Review Fix Exclusive: Lucy Blood Talks ‘Biblically Speaking’

Review Fix chats with playwright Lucy Blood who discusses her production at the Midtown International Theatre Festival, “Biblically Speaking.” Breaking down the inspiration for the performance, as well as his goals for the future, Blood lets us know exactly why we should check out the production.

For more information on the production and the MITF, click here.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this production?

Lucy Blood: It all started with the Bible. How can you miss with the biggest bestseller of all time? The Guinness Book of World Records has it listed as historical fact.  I often wondered what the women in the Bible would say. It’s always the men who are quoted so I said to myself, “Give them a voice!”  This play took decades to come together and I am grateful for the journey that brought me here.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Blood: I’m not a playwright who sits down at the same time each day to write. When I feel the inspiration hit, that’s when I begin to write. It’s as if my mind becomes constipated with thoughts  and it feels very uncomfortable. Writing is the Miralax for my mind and what come out is a mess, then I go about organizing all of the words from that first shot of inspiration.

Review Fix: What makes you different from other playwrights?

Blood: I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. I have the luxury of having a full-time job so I don’t feel the pressure other playwrights might feel to “publish or perish”. This gives me the freedom to write what I’m passionate about and in the timeframe that feels right for me.  The world is full of irony and I’m able to bring that to the stage. Also, life often feels like a sitcom and some of that comes through my writing, too

Review Fix: What makes this production special?

Blood: This is a solo performance piece that is not entirely a play or a musical. It’s a playsical with a few songs, some bad slight of hand, and it brings the Bible to life in a new provocative way. My stage manager, Deborah Lane, and I are trying to create an intimate experience where the audience is an integral part of the performance.  It seems like a simple production, but audiences walk away from it thinking about what they’ve seen for days.

Review Fix: How is your cast unique?

Blood: This is a one-woman show where I am the playwright, composer, lyricist, and performer.  Also, I’ve worked with my director, Kate Gilbert, to create differentiated characters with their own unique personas as well as their take on life.  This will be my NYC stage debut and I’m very excited about this opportunity to shine my light.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Blood: Preaching is not a far stretch from acting. I discovered I am a thespian lesbian. Also, I learned that the struggle for equality for women is not isolated in today’s world. The women in the Bible: Eve, Mrs. Noah, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary had no voice. The men who wrote the Bible probably did not even think that they might have something important to say.  I found that I could give them a voice full of all the humor and emotions that transcends the millennia.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of this festival?

Blood: I feel very honored to bring Biblically Speaking to NYC in July. It’s a thrill to be chosen by the MITF to share this at The Davenport Theatre and I look forward to seeing other productions at the festival. Every show I see strengthens my learning curve as a playwright and I’m sure this experience will be exponential!

Review Fix: What are your goals for the production?

Blood: The goal for Biblically Speaking is to have its premiere in New York City in July, then tour the country, finally ending in world domination of the denominations. Does that sound like too lofty a goal for a play?

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?

Blood: This is a very family-friendly peace and is appropriate for all generations. It can touch those who consider some themselves religious as well as those that don’t follow any religious practice at all.   If you want to walk away from the theater with a smile on your face or a tune in your head or thinking “I never thought about that in the Bible”, then Biblically Speaking is the show for you.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Blood: Feeding the dogs, my family, then me…not necessarily in that order. Thanks for asking. After that I’ll work on a dramatic play focusing on actors and alcoholism. Do you think that’s typecasting?

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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