Creative Work

TRADITION OF SILENCE

A ruthless and ambitious mob captain. An idealistic FBI agent. And a woman in-the-know caught between two worlds, torn by her loyalties, her conscience, and her heart. The story of the lounge singer, Vivianna Sallese, unfolds during secret sessions with FBI Special Agent Harry Cipriani. As she reveals the family secrets underlying her marriage to mob captain Aldo Ruccio, Vivianna discovers her own heart as she learns to trust Harry, her unlikely ally. The lives of Harry and Vivianna quickly entwine in a unique relationship that strengthens with time, and stands the test of even the most damning confessions of guilt and betrayal.

Purchase at https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/530843-tradition-of-silence

BRIGHT RED BOOTS

Download songs from my former band, Bright Red Boots, on iTunes - or contact me for a limited edition CD (4 original signed copies left).  Also available via BandCamp.

https://brightredboots.bandcamp.com

Emily Rainbow Davis (songwriter, lead vocals, lead guitar)

Vince Ricci (rhythm guitar, back-up vocals)

George Henik (tuba, trombone, cello)

Alexa (Devin) Vicich (djembe, cymbal, maracas, claves, washboard) 

Lilith: Full-length play in two acts; 2 W, 3 M

Sottopassaggio (Underpass): One-Act play in three scenes, available in Italian and English; 2 W, 2 M, 4 N 

The Lavender Factor: One-Act play, 1 W

Paul Campbell Hits The Bigtime: One-Act play, 1 W, 1 M

SELECTED THEATRE WORK

Two Gentlemen of Verona: Lance

         (Judith Shakespeare)

The Vagina Monologues: Vagina Workshop 

(V-Day)

Saint Joan: Joan (WorkShop Theatre Co)

Lysistrata: Myhrinne (NY Renaissance Faire)

The Tempest: Stephano (Phare Play)

The Questioning: Madya Hussan (originated) (Emerging Artists)

Macbeth: Witch 3 / Young Seyward       

(NYActors Ensemble)

Liberty, The Musical: Peter the Newsboy (WorkShop Theatre Co)

Niya Tey Soung: Det. Maria Sanchez (orig.) (WorkShop Theatre Co)

Much Ado About Nothing: Margaret       

(Inwood Shakespeare)

MidSummer Night’s Dream: Hermia       (WorkShop Theatre Co)

Treasure Island: Jim Hawkins                     

(Inwood Shakespeare)

Peter Pan: Michael Darling                      (Theatreworks USA)

Butterflies Are Free: Jill Tanner          

(Theatre a la Carte)

The Cherry Orchard: Anya                

(Millenium Stage, Paris, France / 

Westside Repertory)

The Millionairess: Patricia Smith                   (Westside Repertory)

The Matchmaker: Ermengarde                      (Westside Repertory)

The Country Wife: Dainty Fidget                    (Westside Repertory)

An Inspector Calls: Sheila Birling                     (Theatre a la Carte)

The Star-Spangled Girl: Sophie Rauschmeyer     (Arts on the Mountain)

The Pajama Game: Gladys Hotchkiss                (Pocono Mt Musicals)

Once Upon a Mattress: Queen Aggravain               (Pocono Mt Musicals)

ADDITIONAL READINGS

The Heiress: Catherine Sloper                   

(Why? Theatre Project)

Proof: Catherine                            

(WorkShop Theater Co)

The Children’s Hour: Martha Dobie                        (Why? Theatre Project)

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window: Iris                               (Illyria Theatre)

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA 

Judith Shakespeare Company

"No doubt the one conspicuous star turn is Candide's Crab, which bests all the human actors onstage.  With a deadpan reminiscent of Buster Keaton, this Crab (of indeterminate breed) is a born dog actor.  Shifting to the human actors, there are also strong performances in this thirteen-member cast.  The natural acting of Alexandra Devin as Lance is quite apropos for her homespun monologues..."

~ Curtain Up

"Lance and Crab are played perfectly by Alexandra Devin and her dog Candide.  There is a well-known saying among actors that you should never go onstage with a live animal, because the audience will watch the dog and not you.  But Alexandra, who has strong character-acting chops and an interesting, expressive face, holds her own against her pup (though he is pretty darn cute)."

~ Theatre is East (theasy.com)

"Alexandra Devin steals every scene as Lance (with her real-life dog Candide!)."

~ WeLoveSoaps.net

THE TEMPEST

Phare Play Productions

"The play really takes off when the inebriated Trinculo and Stephano walk, or rather stumble, onstage.  In Hankins and Devin, the cross-dressing possibilities come to a most successful conclusion.  Their mock sword fight using dueling pistols is inspired.  Their braggadocio sits rakishly on female shoulders."

~ The NY Theatre Wire

THE ORGANIST'S DAUGHTER

The WorkShop Theater Company

"The organist's...daughter, Anna-Margareta, [was] played with a delightful and encouraging wink in her eye by Alexandra Devin."

~ OOBR

MACBETH

New York Actors Ensemble

"Among many...fine contributions are Letty Ferrer, Audrey Maeve Hager, and Alexandra Devin as the trio of eerie but giddy weird sisters."

~ BackStage

"There were...strong performances by Letty Ferrer, Audrey Maeve Hager, and Alexandra Devin as the Weyward Sisters."

~ OOBR

BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE

Theatre a la Carte

"Playing opposite [Richard Holst] as the free-spirited girl next door is the likable Alexandra Devin...They play off each other well and make an always engaging couple."

~ Queens Chronicle

THE CHERRY ORCHARD

Westside Repertory Theatre

"[Among the] noteworthy performances...lovely Alexandra Devin brought charm and sympathy to the ingenue role of Anya, the younger sister.  Her scenes...were touching, as she begins to see a brighter future in a new world order."

~ OOBR

TAVERN ON THE NET

Useful Arts Ensemble

"The auspicious meeting between a teenage runaway (Alexandra Devin) and a former high school teacher (Mike Jankowitz), fired following an indiscretion with a student, forms the dramatic fulcrum of the play.  Theirs is the...truly absorbing tale here."

~ BackStage

THE MATCHMAKER

Westside Repertory Theatre

"The supporting actors...did play their parts to the hilt: [among them] Alexandra Devin as Horace's weepy niece, Ermengarde.  They weren't afraid to overplay the distinctive traits and foibles of their characters and thus were a lot of fun to watch."

~ OOBR

THE MILLIONAIRESS

Westside Repertory Theatre

"The performers...handled the mountain of dialogue with notable aplomb, and they all offered sharply defined performances.  This was no minor achievement."

~ OOBR

"Alexandra Devin's Patricia Smith (Alistair's 'other' wife) is Epi's total opposite, demure, agreeable, and just the person Alistair can control."

~ Theatre Reviews Limited

A POEM FOR POPPOP

Poppop - pianos - powerful paws

playing popular songs, improvised jazz

playing trumpet and tennis

tickling ivory keys and brass valves

tackling tennis balls (until they tackled him)

teaching tennis and piano with patience

Poppop patiently playing.

Poppop Dragon - reluctant dragon - dancing and dodging

howling when his dragon tail caught in the door

hovering handwriting of his dragon poems

silly sashays with me as his sea serpent.

Sea - sailing - sailboat Sunfish Poppop

swimming and sailing on the Great and Finger Lakes,

listening to lilting waves

and catching whipping wind in smooth sails.

Poppop Carpenter constructing cradle and chair

crafting models, dollhouse, mending watches and jewelry,

Cultivating gardens and deconstructing crossword puzzles,

cracking croquet balls through white wickets.

Poppop patient while plied with little girl fingers

braiding his white hair into alfalfa sprouts.

Poppop in soft red and white sweater

sitting at the piano, powerful paws that patted my head.

"Be good. Behave yourself."

Poppop of music, harmony, and rhythm, 

his vibration shifts to a new frequency - 

listen for it in the dragon cave

as the tide flows out to sea.

BEAT

take the blue sky and fold it up into a big turquoise tent that stands tall in a clearing

wake up in the blue morning surrounded by blue walls and blue floor sweating blue

fall out of blue into green green green grass so much grass so green it glows so green it hurts

bare feet glide through green grass blue jeans and blue shirt in green grass

bathe in brown water but blue sky makes blue water held by green grass

brown water over

sun-browned skin  brown eyes in sun-browned faces

sun-browned hands hold me in

      brown water     water makes brown hair black slick black like oil       black black oil reflects bright yellow sun yellow sparkles on black hair and brown water and wet browned skin

crawl out of yellow sparkles onto green grass reach for tiny purple wild flowers stroke purple over browned skin under brown eyes smell purple scent so faint is it there or is purple scent only browned skin on green grass near brown water under yellow sparkles sparks flames flames fire orange fire snap snap under white moon glow night black night laugh in white orange heat leap in blue jeans and blue shirt onto brown dirt black dirt        I’ll wrestle you into brown dirt black dirt and I’ll win because you underestimate me in my blue jeans and blue shirt with my brown eyes that stroked purple over your browned skin

and so roll down a hill a green hill a long green hill roll in the black night in white moon glow

roll roll down down roll like Chopin rolling music down ivory white keys

roll roll down down roll into big blue tent

then kiss red passion on red lips red from orange 

fire heat red from wrestling in brown dirt black dirt red from rolling down green hill long green hill take the blue tent holding red and throw it back to the sky night black sky and tell me whisper to me in the night black sky that white moon glow sparkles in my brown eyes

THE DANCE

we swirl across the room, you and I

my hand in yours

your palm at my back

guiding me

leading me

two partners making love to a dance

and if I falter or stumble

you're there

you catch me

hold me

carry me along

we are connected by our bodies 

pressed together by love

of the dance

of each other

but the floor is crowded

and you need to lead

watch

look ahead

to keep from careening

headlong

into the others

on the dance floor

and your eyes

are always there

on the rest

of the world

and you forget

to look at me

even though

I'm here

right here

always here

in your arms

A SONNET OF THE ABSTRACTIONIST

I wanted it to be appropriate

for me, because with it, life seemed quite good,

and simply so serene, with time to wait

as calm washed o'er my mind; as calm it could.

But circumstances caused me to feel that big

things, more important things, could cut quite deep

into the souls of consciousness.  To dig

a hole down, further down, to find, to reap,

was necessary in the revelation

that a proof was found to change my mind;

to make me realize: a quirky nature

can be similar to one, in kind,

to one bright shining and glorious flame,

makes life more interesting and untame.

ROLLING

dark cold night

laughing in the night

running and laughing

racing and teasing

the cold cold night

shouting laughter

embracing the stars

in the laughing night

long green hill

steep steep green

on the long long hill

laughing on the hill

lie down on the hill

long green hill

rolling

rolling

roll roll roll roll

rolling

down the hill

down down down down

roll down the hill

the long steep hill

laughing at the bottom

of the long rolling hill

tangled and dirty

laughing in the night

with the starry night

with the long long green

steep rolling rolling hill

THE CHAIR

I was small, and I was round.

Just crawling, I think.

All over the house, up, and down.

And right there in front of me was

the chair.

I scrambled over the scratchy carpet,

my aim, the brown cotton upholstery

covered in yellow flowers

with a long skirt of material hanging to the floor, covering

the chair.

I crawled to the brown cloth

passing clumsily under it

until I was enclosed in the dark

where slivers of light peeked through on four sides of

the chair.

I turned around underneath

and poked my face out,

the skirt covering my head like a veil.

I smiled for the camera my mother snapped in my face.

Then I tried to crawl out, and my shoulders stopped me.

I tried to crawl backwards, and my head stopped me.

Back and forth, back and forth - I was stuck in

the chair.

HANDPRINTS ON THE WALL

I felt old today,

Watching the two little boys.

I kept thinking,

I'm your daddy's cousin.

I picked up a spray bottle,

filled with soapy, sudsy solution,

and a rag.

I knelt by the first smudge.

A peanut butter hand.

I cleaned it

until it was gone.

The next was a grape jelly hand.

And after that, glue.

Finger paint.

Spaghetti sauce.

Ice cream.

Toothpaste.

And then,

there he was.

The one-year-old,

with blond curls.

A cherub in diapers.

Sound asleep.

I smiled.

Placed a kiss on his cheek.

I didn't feel old today.

GRANDPA

now he may walk through the land of eternal summer

and play his violin and drink a toast

and dance a jig and sing to opera.

always laugh, dear old man.  

I hope your peace is beautiful away from this crazy world.

kiss the stars for me and I'll see you on the path someday

as you hold out your hand and wait for me to catch up.

i'll miss your David Niven smile

and that shiny forehead below your thin greasy hair

you washed with bar soap in the shower instead of shampoo.

long and lanky, wiggle your ears and jiggle your limbs;

play silly finger games.

I won't forget what you taught me.

so you came to this country at 17.

you were from Croatia but born in Austria and grew up in Italy.

Va bene, va bene.

You bought a knife at the dollar store and it cost you one dollar, one dollar,

and you were so proud.

and you got so sick of being told what to do

and how to do it

and when we left that time you cried as if to say,

"Don't leave me!"

and then you sat in a chair in the corner and scratched at your legs and fell asleep,

but I played you music 

and showed you pictures of Kennedy and Reagan

and you colored in Winnie the Pooh

and punched out the pop-up Noah's Ark model and figures.

only in the VA home about a year.

not too long.

didn't want to eat.

you weren't stupid.

you knew it was time and you were tired.

real tired.

tired of life and the effort it took.

somewhere you knew in that knotted-up mind that 

the land of eternal summer beckoned and called

so you decided you might as well follow.

back to dust now.

blow away and let the wind take you in her arms

and dance you off to the next best thing.

dance well, sweet old man.

ciao, mio nonno. arrivederci.

SOLID ROCK

tell me, love, where are you?

can you tell me, show me - 

where do I go?

talking to me in riddles I can't figure out.

where do they lead to?

no concentration - everything diffuses - no focus.

give me passion - fire, emotion, love.

the full moon had a ring around it

cold and strange - kind of yellow

I know what that means...things are shifting

change is coming

something's gotta give

happened the same way last time, too,

same time of year.

and I put the breaks on.

so now this time it was you - 

you put the breaks on

and then I saw the moon

what was it? just last week

that full moon with a ring around it

and so I let loose and dared

to step out on the wire 

see what happens

something happened

things shifted and change came - 

something gave way just like the moon said it would

you said, you've grown, you've become a woman

and I knew you were right

but I said, it was because of you

now I wonder if that's true

was it you or was it me?

when I grew out of who I used to be

some flighty teen who thought she had love all figured out

never anticipated all the shit that others go through

thought I'd been burned by a one-night stand

laughable

I didn't know the half of it

so I start out fresh

but this time I'm older

maybe wiser

more worldly

so why does my heart flutter

when you finally put your arm around me?

why does my chest dip

when you finally kiss me for real?

why do I feel

like a silly kid back in high school deep inside?

is it just physical?

am I just responding to stimuli 

when I've been missing it?

or is it real?

is it you?

how do I tell the difference

between what's true and if it's you?

is it real? is it you?

I want to walk up behind you

and wrap my arms around your chest

and nibble on your ear

and get the taste of flesh between my teeth

and see if it turns you on.

I am so...very...hungry...

are you safe and warm in your bed tonight?

or are you still catering to the whims of others,

waiting on tables when it should be a holiday?

at least there's heat, even if the electricity has been cut off.

cat burrows under my covers - warm body.

thinks she's so brave but there's fear behind the bravado.

am I the same? is it an act?

or is my confidence solid?

where's the rock?

BLOW

sometimes I need to let the valve loose

and let the top blow

BLOW BLOW BLOW

just enough to get the courage flowing

but it feels so good to be honest for once

I need nights like this for truth - 

truth, truth

who cares where it comes from

just flow on out like a waterfall and keep on coming

maybe it's not too late to blow off a little steam

where is my mind tonight?

why can't my whole life be as free as this?

I want freedom - this is freedom - 

no curfew, no bedtime, just free as a bird

and well it won't last

but I'll get there eventually

I'll hit the height I'm aiming for

swear to my full moon goddess

I'll get there

wait and see

nothing better hold me back because I won't wait

dizzy from the height

need some tender love and care - 

human touch

is it out there?

can you hear me calling for it?

the truth is there

secrets be damned

I wanna dance til dawn