rpdolan

Current MFA and MFA Alum Both at Shades of Black:

Current MFA playwright Reginald Edmund, and 2005 MFA alum Aaron Carter both had plays included in the 2007 Shades of Black Theater Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 13th: Aaron Carter’s Panther Burn and Reginald Edmund’s Goldielock and the Three Bears.

Recent MFA Alum Named Lit Manager of Tony Award-Winning Victory Gardens:

Beginning September 10th, 2007, Aaron Carter (MFA ’05) has been appointed as the new literary manager for Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. (See Carter’s bio on the “alumni page” by clicking the link in the green column to the left.) For the complete story visit:http://www.playbill.com/news/article/110994.html

1st Year MFA Play in New Jersey this past June:

Kara Dunn’s ten-minute “Seven Questions” was selected for a reading at River Union Stage.

3rd Year MFA Dance/Theater Piece & Summer Productions

Third year MFA Joseph Gallo wrote the text for 80% of Love a dance/theater piece that debuted at the Obie award-winning Ice Factory Festival at the Ohio Theatre in New York, prompting nytheatre.com to write, “…this dance soap opera/symbolist dream play boasts a virtuosity seldom seen.” In June, a workshop of Gallo’s new play – Warning: Adult Content – was produced by Circus Theatricals at the Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles. Also on the boards this summer – Ya Gotta Believe! – seen in Mile Square Theatre’s Seventh Inning Stretch Ten Minute Play Festival.

MFA Alum’s OU Play at JAW

2004 MFA Playwriting alum Jacquelyn Reingold’s A STORY ABOUT A GIRL (initially developed at OU) had a workshop this summer in the JAW Festival at Portland Center Stage in Portland, Oregon. Jackie has also started her second year writing for Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her next episode will air in November.

News Coverage of Recent Alum’s Continuing Project With Medical Schools:

2007 MFA grad Merri Biechler’s play Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver continues to gather research money, has become a teaching tool for medical schools, and is moving toward even greater community outreach. The play has been developed with the support of the OU School of Osteopathic Medicine and ongoing grants funded by the American Cancer Society, among others. See the article for more information at: http://www.ohio.edu/outlook/06-07/August/800n-067.cfm

Recent MFA Alum Commissioned by Kennedy Center:

Merri Biechler (MFA ’07) has been commissioned by the Kennedy Center and the White House Historical Association to write a new play for young audiences. The play explores Dolley Madison’s rescue of the George Washington painting from the White House before British troops burned the building to the ground in 1814.

Recent MFA Alum at Steppenwolf:

Laura Jacqmin’s (MFA ’07) play The Revisionists received a staged reading at Steppenwolf theater in Chicago as part of their First Look Rep series. The play was originally developed in the OU MFA playwrights’ workshop.

Chicago Dramatists’ Many Voices Project:

OU Playwrights Christopher De Paola (MFA ’06) and Aaron Carter (MFA ’05) were both selected as finalists for Chicago Dramatists’ 2007 Many Voices Project. The Many Voices Project is Chicago’s only playwriting contest and readings festival that embraces all playwrights of color. Carter’s “Evening News” and De Paola’s “Recovered” will be read on July 21st at Chicago Dramatists.

’03 MFA Alum in American Theater Magazine:

Justin Boyd (MFA 2003) has been named a 2007-2008 Affiliated Writer with American Theater magazine. He will receive a $3,000 fellowship to write 3-4 articles between July 2007 and July 2008.