Ghost-Writer August 24, 2012

Something mysterious is happening. In the West Coast premiere of an intimate spine-tingler from award-winning playwright Michael Hollinger (Opus), acclaimed novelist Franklin Woolsey has died. But his devoted secretary remains poised at her typewriter - waiting to channel the words that will complete his masterpiece. This ghost story of literary proportions questions where we draw the line between fact and fiction, between this life and beyond. Winner of the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award.

“I love language, and that’s what this play is all about,” says artistic director caryn desai. “It has something beautiful to say about the actual art of writing—what writers go through to create a literary piece, down to which words to choose and even which punctuation.”

Ghost-Writer was inspired by an anecdote Hollinger came across about the secretary to early 20th-century novelist Henry James. She typed as he dictated his novels and stories, and after his death claimed to continue receiving dictation from her late employer.

“My mother had died shortly before I encountered this story, and, through conversations with my father, I began thinking about ‘the presence of absence’ — that is, the power that a departed loved one holds over us, and how we negotiate the space left by that person,” he explained in an interview. “As the play continued to develop, I also found myself looking at the nature of the creative process itself, that mysterious combination of craft and what most people would call inspiration.”

Ghost-Writer opens on Friday, August 24 and runs through September 16 with previews on August 21, 22, 23. Tickets are $29-$44. International City Theatre @ Long Beach Performing Arts Center is located at 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802. For reservations and information, call (562) 436-4610; www.InternationalCityTheatre.org

Official Website: http://www.InternationalCityTheatre.org