Just Lauren

Oh my goodness! BookBar and DCPA teamed up to turn Bite Size, the micro theatre production I went to way back in October 2018, into a book – Bite Size – An Anthology of Micro Theatre. All of the plays from the production are included, with an additional five plays that were lovely, but weren’t quite right for the show at the time. I loved it. I got to read an advanced copy (I feel so special!) and I soon found myself reading a play at breakfast, a play after work, and a play before bed. Because the plays all had to be 15 minutes or less, reading them was very accessible and quick. Reading the scripts not only allowed me to reminisce about that evening so long ago and remember how awesome everything was, but it also allowed me to better appreciate the shows and get a glimpse behind what the entire process of choosing stories to producing stories to performing stories is like.

And while I thought I had remembered all the plays I got to watch that night fairly accurately, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t actually remember everything. So while the first five plays in the book were familiar, they were also somewhat new to me, and I had many moments of, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that part!” It was such an enjoyable reading experience. Want to read a play about Jesus’ face appearing on a pillow? This book has it. Or a play about the end of the world, a prison, and an unassuming plant with possibly magic properties? Yep, that’s in there too. There’s a play about writing in books, about Gregor turning into a cockroach, about Eve and her desire for more. Who knew that characters you create for your own stories, live in your head? They’re really there, doing their own thing, including possibly talking smack about you! The stories made me laugh and made me think and brightened my cold winter days.

There are so many cool parts about this book, and I’m not just talking about the scripts. A local poet wrote a poem to introduce the book. BookBar created their own publishing company to print the book. All of the money from the book will go to the Denver Center for Performing Arts to help them during these crazy, unknown times. There were over 200 submissions for this event. That’s right, 200 plus people felt inspired by the call to write a short play focused around books. That’s awesome. Each of the stories had one focus or another that centered around books and while I may not have read all of the books mentioned in these scripts, I don’t think too much was lost on me.

I am so glad I got the chance to not only see these plays, but to also read them. I just bought my own copy of the book this morning. It’s my small way of saying “thank you” to the people who wrote, the people who planned, and the people who performed. You all made my evening two years ago and you made this isolated time feel a bit more connected. I look forward to seeing what BookBar and DCPA continue to get up to!