Background to the Roswell 1947 Play by Ken David Stewart

Background to the Roswell 1947 Play by Ken David Stewart

Lately there has been quite a bit of interest in my Roswell 1947 play. I have been releasing episodic, serialized rough drafts of the play on the internet. The problem is that the play is still a work in progress so it can be found in chunks on most of my web pages and blogging sites. You can find Roswell 1947 in the archives of my WordPress blog, kendavidstewart.com, as well as on TypePad, kendavidstewart.org. There are also archived post segments of the play to be found in the archives of Blogster.com and Blogger.com. Someday Roswell 1947 may become a published e-book so that my readers will be able to read the play all in one shot. If Roswell 1947 ever does come out in e-book form I will also include my own annotated notes.

I originally started writing Roswell 1947 with a specific audience and objective in mind a few years ago. At that time I was teaching a drama class to a group of men with severe and persistent psychiatric disabilities. I spent a fair amount of time looking for a play that would be suitable for my students. The men in my class had a very wide range of academic experience so it was very challenging and indeed a frustrating task to locate a published work that would be appropriate for this group. Not only was I looking for a play that would be educational, I was also in the market for a play that would be fun to practice. After a few weeks I got an idea. If I was unable to find a play that was appropriate for the needs of my students then perhaps I should create one.

With my muse on my shoulder I began to write. I have always been interested in legendary historical events. For many years I have had a strong interest in the Roswell Incident of 1947. Roswell, New Mexico was the area where a ufo had allegedly crashed on a rancher’s land. There were also reports of another nearby saucer crash where alien bodies were found. I originally intended to write this play with a serious perspective, but as I started to write, the play itself seemed to take control and wanted to write itself. At least this is how it felt to its author. The play itself started to move towards the genre of comedy and at times almost slapstick comedy. As soon as I was finished writing a few acts of the play I would present it to my class. To my delight the play was well received by my students.

I have also started a video version of Roswell 1947 on You Tube. One episode can already be found on the “haystacks601” channel or by looking up Ken David Stewart on You Tube or Google.

Roswell 1947 is the type of play that the reader will likely either love or hate. I can fully understand both kinds of reactions to it and welcome your questions and comments.

Have a great day,

Ken David Stewart