sense your opponent is losing interest, be sure to say the exact right thing to lure them back in. MONSTER RULE #5: Vulnerability is your homing signal. You can smell it. You are drawn to. Then you must exploit it. MONSTER RULE #6: Be sure to appear at the most awkward, surprising and inopportune moments. But with perfect timing and panache. MONSTER RULE #7: At every opportunity try to convince your opponent that you are not actually dangerous. You may even convince yourself. MONSTER RULE #8 Never fall in love with your target.
ADAM RULE #1: Always put everyone else's needs before your own. In fact, when pressed, you are not able to identify your own needs. ADAM RULE #2: As you attend to everyone else’s needs, allow your resentment to build to the point where your relationships are no longer salvageable. ADAM RULE #3: Lucinda's Monster is also your Monster; and while he loses his power over you and becomes invisible to you as you turn into a man, the scars of humiliation he leaves are deep and lasting. ADAM RULE #4: You are the Alpha, though you probably don't know it. ADAM Rule #5: You’re not really allowed to be angry, since Nice Guys don’t get angry. So if you do find yourself needing to express some anger, be sure to be as passive-aggressive about it as possible. ADAM RULE #6: You keep score. But you pretend you’re above such things. ADAM RULE #7: Never let it appear than you are anything less than "fine."
JEFF RECOMMENDED!!
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
“What renders this world premiere at Chicago Dramatists so captivating, and so heartbreakingly real, is the insight, pain, raw beauty, truth, deep maturity and impressive originality of her storytelling -- and the bare-bones emotional economy of it all.” “Of course it helps immensely that Jessi D. Hill, the play's sensitive director, has gathered an ideal cast of three” “In a series of expertly limned scenes we follow Lucinda's complete ‘sentimental education’” “In addition, the playwright could not have wished for a more superb actress than Laidlaw to embody Lucinda. A tall, voluptuous, dark-haired natural beauty, she moves through every emotion and surge of power and powerlessness in the spectrum of female experience here, yet never makes a cliched choice. This is a fabulous showcase for the many talents of this underutilized actress.” “With "Lucinda's Bed" they have another surefire hit.”
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
“ This is a disarmingly frank and involving new play about life as it is lived and one is attracted to its restless honesty. The ideas and characters roll around in your head, too, long after the final curtain.” “McCullough avoids most of the cliches of the love triangle, dancing cleverly, credibly and affectionately through her heroine’s life, complicated in a way any woman will recognize but carefully rooted, nonetheless.” “Hill’s production features a trio of skilled and demonstrably committed actors. Laidlaw, a rich, strong, engaging performer, has the bulk of the heavy-lifting and all the necessary strength. Neff is quirky and certainly appealing, while MacKechnie is the embodiment of the decent soul you marry, even if you then immediately crave a night in Vegas with someone else.”
Chicago Reader
"This witty portrait of a life of wrong turns examines the monster hidden in the recesses of everyone's bedroom"
Alan Bresloff, Steadstyle Chicago
“When one attends a theatrical performance, each detail of the production tends to make the whole experience, and each member of this staff, from the actors, down to the people who painted the set or made the dust ruffles, made it all complete.”
Suzy Evans, Chicagoist
"The real star of this production is McCullough’s pointed and highly-charged writing. She interweaves drama and comedy so closely that at moments we didn’t know what to feel."
SYNOPSIS Lucinda suffers from a chronic case of good-girl-itis. The monster under her bed, unfortunately, does not. As Lucinda tries to be good, the monster under her bed does everything he can, showing up at the most awkward and inopportune moments with perfect timing and panache, to make sure she is not. And, in a world where you’re constantly meeting your monster face to face, it’s hard to know who to trust. Can Lucinda successfully flirt the line between good and bad? Or will she make her bed and be forced to lie in it?
In this twisted comedy, Mia McCullough takes us to the many beds of Lucinda’s life. From twin to full to queen, McCullough explores the need to be good and the temptation not to be, navigating growing up, growing old and the monsters that grow with us .
Video Sample (click to play in new window):
Featuring: Associate Artist Doug MacKechnie, Elizabeth Laidlaw and Lucas Neff
Grant Sabin (Set Designer), Diane Fairchild (Lighting Designer) Nick Keenan (Sound Designer), Jenniffer Thusing (Props Designer and Stage Manager), and Kat Doebler (Costume Designer)
Lucinda's Bed