Technicolor Life

by Jami Brandli

Technicolor Life premiered as part of the 2015 Women’s Voices Theater Festival and received its Australian premiere in 2017.
Winner of The Aurora Theater Company's Global Age Project (GAP) Prize, John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award, and Ashland New Plays Festival. Finalist for 2016 PEN Literary Award for Drama, Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship and O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Readings at...

Technicolor Life premiered as part of the 2015 Women’s Voices Theater Festival and received its Australian premiere in 2017.
Winner of The Aurora Theater Company's Global Age Project (GAP) Prize, John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award, and Ashland New Plays Festival. Finalist for 2016 PEN Literary Award for Drama, Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship and O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Readings at New York Theatre Workshop and The Lark. Fellow at WordBRIDGE.

Maxine, a book smart teenager, is caught between her older sister, a wounded soldier who just returned from the war in Iraq, and her ailing grandmother with a flair for American Musicals. With the help of her new imaginary friends—Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes—Maxine secretly creates a dating profile for her sister and successfully sets her up with another wounded vet. Life takes a darker turn when her grandmother announces she'll be ending her life and wants her family to support her final wish by throwing her a good-bye party. With that, Maxine has to grow up fast.

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Technicolor Life

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: Technicolor Life by Jami Brandli
    “

    A brilliant story of coping with an enormous amount of hurdles through reading and imagination. Moving and well done.

    A brilliant story of coping with an enormous amount of hurdles through reading and imagination. Moving and well done.

    ”
  • Donna Hoke: Technicolor Life by Jami Brandli
    “

    Wow. I just added Jami Brandli to my list of favorite writers. Her words, and her story, crackle, sparkle, jump off the page. It's such rich, layered, theatrical, image-laden, and absolutely stellar work; I can't wait to read more.

    Wow. I just added Jami Brandli to my list of favorite writers. Her words, and her story, crackle, sparkle, jump off the page. It's such rich, layered, theatrical, image-laden, and absolutely stellar work; I can't wait to read more.

    ”
  • Eugene O'Neill Theater Center: Technicolor Life by Jami Brandli
    “

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Jami Brandli and their play Technicolor Life as a finalist for our 2011 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one finalist out of hundreds of submissions, the strength of this play’s writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Jami Brandli and their play Technicolor Life as a finalist for our 2011 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one finalist out of hundreds of submissions, the strength of this play’s writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

    ”
View all 5 recommendations
Title: Technicolor Life
Playwright's Note: I strongly encourage diverse casting with the family, Peter/Jake and Mike/Cpt Rye. This is not only a "white" family story. This is an American story.
Characters (a total of eight actors are needed):
MAXINE HUNTER (14, closer to 15): Female. On the shy side, but crafty. Also a bit chubby. Very book smart with vivid inner life, but more naive about sex compared to most girls her age.
WILLAMENA "BILLIE" HUNTER (21): Female. An Army Private First Class, now a vet who had her left hand blown off during an ambush in Iraq. Has anger issues, but deals mainly with a quiet intensity until she blows. Dealing with PTSD.
SUSAN BLACK (50): Female. Mother of Maxine and Billie. A corporate lawyer with sharp edges and a divorcee. Overwhelmed, but doing her best to keep it together.
FRANCINE "FRANNY" BLACK (early 70s): Female. Mother of Susan. Grandmother of Maxine and Billie. A real firecracker.
*PETER RAMÓN DIAZ (mid 20s): Male. Army Specialist. Birdwatcher. *JAKE SIMS (mid 20s): Male. Iraqi Vet who is missing a foot.
*CAPTAIN LIAM RYE (mid 40s): Male. Billie's aggressive Captain in Iraq.
*MIKE (mid 40s): Male. A volunteer for Final Exit Network.
*WOMAN # 1 (20s to 30s): Shapely. Dances and sings. She plays the roles of Lorelei Lee from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and an Iraqi woman.
*WOMAN #2 (20s to 30s): Shapely. Dances and sings. She plays the roles of Dorothy Shaw from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and an Iraqi woman.
*One male actor will play both the parts of Peter Ramón Diaz and Jake. One male actor will play both parts of Captain Rye and Mike. As stated, the Women play multiple roles.

Production History

  • Professional, The Depot Theatre; Australia, 2017
  • Professional, World Premiere at Rep Stage as part of DC's Women's Voices Theatre Festival; Oct - Nov, 2015, 2015