The Book:

To read excerpts of the play’s companion book, click here:

Not Quite a Memoir, Due to Distractions - click to read

Mary Brigit Poppleton is Writing a Memoir was born at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in my first playwriting class. I am a fiction writer and an actress, so I figured I should try my hand at putting the two together. Struggling with ideas, I decided to build on my narrative background and write a monologue.  The first words that came out were, “I am writing a memoir.” They had a certain momentum to them—they could open all kinds of doors, they could be spoken (they have been spoken) by all kinds of people.  I let these words propel me through a complete monologue.  The voice just seemed to belong to a name like Mary Brigit.

The character took off.  I wrote a book of short fiction inspired by Mary Brigit, with stories about Mary Brigit as a child, as an old woman, stories about her community and her extended family. Pieces of this book were given to the audience at the first production of Mary Brigit Poppleton is Writing a Memoir, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  I received numerous emails from people about the stories and the play.  Friends of mine have coined the phrase “Mary Brigit moments,” to describe episodes in their own lives.  Strangers started to address Allison Altman (the wonderful actress who originated the role) as Mary Brigit. As I created a world around Mary Brigit Poppleton, filling it in with more detail and breadth, the lines between fiction and reality began to blur.  Kind of like what happens in Mary Brigit’s memoir.

This book was workshopped and received highest honors at The University of North Carolina’s Creative Writing Program.
Excerpts are available here.
For more information, or the rest of the book, contact .

About:

What happens when a teenage girl from Ashtabula, Ohio decides to write a memoir?  At the tender age of seventeen, nothing much has happened to her so far.  But Mary Brigit Poppleton knows what to do.  Not wanting to pull a James Frey and fictionalize her story, she decides to fictionalize her actual life.  Her first move?  Faking her own pregnancy.  She attempts to convince her Catholic family that she is in fact pregnant, then runs away from home, landing on Long Island with the help of a misdirected, well-intentioned Catholic “Planned Parenthood” volunteer.  On the Island, Mary Brigit learns a thing or two about truth, literature, and finding memoir-worthy stories in her own (real) life.  A “Virgin Mary” story of imaginary conception, it may not be divine, but it will be hilarious.  The play, with a cast of ten, will be directed by Heidi Handelsman.

First performed at the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, MARY BRIGIT POPPLETON IS WRITING A MEMOIR received the 2006 Sam Selden Award, the highest honor for playwriting at the University of North Carolina.

MARY BRIGIT POPPLETON IS WRITING A MEMOIR made its New York debut as part of the New York International Fringe Festival produced by Madeline Walter in association with the Strollers of Maplewood. The play will run from September 3rd to September 11th and be performed at the 45 Bleecker Street Theater according to the following schedule: