The Best General Tso's: A Monologue
The Best General Tso’s
written by Tara Meddaugh, performed by Sara Jean Ford
Artists’ Statement:
While losses are certainly felt in big moments, I have often found that it is in mundane moments that our pains become acute. Because these moments are day-to-day, they are also frequent and hard to escape. A great deal of my writing centers around the absurd--taking serious things lightly and frivolous things seriously. There is humor and distance in this, but there is also relatability when we take a moment to reflect. While The Best General Tso's, is not absurd, it does draw on the complex feelings and experiences underlying a simple mundane moment .
About Tara Meddaugh
Tara is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s MFA program in Dramatic Writing. Her work has been presented by theater companies including Fusion Theatre, Mosaic Theater Company of DC, The Directors Company, Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne, Theatre One, Westchester Collaborative Theater, One Armed Man, Oracle Theatre, Inc, the Bobik Theatre Ensemble, The Acme Theatre Company, The Harlequin Players, Woman Seeking…,and numerous schools, universities and colleges including Gardner-Webb, Prince Williams, and Colgate.
Her work has also showcased at festivals such as the Artists of Tomorrow Festival in NYC, The Bangkok Community Theatre Fringe Festival, the Pittsburgh New Works Series and the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Alaska. Students, teachers and actors world-wide have utilized her plays and monologues for competitions, and courses in schools, colleges and theatres. Serial monologues she wrote were performed for two years by the internationally recognized receptionist-robot, Valerie.
Tara has taught Playwriting and Screenwriting at Carnegie Mellon, the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and for The Westport Country Playhouse, and she has led Creative Dramatics Workshops for children in underserved areas throughout New York and New Jersey. Additionally, she toured in a Children’s Theatre Troupe, which she wrote for, co-directed, and performed in. Tara’s work has been published by YouthPLAYS, Oxford Press South Africa, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), Limelight Editions/Applause Acting Series (Scheduled Fall 2020), The Hunger Journal, Meriweather Publishing, Applause Theatre & Cinema, Performer Stuff and Ace-Your-Audition. She is a two-time recipient of the Shubert Fellowship in Dramatic Writing, the Sloan Screenwriting Fellowship, the New Works for Young Women [Actors] Award, The Write Stuff Award, and is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild.
You can find more of her work at www.tarameddaugh.com.
Email: info@tarameddaugh.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarameddaugh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarameddaugh/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/t_meddaugh
Website: www.tarameddaugh.com
Sara Jean Ford
Actress @sweetford.Broadway
Credits include: Christine Daaé- THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Jellylorum- CATS, Smitty- HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, Petra- A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and FINIAN’S RAINBOW. Off Broadway: Louisa-THE FANTASTICKS. National Tours: WICKED, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Regional: Nellie Oleson- LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE (World Premier), Jenny- SOUSATZKA (World Premier). She attended Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious Drama program. Sara currently lives in NYC with her six-year-old daughter, Annie.