The Would-Be President (Original 2019 version)
This is the ORIGINAL 2019 version. The Deluxe version, published in 2021, has more stuff. See my Etsy page for that one.
---------
“The Would-Be President” is a humorous play that parodies Donald Trump. It is based on a famous comedy by Moliere, from the 1600s, in which a buffoon tries to make himself an aristocrat by marrying off his unwilling daughter to Turkish royalty. In this adaptation we see a “would-be president” who tries to make himself into "the most famous world leader in history, forever” by doing something equally selfish.
The play is a farce which presents dignified people of color in direct opposition to a Trump-style clown and his entitled family. The interactions between these two groups allow for cutting commentary on the influence of personal responsibility on leadership. The humorous hook of the play is this: From whom would the most powerful man on Earth expect to get more power? And what would that power look like? There is a hint on the back cover where a small flying saucer appears in the top left corner.
I live and write in Southern California. My plays, stories, essays and poems have appeared in scores of indepdendent publications, touching virtually all genres. If you include the front and back cover, this zine includes six full-page illustrations. This self-published play is three acts long. 60 pages. In it you will find lines right out of today's headlines mixed with lines right out of King Louis the 14th's court.
To read the first 15 pages and watch an unboxing video click here. (Please note these scans are a little grainy. The text in the actual zine, however, was professionally printed and is razor sharp.)