David MacDowell Blue

David MacDowell Blue

What can I say? Sagittarius born in the Year of the Pig? Widower and Eastern Orthodox Christian? Fan of Shakespeare, Dennis Potter, and lots of other writers? Well, yes. But I'm also a brother, a son, a roommate, a friend. Lonely, yes. Try not to whine about to too much. History geek, certainly (for some reason always drawn to the in-between times, like before the Civil War or just after the...
What can I say? Sagittarius born in the Year of the Pig? Widower and Eastern Orthodox Christian? Fan of Shakespeare, Dennis Potter, and lots of other writers? Well, yes. But I'm also a brother, a son, a roommate, a friend. Lonely, yes. Try not to whine about to too much. History geek, certainly (for some reason always drawn to the in-between times, like before the Civil War or just after the English Regency). Politics? That is an essay question, but definitely to the Left of Jefferson Davis (unlike many, it seems).
Favorite novels include CARMILLA and THE WINDS OF WAR, fave films include BLADE RUNNER and LOVE ACTUALLY. Once and again playwright, theatre critic, sometimes actor. Have a BA from the University of West Florida and then graduated from the National Shakespeare Conservatory in NYC.

Plays

  • We Are Not Dead
    An orphaned woman learns she is actually the last member of a wealthy family, but also of an extremely dark and strange legacy that comes with.
  • Here, In the Parlor of Psalms
    ONE ACT (approx. 45 mins)
    Seventeen years since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his son arranges a meeting with the man who was there, and tried to stop John Wilkes Booth. These two men and their wives meet, now in the wake of another assassination.
  • The Dark Swans
    FULL LENTH TWO ACT (approx. 120 mins)
    A violin and viola pair were created for a married couple who never saw them before they died on the Titanic. Ever since "The Dark Swans" as they are know, are said to mar the lives of those who own or play them with tragedy.
    In 2007 two young people inherit the Dark Swans. One is a reclusive, angry music student. The other is a startlingly...
    FULL LENTH TWO ACT (approx. 120 mins)
    A violin and viola pair were created for a married couple who never saw them before they died on the Titanic. Ever since "The Dark Swans" as they are know, are said to mar the lives of those who own or play them with tragedy.
    In 2007 two young people inherit the Dark Swans. One is a reclusive, angry music student. The other is a startlingly insightful autistic girl in high school. Neither have yet admitted they love each other.
  • For Gods' Sake
    Barbara knows there's something strange about her roommate Skia. Not that Barbara doesn't like Skia. Quite the opposite! But...something is not right. Not normal. Maybe not even natural. So, on Christmas Eve, Barbara demands to know the truth. It is nowhere near what she expected. A brief little playlet about friendship, secrets, goodwill and POWER.
  • For Love of Medusa
    ONE ACT (approx 60 mins)
    A retelling of Hellenistic myth, filling in some missing details and linking the story of Medusa with that of Persephone.
  • The Wings of Dracula
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACT (approx 120 mins)
    ZOOM-able
    AUDIO/LIVE THEATRE
    In the port city of Whitby, a Russian schooner runs aground, while a madwoman named Renfield weeps because she cannot get the taste of blood out of her mouth. One by one, a circle of friends find their lives altered as they slowly realize DEATH came aboard that ship. Or maybe just an Angel of Death. Each is tested. A...
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACT (approx 120 mins)
    ZOOM-able
    AUDIO/LIVE THEATRE
    In the port city of Whitby, a Russian schooner runs aground, while a madwoman named Renfield weeps because she cannot get the taste of blood out of her mouth. One by one, a circle of friends find their lives altered as they slowly realize DEATH came aboard that ship. Or maybe just an Angel of Death. Each is tested. A vampire will feed.
    https://offthewallplays.com/product/the-wings-of-dracula-audio-or-zoom-play/
  • Sea Griffins
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACT (approx 120 mins)
    An LGBTQ bedroom farce set in Victorian London, 1840.
    In the wake of Queen Victoria's wedding, the families of Lucas and Alfred--two members of the upper crust--insist they need to marry. In one case this is an ultimatum. What almost no one realizes is they are already in love and committed to each other. Alfred's cousin Helena offers to help,...
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACT (approx 120 mins)
    An LGBTQ bedroom farce set in Victorian London, 1840.
    In the wake of Queen Victoria's wedding, the families of Lucas and Alfred--two members of the upper crust--insist they need to marry. In one case this is an ultimatum. What almost no one realizes is they are already in love and committed to each other. Alfred's cousin Helena offers to help, which involves inviting everyone to her estate outside London. Lucas reluctantly agrees, only too aware their hostess has more than warm feelings for his sister, Charlotte.
    What follows involves mistaken identities, convoluted plots and conspiracy theories, Tory politics, advice from many quarter about marriage, revelations, mis-interpretations, a vast number of exits and entrances, as well as a sword fight! But amid all the antics, what it boils down to is the question of how to live in a very imperfect world, which puts far too many demands upon us.
  • Stupid Rendez-Vous
    Zoom-able
    Hollywood 1936. A man and woman who know and evidently despise each other meet at a cafe (as they do each week) and engage in a vicious battle of wits. The loser picks up the bill. This week--was the woman right to turn down a small part in a movie that was just released? Barbs fly, and wicked laughter ensues until the final (not safe for work) twist.
  • Carmilla: The Radio Play
    FULL LENGTH (approx 120 mins)
    ZOOM-able
    A radio play (which can be performed on stage).
    A Christian radio station puts on an adaptation of Le Fanu's gothic classic "Carmilla" without quite realizing the play's real point of view.
    In the 1840s an isolated girl living with the Austrian Empire finally makes a friend when a mysterious stranger ends up staying with her...
    FULL LENGTH (approx 120 mins)
    ZOOM-able
    A radio play (which can be performed on stage).
    A Christian radio station puts on an adaptation of Le Fanu's gothic classic "Carmilla" without quite realizing the play's real point of view.
    In the 1840s an isolated girl living with the Austrian Empire finally makes a friend when a mysterious stranger ends up staying with her small family in a small, old castle. She soon begins having strange dreams, while sickness afflict local girls in the area. Laura is in fact falling in love with her visitor, who may indeed feel the same way--even though she is no longer human.
    This adaptation overturns many assumptions inherent in the most versions, not least by noting the sexist and racist political climate of the era, and presuming Laura an unreliable narrator.
  • Moonlight Preludes
    Zoom-able
    Selected for the 2020 Quick Creation Festival in Los Angeles
    Small part of a full length work to be written, this tells of when everything changes for two music students when they inherit an (in)famous pair of instruments. First, and most important, they find the courage to admit to each other their love.
  • After The Lighthouse Fell
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACT (approx. 120 mins)
    ZOOM-able
    A non-medieval day "mystery play".
    Esther returns home to a small coastal town in Georgia as Hurricane Enoch approaches.
    Why has she come home?
    Her mother is surprised but welcomes her and eventually mentions she's started attending Baptist Church with her friends.
    Why has she stopped going to a Roman...
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACT (approx. 120 mins)
    ZOOM-able
    A non-medieval day "mystery play".
    Esther returns home to a small coastal town in Georgia as Hurricane Enoch approaches.
    Why has she come home?
    Her mother is surprised but welcomes her and eventually mentions she's started attending Baptist Church with her friends.
    Why has she stopped going to a Roman Catholic Church?
    Noah, who is Esther's uncle, has bought a former lighthouse keeper's cottage and has decided to sit out the hurricane there.
    Why is he doing this?
    Deborah, who is Esther's sister, keeps checking up for news of a shrimp boat owned by a friends' uncle.
    Why won't she reveal any details about this friend?
    Oh, and it the keeper's cottage haunted? If so, by what?
  • Revengers Assemble!
    A loving parody of the superhero genre, this short play tells of the latest attempt of a woman to join an all-male team of meta-powered heroes. Thunder Girl has to prove herself to a group that includes a playboy billionaire inventor, an un-aging WWII veteran, and an Aztec God.
    NOTE: This play is currently being expanded into a full length script titled "Capes and Consequences."
  • Carmilla: A Play in One Act
    The second world war is about to begin. But Laura and her father remain isolated, living in a part of the Austrian countryside all-but-deserted for hundreds of years. When there is a car accident outside the mansion, and Carmilla, a young women inside the car appears to be in shock, her mother begs them to take the young girl in. As Carmilla’s health is delicate, Laura’s father allows the Countess to leave...
    The second world war is about to begin. But Laura and her father remain isolated, living in a part of the Austrian countryside all-but-deserted for hundreds of years. When there is a car accident outside the mansion, and Carmilla, a young women inside the car appears to be in shock, her mother begs them to take the young girl in. As Carmilla’s health is delicate, Laura’s father allows the Countess to leave her daughter in their care. But her mother never returns. Laura and Carmilla spend every waking moment together and over time, the two girls develop a deep passion for each other.
    But the ancient curse that once swept the surrounding countryside returns, leaving almost a dozen young girls dead in its wake. People begin to sicken and waste away, eventually passing into the next world as bloodless husks. There is talk of the family that once lived in the very same castle, and whose portraits bear a striking resemblance to Carmilla. People then begin to talk of vampires, as if they are real…
  • Capes and Consequences (in progress)
    Almost finished.
    The petition of Thunder Girl to join the all-male team of The WorldGuard coincides with the escape of Antoinette Pale, the greatest and most terrifying meta-villain of all time. Only her sister Marie has much of a clue as to what her plans for the world might be. Fortunately Marie is in love with Thunder Girl. What follows is a race against time, against (among other things) Kaiju as...
    Almost finished.
    The petition of Thunder Girl to join the all-male team of The WorldGuard coincides with the escape of Antoinette Pale, the greatest and most terrifying meta-villain of all time. Only her sister Marie has much of a clue as to what her plans for the world might be. Fortunately Marie is in love with Thunder Girl. What follows is a race against time, against (among other things) Kaiju as our heroes track Antoinette to her lair and the reason for her villainy eventually stands revealed. It proves to be nothing like what they expect.
  • The Whispering Stones Mystery (in progress)
    FULL LENGTH THREE ACTS (approx 135 mins)
    Zoom-able
    Designed as audio drama OR a live action radio play with live foley artist, etc.
    An original Sherlock Holmes mystery, revisiting one of his earliest (untold) cases as well as a sequel to one chronicled by Watson. A former client of the great detective has been savagely murdered, her body found amid a circle of standing stones, where a...
    FULL LENGTH THREE ACTS (approx 135 mins)
    Zoom-able
    Designed as audio drama OR a live action radio play with live foley artist, etc.
    An original Sherlock Holmes mystery, revisiting one of his earliest (untold) cases as well as a sequel to one chronicled by Watson. A former client of the great detective has been savagely murdered, her body found amid a circle of standing stones, where a victim of an earlier case had also been found twelve years ago.
  • The Passion of Zoe Roosevelt (in progress)
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACTS (approx 100 mins)
    At the very onset of the First World War, an actress has just completed a wildly successful tour as HAMLET, but finds herself unsatisfied, unsure after achieving (seemly) all she could desire. What to do next? Everyone has their own opinion, almost all focusing on they see her as, rather than who she really is. But who is that? Much of this plays out against a...
    FULL LENGTH TWO ACTS (approx 100 mins)
    At the very onset of the First World War, an actress has just completed a wildly successful tour as HAMLET, but finds herself unsatisfied, unsure after achieving (seemly) all she could desire. What to do next? Everyone has their own opinion, almost all focusing on they see her as, rather than who she really is. But who is that? Much of this plays out against a subtle love triangle between herself, a female journalist, and the actress who played Ophelia in the recent tour.
  • Our Lady of Darkness (Planning)
    An audio show/series (probably in five episodes) about Elizabeth Bathory, the so-called "Blood Countess," but set in the early days of WWII.
  • The War of the Worlds (planning)
    Audio play adaptation of H.G.Wells classic, in a slightly altered location but roughly identical time period, focusing on different issues and with an eye for current scientific knowledge. The year is 1908, Theodore Roosevelt is President, and San Francisco is trying to rebuild from the Great Earthquake when cylinders begin to fall north of the city...
  • Ring Around The Murder (planning)
    An Agatha Christie/noir murder mystery set in 1938 Los Angeles, a time of massive corruption, rising racial tensions, and of course the Federal Theatre Project.