Summer, 2020: Covid-19. Climate Change. George Floyd’s murder sparks protests, riots, police brutality. Black Lives Matter demand justice. And three copy writers scramble frantically for a new advertising campaign for their biggest client, American Jeans..
A new short Zoom, filmed, developed and shot live on Zoom, at Howl laywrights; featuring Howl members Louisa Vilardi, Grace Angela Henry, and our special guest, David Starzyk.
Note: This piece is designed to be played live on Zoom, utilizing the Shared Screen element. I have created the seven news clips and the commercial for your ease and usage.
“Many writers have been responding to the Zoom-o-Sphere for months, and some are testing its boundaries, moving beyond sitting-and-talking into a new space, where the audience experiences the Zoom medium in a new way. In Carpe Denim, Simpatico distills a pressure-filled span of time into just a few minutes, capturing politics in the pandemic, and pushing Zoom theatre in a welcome new direction.”
Rachel Carnes
“CARPE DENIM asks an important question: how do you sell bluejeans to a polarized nation? I’m not kidding. And neither is David Simpatico. American Jeans is a stand-in for every corporation. His searing satire takes no prisoners. While thoroughly dissecting the nation’s reaction to BLM protests, the play excoriates the free market’s attempts to capitalize on the violence and unrest to retain business on every side of the political spectrum. Ultimately, the only color that matters isn’t black, white, or blue… it’s green.”
Scott Sickles
David Simpatico, Dramatist 