JOSIE IN THE BARDO
by Coni Koepfinger
Josie Divine is making a comeback as a jazz singer when her life is violently cut short. In her after-death experiences, Josie learns that her lover Freddie was her killer and discovers her capacity for love and forgiveness. In this in-between state, the outcome of a test administered by the mysterious Announcer allows her, as an evolved soul, to perform at The Bardo Theatre. Josie auditions with her lover/killer, not recognizing him. Their earlier relationship repeats in compressed form, but this time he saves her life. Josie’s successful new life takes her to India to star in a film. She befriends a young writer, the reborn Freddie, who enlightens her about the divine creative source available to evolving souls, thereby enabling her to design her life to come.
- Cast Size: 1M 1W 1GN
- Running Time: 90+ minutes
- Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
The Song “When Love Turns” by Joe Izen, BMI Music is needed for production. To acquire the music, contact Joe directly at [email protected] or call 201-833-8330
Order Digital Download (Will NOT download to phones, cannot be printed)
About the Playwright
Winner of the 2021 Olwen Wymark Theatre Award by the Writers Guild of Great Britain, Coni Koepfinger is the host of AIRPLAY, a weekly virtual theatre program now in its 12th season that brings the voices of artists, actors, playwrights from all over the world together. Also via new media, Koepfinger created DETERMINED WOMEN, a monthly feature that interviews women who share stories to encourage and inspire. In addition to teaching theatre and composition at prominent universities like Carnegie Mellon and Point Park University, Koepfinger is an internationally published and produced playwright, poet, and librettist. Coni is a Media Advisor for the Lifeboat Foundation who recently published her play, Get the Message in their Visions of the Future anthology 2016; a contributing writer for the Center of Conscious Creativity in LA; a Member of The Dramatists Guild, and ; a former board member of the International Center for Women Playwrights; and the League of Professional Theatre Women. Recent productions include three new powerful pieces with her writing partner Joe Izen: including Eve of Beltane -a fresh look at political corruption in the face of ancient Celtic mythology in the Broadway Bound Festival; Schoolhouse -an ultramodern musical that takes the young victim of a school shooting through a magical journey into an imaginary schoolhouse to find compassion and joy; and the blockbuster, Kingdom Come, where technology meets its match in matchmaking with TED, the world’s first transhuman who falls in love with boss only to reveal a bigger, brighter picture for all humanity, currently in development in Athens, Greece under the direction of Sia Koskina. Other notable productions include: Garrett, the Blue Giraffe at Pan Asian Rep’s NuWorks; Takin’ It Back a ten-minute play for THE ME TOO PROJECT in Harlem; and Playing House a commissioned one-act about Bella Abzug for the UNTOLD STORIES OF JEWISH WOMEN and Playing Fate in New Blood Series at Theatre for the New City. In 2020 Koepfinger’s work was seen virtually all over, with the new full-length, My Dinner with Mary, streamed live from the legendary Player’s Club NYC; Simon Says in PLAYBILL’S Virtual Theatre Festival 2020; and Manhattan Rep’s STORIES film competition; The Unusual Chauncy Faust was selected for the Rogue Theatre Festival, Josie in the Bardo will open at The Chain Theatre; and Auditioning for Eternity, a new metatheatre fantasy co-written with Dan Carter, opening at Theater for the New City.
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