12th PREMISE
play
12th PREMISE is without question the most rewarding venture I have undertaken as a creative person. Everyone of my best friends and closest relationships have come as a result of the productions of this play. It has evolved in probably 50 drafts, over many years and is probably the most personally revealing script I have written. It was also my first serious play. Drama that is. And was the play that when I wrote it others told me I should become a writer. Prior to this the idea had never occurred to me.
The play was written in the wake of many huge events in my life: coming out as homosexual, my mother being diagnosed with a terminal cancer called mesothlioma. Following I got involved with one person, a boy and had what in my mind was an attempt at some sort of adult relationship. And that ended. And I made a new friend, whose father had past away that year of cancer as well. All of these things were overwhelming to me, individually. But then reconciling them all at the same time was mind blowing.
Anyway, the day I graduated from UCLA, was the day after Glitter Prince closed and I had nothing to do, and I was hung over and I thought of the phrase 12th Premise. And I didn't know what it was, but I just started writing and some monologues about god and sort of fundamental world views and things and how at the time the two people closest to me and I all had extremely different points of view. And then without any grand plan I just began writing the play.
Then summer happened and I had gotten to premise six, half way through, I met my friend Mathieu Young in Amsterdam and was eager to read it to him, as the play was largely about him, I wanted his blessing. So we sat on a canal bank about six blocks from the Leidseplein and I read him the first six scenes. He was stoned, but he liked it a lot and encouraged me to finish, saying that he would produce the play at Theatrefest the next year if I did. I was moving to London to go to LAMDA, but this was a great reason to finish the play. I didn't see the UCLA production. However my then boyfriend Tommy had convinced me to put the play up in Edinburgh, which was a life changing experiance Tommy and I broke up and I was picked up by my British Agent, the lovely Rachel Daniels, who encouraged me to write.
From there I moved back to LA and started working with Kristin Hanggi, Micah Hauptman and Danny Feldman on getting the play mounted in the states. Leading to the two subsequent workshops and eventual LA run of the play. The play is dedicated to my mother.
Lillian Theatre Los Angeles | March 2005
production team
producers Brian Crano | Micah Hauptman | Kristin Hanggi | Danny Feldman
director Kristin Hanggi
set design Rob Fritz
lighting design Jay Bolton
costume design Brenda Mercure
projection design Jason Thompson
photography Mathieu Young
stage manager Katrina Coltun
casting director Brad Gilmore
cast
aidan Brian Crano
con Jake Sandvig
christian Micah Hauptman
caitlin Daneel Harris
keaton Erik Eidem
understudies Ryan Gesell | Kathy Castoro
New York Workshop | June 2004
production team
producers Brian Crano | Micah Hauptman | Kristin Hanggi | Danny Feldman
director Kristin Hanggi
cast
aidan Jeffrey Carlson
con David Burtka
christian Sean Biggerstaff
caitlin Laura Breckenridge
keaton Tom Guiry
West End Workshop The New Ambassadors Theatre London | March 2004
production team
producers Brian Crano | Yael Lackmaker | Micah Hauptman | Ambassadors Theatre Group
director Brian Crano
cast
aidan Hugh Dancy
con Paul Nicholls
christian Sean Biggerstaff
caitlin Rebecca Hall
keaton Sam Heughan
Edinburgh Festival | August 2003
production team
producers Brian Crano
director Aaron Mullen
design Thomas Wilson
cast
aidan Brian Crano
con Josh Cooke
christian Mathieu Young
caitlin Taylor Anne Mountz
keaton Eliot Benjamin
UCLA Theatrefest | June 2003
production team
producers Mathieu Young
director Kristen O’Connor
cast
aidan Luke Bailey
con Kiel Kennedy
christian Mathieu Young
caitlin Taylor Anne Mountz
keaton Eliot Benjamin