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Category: Events

Morgan Patton’15 short play “Strangers in the Park” wins first prize from the Kentucky Theatre Association!

  • November 18, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Awards · Current Students · Events · News

Morgan Patton will be heading up to the Kentucky Theater Association’s Conference this week to see her short play!

Morgan’s talent for creating rich and honest dialogue and fascinating relationships is paying off with this awesome honor from her home state!  In her artistic statement she describes her writing, “I come from a middle America culture that minimizes and sanitizes the uncomfortable because it feels safe. But with my plays, I attempt to take that world and ultimately turn it on its head. Characters concerned with first world problems can lull us into a false sense of security until the darker core of that world is found beneath its sanitized facade. When feelings like grief or isolation are buried deep beneath the surface, it can be much scarier than if they were confronted in the open. But when it finally bubbles over, we see that white bread America can be just as dark and disturbing as anywhere else. But like anyone else in this particular culture, I use levity and humor to diffuse the tension until the more serious truth is found.

Patton’s play, along with cuttings from the winning full-length scripts, will be read at the KTA Conference on Friday at Eastern Kentucky University’s Pearl Theatre.  KTA’s Roots of the Bluegrass New Play Contest is open to any past or present resident of Kentucky who writes plays. In previous years—the contest is in its fifth year—the contest gave awards only for full-length plays.
Patton’s Strangers in the Park is about a chance meeting between Nathan and Abigail. Even though they just met, they have undeniable chemistry, and more in common than they realize, but they’re hampered by their respective insecurities—and their inability to read each other’s minds.

For Full Article Click here

More about Morgan:

Morgan Patton was born and raised in Newport, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. In 2011, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northern Kentucky University as an Honors Scholar with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Playwriting and a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her plays work with themes of love, loss, and family in order to explore the elusive concept of identity and what it means to belong. Recently her ten-minute play YARD SALE, about a mug and a teapot, was a regional finalist for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre festival, and was one of six ten-minute plays staged and developed there. For more information, visit her website at www.playsbymorgan.com.

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Desperation Madness coming this Friday!

  • November 17, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Events · News

The next madness of the semester will be produced by third year playwright, Jeffry Chastang!  His prompt is Desperation and hopes that the playwrights will create a dynamic night about human foibles!

Show is November 21st, 11pm, in the Hahne Black Box theater. Admission is free. We recommend you get there 45 to 60 minutes ahead of time to assure yourself a seat.

For more information about Madness the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

More about Jeff

Jeffry Chastang is a writer/actor who hails from Inkster, Michigan, 15 miles west of Detroit/Motown. He earned a BA in Journalism at Wayne State University. As an actor his professional credits include FENCES, JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE, THE OLD SETTLER, A SOLDIER’S PLAY, and JITNEY. Jeffry’s professional writing credits include FULL CIRCLE, …CONTINUED WARM, 1ST SATURDAY IN SEPTEMBER, and BLOOD DIVIDED. He was a recipient of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Roger L. Stevens Award for FULL CIRCLE which was produced by Detroit’s Plowshares Theater Company. Plowshares’ also produced Jeffry’s second play …CONTINUED WARM which was named Best New Play by the Oakland Press. Jeffry was commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to write a play marking the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. The play, BLOOD DIVIDED was produced by ASF in 2011 and received a 2011 Edgerton Foundation New Plays Award.

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“Prom Madness” coming this Friday! Woot!

  • November 11, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Events · Madness · News

The next madness of the semester will be produced by first year playwright, Catherine Weingarten!  Her prompt is “Prom” and she has asked the MFA playwrights this week to have fun and explore this seductive and very popular happening! Catherine personally did not have a good prom(she didn’t have a date) so she hopes producing “Prom Madness” will help erase her traumatic past!!!!!

Catherine also says that audience members should dress up if they want/bring a date 😉

Show is November 14th, 11pm, in the Hahne Black Box theater. Admission is free. We recommend you get there 45 to 60 minutes ahead of time to assure yourself a seat.

For more information about Madness the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

More about Catherine:

Catherine Weingarten hails from Ardmore,PA also known as the area that inspired the preppy sexy TV show “Pretty Little Liars.”  She recently graduated from Bennington College in Vermont where she studied playwriting(with the magical 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. Her short play, “You Looked Hot When You Stole that Dress From Walmart” was voted favorably in the NYC LGBTQ “Fresh Fruit Festival” 10 minute play contest and received a revival at The Wild Project this past July as part of the official festival.  Catherine previously was a member of Abingdon Theater’s playwrights group as well as New Perspective Theater’s “Women’s Work” 2014 short play lab.  She is currently the playwright in residence for “Realize Your Beauty Inc” which promotes positive body image for kids by way of theater arts.   She wrote an educational play for them called “Bloom” about a chick getting kicked out of a yoga class for being not hot enough, which is geared for high school age kids.   Catherine is thrilled to pursue her MFA at OU and thankful for the awesome opportunity for baller mentorship.  catherine-weingarten.squarespace.com

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Cecilia Copeland’s play “R Culture” currently in NYC!

  • November 9, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Events · New York · News · Productions

OU Playwriting Alum Cecilia Copelands play about rape culture is currently in NYC!  The play runs November 4th-24th at IRT.  R Culture is a world premiere of a new edgy dark comedy by Cecilia Copeland and was commissioned by Producing Director Emily Lerer(also an OU alum) to raise awareness and open a platform for discussion of Rape Culture in Our Culture.

Click here for more info on the production; and read more about the play here.

Also check out Cecilia’s recent interview done by acclaimed playwright Adam Szymkowicz as part of his popular blog “I Interview Playwrights.”

DETAILS

PERFORMANCES: November 7, 8, 9 , 14, 15, 16 17, 20, 21, 22, 23
TIMES: 8pm
LENGTH OF SHOW: 1 HR 15 min.
PRICE:$18
At IRT: 154 Christopher st. NYC #3B (third floor)

About Cecilia:

Cecilia Copeland: Playwright, Screenwriter, and Founding Artistic Director New York Madness. Named Indie Theater Now’s “Person of the Year”, her plays have been presented at the Culture Project, Cherry Lane Theatre, Ensemble Studios Theatre, HERE Arts Center, The Anarchist Theatre Festival of Montreal, Venus Theatre, The Chain Theatre, New Perspectives, and IATI Theatre among others.  She has developed work with the Lark Play Development Center and terraNOVA.  She was awarded a Special Effects Grant from Metro Screen Australia for her screenplay, Amusement Bomber.  Copeland is the winner of a Fine Arts Grant at Ohio University and the Lennis J. Holm Playwriting Scholarship from University of Iowa Writers Workshop, a semifinalist for The O’Neill Playwrights Conference and the David Callichio Emerging Playwrights Prize.  Copeland is a Kilroy’s List Nominee, finalist for Mabou Mines Residency, and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women

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“Typecast” Madness coming this Friday! Let’s get radical!

  • November 4, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Events · Madness · News

The seventh madness of the semester will be produced by first year playwright, Rachel Bykowski!  Her prompt is “Typecast Madness”.  Typecast is defined in wikipedia as the process by which an actor is strongly identified with a specific character,role or trait.  Rachel has asked the playwrights to think critically about the actors they cast and how we can show the audience another side of them.

Show is November 7th, 11pm, in the Hahne Black Box theater. Admission is free. We recommend you get there 45 to 60 minutes ahead of time to assure yourself a seat.

For more information about Madness the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

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.  For more information about Rachel, please visit her website at www.rachelbykowski.com

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Jeremy Sony’s play “THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD” is coming to Nashville this November!

  • October 28, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · alumni · Events · News · Productions

OU Playwriting Alum, Jeremy Sony has two exciting upcoming projects!

Street Theatre Company’s ClassAct Dramatics will premiere his play, “THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD:, November 14, 2014, in Nashville. This is his second time working with STC, who commissioned this new full-length following the success of last year’s ICHABOD: MISSING IN SLEEPY HOLLOW.Click here for more info.

The second project is that he will be writing for Available Light Theatre’s upcoming 24 HOUR THEATRE here in Columbus. 6 writers, 6 directors, and 22 actors are gathering for 24 hours to create a night of new plays to be staged November 8, 2014 at 8pm.24 Hour Theatre is the drag racing of the theatre world. It’s short, furiously intense, and something might explode.

Thirty artists, spanning the breadth of the Columbus theatre community, will create six brand-new short plays in just 24 hours. Starting at 8pm on Friday night, names are drawn, teams created, plays written over night, and rehearsals completed in 8 hours, all in time for opening night at 8pm on Saturday.

More about Jeremy Sony:

Jeremy Sony is a Midwest-based writer and co-founder of Theatre Daedalus. His plays include: ICHABOD: MISSING IN SLEEPY HOLLOW (World Premiere, Street Theatre Company ClassAct Dramatics), PARALLAXIS and CUCKOLD WALKS INTO A BAR (MadLab Theatre Roulette 2014), ADVICE TO THE HAPPY COUPLE (MadLab, Theatre Roulette 2013), THE COSMONAUT IN HUMAN RESOURCES (Luna Theatre), SPIN CYCLE (2010 Heideman Award Finalist, Actors Theatre of Louisville), AGAINST THE PANE (Penobscot Theater), MEETING GOD ON A TUESDAY MORNING and DO THEY EXPEDITE THERE (Curtain Players Theater). UPCOMING PLAYS: THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD (World Premiere, Street Theatre Company ClassAct Dramatics, November 2014); THE GROVE CITY PLAY (Preview, September 2014 / World Premiere, Summer 2015, Commissioned by the Grove City Historic Commission). 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 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 Region 2 Festival 45. AWARDS & RESIDENCIES: Scott McPherson Playwriting Award (2012); 2012-2013 Anthony Trisolini Graduate Fellowship; 2013-2014 Ingram New Works Lab Residency (Nashville Repertory Theatre).  FILM: SEPARATION ANXIETY (Best Drama, 2012 Riverbend Film Festival) was produced by Glass City Films, starring 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, and Kara Lee Corthron. Sony lives in central Ohio with his wife, where they are currently outnumbered 2-1 by their cats. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, and many social media sites under the handle @JeremyWrites.

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Country Madness coming this Friday!

  • October 13, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Events · News

The sixth madness of the semester will be produced by first year playwright, Matthew Weerts!  His prompt is “Country Madness” and he has asked the playwrights to explore country music.

Show is October 17th, 11pm, in the Hahne Black Box theater. Admission is free. We recommend you get there 45 to 60 minutes ahead of time to assure yourself a seat.

For more information about Madness the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

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“Coffin Block” Madness coming Friday October 10th!

  • October 5, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Events · Madness · News · Tyler Whidden

The fifth madness of the semester will be produced by second year playwright, Tyler Whidden!  His prompt is “Coffin Block” Madness.  Every playwright must have a coffin block onstage; but TWIST, the coffin block must be depicted in the play as something other than a coffin block.

Show is October 10th, 11pm, in the Hahne Black Box theater. Admission is free. We recommend you get there 45 to 60 minutes ahead of time to assure yourself a seat.

For more information about Madness the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

More info on 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. 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 Theater of Cleveland. His play Dancing With N.E.D. was produced in 2012 in Cleveland and 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. He’s excited to be back where it all started and he lives with his beautiful wife, Angie — way out of his league — and their beautiful boy, Booker — his intellectual equal.

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“Revolution” Madness coming this Friday!

  • September 23, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Events · Madness · News

The fourth madness of the semester will be produced by second year playwright, Ryan Patrick Dolan!  His prompt is “Revolution” Madness.

Show is September 26th, 11pm, in the Hahne Black Box theater. Admission is free. We recommend you get there 45 to 60 minutes ahead of time to assure yourself a seat.

For more information about Madness the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

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Rachel Bykowski has short play in Chicago!

  • September 17, 2014
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Chicago · Current Students · Events · News · Productions

First year playwright and Native Chicagoan, Rachel Bykowski, has an exciting new play The Invisible Ones which will be featured at Fury Theater’s “Short Attention Span Theater Fest.”  With her talent for tackling provocative subject matter and creating rich and addictive poetic language; we know this play will be awesome!  Congrats Rachel!

More info on EVENT:
Six Chicago playwrights were invited to write about their experience of being a local Chicagoan.
Dates: September 18,19,20, 25, 26, 26 at 7PM at Chase Park
Rachel is premiering her newest one act The Invisible Ones inspired by Amiri Baraka’s incredibly play Dutchman which dealt with racial tensions during the 1960’s. Bykowski’s play takes place on the Chicago Red Line and discusses the assumptions people make of others based solely on another person’s appearance and what part of the city they call home. In addition, it explores how Chicago does or does not deal with the now daily violence that plagues the city’s neighborhoods and the repercussions that violence has on its residents.

Click here for even more info on Fury Theater’s Short play Fest

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