Celebrating the birth & legacy of

DOROTHY PARKER

Celebrating her words through our voice
with a monologue from:

The Telephone Call

Dorothy Parker was a legendary poet, writer, critic, and satirist, defined by her lethal wit and incisive commentary on contemporary America. She was born on August 22, 1893. More than 100 years after her birth, her work remains poignant in its ability to view life as simultaneously tragic and funny.

Today, we continue to celebrate Dorothy Parker’s birthday and legacy with a monologue from The Telelphone Call, performed by Actors Co-op Theatre Company member, Bruce Ladd.

Watch Co-op Member BRUCE LADD give voice to Dorothy Parker’s The Telephone Call:

More on THE TELEPHONE CALL:

The Telephone Call was written in 1930.  Although the monologue is about a woman waiting for her boyfriend to call her, in our 21st Century take on this piece, we turn the tables and place a man in this situation.  The man has been dating someone, and she's promised to call him at five o'clock. It is now 10 minutes past seven. This has caused our hero to spiral into a full-on anxious meltdown, during which he pleads his case with God, attempts to think of something else, and reviews every moment of their previous encounter in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy.

The soliloquy was one of Dorothy Parker’s most successful forms of writing. 

“These soliloquies were like star turns by an acrobat working up at the top of the tent without a net, and part of the pleasure they gave lay in the reader’s wondering how she could possibly bring off a feat so difficult.  Like most feats of this order, they were made to look easy by the person performing them – what did they consist of, after all, but an unidentified woman nattering away to herself as a succession of thoughts tumbled helter-skelter across her consciousness? – but it soon turned out that, simple as the principle of the feats was, mastery of it was next to impossible.” – Brendan Gill, New Yorker Magazine

Whether it’s 1930 or 2020, waiting for someone you love to call, is just as full of angst. And Mrs. Parker’s words are just as true.

Learn more about DOROTHY PARKER:

Learn More:
Dorothy Parker Society
Official Dorothy Parker Site Since 1998

Read More:
The Portable Dorothy Parker
Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition

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