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ROLLAND L HEISS (1940 - ) |
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Nationality: USA Email: Click here to contact Website: n/a |
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Literary Agent: n/a |
I was born June 23, 1940 in LaPorte, Indiana. My parents were Rolland Burton Heiss and Edna Whitaker. We moved to Tucson, Arizona when I was about to enter Junior High School, and I attended Catalina High School where my involvement in theatre began. My education includes a B.F.A. (1967) in the area of drama production, an M.A. (1972) in Speech and Theatre from Ball State University, and Ph.D course work at the University of Washington and the University of Illinois. Teaching experience includes Susquehanna University, the University of Washington, Spokane Falls Community College and Spokane Community College. I have been the Director of Drama at Spokane Community College since 1979 where I have produced and directed over sixty plays. Film and television credits include Route 66, Dundee and the Culhane, Return of the Gunfighter, and narrator for the prize-winning film, The Muralist.
Plays by Rolland L Heiss
Call Me Superstitious | ||
| 1st Produced: | Lair Student Center Auditorium, Spokane, Washington | 2006 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Community College Players | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 2007 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69815 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | This hilarious comedy involves two roommates, Lyle Beckmier and Blake Prentice, who share an apartment in Seattle, Washington. While Blake is visiting his mother, Lyle begins an affair with a young woman whose mother is into sorcery. Upon his return, Blake is mistaken for Lyle and fears that a hex will befall him unless his roommate confesses to the romantic deed. Add to this the appearance of Lyle's father, his emotionally devastated mother and an ex-girlfriend, who is compelled to use a baseball bat to convince him to stop philandering, and you have a prescription for an unforgettable evening. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Circle Of Fear | ||
| 1st Produced: | Lair Student Center Auditorium, Spokane, Washington | 1990 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Civic Theatre | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 1991 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #70148 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Dr.Ted Bingham, eminent psychologist, and his wife have invited five of his patients to spend a quiet weekend at Coyote Lodge in a mountainous area of the Pacific Northwest for the express purpose of conducting several meaningful group sessions. The guests include a Viet Nam veteran, a business man, an out of work anthropologist, an introvert with a split personality, and a sensualist. It is only after one of the patients appears to have been pushed off of a cliff, in close proximity of the lodge, that Dr. Bingham realizes that he must solve the mystery before any more patients are lost. The suspense builds to a shocking conclusion. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Confessions in the Dark | ||
| 1st Produced: | Firth Chew Theatre, Spokane, Washington | 1991 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Civic Theatre | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 1991 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69816 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | his play is about a successful writer who is returning to his home town in an endeavor to resolve some unfinished issues regarding a decision that he was forced to make years ago. The principle characters include a charming, rather rustic uncle and a former sweetheart who shares the writer's guilt. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Dream Merchant, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Firth Chew Theatre, Spokane, Washington | 1984 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Civic Theatre | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69817 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | This play was selected for performance at the Spokane Civic Theatre Playwright's Forum Festival during the summer of 1984. | |||||
Synopsis: | A psychiatrist offers to buy her patient's dreams, if those dreams are their own. As the play progresses, the doctor assumes a more Mephistophelean aspect until the almost monstrous purpose of her purchases become apparent. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Easy Way Out, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Lair Student Center Auditorium, Spokane, Washington | 1980 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Community College Players | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 1982 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69818 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A marriage contract expires at midnight, a live in arrangement is headed for the rocks, and the prevailing sex triangle approaches a wrecktangle in this fast-moving comedy. Travis Parker, a street singer, has been exiled to the sofa after having forgotten the anniversary party for his roommate Cathy's parents. Travis finds unsolicited consolation from Carol Ann, upsatairs neighbor and wife, whose marriage contract is about to expire. Both couples are on a collision course. All seems lost until Travis, accused of always having taken the easy way out, risks his life and transforms the foursome into two beautiful couples. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Grave Singer, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Firth Chew Theatre, Spokane, Washington | 1979 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Civic Theatre | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69819 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Received a State of Washington Humanities grant to be produced at the Spokane Civic Theatre. | |||||
Synopsis: | This experimental production (theatre of the absurd influence) involves two characters, Tob and Rah, who find themselves on the verge of death. In an endeavor to avoid examining their own life as they enter metaphysical time, they decide to re-create some of the most significant moments from the life of Harry Houdini. This play strips away some of the myths created by one of the most significant promotion men of the 20th Century. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Illegal Contact | ||
| 1st Produced: | Lair Student Center Auditorium, Spokane, Washington | 1989 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Community College Players | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 1989 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69820 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Thriller | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Thomas Spencer Rane, famed novelist who hasn't had a major work published in recent years, is invited to the estate of millionaire philanthropist, Jamieson Carlyle. Carlyle wants Rane to write a new novel and agrees to pay him handsomely, so long as he writes what Carlyle dictates. As the play unfolds, various characters are mysteriously murdered. Is our novelist or the philanthropist responsible- or could it be the butler or Carlyle's beautiful daughter? The action will keep the audience on the edge of their seats. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Messenger, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Lair Student Center Auditorium, Spokane, Washington | 2007 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Community College Players | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69821 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Musical | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 9 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Publication is pending. Book and lyrics by Rolland L. Heiss. Music by Paul J. Halversen. | |||||
Synopsis: | his musical love story is orchestrated by a mysterious figure who calls himself messenger. The basic setting is an abandoned theatre, although a projection screen is used to help change the atmosphere when the messenger begins to stage scenes from the life of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hassidic movement of Judaism. Layer upon layer of story weaves itself about this legend leaping back and forth through time from the present to the past. This story, which is meticulously told, reveals itself in an intriguing and thrilling fashion. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Tapestries | ||
| 1st Produced: | Firth Chew Theatre, Spokane, Washington | 1988 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Civic Theatre | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 1989 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69822 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | William McCaffrey has been arrested for bigamy and forgery. He is also suspected of murdering his second wife. This story, told through the eyes of his mother, weaves the many threads of Bill's life to create a complex tapestry. Bill's strong attachment to his grandmother, his non-demonstrative father, his gentle but smothering mother, and finally his jailer help to weave a tapestry of pain and human frailty. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Welcome Home, Stranger | ||
| 1st Produced: | Lair Student Center Auditorium, Spokane, Washington | 1984 | ||||
Company: | Spokane Community College Players | |||||
| 1st Published: | Players Press, Inc., 1985 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69823 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Play/Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A hilarious mix of paradoxes and puzzles combine in this full length comedy. Norman, former big-man-on-campus, is now a burglar. He ransacks an apartment which turns out to belong to his former college roommate, Al. When identities are re-established, Al, firmly on the ladder to success, determines to help his old friend. A whirlwing of con- artistry develops, which involves a beguiling woman (?), a telescope, two girlfriends, and a bank president. As deceptions are revealed Al and Norman resign themselves that all is lost except their friendship. But is it? No comedy as enjoyable as this could possibly have other than a happy ending. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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