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Category: Madness

Madness is ALIVE!

  • August 31, 2020
  • by Erik Ramsey
  • · Madness · News

Madness logoAfter a long, isolated break, Madness is ALIVE! To celebrate its return as a live Zoom-show this semester, OHIO’s MFA Playwriting Program will explore the things that make us feel alive — that remind us we live and breathe and exist despite a distanced society. Produced by 3rd-year playwright, John Hendel.

How to attend Madness this fall (2020):

  • Virtual seating for the Zoom-show will be limited; as always, admittance is first come, first served.
  • The show starts at 6:00 pm, and the Madness Zoom-link will be posted on relevant Fridays between 5:50 and 6:00 pm via the OHIO School of Theater Facebook page and Twitter.
  • To make sure you get admitted, watch for the Zoom-link to appear on Facebook or Twitter and click through to enter the lobby immediately. Your Zoom-link is specific to you — sharing with others means you won’t be able to see the show.
  • Shows are planned for the following Fridays: 9/4, 9/18, 10/2, 10/16, 10/30, 11/13. Typically, Madness runs around 50 minutes in length.

More about Madness at https://ohioplaywriting.org/madness/.

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“C*U*N*ext T*uesday” Madness coming to you Friday!

  • April 3, 2017
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Current Students · Madness · News

The final madness of the semester will be produced by third year playwright, Rachel Bykowski!  Her prompt is “C*U*N*extT*uesday” She wants to create: A night of awakenings. Celebrating women in all our forms. Taking back our bodies, sexualities, and identities, and defining them on our terms.

Show is April 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, check out our Madness page.

More about Rachel:

Rachel Bykowski, a Chicago native, writes plays to raise awareness about social issues.  Specifically, much of her writing features women and analyzes gender roles, rape culture, and male privilege.  Rachel’s full-length play TIGHT END was selected by the National New Play Network to be workshopped at the Kennedy Center for the MFA Playwrights’ Festival. TIGHT END will be receiving its world premiere production with 20% Theatre Company Chicago in May of 2017. Rachel was one of six graduate students at Ohio University to be awarded a Named Fellowship, The Trisolini.  The Trisolini will allow Rachel to work with Ohio University’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department to research violence against women perpetrated by male privilege for the 2016-2017 academic year.  This research will be showcased in her thesis play VOODOO DOLL during the 2017 Seabury Quinn Playwrights’ Festival at Ohio University.   Other playwriting credits include her full lengths: ORIGINAL RECIPE workshop production (DePaul University,) GOT TO KILL BITCH staged reading (Cock and Bull Theatre,) GLORY VS. THE WOLVES staged reading (20% Theatre Company and Women and Children First Bookstore,) and A GIRL NAMED CHARLIE staged reading (Ohio University).  Rachel’s ten minute plays have been produced with various companies around Chicago and the Midwest including 20% Theatre Company, Fury Theatre, Commedia Beauregard, and Actors’ Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Company.  Rachel received her BFA in playwriting from the Theatre School of DePaul University and is currently attending Ohio University for her MFA in Playwriting. Rachel is a proud company member and Literary Manager for 20% Theatre Chicago.  For more information, check out her website http://www.rachelbykowskiplays.com

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“American Girl Doll” Madness coming this Friday!

  • March 20, 2017
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Madness · News

saige

The next madness of the semester will be produced by third year playwright, Catherine Weingarten!  Her prompt is “American Girl Doll” and she has asked the playwrights to translate them!  Feel free to bring your American girl doll to the the show!! The more the merrier!

Show is March 24th, 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, 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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“Just Breathe” Calmness coming to you Friday!

  • March 13, 2017
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Events · Madness · News

Second year MFA playwright, Philana Omorotionmwan, shall be producing “Just Breathe” Calmness(not madness) this week!!!!  Philana writes in her prompt, “This week, I am asking you write a 3-5 minute play in which you don’t take the breath for granted. Instead, I want you to pay very close attention to the breath.”

The Madness show is March 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 this spring semester, check out our Madness page.

More about Philana

Philana Omorotionmwan was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She uses writing to create images that explore the 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.

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“Party Game” Madness coming this Friday!

  • February 20, 2017
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Madness

The next madness of the school year will be produced by second year playwright, Cristina Luzarraga!  Her prompt is “Party Game” Madness!  For her madness, she has asked the playwrights to explore characters who are strangers onstage.

Here is an excerpt from the prompt:

For this Madness I want you to explore the intersection of party games and personal confrontation and/or revelation. You will each be assigned a specific party game, and you are tasked with using that game as a means to express your characters’ truths and desires. I am interested in how games figure into everyday life and how we use them for more than just having fun. What are your characters’ ulterior motives? Why are they playing this game in particular? Are they playing a game or are they for real, and is there a difference?

The show is Friday, February 24th, 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 Cristina:

Cristina Luzarraga was born and raised in Short Hills, New Jersey, save for a few teenage years spent in London, England. She graduated in 2011 from Princeton University with B.A. in Comparative Literature. Subsequently, she moved to Chicago where she studied sketch writing and improvisation at iO Theatre and The Second City Conservatory and performed stand-up comedy at Zanies and elsewhere. Her full-length play Due Unto Others was produced by Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts. Her short plays Hippo Woman and Baker’s Three were produced at Greenhouse Theater in Chicago.

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“Paper Moon” Madness coming this Friday!

  • January 30, 2017
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Madness · News

Second year MFA playwright, Natasha Smith, shall be producing “Paper Moon” Madness this week!!!!  She has assigned each playwright to write a short farce.

Here’s an except from her prompt:

“Can love and belief transform a paper moon, or is it always a deception? Why do we believe in comforting things, and what do we find comforting in hard times?

Listen to the song here

The Madness show is February 3rd,  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 this spring semester, check out our Madness page.

 

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

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“Trailer Park” Madness coming this Friday!

  • January 9, 2017
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Madness · News

The first madness of the spring semester will be produced by first playwright, Inna Tsyrlin!  Her prompt is “Trailer Park” Madness!

The show is Friday, January 13th, 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 Inna:

Inna Tsyrlin is currently pursuing her MFA in Playwriting at Ohio University after taking classes at HB Studio (New York City) and at Primary Stage (ESPA, New York City). Inna’s one act plays performed in New York City, include: I (heart) Subway (2014) and Happy Anniversary (2014) (Emerging Artists Theater: New Works Series); My Wife (HB Playwrights Foundation shorts series); Principal’s Office (semi-finalist of Manhattan Repertory Spring 2014 One Act Competition); Fat (Mount Carmel Theater Winter 2014 New Works program). Her one acts, Coffee and Murakami (2014) and Bentley (2013) have had staged readings as part of the Jack & Julie Project at HB Studio; while she has also had readings (2015) for Lama Theatre Company, and a reading of her full-length Animals (2015) in New York City. Apart from plays, Inna has written and produced shot films, reviewed Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway play sfor stagebuddy.com, and contributed to Australian lifestyle publications. Her work tends to focus on exploring darker and unusual aspects of relationships and how these reflect in our current social and political environment, with particular attention to freedom and identity.

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“Motherhood” Madness coming Friday!

  • November 14, 2016
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Events · Madness · News

The final madness of the semester will be produced by third year playwright, Rachel Bykowski!  Her prompt is “ Motherhood” Madness.

Show is November 18th, 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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“Daddy Issues” Madness coming back this Friday!

  • October 31, 2016
  • by catherineforever666
  • · Madness · News

Third-year MFA playwright, Catherine Weingarten, shall be producing “Daddy Issues” Madness this week in honor of Dad’s weekend!!!! 😉 She is bringing back a prompt that got cancelled last year because of a snow storm.  In her prompt she ask many questions like “why this term is so catchy” and “Can your parents really screw you up for life or just a little, like in a sexually appealing way?”

The Madness show is November 4th,  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.  Also if you have a reservation, make sure to show up at 10:45 to get your seat.  She also says bring a date cause it’s probably gunna be a sexy night of theaterrr🙂

For more information about Madness this spring 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.” 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.

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Go see Tyler Whidden in Cleveland Comedy Festival next month!

  • October 20, 2016
  • by catherineforever666
  • · alumni · Events · Madness · News

Who said madness can’t help ya after graduation!?  Next month recent alum Tyler Whidden will be featured at the Cleveland comedy festival with his Madnesses from the MFA playwriting program.  He will be performing November 19th in Cleveland at the Kennedy’s Theatre.

Press Blurb:”Cleveland-born playwright and comedian Tyler Whidden brings a collection of his short plays written during his three years as a writer and performer for MidnightMadness. With topics touching on religion, politics, family, and rock & roll, this show starring Cleveland actors promises to be a hilarious romp through the twisted mind of one of Cleveland’s own. (In association with Cleveland’s Ensemble Theatre.)”

Go see it!! Congrats tyler!

Get more info and your tickets here

 

More about Tyler

Tyler JC Whidden is the youngest, least-talented son of a hockey-first family. After earning his BFA in Playwriting from Ohio University, Tyler embarked on a 37-state, 10-year odyssey as a stand-up comedian where he was labeled by critics as, “brilliant,” “tragic,” and “probably stoned.” His recent plays include,Dancing With N.E.D, Run Kingsbury Run (about Cleveland’s Torso Killer), ChocolateSexPuppyTacos (A Non-Denominational Comedy) and the upcoming Occupation: Dad. You can learn more at TylerJCWhidden.com

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