The Springvale Armadillo
A false diagnosis forced seventeen-year-old Ruby into isolation seventy years ago. She was stripped of her identity and endured seven decades in a forgotten world. Now, in 1987, a grieving journalist arrives, seeking a story of survival, hoping Ruby’s past may hold the answers he desperately needs.
Donald Loftus is an American playwright, librettist, and lyricist with works presented across the U.S., the U.K., India, Australia, and Sweden. He has been recognized for his achievements, including selection for the William Inge Theatre Festival, the W. Keith Hedrick National Playwriting Award, and the Southeast Texas Festival of New Plays. His recent works include his family drama, “DRIFTWOOD,” his musical “ILLUSION,” which was selected for the Colorado New Musical Festival and the Emerging Artist Spark Theatre Festival in NYC, and his psycho-drama “PER” was produced by the Theatre Lab Theater Project in Tampa, Florida. His one-acts have been showcased in over one hundred festivals nationwide. Before his playwriting career, Donald worked in the luxury beauty industry, serving as the U.S. President for Versace Profumi, Y.S.L. Beauté, and Procter & Gamble Prestige, among others. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Dramatists Guild Foundation.
Bruce recently directed the critically acclaimed production of Chekhov’s THE SEAGULL at The Odyssey starring Sasha Alexander and James Tupper. His productions of KING LEAR (2003) and UNCLE VANYA (2002) at the MET Theatre in Los Angeles also received critical attention. Other directing credits include: THE CHERRY ORCHARD, WILD HONEY, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA and CLOUD 9. As an actor, Bruce has appeared on Broadway with Tony Randall’s National Actor’s Theatre and in numerous off- and off-off Broadway venues, including NY Shakespeare Festival’s Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. In Los Angeles he’s played at the Mark Taper Forum, the Pasadena Playhouse and many smaller theatres. His book, ACTING CHEKHOV:AN ACTOR’S PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE MAJOR PLAYS, based on his popular webinars, Secrets of Chekhov, is due for publication in 2026. Bruce currently teaches at the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Yale School of Drama (’88). www.secretsofchekhov.com