Logline: “An old rock star must make peace with her past so that she can help kill the man who saved her.”
Synopsis
L.A. 1977. The punk rock scene is in full swing. Two young Latinas meet at a band audition.
Luisa is effortlessly sexy, and sings like an angel. Sally, though musically brilliant, is rough-edged, moody, and tortured by her fluctuating sexuality.
There's an undeniable symbiosis between them and they form their own band. Seemingly overnight they have fame and a following.
Enter Nigel, an older glam rocker. Seeking something new, he asks Sally to join his band. She's torn: the offer is intoxicating, but what about Luisa?
Sally accepts Nigel's offer. Luisa segues to a spectacular pop career strictly on her own. Sally feels a queasy mix of regret and contempt.
Thirty years pass. Drugs and hard-living have exacted a brutal toll on Sally and Nigel. Age and illness have dimmed Luisa's star and diminished her powers.
And Nigel is dying. To help him do so with dignity, Sally seeks Luisa's help. The gesture opens old wounds, but makes healing possible, too. They re-unite on stage and discover that two old broads can rock as hard as they ever did.
Characters:
Sally: 17. Punk rock girl. Androgynous. Not too attractive.Tendency to violence and self-destruction, but with style and a sense of irony. Latina
Slade: Sally at 50. Still angry. Still punk
Luisa: 17 Very pretty, sweet voice. Killer guitar chops. Ambitious. feminist. Latina
Lou: Luisa at 50. A rock icon. Steely.
Kady: Luisa’s pretty, complicated and conniving teenage daughter
Nigel: British. Working-class. Punk rocker. Dying of liver failure in the present.
Fabulous Monsters was written under the encouragement and auspices of The Latino Theatre Alliance/Los Angeles inaugural writers circle. It is a selection of Fullerton College's 26th Annual Playwrights Festival 2015 (1 of 3).
Diana Burbano, a Colombian immigrant, is an Equity actress and a respected teaching artist at South Coast Repertory. She began to write after she realized that there were no parts of substance available for someone of her gender, ethnicity and age.
Her play Silueta written with Tom and Chris Shelton, was a Playlab selection at the Great Plains Theater Conference, where it received a staged reading, and was chosen as one of 4 productions at the Cygnet Theatre’s Playwrights in Process Festival 2014. In each of these venues the play received a unanimously positive critique.
Diana is a member of the inaugural writers circle for Latino Theatre Association/ Los Angeles. She is also participating in 365 Women a Year, writing about Manuela Saénz.
