Blinders

by Patrick Gabridge

3 Males, 1 Female, 4 Chorus Members. Scientists announce that they have found two people who are exactly alike. Not twins, but two identical human beings. Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Karen Sayer can clearly see that the "duplicates," Chris and Alex, look absolutely nothing alike. No one else seems to notice, or care, and the media unleashes a feeding frenzy over the new scientific discovery. With modern science and the media behind them Chris and Alex are catapulted to instant celebrity. With the help of Karen's salesman fiancé Stack, the incredible identicals campaign for the Presidency under the slogan "Two Heads Are Better Than One." Knowing she must do something to awaken the world, Karen is suddenly thrust to the forefront of an assassination attempt. Will she have the courage to follow through? Will she succeed before it's too late? Only the outrageous conclusion holds the answers.

"A delightfully wicked satire. A zany, no-holds barred funhouse."
-- Off Off Broadway


"Bitingly clever. Blinders is a challenging, imaginative piece."
-- The Denver Post


"A provocative look at the insanity of television brainwashing and the gullibility of humans."
-- Rocky Mountain News

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2011

About the author

My novels include The Secret of Spirit Lake, Steering to Freedom, Tornado Siren and Moving [a life in boxes]. My work for radio has been broadcast by NPR, Shoestring Radio Theatre, Playing on Air, and Icebox Radio Theatre.

My full-length plays include Flight, Distant Neighbors, Lab Rats, Constant State of Panic, and Blinders, and have been staged by theaters across the country. My passion for history extends to the stage, and my historical plays include work about the creation of the English Bible (Fire on Earth), the astronomers Kepler and Tycho (Reading the Mind of God), a volcanic eruption on Martinique (The Prisoner of St. Pierre), 19th century Boston publisher Daniel Sharp Ford (None But the Best), and the 1770 Boston Massacre (Blood on the Snow).

I've been a Playwriting Fellow with the Huntington Theatre Company and with New Repertory. Recent commissions include plays and musicals for In Good Company, The Bostonian Society, Central Square Theatre, and Tumblehome Learning. My short plays are published by Playscripts, Brooklyn Publishers, Heuer, Smith & Kraus, and YouthPlays, and have received more than a thousand productions from theatres and schools around the world.

I have a habit of starting things: I helped start Boston’s Rhombus writers’ group, the Chameleon Stage theatre company in Denver, the Bare Bones Theatre company in New York, the publication Market InSight... for Playwrights, and the on-line Playwrights’ Submission Binge. I'm also a member of the Dramatists Guild, StageSource, and a board member of the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund. I am currently the co-founder and coordinator of the New England New Play Alliance and am actively involved with the Boston theater scene.

My work has received numerous awards, including fellowships from the Colorado Council on the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Commission.

In his spare time, I like to farm and fix up old houses.