Party Pictures
Hi friends,
take a look at some of the photos taken by our very own Andrew Cesario!
Dan Pelltier performs a scene from Steambath
Dan again with the Leaping Lion logo in the back.
Geoffrey Huck talks about how he acquired 3.1 Plays and a friendship with Bruce Jay Friedman.
Spencer Schunk performs a scene from Scuba Duba
Our very own publisher, Alan Borenstein, gives a speech about the process.
Our main man, Mike O'Connor, talks about his experiences this year.
Dr. Sheese talks about the Professional Writing program
Laura McKay talks about directing the scenes for the launch.
Jamie Durnan presents a lucky winner with one of the many prizes won at the launch.
Derek Kehoe performs for the party.
Just some LLB members havin' a laugh.
Just a few of the people who had a hand in making 3.1 Plays successful!
Siobhan making sales and Justin being camera shy!
Check these dapper fellas.
Enjoying the party.
Smile!
Charlene Ang poses with her poster design.
Palwasha making sales.
Siobhan and Palwasha pose for the camera 
Justin showing his love to Rory.
$$$
Mike seems to be impressed!! 
That’s all for now, friends. Come back next week and we’ll have more for you!
In the meantime, click here to buy your very own copy of the book.
What a party!
Well, wasn’t last week’s launch party for Bruce’s 3.1 Plays a blast? We had a really good showing. The live music was entertaining. The prizes were exciting. The food was yummy! We unloaded a lot of Bruce’s book, and created a lot of buzz about it!
So, now that the party has come and gone, we’ll be moving on to the actual selling of Bruce’s collection of plays!
Click here and grab yourself a copy while quantities last!
Come back later this week to treat yourself to some photographic evidence of all the fun that was had!
But, to leave you satisfied until then, here’s a quote from The New York Times about the book:
“…Friedman is not just a blasphemously funny writer; if you haven’t come across a good perception of the Absurd lately, this one is personal and cogent and contemporary.”
omgomgomgomgomg!
FRIENDS!
I don’t think you guys realize just how close we are to the launch! Let me tell you:
It’s tomorrow!!
(almost exactly!)
Will you be there?!
I surely hope so.
We’re too excited to sleep!!
For those of you who didn’t get the title reference or are maybe confused as to why we’re too excited to sleep, please first click here and then click here!
What’s that? A countdown? Yep! To what? Party time! Party time? That’s right! Party time!
(click here to enlarge)
We are proud to announce the release of 3.1 Plays and would like to invite you to join us on March 1, 2012 at York University’s Eleanor Winters Art Gallery from noon-3pm.
We would love for everyone to come out to enjoy a short performance, free refreshments, a chance to win free stuff (like a gift basket from the Hard Rock restaurant, gift cards, sunglasses, and more!). We have all worked very hard this year to make this book the best it could be and we are over the moon to be able to share this day with everyone. So please, come out, hang out, support us, and maybe even pick up a copy of the book!
A Bruce Jay Breakdown!
Hi friends,
I hope the new year is treating everyone well. We’ve got a lot in store for you all for the next couple of months! Keep us in your blogroll because here’s where you can find out really fascinating facts on the man himself – Bruce Jay Friedman, and find out more about the book release of 3.1 Plays!
I want to first remind everyone of where you can find us:
- Facebook: here and here
- YouTube
- York
- Goodreads — check this one out for a chance to win a copy of the book
- Did you know that early in his career Bruce worked for a New York City company called Magazine Management that, among other things, actually wrote fake celebrity stories for fan magazines?! Well, he did!
- Did you also know that Bruce is brilliant and definitely has a way with words? We obviously knew this, but if you didn’t here are just a few of his words of wisdom:
“There are those who feel it’s necessary to travel to Kathmandu in search of stories to tell. I’ve always found that the good ones drop into my lap when all I’ve done is get up in the morning and go about my business, such as it is.”
“A Code of Honor: Never approach a friend’s girlfriend or wife with mischief as your goal. There are just too many women in the world to justify that sort of dishonorable behavior. Unless she’s really attractive.”
“Never be possessive. If a female friend lets on that she is going out with another man, be kind and understanding. If she says she would like to go out with the Dallas Cowboys, including the coaching staff, the same rule applies.”
“The most important thing about a TV set is to get it back against something and not out in the middle of a room where it’s like a somber fellow making electronic judgments on you.”
Leaping Lion Books
Four Play
No doubt, Bruce Jay Friedman has a way with words. His plays are viewed as sexy, provocative works of art that turn on the minds of his viewers. Wink Wink. Here, Bruce talks about why he grouped these four plays together, and how he hopes people will receive this work.
LLB: Why did you choose to group these four plays together?
Bruce: There was no special plan. Scuba Duba and Steambath were enormously successful at the time. I have a particular fondness for Sardines, which is difficult to stage because of the large cast. And I like the economy of the one-act, and the strong ending. I’ve seen that play performed successfully.
LLB: Having experienced both sides of drama – as an actor and a playwright – how would you say reading a play, as opposed to watching one, alters the experience for the audience?
Bruce: I love the theatre, but I’m not much good at reading a play or a screenplay, for that mattter. I need actors to ‘translate’ the page for me. I’ve also done a few cameos in films, but I’m not much of an actor.
LLB: Do you have any tips for young actors or playwrights who might be given one of your plays?
Bruce: Trust the text and the language and don’t try to ‘do too much’ with it. The plays can take care of themselves. No need to embroider. Less is more.
Do you remember this poll? You guys were right! The answer is “Have You Spoken to Any Jews Lately?”
Kobo Comes to LLB
Ben Dugas, Content Acquisitions Coordinator at Kobo Inc., recently stopped by to explain how text is converted to eBooks. Thanks to Kobo, “3.1 Plays” will also be available in eBook format!
Here are some photos from that information session:
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What inspires a writer?
For our author, Bruce Jay Friedman, inspiration definitely comes from personal experience. Find out more about what influenced the plays in his upcoming book, 3.1 Plays:
LLB: Are any aspects of these plays based on personal experiences?
Bruce: All writing, in my view, is autobiographical. My version of life on a distant planet will be shaped by my personal history, just as yours would be if you approached the same subject. Some work is more autobiographical than others. Scuba Duba is “closer to home” so to speak than, say, Sardines, in the Sixteenth century. But both are autobiographical–to a point.
LLB: Serving in the Air Force must have been a life-changing experience. How did your time in the service influence your writing career?
Bruce: The Air Force was good to me. It got me out of the Bronx, away from my mother, bless her. I had wide experience as an Air Force photo/journalist. And my commander-in-chief gave me three novels to read–over a weekend. Tom Wolfe’s Of Time and the River, James Jones, From Here to Eternity, and particularly Catcher in the Rye, which changed my life.
What about you? What inspires you to write?
To be ‘PC’ or not to be. That is the Question.
Those who saw Bruce Jay Friedman’s plays when they were first performed, may have squirmed in their seats at some of the blatant language he used. Decades later, readers of Bruce’s upcoming book, 3.1 Plays, may have similar reactions. Or will they? Here, Bruce puts his plays into today’s context.
LLB: Being set in the 1960′s and 70′s, your plays deal specifically with issues of race, sex, and relationships. What changes have you seen in these areas? What can theatre audiences today take away from your work?
Bruce: It was a different world then. I was half my age when I wrote the plays. In terms of race, blacks, as one example, have made great progress–we have a black president and could conceivably have a second one. But there is much more to be done. Women too have moved forward is many areas–the workplace, the professions, over-all confidence. Much further to go. I believe men and women react differently to one another. See shows like Mad Men, the way it was in my era, and compare it to today. There are, and, for all I know, pockets of bigotry that remain, and, who knows, maybe always will. I would hope that audiences would look at my plays in terms of the culture in the Sixties, Seventies, and hopefully, enjoy them, much the way most readers, I would hope, enjoy Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice and Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Harold is a product of his culture, in Scuba Duba, as is God, in Steambath, even though He created it.
LLB: Do you think that today there is more of an emphasis placed on being ‘PC’ (politically correct)? How do you think this affects the way people respond to some of the language in your plays?
Bruce: Some writers, not just playwrights, are “careful” with their books and plays, to too great an extent in some cases. Though you can write with sensitivity, no one wants to see or read a “Pamphlet,’” written by a “careful” writer. Ugh.
‘Lucky Bruce’
Did you know that our author was featured in The New York Times this month? Do you want to know why? Hint: ‘Lucky Bruce’. Check our blogroll to the right for the scoop! Remember to visit the blogroll often. You never know what cool facts you may find. 
