Verse

/ Don

MacBeth Revisited

When we were in high school, Mike and I wrote and directed our version of Shakespeare’s bloodiest work…for the youth program at our local theatre (and stage-managed by the talented Betsy Bird). I know what you’re thinking, but I promise we’re not macabre loons. This was a farce of the original work which raised a record-high $600 for the Civic Youth Theatre.

It was so successful, in fact, we co-wrote a sequel the following year (MacBeth Revisited Revised) with a fellow CYT actor (Bob Warpehoski).

The Premise

The Thane of Fife
He had a Wife
Took a Knife to Duncan’s Life
That’ll End his StrifeOur Poor King
With The Angels Doth Sing
Felt a Sting
When we Unsheathed that Thing

Download MacBeth Revisited (PDF)
Includes: PDF of MacBeth Revisited, a comedic farce of The Scottish Play.
/ Don

Monopoly of the Mind

I wrote this play when I was sixteen, which explains a lot of the fart jokes and dated humor. It was produced once in New York City at the Variety Café in the Rockefeller Center. That sounds a lot more impressive than it really was. If you’re interested in performing it at your school’s theatre program, give me a call and we’ll discuss options—which would probably only be a small donation and two free tickets.

The Premise
Inside your head there are a bunch of emotions swirling around, all trying to take control of “The Body.” When an emotion starts gaining too much power in the mind, a monopoly is created. The mind’s moderator is Reason who dutifully tends to the natural balance that prevents neuroses and personality disorders. That verbose little bugger is really just hoping that people start listening to reason…

Download Monopoly of the Mind (PDF)
Includes: PDF of Monopoly of the Mind, a rough, unformatted draft.

Download Monopoly of the Mind (PDF)
Includes: PDF of Monopoly of the Mind, a formatted final draft.

/ Don

Temptation Behind a Trucker’s T

I wrote Temptation Behind a Trucker’s T in high school too, based on a neighborhood in New Jersey where I spent my elementary school years. While the plot may be pretty trite, it provides a pretty solid description of growing up in the mid-80s in suburban America.

The Premise
Two kids encounter the devil on their walk to pick up a gallon of milk.

Download Temptation Behind a Trucker’s T (PDF)
Includes: PDF of Temptation Behind a Trucker’s T, a short story.
/ Don

The Arena

This short story Mike and I wrote together in high school. Looking back through it now, I actually have no idea what he wrote and what I did. We wrote the story with no idea where it would go and learned more and more about the plot as we passed it back and forth.

In college, Mike enrolled in a Television Production program at WMU and decided to shoot this for his thesis project. He got a standing ovation from the packed auditorium on its Opening Premiere.

Interestingly enough, it was based on this little structure, here.

The Premise
An aspiring actress and her boyfriend stumble on a mystical structure when a classmate is found dead in the middle of a field. The Arena, as they call it, changes their lives forever.

Download The Arena(PDF)
Includes: PDF of The Arena, a short story by Don and Mike Citarella.
/ Don

The Change

VieusagiThe Complex and The Arena (which I wrote with Mike). You’ll probably also notice that there’s a hint of a political satire in there.

The Premise
A post-apocalyptic town deals with rebuilding their society based on three rules: 1) There will be no science. 2) There will be no family. 3) There will be no talk of “The Change”.

Download The Change (PDF)
Includes: PDF of The Change, a short story by Don Citarella.
/ Don

The Complex

This is a novel I wrote when I moved to New York City. As with all hobby-novelists, its only in its second draft and far from being complete. All of the characters in this manuscript are fictional (though some of the names are close to friends of mine). If anything, the central character is loosely based on my dealings with relationships from high school to the time I met my girlfriend. In fact, unknown to her, she changed me so much that she actually changed the ending.

The Premise
A Midwesterner leaves her family and friends to try to find love in the Big Apple. She finds herself managing a three-story-building, a coffee house and a crisis of feelings, all of which she struggles to understand.

Download The Complex (PDF)
Includes: PDF of The Complex, a novel by Don Citarella.
/ Don

The Guardian

The Guardian is a movie script that I’ve been working on for the past two years. It’s in its second draft right now and I’m trying to figure out when I’ll have time to revamp it to a more polished format.

I was looking into the idea of putting it on Trigger Street to get some feedback from the other amateur scriptwriters on there, but was a little leary about their copyright policy. At first glance, it looked like anything you published to their site, even for just feedback, became their property. It sounds a lot like the recent Billy Bragg vs. MySpace fiasco and I just didn’t want to get involved. Besides, Trigger Street (promoted by Kevin Spacey) is owned by Anheusher-Busch … which, I suppose is a step better than it being owned by Coors.

The Premise
An urban youth wakes up from a drug-induced daze to find his younger brother dead. Failing to protect his charge, this guardian takes his life by jumping out of his tenement window. Strange things start to happen when he wakes up a second time to find his brother alive.

Update: January 4, 2007— Thanks to the amazing critique and imagination of Matt Bird (Betsy‘s Wünder-Husband), The Guardian is now in its 3rd draft.

Download The Guardian (PDF)
Includes: PDF of The Guardian, a screenplay by Don Citarella.