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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

Chicago Reading Tuesday for Neal Adelman’s PONTIACS

November 10, 2014
by rpdolan
· Chicago · Current Students · News · Reading

Third year MFA playwright, Neal Adelman ’14, will have a reading of his play, PONTIACS, in Chicago, Tuesday, November 11th at the Greenhouse Theater. It is directed by Andrew Peters, and the cast includes: Mélisa Breiner-Sanders, Clinton Campbell, Elise Randall, Michael Stock, Greg Wenz.

Adelman is in his 3rd year in the MFA program, and PONTIACS last had a reading last April at the 2014 Seabury Quinn Jr. Playwrights Festival on campus. He had a one-act play, 1100 CHILI DOGS, OR 1985: THE YEAR BELINDA CARLISLE CAME TO OKLAHOMA, that was produced in Chicago last summer as part of the night of one-act plays, 10-4: The Truck Stop Plays.

The reading starts at 7pm, and is being read with another play ZERO TO CRAZY by Francesca Robyn Peppiatt. Trellis at the Greenhouse Theater Center is at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60614.

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

“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

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.

Tonight: Reading for Chantal Bilodeau’s FORWARD with Chicago’s Akavit Theatre at BOHO Theater

October 27, 2014
by rpdolan
· alumni · Chicago · News · Reading

Chantal Bilodeau’s play, FORWARD, has a staged reading with Chicago’s Akavit Theater tonight at BOHO Theater.

The OU alum’s play, FORWARD, is a part of Bilodeau’s “Arctic Cycle.”

Synopsis of Forward from Bilodeau’s website:

Forward began in October 2011 with Chantal’s participation in the Arctic Circle (thearcticcircle.org) program, a two-week sailing expedition around the Svalbard Archipelago, located halfway between Norway and the North Pole.

Moving backwards from present-day Norway to 1895, when Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen established a record for sailing closest to the North Pole, Forwardpresents a poetic history of climate change and looks at how a spirit of innovation propelled Norwegians through three major events of the 20th century: the conquest of the North, the discovery of oil, and the onset of climate change. The play looks at a series of seemingly unrelated characters confronting small, day-to-day challenges, and making choices that seemed innocent at the time but turned out to be important markers in History.

Akavit Theater produces plays about the “five Nordic countries—harnessing the force of the glacier, in its powerful seeming stillness, the volcano, in its sudden white-hot eruption, and the arctic silence in between—we strive to find the universal through the voices of the Nordic world.”

The reading is at BOHO Theater at 7016 N. Glenwood Ave by the Heartland Cafe.

Bianca Sams wins prestigious Warner Brothers TV Workshop Fellowship!

October 14, 2014
by catherineforever666
· alumni · News

Congratulations to 2014 alum Bianca Sams, who has earned entry into the very competitive Warner Brothers TV Workshop!

From the WB TV Workshop website: http://writersworkshop.warnerbros.com/

“For over 30 years, the Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop has been the premier writing program for new writers looking to start and further their career in the world of television. The list of graduates who have gone on to do great things is long: Terrance Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) and Felicia Henderson (Soul Food) to name a few.

Every year, the Workshop selects up to 10 participants out of almost 2,000 submissions and exposes them to Warner Bros. Television’s top writers and executives, all with the ultimate goal of earning them a staff position on a Warner Bros. produced television show.”

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.

Catherine Weingarten ’17 has short play in Halloween Play Festival in Binghamton!

October 8, 2014
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · New York · News · Productions

Catherine Weingarten, a first year MFA playwright, has a short play called “Halloween Marsha” debuting at Darkhorse Dramatists “Tales from The script” short play Halloween fest in Binghamton, NY during the weekend of October 17th. This is Catherine’s third collaboration with Dark Horse Dramatists and they remain one of her favorite companies.

More Info about the Upcoming Production:

We’re proud to debut a sweet new treat by Catherine Weingarten: “HALLOWEEN MARSHA”. Be careful whom you invite to your birthday party, especially if it should land on Halloween. Poor Marsha’s party is ruined by fit of teenage-angst! Don’t miss this cute & comical monologue! Directed by Pete Bowers and starring Adara Alston. Just 1 of 8 shorts featured in TALES FROM THE SCRIPT!

Darkhorse Dramatists, the little playwrights’ collective based in Binghamton, is bringing their collection of Halloween themed plays to the Roberson Museum this October: the 3rd annual “Tales from the Script”! Two playwrights in the local area will be debuting new work in the festival, both Mickey Ray, who is the author of the monologue, “The Next Time” and Shirley Goodman, who wrote a new drama entitled, “Ghost in My Eyes”. But this festival spans far away from Binghamton, with national playwrights from coast-to-coast. A grand total of eight short plays will be performed in a minimalist black box theatre setting. And while some venture into horror with occasional grizzly subject matter and adult language, you can still expect loads of laughter. The plays are being performed Friday and Saturday evening only October 17th and 18th at 8pm at Roberson Museum’s Ballroom. Tickets are $15 general admission or $10 for students or seniors; available online at www.roberson.org

More Info 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

“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.