Oswald's
Backyard by Leslie Bramm
ISBN #1-933159-057
JAC #2005-0001Cast
- AN INTERVIEWER:
Late 30s. Snide, aloof. Appears only on the
television.
- LEO OSCAR:
24 years old. Sometimes tender, sometimes volatile.
Takes himself seriously. Doesn’t like to be laughed at.
- THE COMRADE:
Older than Leo. The homunculus. Lurks after Leo and
appears only to him. May or may not be Che Quevera.
- RINA OSCAR:
Early 20s. Leo’s wife. Russian-born.
Pop-obsessed, new American. Wants to have fun. Very beautiful and barefoot.
- GEORGE:
40s. Norma Jean’s husband. Good ol’ boy charm.
Loves to have a good time.
- NORMA JEAN:
40s. Loves a good time. Sensual & intelligent.
Able to figure people out.
The Setting
Leo Oscar’s backyard, 4907 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is
late morning, afternoon an early evening, September, 1963.
 Synopsis
In his backyard, Leo Oscar is the United States of America. Naïve, petulant and
ultimately violent. Leo is at the center of our national obsession—the search for
identity. He battles between idealism and a desire for fame. The television, the media, is
his ultimate confirmation. The play is set in New Orleans, September of 1963, in and out of Leo
Oscar’s mind. He has managed to create a political commotion around himself that
lands him a shot on a local TV talk show. It is the day the show airs, and it has become
Leo’s passion—his big break. However, Leo’s story is complicated by a
television that won’t work, the arrival of some unexpected house guests, and the
return of an old friend. Leo is frustrated and humiliated until it is inevitable that he
lashes out. While the events in this play may closely resemble the real life Lee
Harvey Oswald, this is fiction. The play does not address or rebut any particular
conspiracy, but instead explores the psychological landscape of a young American man,
driven to extremely desperate actions.
Author Biography
Leslie Bramm’s plays have been produced, work-shopped
and/or developed by Three Crows Theatre, The Present Company, The Penobscot
Theatre, The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Emerging Artists Theatre, Nicu’s
Spoon, The Edward Albee Last Frontier Conference, and Reverie Productions,
to name a few. Bramm is the recipient of a Stanley Drama Award (Oswald’s
Backyard) A Paul T. Nolan Award (Islands of Repair) A Tennessee Williams
Literary Award (Big Ball). Marvelous Shrine was a semi-finalist in the 2008
O’Neill Festival. He is published by JAC Publications, Smith and Krause,
Brooklyn Publishers, One Act Play Depot and the New York Theatre Experience.
Bramm and actor Kevin Corrigan co-founded indie rock band Diz Dam, where
they sang and played guitar. He also co-wrote the screen play This is Not
Here with Corrigan. Based on the memoir The Last Days of John Lennon. Bramm
is also a published poet. Bramm is a member of the Pool, Emerging Artist
Theatre, The League of Independent Theatres and the Dramatist Guild. |
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