Name: Kerisa Van Gorden

Genre: One-Act Play, dark comedy

Intended Audience: American young adults, people who base their self-esteem on falling in love,
people who feel trapped in their relationships, people who believe true love cannot exist, the
English Department faculty at Lee University, publishers and contests specializing in YA plays,
those who enjoy theater and stories.
Length of project: 25-30 pages
Project Description: I will complete and begin revision on a one-act play that is a modern sequel
to Romeo and Juliet. The play begins with Juliets death and reunion with Romeo as a ghost.
Romeo already has romanticized plans laid out for them, and Juliet is torn between the love she
felt for Romeo and her desire to do something meaningful with her new existence. Meanwhile,
the boarding school where their drama began is struggling through the tenuous newfound peace
between House Capulet and House Montague, a struggle that mirrors the developing conflict
between the two lovers. As the play goes on, the audience will experience a redefinition of being
in love that requires communication, compromise, and cooperation for a healthy relationship.
Reading List:

Walking on Water by Madeleine LEngle

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
The Elements of Playwriting by Louise E. Catron
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Westside Story (1961) directed by Robert Wise
Romeo + Juliet (1996) directed by Baz Luhrmann
Ophelia by Lisa Klein
Mr. and Mrs. Bojo Jones by Ann Head
Three Tall Women by Edward Albee
Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard
A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen
How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel
A Memory of Two Mondays by Arthur Miller
27 Wagons Full of Cotton by Tennessee Williams
Trifles by Susan Glaspell
Night, Mother by Marsha Norman
Concussions in Sports by Maryann Hudson
Boarding School Diary by Sue Schlosser Tippitt
Various interviews

Objectives:

Complete a full draft of the play, two full revisions, and one sectional revision
Hold a reading and discussion of the play with actors
Write a play that believably contrasts the dead world and the living world but still allows
them to affect each other

Tasks:

Research boarding schools and brain trauma as needed

Create a rough outline for the play
Draft all scenes of the play, workshop, and revise the play
Refine reading list and make use of all sources on the final list

Workshop Readers:

In-class workshop readers

Stacey Isom
Anne Kelton

Weekly Calendar:

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday: Reading

Tuesday: Write 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Thursday: Write 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Friday: Write 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Proposed Deadlines:

September 5: Project Proposal and Walking on Water 5-8 due

September 12: Ophelia and one play (Trifles) due
September 19: Pages 1-5, Bird by Bird Intro-Plot, and Boarding School Diary due
September 26: Reading of two plays (Blithe Spirit & Night, Mother) due
September 28: Pages 5-10 due
October 3: Mr. and Mrs. Bojo Jones and one play (A Memory of Two Mondays) due
October 5: Pages 10-15 due
October 10: Reading of two plays (A Dolls House & How I Learned to Drive) due
October 12: Pages 15-20 due
October 17: Reading of one play (Master Harold and the Boys) due
October 21: Pages 20-25 due
October 24: Rough Draft of Project due
November 3: Reading of two plays (Three Tall Women & 27 Wagons Full of Cotton) due
November 7: Workshop Revision due
November 16: Annotated Bibliography due
November 21: Significant Revision due

November 29: Host reading and discussion of the play

December 13: Final sectional revisions, Presentation, and Portfolio with Cover Letter due

Artist Statement:
My plays question the pre-conceived notions of various cultures and societies in the modern
world. Among other topics, these notions include the validity of purity and rape culture,
condemnation of doubt within the Christian faith, and self-righteous disdain for people who
suffer from mental illness. By rooting my plays in personal experience and compassion, I hope to
debunk societal stereotypes and shock readers with my perception of reality.
My current project questions our cultures romanticized myths about being in love in the context
of a culture war. Within this play, I modernize and explore the lives of Romeo and Juliet after
they die and have the chance to live out the love they expressed so ardently in Shakespeares
work. My goal is to provide a realistic portrayal of the complexity of clashing ideologies inside a
relationship that has been committed to only one day after the couple initially meets. By allowing
Juliet to get to know Romeo and discover how little their worldviews actually connect, I give her
a chance to grow into a more complete understanding of love and the possible foolishness of her
suicide. As Juliet's regrets and struggles reveal themselves, I hope my audience will be able to
see that there is hope for true love; it just won't be the fairy tale romance we all thought it would
be.
As a young girl, my initial inspiration to be a writer came from C.S. Lewis. Lewis revealed my
inner desire to imagine and create in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and he showed me
that theology can be integrated into fiction in The Last Battle. Now, my work is also influenced
by fiction authors such as Alison Croggon, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Margaret Atwood. Tokiens
redemptive themes and Atwoods ability to unveil societal hypocrisy are traits I want to give to
my own plays and novels, and I hope to emulate the intricate fantasy worlds and internally
complex characters of Croggons Edil-Amarandh and Tolkiens Middle Earth.