Our first production, Standing On My Knees by John Olive had a successful six week run at the Gardner Stages, January 11th-February 17th, 2008.

Catherine is a beautiful young poet with two published books to her credit, and a publisher who believes in (and is perhaps obsessed with) her talent. But Catherine is also schizophrenic, tormented by all the noise of the many voices in her head.  Her supportive therapist prescribes an anti-psychotic which quiets things down. A young stockbroker (who is incidentally not without a few serious internal demons of his own) falls hard for Catherine, and they begin a serious romance.  But the medication is stifling her creative impulses and her art. She has a choice: She can remain on her pills and be kept quiet; Or, she can withdraw from her medication and re-connect with the work that gives her joy. But that way lies certain madness. What shall she do?
            Prolific playwright John Olive is the writer of eighteen produced plays, the most famous of which is the much-produced “The Voice of the Prairie.” “Standing on My Knees” had its world premiere in 1981. It has not been produced professionally in Los Angeles since 1987.

            This inaugural production of the Collaborative Artists’ Ensemble stars Meg Wallace, Rachel Hardy, Emmy® winner Barbara Keegan, and Brian Barth (Fridays) and Nathan Van Williams (Saturdays) and Lia Sargant (Understudy for Joanne)