Did I just "hear" a rumor? WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE ...

FINALLY. I am now able to post the cover of my next book Whispers of a Savage Sort and Other Plays about the Deaf American Experience, which Gallaudet University Press (GUP) will bring out by early September. I'm very grateful to Orkid Sassouni for her wonderful photographic contributions to the cover (and the back). Check out her web site orkidsfotography.com!


Instead of trying to explain what this book is about, I'll quote what the kind GUP folks have written about it (I'm feeling a tad tired at this late hour):

“Oh, why can’t the deaf community be more like a family?” is the plaint of a character in Raymond Luczak’s title play, Whispers of a Savage Sort. It also aptly characterizes the main thread that runs through the remarkable collection of work offered here. Luczak presents a progression of plays that depict Deaf people in situations well known by the community’s members. Written to be signing-driven, each play features Deaf characters from various strata of Deaf society and centers on different yet equally familiar issues.

Snooty brings to life the difficulties of surviving the social pecking order in a deaf program at a hearing school. The main character’s only escape is a rich fantasy life in which he is in control. Doogle confronts its characters with the intrusion of technological communication devices parallel to the virtually forced intimacy in a Deaf residential high school. Brought into stark focus by the specter of AIDS, Love in My Veins explores how trust, betrayal, and, ultimately, forgiveness can transform a Deaf couple’s love for each other. The collection’s eponymous Whispers of a Savage Sort reveals the relentless damage that rumor and innuendo can do to a diverse group of Deaf individuals. The emotions, identities, and consequences created by Luczak in these dramas illuminate the Deaf American community in fascinating detail rarely seen in any medium today."

The book's ISBN-13 number is 978-1563684203. Will I have an online trailer for this collection? Of course! I hope to post it sometime next week or early next month. (I'll post it on YouTube, Facebook, and here, so look out for it! And no, I don't tweet on Twitter. I have more than enough distractions in my life.) And one last thing ...


The actor Christopher Smith is a renowned performer from Chicago, so I'm very happy to have him come here and do the show for us. He previously appeared in my play This some years ago; before that, he was always--and still is--one of my favorite people ever since we met in 1984. And of course, I'm delighted to have the lovely Michael La Rocca on board to voice Christopher's character who is a furniture salesman who develops a very unhealthy obsession with chairs ... need I say more? Tickets are now on sale at the Minnesota Fringe Festival's web site! YAYYYY. And please do check out Deaf Blender Theatre as well!

Happy Birthday, Rocky!

Hello all:

While Rocky tries his best to act like an old man at the tender age of three today, I was told that he's made his first appearance on YouTube! At this link, look for him at the 5:47 mark and after. The clip is a long montage of different things and people who made this year's Chicago Pride Fest such a blast! (Yes, I was wearing a T-shirt that said: INTELLIGENT HOMO SEXUAL, a visual takeoff on Tony Kushner's latest title THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. Quite a few people smiled when they saw the shirt. I felt I had to wear it that day because it was my own quiet way of saying, "Hey, we're not deaf and dumb!" And of course, it's a most appropriate thing to wear if you're autographing Deaf GLBT books on a hot summer day.)

A number of friends at the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf conference also snapped quite a few pics of Rocky so I'm waiting for them to email me those. :) I want to thank everybody for making my stay in Chicago so incredibly enjoyable (and exhausting in a good way). I'm definitely interested in going to RAD 2011 in Denver!

I have lots more exciting news coming up soon. Just need to confirm a few details first; be prepared for an avalanche soon. Having an enjoyable summer so far. Ta-da!

Hugs,

Raymond

A new show, a new novel ....

I've been overwhelmed with a lot of projects over the last few months, but a few of them have come to fruition.

One involved the rewrites for my new show That Chair was My Wife. I thought you'd be interested in checking out the new logo for the show, which Deaf Blender Theater will get sometime next week. (Yayyy!)


What's the show about? A furniture salesman struggles in his extremely unhealthy obsession with chairs. This play explores a few themes: sexual addiction, power, and the all-consuming need to connect. I was inspired when an actor friend who, one day at breakfast, slid into a chair opposite me and jokingly cooed, "Oooh, this chair makes me feel so sexy!" News reports of people arrested for having sex with objects (a patio table, a bicycle, etc.) published over the years indicate that the show's premise hadn't been too far removed from reality. And yes, it's got its share of funny moments. Of course, if you want to check out the full postcard, please check out my home page here. Tickets will go on sale on July 1st.

On June 3rd, I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my high school graduation by talking with a few of my former classmates on Facebook. That was really nice.

When I found myself unable to get started on the third--and final--section of my huge novel (the one I'd started last November), I decided to try my hand at writing a brand-new short story as a warmup exercise. Well, five weeks later, that short story became quite a detour into a novel all its own. I'm very happy that I finished its first draft (about 70K words) two days ago. It's based entirely in the city of Minneapolis, so I will need to do a bit of historical research for its subsequent drafts. While I won't give away its title, I'll share its opening gambit: "One can feel lonely just long enough to feel the fatal punch of a single glance. On January 18, 1967, this is exactly what happened."

Over the next few weeks I will focus on this novel's research and rewrites. Hopefully by then I'll feel more able to finish that other novel.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Rocky on those infamous steps ...

When one of my friends heard that I was going to take my dog Rocky to Philadelphia, he immediately suggested that I take him to those "Rocky steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I groaned at the idea. (For the record, I wasn't the one who named my dog "Rocky." He was already Rocky when I got him.) In any case, a dear friend (you know who you are, T!) came down from New York to catch my reading in Philadelphia so before we headed over to the library, he snapped a few lovely shots of Rocky and moi. Here's two from him, and one of the statue that I took. Please enjoy!

Wow! EYES OF DESIRE 2: A DEAF GLBT READER scores a rave!

It's always gratifying when book critics take a note of your work even if it's 18 months after its publication. Please check out the writeup about the book over at Rainbow Reviews.