A reading of “A Spot of Bother,beauty missionary pounding sex videos” a new play by Velina Hasu Houston, directed by Stewart J. Zully, will take place Monday, March 30, at 8 p.m. at The Road Theatre, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood. Admission is free.
Just as she is about to spread her wings and claim her independence, a young woman – mixed race Asian-English Manali Patel – finds out she is pregnant by her estranged English boyfriend. At the same time, her biological father, whom she never met – a Brit expatriate living in Los Angeles – appears in her life. Toss in a lovely Asian suitor and a wary English grandmother and you have more than a spot of bother. Set in contemporary London.
Recent world premieres of Houston’s plays include “Cinnamon Girl” (Playwrights’ Arena at Greenway Court Theatre), “Tea, with Music” (East West Players), “Calligraphy” (Playwrights’ Arena/Latino Theatre Company at Los Angeles Theatre Center), “The DNA Trail” (Silk Road Theatre Project/Silk Road Rising with the Goodman Theatre), and “The Intuition of Iphigenia” (multinational commission in Athens and Vlichos, Greece), as well as the opera “Jonah and the Whale” (Los Angeles Opera).
Houston also writes theater for young audiences, including “The Matsuyama Mirror” (Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices, Singapore Youth Festival, Honolulu Theatre for Youth) and “Hula Heart.” A collection of her plays, “Green Tea Girl in Orange Pekoe Country: Selected Plays of Velina Hasu Houston,” was published last October.
For more information, visit Houston on Facebook or go to www.velinahasuhouston.com.