by Neal Adelman
Honorable Mention – Flash 405, August 2017: “Blue”
Stageplay
Judge’s Comments:
We like this little stageplay for its interesting use of “Blue”—as in racy language and imagery (and, even, perhaps, the color of certain prescription drugs). Below the surface of some of the small-town, guttural dialogue of the characters is a morbid vision: one surrounding addiction and what we sometimes do to feed its too-frequent, inescapable pull. This piece is surprising and macabre all at once.
Neal Adelman was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. He writes plays and short sto- ries. His one-act play “TARRANT COUNTY” received an NPP workshop and was a 2014 Kennedy Center for the Arts College Theatre Festival John Cauble Outstanding Short Play National Finalist and his full-length play “PONTIACS” was the 2015 recipient of the Kennedy Center for the Arts College Theatre Festival Mark Twain Award. Recently, his play “ONLY GOOD THINGS HAPPEN AT THE FAIR” was a finalist for the 2016 Kernodle Prize and his one woman play, “I, CUSTER,” directed by Mark Medoff, received a work-shop production in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where Adelman currently lives and works. His short stories have appeared in Puerto del Sol and Caldera Culture Review. When he’s not writing, he’s either fishing or trying to start the next great rock and roll band.