Introduction
Konnichiwa, I'm Stefhen Bryan, coming to you with my latest work, Doodu Boy, as I move into exciting new territory: the theater. Doodu Boy is an autobiographical story of my struggle across three continents to find unconditional love in the face of an abusive mother and absent father.
The play is written/performed by me and dramaturged/directed by Jared Scheib.
Synopsis: The story begins with my frightening childhood in a Jamaican ghetto on a church commune, where I fall into the neighborhood cesspool and earn my nickname: Doodu Boy. I soon escape to America where I've long dreamt of roadtrips with my dad, but life never seems to fulfill those hopes. After multiple attempts on my own life, learning the shocking truth of my origins, and a show-down with an NYPD armada as I attempt to reconnect with my father, I ultimately leave the West to begin a rebirth in Japan. There, in the midst of a sexual rampage, I meet a girl who promises the beginnings of the deep connection that I've always wanted.
Why 'Doodu Boy' Matters
'Doodu Boy' is a testament to perseverance. If 'Doodu Boy' can be an inspiration to anyone who has been rejected and spurned by a parent, or parents, then my work is done. Know that you're not alone. I stand with you in solidarity.
The Plan
We plan to do a 4-week run in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and this campaign will cover the costs for the first 2 weeks of each of those. Our ultimate goal is to perform this play in cities large and small around the United States and the globe, including New York City, where we've already got an off-Broadway run in the works.
Now, with your help, I'll be able to share my story on stage. This is a universal story of the search for love in the face of rejection, about the universal drive to unconditional love. Each performance is an opportunity for you to experience that powerful journey and triumph.
Supporting the Campaign
In order to launch a successful first run of Doodu Boy, your help is needed to raise $7,500 to cover the cost of:
- Theater rentals
- Advertising and marketing expenses
- Producer's fee
- Director's fee
- Transportation
- Hoses, water, Lysol, Pine-Sol, Dettol and Jeyes disinfectant, to wash the doodu off of me
Apart from supporting financially, you can most definitely help by spreading the word and sharing the news and link to this campaign via email and all social media.
Thank You
Infinite thanks for making this all possible. I look forward to performing Doodu Boy for you.
About the Team
Stefhen Bryan is the author of the critically acclaimed Black Passenger Yellow Cabs: A Memoir of Exille and Excess in Japan and the recently publishing novel Only Begotten. He currently lives in Kobe and Los Angeles with his wife, who is translating Doodu Boy to Japanese, for performance in Japan. After a monumentally successful two weeks of previews at the Santa Monica Playhouse, he's excited to finally take Doodu Boy "on the road."
Jared Scheib is the dramaturge and director of Doodu Boy, his second play after Wrestles With Machista. He recently completed the festival run for his first feature documentary film, The Mayor, and is in post-production on his second, tentatively titled Love Potatoes. His commercial, Do You Believe in a Secular America?, won the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science’s social media contest. His films have been exhibited at the Directors Guild of America (Hollywood), Dallas Museum of Art, Tel Aviv Cinematheque, Auckland Art Gallery, and Roxie Theater (San Francisco), broadcast on television in Texas (PBS) and Israel (Channel 8), and distributed online via iTunes, Amazon, and SnagFilms. In addition to film and theater, Jared manages friend and artist, Cecelia Webber, whose human bodies artwork has gone viral worldwide. Jared is an artist-entrepreneur from Dallas, Texas with a B.A. from the University of Southern California, where he studied film production in the School of Cinematic Arts and neuroscience as an inaugural member of the Brain and Creativity Institute. Jared believes that content is king, and to that end he imbues his works with universality, authenticity, and intensity, striving to emphasize what makes art meaningful: honest emotion. See more at http://jaredscheib.com.
