The Submission, presented by MCC Theatre at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, September 11, 2011
Writing a play is a daunting task. Getting a new play produced takes "daunting" to exponential levels.
Danny (Jonathan Groff) has been writing for a couple of years, trying to get established on the new play festival circuit. In a unexplained fit of inspiration, he writes a fresh, powerful and highly provocative tale of a young African-American trying to escape from the life his family has led for generations. He shows it first to his best friend Trevor (Will Rogers), an aspiring actor, who gives him the first inclination that he's written something very special. Danny finally shows it to his boyfriend Pete (Eddie Kaye-Thomas), who echoes the praise.
Danny, however, has already made submissions to several new play festivals and has just been accepted by the renowned Humana Festival. All sounds good, looks positive - except for one thing: Danny has submitted under a name that suggests a woman of recent African-American extract. He justifies the action on the rationale that no festival committee would take him seriously as the author of such a play. With the pseudonym, the subject matter doesn't conflict with its source, and it seems to have worked.
