DONNA/MADONNA

In this multi-award-winning, autobiographical one-act, writer/performer JP Karliak wants so badly to be the perfect son for his adoptive mother: a delicate Catholic housewife from Scranton.  But realizing he can't be the ideal local boy, he seeks answers from a very different source: his fashion-writing, married-to-a-British-pop-star birth mother. Through stories, characters and song, JP tells of his quirky relationships with these wildly different women and how sometimes you have to meet a "Material Girl" to truly appreciate "America's Sweetheart."

With direction by Tiger Reel (LA's Action! Theatre) and Matthew Craig (SNL, New Looney Tunes) and memorable musical arrangements and mash-ups by Billy Thompson (Invasion! The Musical) and club staple DJ ChocliXxX, this hilarious and touching solo performance has garnered awards in New York, LA and San Francisco.

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For more about Donna/Madonna, click here.

OTHER ONE ACT PLAYS

• Let It Snow - In this all-inclusive winter's tale, Ms. Vanderbilt's first grade class is deadlocked on what the theme of the winter pageant should be.  Each of her students has their own colorful and creative idea.  Luckily, her class gets a little help from the sky, as the first snowfall comes in time to inspire a compromise.

  • December, 2004, Pandora's Academy, Bordentown, NJ

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• Rumpelstiltskin - Two bumbling raconteurs set the stage for a fresh take on the classic children's tale, featuring a career-minded maiden, the sweetest of princes, and a funny yet fearsome conjuring of the titular villain.

  • July-August, 2004, Olio Theatre Works, Long Beach, CA (traveling show)

  • October, 2004, Dunmore High School, Dunmore, PA

• Little Things Like Dancing - A group of high school pals travel home for a final visit with their friend Dana, who is dying of cancer.  As they recount the rollercoaster ride of her illness, they each remember the little moments with Dana that will affect their lives forever.

  • March, 2001, The Lab Theatre, Washington, DC

PUBLISHED WORKS

Monologues published in the Applause Acting Series anthologies "Comedic Monologues That Are Actually Funny."  I appear in the Men's, Teen Boy's, Teen Girl's, Kids and LGBT editions.  Edited by Alisha Gaddis.  Now available via Amazon and in theatre bookstores.