Pulling Leather: A Queer Rodeo Fantasia by Will Brumley

2021-2022 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow
2021 Play Lab at the Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference
2018 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist

After failing to make it in New York, Glen moves back home to Kansas, but he feels even further away from his family than before—until he discovers that his Uncle Darby was the 1990 International Gay Rodeo Champion...
2021-2022 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow
2021 Play Lab at the Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference
2018 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist

After failing to make it in New York, Glen moves back home to Kansas, but he feels even further away from his family than before—until he discovers that his Uncle Darby was the 1990 International Gay Rodeo Champion. Hopeful that a blood relative could also be a kindred spirit, Glen heads to Oklahoma to learn the art of six seconds and becomes an unexpected part of his uncle’s late-in-life family return. A kaleidoscopic desert road trip about the myths of masculinity and cowboys, Pulling Leather is etched in the iconography of the American West.
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Pulling Leather: A Queer Rodeo Fantasia

Recommended by

  • Arthur M Jolly:
    22 Jul. 2021
    “ Will Brumley has captured something epic and magnificent - and personal and true down to its core - in this play. The central relationship between Uncle and Nephew, both exploring the landscape of the American West and simultaneously the landscape of the gay experience across different generations is captivating and resonant. The staging possibilities alone should make any director leap for the chance to bring this one to life. Worth your time, and the emotional investment - you may, as I did, find tears in your eyes while reading it. ”
  • Nick Malakhow:
    23 Jun. 2021
    “ What a nuanced and compassionate piece that examines masculinity, identity, the loneliness that can be associated with being a gay man, and complex family dynamics. Darby and Glen are such rich characters and their relationship is rendered beautifully here--what they get from one another feels real, organic, and poignant. The theatricality Brumley uses to tell this story is also thrilling, with the malleability of time/space, the balancing of spare lyricism with humorously observed naturalism, and lots of room for exciting and creative staging and movement work. I'd love to see a full production of this! ”
  • Catherine Weingarten:
    10 Jan. 2019
    “ A sexy and sad theatrical journey that pulled me in from the first moment. Will is a really exciting voice and captures this uncle, nephew relationship with such sweetness and repression. ”
View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

RODEO HANDS:
Actors play characters in Darby’s queer rodeo family, the Barnhardt immediate family, and all other supporting roles. The supporting roles can be fluidly interchanged. Voicing, mannerisms, and dress/props should work together to define roles.

  • Darby Barnhardt
    50s-60s,
    White
    A queer cowboy and foreman on an Oklahoma rancher. The former 1990 Mr. International Gay Rodeo Champion for all-around and representative of the myth of the American cowboy.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Glen Barnhardt
    30s,
    Any BIPOC
    Darby’s nephew. Kansas bred, former New Yorker. Overconfident, a know-it-all, but empathetic and down on his luck.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Tippy Toulouse
    40s-60s,
    Transgender Female
    Part of the royal court of gay rodeo. Brash, quick wit comic.

    Missy / Mrs. Funk / Vendor 2 / Cowgirl Singer / Homer 3
    Glen’s mother / a neighbor / a vendor / a dream / the multiplicity of a healer
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Skeeter
    50s-60s,
    Any BIPOC
    The owner and old-timer of the ranch.

    Also plays:
    Announcer / Joe / Eddie / Protestor 2 / Homer
    Rodeo Announcer / Darby’s father / a pocketbook character / a protestor / a healer
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Leslie
    20s-30s,
    Any BIPOC
    A lesbian bull rider, roper, and cowhand living and working on Darby’s ranch.

    Also plays:
    Heddy / Handler / Vendor 1 / Cowgirl Singer / Homer 2
    Darby’s mother / a handler / a dream / the multiplicity of a healer
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Malcolm
    20s-30s,
    Any BIPOC
    A hunky cowhand on Darby’s ranch.

    Also plays:
    Lou / Trevor / Dirk / Protestor 1 / Vendor 3 / Narrator / Bouncer
    Glen’s father / Glen’s first boyfriend / a pocketbook character / a protestor / a vendor / a cowboy narrator / a bouncer

    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Play Lab at the Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference
    ,
    2021

Awards

Selection
,
Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference Play Lab
,
Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference
,
2020
Finalist
,
Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference
,
2018