TALTRIX Book One SURVIVING THE GAUNTLET
NEW YORK - June 25, 2024 - PRLog -- New York, New York --- Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and founder of the New York Madness Theater Company, Cecilia Copeland debuts Sci-Fi novel, Taltrix Book One Surviving the Gauntlet.
"The backstory for my debut novel is that our hero, RT, short for Redder Torch, was kidnapped by her father. This portion of the story is taken directly from my life. I wrote about the history-making kidnapping in a screenplay called, The Copeland Case, which won 'Best Dramatic Screenplay' at the International Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, and it was listed as one of the 'Top Ten Best Scripts' by Writer's Digest," said Copeland.
For fans of Sci-Fi hero journeys like Star Wars, Dune, and X-Men the world Copeland imagines is one where what we would call magic, her characters call science. Taltrix Book One Surviving the Gauntlet tells the story of RT during her first year aboard the dark biodynamic university spacecruiser, Taltrix.
Conspiracies and psychic attacks swirl around RT as she attempts to master the skills and powers needed to run the gauntlet on planet Keplar Neptune. When her imprisoned father rigs the gauntlet against her, RT must make it out alive. If she survives, she risks restarting a war that tore apart the known galaxy, or can she forge a new path for herself and the universe?
Taltrix Book One Surviving the Gauntlet is based on Copeland's award-winning TV pilot script, Taltrix. Accolades for Taltrix include Winner of the prestigious LA Femme International Film Festival and NYWIFT New Works Lab, where it was presented in an industry reading directed by (NBC's The Blacklist) Amir Arison and starred Golden Globe Winner Regina Taylor.
https://www.prlog.org/13026361-award-winning-writer-cecilia-copelands-taltrix-book-one-surviving-the-gauntlet-is-now-available-at-barnes-and-noble-amazon-and-kindle.html
NEW YORK - June 25, 2024 - PRLog -- New York, New York --- Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and founder of the New York Madness Theater Company, Cecilia Copeland debuts Sci-Fi novel, Taltrix Book One Surviving the Gauntlet.
"The backstory for my debut novel is that our hero, RT, short for Redder Torch, was kidnapped by her father. This portion of the story is taken directly from my life. I wrote about the history-making kidnapping in a screenplay called, The Copeland Case, which won 'Best Dramatic Screenplay' at the International Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, and it was listed as one of the 'Top Ten Best Scripts' by Writer's Digest," said Copeland.
For fans of Sci-Fi hero journeys like Star Wars, Dune, and X-Men the world Copeland imagines is one where what we would call magic, her characters call science. Taltrix Book One Surviving the Gauntlet tells the story of RT during her first year aboard the dark biodynamic university spacecruiser, Taltrix.
Conspiracies and psychic attacks swirl around RT as she attempts to master the skills and powers needed to run the gauntlet on planet Keplar Neptune. When her imprisoned father rigs the gauntlet against her, RT must make it out alive. If she survives, she risks restarting a war that tore apart the known galaxy, or can she forge a new path for herself and the universe?
Taltrix Book One Surviving the Gauntlet is based on Copeland's award-winning TV pilot script, Taltrix. Accolades for Taltrix include Winner of the prestigious LA Femme International Film Festival and NYWIFT New Works Lab, where it was presented in an industry reading directed by (NBC's The Blacklist) Amir Arison and starred Golden Globe Winner Regina Taylor.
https://www.prlog.org/13026361-award-winning-writer-cecilia-copelands-taltrix-book-one-surviving-the-gauntlet-is-now-available-at-barnes-and-noble-amazon-and-kindle.html
REVIEWS
RCulture
"The language can be quite strong, and the situations explicit, but they always suit the subject without being gratuitous. Her work stands out for its demanding, blunt, truth telling, in the tradition of Lenny Bruce, which is in sharp contrast to the prevalent bland tone of much of today’s political humor. It is definitely in your face... R Culture is a probing and entertaining work that dazzles while making the audience uncomfortable for good reasons." Darryl Reilly in Off-Broadway, Plays
Link to Full Review
RCulture
"We laugh and cry and are moved...and the show, like a funhouse mirror, reflects and distorts what's familiar so that we see an ugliness that it's too easy to ignore in real life... The writing here is sharp and incisive and penetrating." Marin Denton Indie Theater Now
Link to Full Review
Light of Night, "5 Stars" -DC Metro Theater Arts
“Playwright Cecilia Copeland brings an invigorating new work to the stage that presents emotional vertigo to the audience. Every time the emotional turmoil settles down long enough to find a foothold on solid ground a new eruption of surprise unsettles everything that is believed to be known in the world of the play.”
"Copeland’s writing is sharp and effective; most of the first act is delivered in a vicious game of verbal cat and mouse between the two female characters in a telling format. Her ability to craft heavy meaning into extensive scenes of conversation is an inspiration to playwrights everywhere."
Link to Full Review
Light of Night, "Highly Recommended" -DC Theatre Scene
“H.L. Mencken famously observed that the role of a journalist is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Sometimes a playwright can fill a similar role. Cecilia Copeland’s fantastical domestic drama Light of Night at Venus Theatre at times is genuinely uncomfortable for the audience in the best senses of the word, but overall the experience is thoughtful, hopeful, and memorable.”
“The playwright Cecilia Copeland’s work manages to be both fresh and finely-honed at the same time. Her dialogue is articulate when presenting epigrams about modern relationships and forceful when punctuating intense character moments. She slips in exposition and foreshadowing like a seasoned pro yet has found a way to tackle familiar themes with imagination.”
Link to Full Review:
Light of Night Named Top Three Must See -the Gazette
"Venus Theatre presents thrilling, seductive drama"
Feature Interview
Link to Full Article
"Three Character Smolder in, "Light of Night" -Baltimore Sun
"Intense, dark and brutally thought-provoking is how C Street's Venus Theatre's newest production, Light of Night, can be described... the gripping but yet sensitive and hopeful play by New York playwright Cecilia Copeland reflects events in the news today... In watching Light of Night, it had the feeling of an episode of the CBS hit series "Criminal Minds."
Link to Full Review
Indie Theatre Now -Martin Denton
"this is a gutsy, visceral, raw experience; the kind it's just about impossible to imagine leaving an observer cold... I admire this play for its forceful exploration of important themes-- freedom, survival, and especially the ways that men view women and women view themselves... I also admire Copeland's language: there are knockout images and conjurations..."
Link to Full Review
East Village Arts - Phoebe Stern
"This clever, occasionally comical, yet heart-wrenching story results from a powerful triad of remarkable writing, directing, and acting.Be sure not to miss this short run... though I suspect this piece will not halt at IATI Theatre"
Link to Full Review
New York Theatre Review -Wesley Doucette
"Persephone myth, on which the production is based, with all of its Greek formatting is held and then artistically broken throughout the length of the production... There is therefore a discussion occurring in the production as to theatrical decorum and “goodness” and the fight of the avant garde."
Link to Full Review
"The language can be quite strong, and the situations explicit, but they always suit the subject without being gratuitous. Her work stands out for its demanding, blunt, truth telling, in the tradition of Lenny Bruce, which is in sharp contrast to the prevalent bland tone of much of today’s political humor. It is definitely in your face... R Culture is a probing and entertaining work that dazzles while making the audience uncomfortable for good reasons." Darryl Reilly in Off-Broadway, Plays
Link to Full Review
RCulture
"We laugh and cry and are moved...and the show, like a funhouse mirror, reflects and distorts what's familiar so that we see an ugliness that it's too easy to ignore in real life... The writing here is sharp and incisive and penetrating." Marin Denton Indie Theater Now
Link to Full Review
Light of Night, "5 Stars" -DC Metro Theater Arts
“Playwright Cecilia Copeland brings an invigorating new work to the stage that presents emotional vertigo to the audience. Every time the emotional turmoil settles down long enough to find a foothold on solid ground a new eruption of surprise unsettles everything that is believed to be known in the world of the play.”
"Copeland’s writing is sharp and effective; most of the first act is delivered in a vicious game of verbal cat and mouse between the two female characters in a telling format. Her ability to craft heavy meaning into extensive scenes of conversation is an inspiration to playwrights everywhere."
Link to Full Review
Light of Night, "Highly Recommended" -DC Theatre Scene
“H.L. Mencken famously observed that the role of a journalist is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Sometimes a playwright can fill a similar role. Cecilia Copeland’s fantastical domestic drama Light of Night at Venus Theatre at times is genuinely uncomfortable for the audience in the best senses of the word, but overall the experience is thoughtful, hopeful, and memorable.”
“The playwright Cecilia Copeland’s work manages to be both fresh and finely-honed at the same time. Her dialogue is articulate when presenting epigrams about modern relationships and forceful when punctuating intense character moments. She slips in exposition and foreshadowing like a seasoned pro yet has found a way to tackle familiar themes with imagination.”
Link to Full Review:
Light of Night Named Top Three Must See -the Gazette
"Venus Theatre presents thrilling, seductive drama"
Feature Interview
Link to Full Article
"Three Character Smolder in, "Light of Night" -Baltimore Sun
"Intense, dark and brutally thought-provoking is how C Street's Venus Theatre's newest production, Light of Night, can be described... the gripping but yet sensitive and hopeful play by New York playwright Cecilia Copeland reflects events in the news today... In watching Light of Night, it had the feeling of an episode of the CBS hit series "Criminal Minds."
Link to Full Review
Indie Theatre Now -Martin Denton
"this is a gutsy, visceral, raw experience; the kind it's just about impossible to imagine leaving an observer cold... I admire this play for its forceful exploration of important themes-- freedom, survival, and especially the ways that men view women and women view themselves... I also admire Copeland's language: there are knockout images and conjurations..."
Link to Full Review
East Village Arts - Phoebe Stern
"This clever, occasionally comical, yet heart-wrenching story results from a powerful triad of remarkable writing, directing, and acting.Be sure not to miss this short run... though I suspect this piece will not halt at IATI Theatre"
Link to Full Review
New York Theatre Review -Wesley Doucette
"Persephone myth, on which the production is based, with all of its Greek formatting is held and then artistically broken throughout the length of the production... There is therefore a discussion occurring in the production as to theatrical decorum and “goodness” and the fight of the avant garde."
Link to Full Review
