Virginia's Last Drive, a play by Matthew Anderson, was selected by the Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP) as part of the 2010 BloomingPlays Festival, a celebration of new plays by Indiana playwrights.
Playwrights started developing their plays in August of 2009 through a progression of rigorous readings, revisions and workshops in the BloomingPlays Development Series. The development series featured staged readings of eight new plays written by Indiana's finest up-and-coming playwrights. Each reading was followed by a feedback session where the audience was invited to provide the playwright with their commentary, thus aiding in the development of these new works being considered for the BloomingPlays Festival.
Four plays were then chosen for full productions. Three one-act plays were featured as part of a Mainstage Series showcase. The BPP also performed a special 10pm Dark Alley feature called BloomingPlays After Dark.
The festival ran from May 14 - 29. Information can be found on the Bloomington Playwrights Project web site.
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Virginia's Last Drive by Matt Anderson takes place one beautiful day at the DMV, as nearly-eighty-year-old Virginia Mills takes her driving test yet again. Assigned to by-the-book Alex Jacobs as her tester, however, she finds it difficult to enjoy the ride... and her confounding lack of driving skill forces Alex to question her reasons for taking the test at all. But stuck together through one-way streets, blind spots, and an unplanned stop at the car wash, the two begin to discover how easily life can steer you off the scheduled route... whether you're the passenger or the driver. Virginia's Last Drive is directed by BPP ensemble member Jim Hettmer and stars Linda Ostermeier and Lucius Wade.
(Revised: August 19, 2010)