Posts By catherineforever666

Dana Lynn Formby featured on prestigious ‘Kilroy’ List!

June 30, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Chicago · News

OU Alumni Dana Lynn Formby is once again honored on the Kilroy list! Her play “The Labeler” was one of honorable mentions. This list was a tool created by the all female LA activist group of writers who were looking for ways to promote gender parity in the theater. They said so many gatekeepers were saying there were no good plays by female artists, so they got gate keepers to vote on the most exciting unproduced plays by women. Dana also had a play on the list last year.

Here is a little synopsis of “The Labeler”: Two sisters, one “successful” one “…not so much”, must agree on the best way to lay their mother to rest. One sweet boon is she left them a piece of her in the form of a podcast, downloadable on iTunes. This is a hilarious, heartbreaking, suspenseful play that examines what it means—and what it takes to finally say goodbye.”

The play had development at Chicago Dramatists and was a semi-finalist for the Blue-Ink Prize at American Blues Theater.

Congrats Dana! Hope this place finds a good, friendly home!

About Dana

Dana Lynn Formby is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists. Her play JOHNNY 10 BEERS’ DAUGHTER was listed on the Kilroys’ Honorable mention list for 2015. Her play AMERICAN BEAUTY SHOP was read at Steppenwolf’s First Look 2014. It was also nominated for Kilroy’s 2014’s “The List.” Her plays have been produced, workshopped, and read by Pegasus, Chicago Dramatists, Mortar Theatre Company, Steep, PICT, Victory Gardens, WordBRIDGE, Florida Studio Theatre, The Alliance Theatre of Atlanta, The Kennedy Center, and New York Theatre Workshop. Her short play A DECK OF MONSTERS was featured in Goodman’s New Play Bake-Off. Her play UNTIL DEATH was produced in 2015 at Concordia University Chicago in association with Chicago Dramatists. She is represented by The Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency in New York. She was a Finalist for the 2015 Princess Grace Award in playwriting.

Tyler Whidden’s thesis play to be produced at Ensemble Theater in Ohio!

May 25, 2016
by catherineforever666
· News

Recent Alum Tyler Whidden’s new play “Occupation:Dad” will be part of the 2016-17 season at Ensemble Theater in Cleveland. The play received a thesis production at the Seabury Quinn Jr Festival and also received the prestigious Trisolini Fellowship. He has worked on previous plays with Ensemble including “Dancing with N.E.D” and “Run Kingsbury Run.”

Synopsis of Occupation:Dad: Jason has a job, okay? He just works from home now. Things are tough nowadays what with the economy and all. So, stop looking at him like that. Lots of dads stay home with their babies. Right? It’s no big deal and it’s really not that tough. Except his kid won’t walk. And his mother won’t help. And his older brother’s a jerk-off. And his sister’s kids are already perfect and the playground moms are psychotic and everybody on Facebook hates him. But, other than all that, everything is just hunky-dory. Except his dad – you know what, forget his dad. It’s fine. Seriously. Everything is …

Congrats Tyler! Check the play out in Ensemble’s next season!

More about Tyler

Tyler Whidden was born and raised in Cleveland, OH where he grew up the least-talented son of a hockey-first family. After earning his BFA in Playwriting at Ohio University, he began a tragic career as a stand-up comic based out of Seattle, WA. As a comedian, Tyler was labeled by critics and fans alike as, “hilarious,” “tragic,” and “probably stoned.” After years of toiling on the road, he moved to Chicago where he returned to theater, studying and working with Victory Gardens and the Neo-Futurists theaters among many others.He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College and worked as Director of Education with the great Ensemble Theatre of Cleveland.His play Dancing With N.E.D. has seen productions in New Jersey, Ohio, and Washington. His family-friendly farce, The Unofficial Almost True Campfire Tales of Put-in-Bay was commissioned by the Put-in-Bay Arts Council as part of their Bicentennial Celebration of the Battle of Lake Erie in the Summer of 2013 and his one-act play, Detour, was part of the “Truck Stop Plays” production in Chicago.He is the 2015 – 2016 recipient of the prestigious Anthony Trisolini Named Fellowship and 2016 graduate of the MFA Playwriting program at Ohio University under Charles Smith and Erik Ramsey.

Read Jason Half’s Fascinating article on voice!

May 25, 2016
by catherineforever666
· alumni · Essays · News

Read Jason Half’s short, thoughtful article on the writing process and voice here!

Here is a little excerpt:

Writers might not spend a lot of time considering and defining their individual creative voices, and that’s probably a good thing. As often with the writing process, overthinking and overanalyzing can become a liability. But taking a few minutes to identify your own artistic voice may strengthen your future writing and offer a new perspective on previous work.

On the surface, a creative voice seems like an easy feature to spot. Stephen King’s voice is markedly different from Raymond Chandler’s, and Agatha Christie’s voice would likely not be mistaken by faithful readers with those of P.D. James or Ruth Rendell. Some of the elements defining voice are obvious signifiers, like narrative style or tone or type of story. Algorithms could be built, using word choices and genre structures and character types, which could reliably identify the data-driven aspects of voice. This one must be Charles Dickens. Hello there, Shakespeare.

More about Jason

Jason Half is a graduate of Ohio University’s M.F.A. Playwriting program. His stage plays have had readings in Chicago and Pittsburgh and performances in Maine, Ohio, and Minnesota. He is the recipient of the 2010 Scott McPherson Playwriting Award and, as writer and director, his film THE BALLAD OF FAITH DIVINE won the Best Feature award at 2009’s Colony Film Festival. His one-act play LOCKED ROOM MISERY has received productions at Marietta College and Washington State Community College in southern Ohio. Recently, two television scripts have been finalists in national screenwriting contests. Jason has taught film, theater, scriptwriting, literature and composition courses at colleges in West Virginia and southern Ohio.

Jeremy Sony has new play at Curtain Players this June!

May 16, 2016
by catherineforever666
· News · Productions

OU Alumni Jeremy Sony’s new play Robin Hood and The Secret of Sherwood will be presented at Curtain Players in Ohio, outdoors Thursday-Saturdays June 16-18 and 23-25 in the Alum Creek Park Amphitheatre, West Main Street, Westerville. It is in conjunction with the City of Westerville’s Park and Recreation Department.

Here is a synopsis of the play: Sword fights, secret identities, love, betrayal, and redemption: History and legend collide in this new tale of Robin Hood. When the Brothers Huntingdon lost their parents to the treachery of King Henry of the Plantagenets, their lives took very different paths. One became an outlaw. One became the sheriff. When their paths cross again in Sherwood Forest, they find a Queen fighting for freedom, the King who destroyed their family, and the truth about their connection to the legendary Robin Hood. Their feud puts the very future of England at stake, as one brother puts himself before his kin, while the other discovers that being an outlaw might just be in his blood.

Congrats Jeremy! See it if you’re in the area!!

For more information on the show click here

To access the Facebook event click here

DETAILS/How to see it

Robin Hood & the Secret of Sherwood
Adapted from legend by Jeremy Sony
Directed by Keely Kurtas-Chapman

WHEN: June 16, 17, 18 & 23, 24, 25 @ 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Alum Creek Park Amphitheater, Westerville, OH

To buy tickets click here

More about Jeremy

Jeremy Sony is a Midwest-based writer and co-founder of Theatre Daedalus. His plays include: Out of the Darkness (Available Light 24 Hour Theatre 2016), The Last Queen of Wonderland (Street Theatre Co., ClassAct Dramatics), The Century Box (World Premiere, Little Theatre Off Broadway), Robin Hood and the Secret of Sherwood (Curtain Players, STC Class Act Dramatics); Sleepy Hollow: The Lost Chapter (STC., ClassAct Dramatics); The View at the End (Available Light 24 Hour Theatre 2014); Parallaxis and Cuckold Walks Into A Bar (MadLab Theatre Roulette 2014); Advice to the Happy Couple (MadLab, Theatre Roulette 2013); and The Cosmonaut in Human Resources (Luna Theatre). Other plays in active development include: Pathogenesis (Reading, Nashville Repertory Theatre) and Frackture (Workshop, TAGS New Play Project). Sony’s plays have also been seen and developed at Penobscot Theater, Curtain Players Theatre, Playhouse Nashville’s Ten Minute Playhouse, Western Michigan University, The Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Ohio University MFA Playwrights Workshop, and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. AWARDS & RESIDENCIES: 2013-2014 Ingram New Works Lab Residency (Nashville Repertory Theatre); Scott McPherson Playwriting Award (2012); 2012-2013 Anthony Trisolini Graduate Fellowship; 2010 Heideman Award Finalist (Spin Cycle). FILM: The Last Con (Two Pop Productions); Separation Anxiety (Best Drama, 2012 Riverbend Film Festival; produced by Glass City Films, featuring Emmy-winner John Wesley Shipp and Drama Desk nominee Polly Adams). OTHER WRITING: “Hard Stop” (published by Outskirts Press under the pseudonym Jamie Rotham). Sony holds an M.F.A. in Playwriting from Ohio University and a B.A. in Film & Television from the University of Notre Dame. He has studied under playwrights Charles Smith, Erik Ramsey, Merri Biechler, Mark Pilkinton, Doug Wright, and Kara Lee Corthron. Sony lives in central Ohio with his wife and son, and several cats. When he’s not writing plays or films, Sony is a Web Content Manager. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, and many social media sites under the handle @JeremyWrites.

Philana chosen for Bay Area Playwrights Festival!

April 19, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · Festival · News

Current first year playwright Philana Omorotionmwan is one of six playwrights chosen for the Bay Area Playwrights festival in San Francisco to develop her new play this summer! The new play festival runs July 15th through the 24th and Philana’s play Before Evening Comes will be featured.

Here is a little bit about the play: It’s the year 2083. A draconian government mandate renders nearly all males of color homebound and disabled as they reach manhood, but for a few beacons of virtue. But Mary, mother to four boys, is determined to find any way necessary to subvert her boys’ fate. A dystopian parable of our times.

Here is a quote from Philana about her process on this play:“I typically start from a place of questions when I write. For this play I asked myself: What does it mean to choose motherhood as a black woman in 21st century America? Can artistic expression offer the possibility of freedom from a life of bondage? I continue to explore these questions as I dive into my rewrites for the festival.”

Congrats Philana on this awesome and prestigious development opportunity!

Catherine Weingarten interviewed by us about Seabury Quinn

April 18, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · Festival · News

Hi everyone! Welcome to our interview series with the current rockin MFA playwrights, leading up to Seabury Quinn! Catherine Weingarten is a 2nd year MFA playwright and wrote the new play “Shut Up, I’m on a Diet!” She is known in the playwriting program for her girly plays, her intense imagery and her fun personality ! Check out the interview below and then see her playthis Saturday the 21st at 4pm!! Also watch out for all 7 of the other interviews with our other writers!

1.This year your play deals with issues of eating disorders. What made you pursue this subject?

I have been interested in how people develop eating disorders and dieting pressure ever since I was a helpline intern at the National Eating Disorder Association in NYC. I am interested in my writing in exploring society’s expectations for women to look a certain way and that effect on us. Body image is a subject that many people have tons of awkward, intense, torturous feelings about but are scared to articulate them. Before I got to Ohio University, I had written a few short plays about body image including a weird, girly one act called “Whipped Dream”, about three girls binging, making out with each other and dealing with their bodies. But “Shut Up, I’m on a Diet!” is my first full length play looking at the pressure young people are faced with to be beautiful and to have the ideal body.

2.Everyone in the program knows you have colorful and expressive language in your plays. How did you implement it in this play and can you give us an example?

Well as I writer, I always have been obsessed with language and writing it how I really hear it. I like to twist words, makes them up and explode them until they feel real to me. Each play is another chance to explore and experiment. I think specifically in this play, the treatment center is wild, over the top but has creepy roots to reality and how we conduct therapy. I love creating sexy feminine dream worlds that kinda make sense and are also kinda too girly for the average person to fully understand.

Here’s a little excerpt from my play,where Tess has finally got at the treatment center, “Little Mermaids in Distress”:

DIGBY
But just so you guys know,
I’m not some fancy intern robot,
I’m a person also!
When I’m not an intern at “Little Mermaids in Distress”,
I am pursuing my PHD at Pennsylvania Dreams University,
It’s a school created from a large endowment by Burger King
Just 20 mins from here,
And I also have a passion for lady bugs
And have a big collection in my dorm
Room here!
You ladies care to share anything about yourselves??
Break da ice!!!

PIXIE
I’ll go!
So about mee…
I love friendship as a concept,
Taking notes,
And Watching as many Disney movies
In one day as I possibly can handleee
And pleasing everyone
And making every possible person
Happy at all times oh yaaa!

TESS
Taking notes????
That’s a hobby?

DIGBY
We are not here to judge Tess,
But to transform our bodies
From ugly cocoons to
Sexy…, powerful, teen butterflies,
Start anew.

3.At the heart of your play lies a close father/daughter relationship. Why did you want to explore this father/daughter dynamic and what’s important about it in your play?

I have a habit of writing about older man and younger women;but this relationship is super interesting and complicated within a family. How does a girl get influenced by her father? Does it affect the kind of people she wants to date? What kind of ideas of womanhood does a man pass on to his daughter? This relationship can be super fun, great, confusing or really depressing:or all those things at once. In “Shut Up, I’m on a Diet!” Tess is getting sent to an eating disorder treatment center by her father who recently got out of prison. When writing this relationship, I wanted to explore parents being too needy to exists and needing their kids more than their kids needed them. I wanted to explore the idea of blame, overdependence and hidden connection. I think at the heart of this play is this frayed connection between Tess and her dad. Can their relationship be smooth after so much turmoil has entered their life? See the play and find out!! Bam!!

Since your play deals with eating disorders, obviously food is talked about a lot. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

What a great question!! Well I really have the most insane sweet tooth, so it would be twizzlers, candy is a food right??

Now that you love Catherine, come see her reading!

Details:

SHUT UP, I’M ON A DIET!
Written by Catherine Weingarten
4:00 pm, Saturday April 23rd, Elizabeth Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
When 16-year-old Tess gets sent to a sketchy mermaid-themed eating disorder treatment center, her whole life is turned around. With intense pressure from her overbearingly needy father, Tess’s goal of actually take control of her life and being a real live adult seems like it’s never gunna happen. But when Tess meets Digby, a random kinda douchey guy who works at the center, it seems like things might finally get sexier!

More about Catherine

Catherine Weingarten hails from Ardmore, PA also known as the area that inspired the preppy sexy TV show “Pretty Little Liars.” Catherine’s comedic plays delve into the societal pressure placed on young women to be both impossibly good looking as well as ridiculously intellectual, humble, kind as can be but sexy. Her plays usually include some hot fantasy sequences which helps attract the common man into the theater! She recently graduated from Bennington College in Vermont where she studied playwriting(with Sherry Kramer) as well as gender, mediation and environmental studies. Her short plays have been done at such theaters as Ugly Rhino Productions, Fresh Ground Pepper, Wishbone Theater Collective and Nylon Fusion Collective. She is currently the playwright in residence for “Realize Your Beauty Inc” which promotes positive body image for kids by way of theater arts. Catherine is thrilled to pursue her MFA at OU and thankful for the awesome opportunity for baller mentorship. catherine-weingarten.squarespace.com

Rachel Bykowski interviewed by us about Seabury Quinn!

April 17, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · Festival · News

Hi everyone! Welcome to our interview series with the current rockin MFA playwrights, leading up to Seabury Quinn! Rachel Bykowski is a 2nd year MFA playwright and wrote “Making Charlie” She is known in the playwriting department for passionate activist spirit, her goodlooking shoes and her hard working attitude! Check out the interview below and then see her play, Thursday April 19th!! Also watch out for all 7 of the other interviews with our other writers!

1.Tell me about your process for creating “Making Charlie”? Was it a fun and sexy process or a harder one?

I was inspired by this non-fiction book I read that interviewed a village of people in rural Albania. Within this culture, it is important to give birth to sons for various reasons: men are allowed to fight and protect the family from “blood feuds” and men make the business/economic/political decisions for their home and village. Women in this culture are relegated to domestic work and cannot engage in social activities like drinking and eating with men. If a family happens to have all daughters, that family can decide to raise one daughter as a son and she is called a “sworn virgin.” She is then raised and treated as a man. She even adopts the male gender clothing and hairstyles. This daughter can now take charge of her family and engage in political and social discussions with men. However, the sworn virgin does have to sacrifice intimacy/her sexuality. She cannot marry or engage in sexual activities with men or women.

What intrigued me the most about this belief is when the interviewers asked the sworn virgins if they missed publicly being women and the intimacy/sexuality that comes with that, unanimously the sworn virgins replied they absolutely didn’t. Being a man with those privileges is far better.

2. In your play you do not shy away from big issues: why do you think sexual violence is an issue people need to understand better and how can making art about it help people to get a better understanding?

I want people to understand that sexual violence just doesn’t come from out of nowhere. It is something that is developed and conditioned over time in a person’s life. With this play, I am looking at how male privilege is a factor that creates sexual violence, especially when it goes unchecked. But the power is intoxicating.

3. If your play was a shoe, what kinda shoe would it be and why?

I guess for this one, a baseball cleat.

4. what’s a fun fact about you?

Last summer and this summer I will be working at a feminist bookstore in Chicago called “Women and Children First.”….If you are a fan of of the series Portlandia, the answer is, yes, its kind of similar and all amazing!

Now that you love Rachel, come see Rachel’s reading!

Details

MAKING CHARLIE or CUTTER

Directed by Allison Epperson
Written by Rachel Bykowski
4:00 pm, Thursday April 21st, Elizabeth Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Charlie is finally the starting pitcher for the St. Joseph’s Wolves high school baseball team. Pitching is all Charlie wants to do. Pitching a no-hitter means control and all Charlie wants is control of that mound. But Charlie has a secret that makes him different from the rest of the boys on the field. Charlie is actually a girl who has been pretending to be a boy since childhood. When St. Joe’s welcomes Amy, an ace softball pitcher with the fastest pitch in their division as the first and only girl on the team, Charlie must now defend her place on the mound.

More about Rachel

Rachel Bykowski was born and raised in Chicago. She writes plays that examine the masks people wear to conceal their true identities to blend into society and explores the repercussions when the masks are ripped off. Her work often includes proactive female characters that raise awareness to issues surrounding women. Rachel received her BFA in Playwriting from The Theatre School of DePaul University. Her playwriting credits include her full length plays: Original Recipe produced by DePaul University; staged reading of Got to Kill Bitch presented by Cock and Bull Theatre in Chicago; and staged reading of Glory vs. The Wolves presented by 20% Theatre Company Chicago and hosted by Women and Children First Bookstore as part of an event to raise awareness about rape culture. Her one act plays include: The Best Three Minutes of My Life produced by Bradley University; Break-Up Court and Pay Phone produced by 20% Theatre Company Chicago; The Invisible Onesproduced by Fury Theatre in Chicago; and She Sings For You produced and published by Commedia Beauregard in Chicago. Rachel is also a proud company member of 20% Theatre Company Chicago. She is very excited to continue her writing career and pursuing her MFA in Playwriting under the tutelage of Ohio University.

Natasha Smith interviewed by us about Seabury Quinn

April 15, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Festival · News

Hi everyone! Welcome to our interview series with the current rockin MFA playwrights, leading up to Seabury Quinn! Natasha Smith is a 1st year MFA playwright and wrote “Remind Me Why We’re Doing this Again.” She is known in the playwriting department for her friendly attitude, her high class vocab and her bold work.! Check out the interview below and then see her play, Friday April 20th!! Also watch out for all 7 of the other interviews with our other writers!

1.Your first year play delves into the provocative and fascinating subject of polyamory and marriage. What made you interested in writing about this?

I’ve spent a lot of my twenties thinking about relationships and marriage. I grew up with the expectation that I would marry and be a stay-at-home mom, and as I’ve grown up my ideas about what my life could be have expanded exponentially. Marriage still appeals to me, though: it’s a secure commitment and people understand it implicitly, even as it’s constantly changing to more fully reflect a wider range of relationships. I’m interested in the ways that conforming to cultural expectations can erase parts of our identities–for instance, when a bisexual and polyamorous woman is read as heterosexual and monogamous because of the expression of her partnership. Erasure may be uncomfortable, but it’s also safer. So which is better?

What has been your process like developing this play? Was it similar to processes before grad school?

It’s been rough! I’ve never waded this deeply into the process of developing a play. It’s mucky, consuming, and very unsatisfying ninety percent of the time. I’ve stripped the play down to its bones and even further more than once, and it’s changed direction over and over. I think what I’ve gotten better at this year is asking the right questions. I hope I’ll be able to get the audience to do the same.

What kinda plays piss you off not in a cute way?

Plays that let me be comfortable. I don’t love confrontation in real life, but in art I find it necessary. I get frustrated with plays that pat me on the back and make me feel superior, rather than reminding me that my human-ness is as complicated and uncomfortable as everyone else’s.

4.what’s a fun fact about you?

I took my first writing class when I was five, and wrote a story from the perspective of my grandma’s rug.

Now that you love Natasha, come see her reading!!

REMIND ME WHY WE’RE DOING THIS
Written by Natasha Smith
2:00 pm, Friday April 22nd, Elizabeth Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Commitment means marriage…right? When Zahira and Asher decide to tie the knot, they aren’t sure how following such a traditional route will change their polyamorous relationship. Will marriage bring them closer together or force them to compromise their ideals? It doesn’t help that they’ve fallen for their wedding planner, Zahira’s sister is in town, and they don’t know what will happen if certain people find out they’re actually non-monogamous. Navigating the personal and the public, this play interrogates what it means to be a vulnerable individual in a society that demands strength and certainty.

More about Natasha

Natasha Smith’s play Catapult was a semi-finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and received a staged reading with Arizona Theatre Company in 2014, where she served as the Artistic Intern for two years. She has also worked with Horizon Theatre and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Natasha’s play In Her Place was produced at Amherst College, where she studied Theater/Dance and English, and won the Denis Johnston Playwriting Award from Smith College. She has taught creative writing in the US and in Kenya, and is a three-time recipient of the Roland Wood Fellowship from Amherst College. www.natashawrites.com

Philana interviewed by us about Seabury Quinn!

April 14, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · Festival · News

Hi everyone! Welcome to our interview series with the current rockin MFA playwrights, leading up to Seabury Quinn! Philana Omorotionmwan is a 1st year MFA playwright and wrote a new, provocative play about race and casting called “Strong Face.” She is known in the playwriting world here for her love of language, her soulful style and her shy and edgy demeanor! Check out the interview below and then see the reading very month,Saturday April 23rd at 1pm!! Also watch out for all 7 of the other interviews with our other writers!

1. Your first year play delves into issues of actors of color and casting. What made you interested in exploring this issue?

I was and remain more interested in portrayals and perceptions of black women in general than I am in actors and casting specifically. The idea that black women are stronger (both physically and emotionally) and less “feminine” than women of other races is deeply embedded in the foundation of this country; it had to be in order to justify sending women to work in the fields side by side with men. Because I think the media has a lot to do with continuing to perpetuate those representations, actors and casting became the vehicles I used to develop a story exploring my interests. Of course, #OscarsSoWhite took off right around the time I completed a first draft of the play so that conversation has definitely influenced the play as I’ve developed it.

2. You’re a playwright who seems to have a lot of interest in language and why we say things the was we say them. What about exploring language does it for you?

There are a lot of reasons I think about language in the way that I do, probably including that English is neither my mother nor my father’s first. I suspect I became convinced that if they could have just picked the right word at the right moment when talking to each other, things might have gone differently. I also believe another reason is that deep down I really just want to be a musician. The first thing I remember answering when asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was a singer. But I couldn’t sing. I tried my hand at the piano and the clarinet but didn’t have the discipline needed to become good at either. However, there’s still this part of me that longs to make music. Arranging words on the page is the closest I’ll probably ever get to doing that.

3. If your play wanted to propose to me, how would she do it and why?

My play probably wouldn’t propose to you because she doesn’t want to share her life with anybody. Because that would require being vulnerable. Which is not her thing. So she’d probably just tell you really bad jokes that you’d find offensive until you decide to leave her.

4. What’s a fun fact about you?

In the year following my college graduation, I had a total of six jobs: pizza buffet restaurant waitress, grocery store cashier, public school substitute teacher, dental and vision insurance claims data entry temp, ACT/SAT test prep tutor (which I continued to do for seven years), and youth mentor in an after-school abstinence-only program. And my parents said no one would hire me with an English degree.

Now that you love herrr, come see her play reading!

Details below

STRONG FACE
by Philana Omorotionmwan

Free admission
1:00 pm, Saturday April 23rd, Elizabeth Baker Theater, Kantner Hall

About: Maybe it’s her “energy.” Maybe it’s her hair. Or maybe it’s just her skin. Whatever it is, no one in Follywood seems to be able to see that actress Bentley Jones is a woman. But when she learns that major studio 19th Century Cocks has green lit a pick-a-flick guaranteed to earn its female star an impOSTOR nomination, Bentley has to decide if she’s ready for her real close up.

Also check out our page on Seabury QUinn

More about Philana

Philana Omorotionmwan was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She uses writing to create images that explore the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Her short plays have been produced at Ensemble Studio Theater, Manhattan Theatre Source, and Berkeley Rep. Her poems have been published in New Delta Review and African American Review. Philana earned her BA from Stanford University and is excited to be pursing an MFA here at OU. You can find out more about her work at philanaplays.weebly.com.

Ryan patrick Dolan interviewed by us about Seabury Quinn

April 13, 2016
by catherineforever666
· Festival · News

Hi everyone! Welcome to our interview series with the current rockin MFA playwrights, leading up to Seabury Quinn! Ryan Patrick Dolan is a 3rd year MFA playwright and wrote of the mainstage plays, “Bait Shop.” He is known for his love of improv, his confessional work and being pretty pretty funny.! Check out the interview below and then see his production this very month!! Also watch out for all 7 of the other interviews with our other writers!

If your play was an outfit, what would it be and why??

Ratty, dirty baseball uniform of your favorite team that you wore as a kid. It doesn’t quite fit, but there is no chance in hell you’ll ever throw it out.

What kind of mood do you want your play to put me in? Like when I leave the theater will I be crying on the floor, craving snacks, wanting to fall in love etc.

Well, I only hope they’re not bored. Otherwise, you can’t control people’s moods unless you’re just trying to piss them off. That’s easy to do and takes no skill. Worrying about what mood an audience member will have when they leave is one of the least constructive questions an artist can ask themself. When I write for the stage, I try to mix humor with a darker exploration of human motivations. If my audience is viscerally affected in someway, and the humor was able to bring the audience into a deeper connection to the story, then that is satisfying. Aristotle gives a good blue print for how to do this, but there are a variety of ways to tell a story and accomplish it. The Aristotlean structure still gets studied and executed, because it’s the best blueprint to deliver the desired outcome of what Aristotle called “catharsis. I prefer the term “visceral” (from the gut) than “catharsis,” because I think it’s more accurate description of the audiences’ experience in that the audience’s emotional reaction is directly connected to being the same room as the actors telling the story. That’s how any theatrical experience works best for me. Visceral can be laughter, anger, sadness, empathy. Those are all things that can “purge” your soul. A well-executed improv show by a longform improv troupe can be as cathartic as the best written and produced play. Considering Aristotle never saw a play (theater was outlawed by the Spartans when he was alive), and only read them, most theater artists, can speak to how theater actually works better than someone who never saw a play executed in person. Considering you can tell a tighter, better executed story via TV or Film and theoretically deliver “catharsis,” a theater artist has to ask themself why there is a desire to do something on stage rather than the camera. It’s those visceral moments that connect actor to audience, and audience member to audience member, that compel people to participate and see theater. This is easier when you follow the basic tenets of storytelling, keeping the audience engaged throughout, and moving the story along towards where you want it to end.

You are a third year writer, what are some of your favorite lessons you learned at grad school?

At the end of the day, if you’re not writing for yourself, then you’re wasting your time. Never stop trying to make your play better up to opening night. Sometimes that means re-writing. Sometimes that means making sure other elements that are helping tell your story are the best they can be.

4. What’s a fun fact about you?

In relation to my play, I guess this: When I was 15-year-old and a pitcher, my right arm was falling off due to permanent damage to my shoulder and elbow from throwing too much as a kid, opposing batters started hitting home runs off of me for the first time. So, I retaliated by beaning batters cause that’s what the major league pitchers did after batters hit home runs off of them. I couldn’t throw that fast so it didn’t really hurt, but it was the only way for me to show myself, my teammates, and my opponents that I wasn’t just going to roll over and give up. Off the diamond, I would never throw a 55 mph (which is super slow) at someone. The dichotomy of how someone acts in competition, whether it be on a playing field or trying to vie for affection of someone you like, and how they act where there are no stakes or pressure, will always be fascinating to me. Our society accepts certain behavior on the playing field, and in business, that they might not accept in other facets of life. I was way more competitive and ruthless on a baseball field or basketball court, then I am vying for a girl’s affection when there’s another suitor. If anything, “competition” for a person’s heart turns me away. People don’t like to think they’d “lie” or “cheat” or “steal” or “bully,” and yet everyone does it when it serves them or think it’s justified. So, some people might think it’s horrific that a kid would bean another kid, but I was following the behavior of my idols and the “unwritten rules of baseball” (one of my coaches actually lauded it), and trying to work out a system of justice and way to level the playing field with my competitors who were more talented than I was. Was that what you meant by fun?

Here is a photo of young Ryan fishing in Michigan and the image at the top of the article is Ryan playing baseball!

Come see his show!!

Bait Shop

by Ryan Patrick Dolan
Directed by Rani Crowe

8:00 pm – April 13th, 16th, 21st & 22nd;
2:00 pm – April 16th, Forum Theater, RTV Building

Glenn, 42, makes a connection with Sarah, a recent college grad with a similar passion for baseball, who’s spending the summer in Leeward, Michigan to wait tables. Glenn is desperate to leave the snowy climes of Northern Michigan and follow his dreams of scouting and coaching baseball but scared to act. Sarah is headed to L.A. in the fall for law school and, as things get serious between them, Glenn sees an opportunity to start a new life. Is his plan a foolish lark that’s bound to fail or a risk worth taking?

Tickets for the Featured Productions are $5 general admission or FREE for OU Students (with valid student ID) through Arts for Ohio; available at the Templeton–Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium box office.

More about Ryan

Ryan Patrick Dolan writes dark, comedic plays that explore love and loss, passion and destruction. Stylistically influenced by his years of improvisation, acting, and the Chicago Storefront aesthetic, he challenges the American stereotypes of gender, race, and sexuality. He has a B.A. in playwriting from Columbia College Chicago, and is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf acting conservatory. Dolan produced 10-4: THE TRUCK STOP PLAYS at CIC Theater in Chicago, which consisted of his one-act play, BURGER KING, and three other one-acts written by his fellow Ohio playwrights. He assisted director Tina Landau for Steppenwolf Theater’s production of Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s “The Brother/Sister Plays.” Ryan was the dramaturg at RedTwist theater for Kimberly Senior’s production of “The Pillowman,” and Keira Fromm’s production of “The Lobby Hero.” Both were nominated for Jeff Awards for “Best Play” and “Best Director.” Ryan is also a 11-year veteran of the Chicago improv scene. He has primarily performed at iO and Annoyance Theaters, but also has performed and taught workshops at numerous festivals and universities around the country with his groups Revolver and Pudding-Thank-You. Ryan also taught, and co-wrote and performed four Mainstage shows at Boston’s Improv Asylum. ryanpatrickdolan.com