While She Frequently Explores Rural California, This Time She Turns Closer to Home on the Santa Monica Pier
Palisadian author Deanne Stillman’s monologue, titled “Mister Fireman, Can You Help Me Get Home,” has earned a coveted spot in the Topanga Actors Company’s upcoming Short Play Festival 2023.
Chosen from a pool of 400 international entries, Stillman’s contribution echoes the distinctive and evocative style that characterizes her work. While Stillman frequently explores rural California in her writing, this time she turns her literary lens closer to home, capturing the essence of the Santa Monica Pier as viewed from the bluffs in Pacific Palisades.
As noted on Stillman’s website, her book “Twentynine Palms” garnered critical acclaim and became an LA Times bestseller and “best book of the year.” Hunter Thompson lauded it as “A strange and brilliant story by an important American writer.” In 2008, a new edition with a foreword by T. Jefferson Parker and a preface by Charles Bowden was published by Angel City Press. The book delves into the harrowing murders of two young girls in a picturesque Southern California military town, committed by a Marine shortly after the Gulf War.
Stillman’s book, “Mustang,” which took a decade to complete, questions why a nation with a cowboy heritage is sanctioning the destruction of the very animal that symbolizes that heritage. “Mustang” received numerous accolades, including an LA Times “best book of the year” designation and the California Book Award silver medal for nonfiction. It garnered praise from respected publications such as the Atlantic Monthly, Economist, NPR’s On Point, Orion, Seattle Times, Santa Fe New Mexican, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly, among others. The book’s impact extended beyond literature, fostering support for wild horse and burro preservation, catching the attention of President Obama, contributing to fundraising efforts for rescue organizations, and saving countless horses from an ill-fated journey to the slaughterhouse.
“Mister Fireman” is one of seven compelling plays scheduled for performances on the afternoons of Nov. 4 and 5, with the full program spanning into the weekend of Nov. 18 and 19.
