Tag: news

Bianca Sams play reading at Nashville Rep this May!

April 8, 2015
by catherineforever666
· alumni · Festival · News

Recent graduate, Bianca Sams, has a new play Simply Bess having a reading at Nashville Repertory Theater this May!

Nashville Rep describes the play:

Simply Bess follows a young African American actress trying to make a name for herself. We see her backstage trials and tribulations on the 1950s European tour of Porgy and Bess, sponsored by the States Department as a way to combat communist propaganda about American racial problems.

Read a fun promo interview with her taken by Nashville Rep

Excerpt from website:

As we gear up for our annual Ingram New Works Festival (happening May 6-16, don’t miss it!), we want to introduce you to our three 2014-15 Lab Playwrights: Bianca Sams, Gabrielle Sinclair and Tori Keenan-Zelt. Since October, our lab playwrights have gathered here in Nashville each month with our Resident Playwright Nate Eppler to create, critique, read and write… and rewrite. Mainly to rewrite.

And now the final product is almost here! Their months of hard work will be realized with our fabulous Nashville actors giving staged readings of their new plays for you, our wonderful audience. So before you come to the Festival, we want you to get to know our 2014-15 Lab Playwrights.

“House Party” Madness coming this Friday!

April 6, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · News

The final madness of the semester will be produced by third year playwright, Neal Adelman! His prompt is “House Party” Madness!

Show is April 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 about Neal

Neal Adelman was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. He writes plays and short stories. His one act play TARRANT COUNTY received an NPP workshop and was a 2014 KCACTF John Cauble Outstanding Short Play National Finalist; his fiction has appeared in Puerto del Sol and Caldera Culture Review. When he’s not writing, he’s either fishing or trying to start a rock and roll band. He currently lives in southeast Ohio and studies dramatic writing at Ohio University.

Jeffrey Chastang Interviewed by us about his play in the Seabury Quinn Playfest!

April 5, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · Festival · News

Hey y’all! Who is getting excited for the Seabury Quinn Playfest this April!!! Next in our interview series is the Third Year playwright, Jeffrey Chastang! Jeff has become well known in the playwriting program for his soulful madnesses, his love for desser and of course his fascinating and intriguing character relationships in his plays! Read my full interview with him below and learn more about him and his awesome new play that will be featured in the Seabury Quinn as a mainstage production, DAUPHIN ISLAND.

In Dauphin Island, both lead characters seem to be loners/outsiders, are you usually drawn to writing characters that are outside the norm?

Yes I am. I feel the same way myself sometimes. LOL.

If your play had to have a soundtrack, what are some of the songs you think would be on it and why?

Reach Out, I’ll Be There (Four Tops), Under The Moon And Over The Sky (Angela Bofill), A Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin), A Fork In The Road (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles), Off Shore (Ray Bryant), City, Country, City (WAR). These are songs with a lot of depth and feeling with the themes of loss, desperation and discovery. Also, they’re songs Selwyn, Kendra and I grew up with.

Who are some of the playwrights who have influenced your writing?

Definitely August Wilson, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Alice Childress and Edward Albee.

What is a fun fact most people don’t know about you?

I’m a film noir and detective movie fanatic! The Thin Man (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Out Of The Past (1947), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and Shaft (1971) are some of my favorite flicks. Never ask me about music and movies, I won’t shut up! LOL.

You’ve read about and now fallen in love with JEFF and want to be him! Now Come check out the production for his play DAUPHIN ISLAND at the 21st Annual Seabury Quinn PlayFest: Forum Theater, April 15th, 23rd & 24th at 8:00pm. April 18th at 2:00pm
Here is the blurb for it:

Suspicion and fascination dovetail when en route from Detroit to a new job on Dauphin Island Selwyn Tate interrupts the self-imposed isolation of Kendra in the Alabama piney woods. DAUPHIN ISLAND dramatizes the risks involved when two displaced souls intertwine.

More about Jeff

Michigan-born Jeffry Chastang was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Roger L. Stevens Award for his first play FULL CIRCLE, which was produced by Detroit’s Plowshares Theater Company. Plowshares also produced his second play …CONTINUED WARM, which was named Best New Play by the Oakland Press. He was commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) to write BLOOD DIVIDED, a play marking the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in Montgomery, Alabama. BLOOD DIVIDED also received an Edgerton Foundation New Plays Award. Jeffry’s play PREPARATIONS was developed in ASF’s Southern Writers Project. As an actor his professional credits include FENCES, THE OLD SETTLER and A SOLDIER’S PLAY.

Rachel Bykowski Interviewed by us about her play in the Seabury Quinn Playfest!

April 4, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · News

Hey y’all! Who is getting excited for the Seabury Quinn Playfest this April!!! Next in our interview series is the First Year playwright, Rachel Bykowski! Rachel has become well known in the playwriting program for her richly layered monologues, her incredible organizing skills and her passion for playwriting and activism! Read my full interview with her below and learn more about her and her awesome new play that will be featured in the Seabury Quinn, TIGHT END.

Rumor on the street is that you aren’t the biggest sports fan, so what inspired you to write a play about a girl wanting to join an all male football team? I don’t know where that rumor got started. I like sports, well Chicago sports (the Bulls, the Bears, the Hawks, the Cubs, and any team that plays the Sox). But I guess the initial inspiration came from a variety of sources. First, I remember when I was in high school there was a girl who actually joined the football team. I remember talking to her a few times, but nothing really too personal. I regret not asking her questions about her experience on the team. Another part of my inspiration for the play derives from my mission as a writer and an activist to raise awareness to social issues, particularly those involving women. Rape culture is something that is always on the forefront of my mind since it involves every woman, everywhere. I knew I wanted to construct a play that shows how rape culture effects even young women high school and how society chooses to deal with it, or illustrate the consequences when we use excuses to turn a blind eye.

If your play could be any shoe, what would it be and why?

Ha! This is a fitting question for me! (I love shoes…. Like a lot) I think the appropriate/obvious answer would be a cleat…but for me it would be a pair of pony heels. When you see a girl walking in pony heels, you think to yourself “How the hell is she doing that?” “That’s impossible! How can she keep her balance?” And yet, there she goes, strutting down the street like it’s her own personal runway.

Who are some of your favorite artists/playwrights?

I am greatly inspired by the works of Eve Ensler, Suzan Lori Parks, Caryl Churchill, and Amiri Baraka, as well as activists like Zerlina Maxwell, Gloria Steinem, Malala Yusufzai, Amie Kandeh, and so many more. Basically, anyone who uses their artistic strengths and talents to dedicate their lives to giving a voice to the voiceless.

What is a fun fact most people don’t know about you?

I wrote TIGHT END in like a week. Normally, I start with an image of a character or scene and I let it sit and marinade in my mind for weeks, sometimes months. The character, Ash Miller, just exploded onto the page.

You’ve read about and now fallen in love with RACHEL and want to be her BFF! Now Come check out the reading for her play TIGHT END at the 21st Annual Seabury Quinn PlayFest: Saturday April 25th at 1pm in Baker Theater!
Here is the blurb for it:

Ash (believe me, you do not want to call her “Ashley”) Miller’s dream is to catch the winning touchdown pass for the Westmont High Titans’ Homecoming game. Football is in her blood, but in order to make the team, Ash will have to prove she is one of the guys even if that means sacrificing her body for the love of the game.

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

Aaron Johnson Interviewed by us about his play in the Seabury Quinn Playfest!

April 2, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · News

Hey y’all! Who is getting excited for the Seabury Quinn Playfest this April!!! Next in our interview series is the Second Year playwright “heartthrob,” Aaron Johnson! Aaron has become well known in the playwriting program for his madnesses ripe with spectacle, his beautiful and funny father son/daughter relationships in his work and of course his friendly Wisconsin background! Read my full interview with him below and learn more about him and his awesome new play that will be featured in the Seabury Quinn, RANDOM HOUSE.

As an OU playwright, you are gaining a reputation for loving spectacle. What do you think interests you about them and are there any spectacles in your Festival play, Random House?
Because spectacle is fun and it gets an immediate visceral reaction from an audience. Not only that, it can also set up the atmosphere of a play. My play, The Random House, is set in the home of a hoarder. At the very beginning of the show, the audience gets to see a house overrun with piles and piles of junk. This immediately sets up the atmosphere and also the expectations of what an audience is going to see.

If your play, RANDOM HOUSE, was a magazine, which would it be and why?

Better Housekeeping. Because the hoarders in the house need better houskeeping skills obviously. I guess a better magazine to describe it right now would be Worse Houskeeping.

If you could have ice cream with one famous person, who would it be and why?

Well, depends on the kind of ice cream. If we’re going Vanilla I’d make things a little more basic and formal and say Queen Elizabeth. If it’s something more crazy like Red Velvet Chocolate Cake then I’d go Lady Gaga. Ideally, the perfect combo would be Neapolitan with Alan Alda.

What is a fun fact most people don’t know about you?

I can actually clap with one hand. Not kidding. Ask me sometime. I can show you.

You’ve read about and now fallen in love with AARON! Now Come check out the reading for his play RANDOM HOUSE at the 21st Annual Seabury Quinn PlayFest: Friday April 24th at 2pm in Baker Theater!
Here is the blurb for it:
After her grandparents’ untimely deaths, Rory, and her mother Rose, must settle their estate. To make matters worse, her grandparents were hoarders and there’s piles and piles of junk to sift through. As Rory goes through the remains of her grandparents’ cluttered lives, searching for meaning in her own, her estranged uncle Ryder comes into town also searching for something. Something that Rory and Rose might not be willing to give.

More about Aaron
Aaron Johnson hails from the land of cheese in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He received his Bachelor of the Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he majored in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing and in Theatre and Drama. While not officially specializing in playwriting in his undergrad, Aaron took the only playwriting course offered twice and completed his creative writing thesis as a play instead of fiction or poetry writing which the school usually requires. During his time at UW-Madison, Aaron completed three full length plays, multiple One-Acts, and numerous short plays which were all workshopped and some eventually produced at the university in staged readings. In his Theatre and Drama major he specialized in props and was props master for a number of university shows including Ti-Jean and his Brothers and Eurydice. Working his summers during college as a technical writer, Aaron decided to take a year off from school and work full time but the call of academia was too much for him to resist though as he is currently pursuing his MFA in Playwriting from Ohio University. Aaron’s writing tends to take the complex and unnoticed topics of today’s culture and bring them to light by using them to create dramatic conflict and then ultimate understanding. Using these undiscovered topics and coupling them with a realistic style will grow people’s curiosity and actively induce them to gain knowledge about today’s world. Aaron fells immensely privileged and grateful to be working towards his MFA in Playwriting at OU with such great and inspiring mentors, colleagues, and friends.

Two MFA Playwriting Alums Write for Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie”

April 1, 2015
by Erik Ramsey
· alumni · News

OHIO MFA Playwriting alums Jackie Reingold and Laura Jacqmin served on the writing staff for the premiere season of “Grace and Frankie”, a new Netflix series starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston. The series debuts on May 8th, streaming on your nearest interweb device. Read a preview here: http://www.people.com/article/grace-and-frankie-netflix-jane-fonda-lily-tomlin

Tyler Whidden Interviewed by us about his play in the Seabury Quinn Playfest!

March 31, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · News

Hey y’all! Who is getting excited for the Seabury Quinn Playfest this April!! We are kicking off our interview series with one of everyone’s favorite OU Second Year Playwrights, Tyler Whidden! Tyler has become well known in the playwriting program for his hilarious madnesses, his foul mouthed characters and of course his adorable son Booker! Read my full interview with him below and learn more about him and his awesome new play that will be featured in the Seabury Quinn, ChocolateSexPuppyTacos (a Non-Denomination Comedy)

Can you talk about the idea behind your play “ChocolateSex…” ?

I think it’s a conglomeration of two of the many lives I’ve lived. When I was a kid, I went to Catholic school and sort of rejected it right away, and after college I became a comedian for a number of years. I guess this is me putting those two lives on stage.

If your play was a type of dessert, what would it be and why?

Sea-Salt-Caramel Gelato, but with the caramel chocolate squares mixed in. No reason — I just think that stuff is dabomb.com/hellyeah #fuckinggetit. (to use your parlance)

Rumor on the street is that you have a background in standup comedy. Did you learn anything from standup, that you have brought into your playwriting work?

Oh, absolutely – and vice versa as well. But, just how to express yourself for an audience and how to use your own rhythms and cadence in speech and how a single word can mean a lot. Stand-up is as close to theater as you can get — it’s a craft that depends on detail — moreso than a lot of similar performance art. Because the best stand-up is the stand-up where the comic is central to the world they’re creating. Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Sam Kinison (all comics mentioned in the play), Bill Hicks — they put their lives on stage. It’s incredibly ballsy. That’s true of all art — especially theater.

What is a fun fact most people don’t know about you?

I’ve seen every episode of Three’s Company, Cheers, West Wing, and Quantum Leap.

You’ve read about and now fallen in love with Tyler! Now Come check out the reading for his play “ChocolateSexPuppyTacos (A Non-Denominational Comedy) at the 21st Annual Seabury Quinn PlayFest: Thursday April 23rd at 4pm in Baker Theater!

Here is the blurb for it:

Chris is the preacher of a failing ministry and Josh is a stand-up comedian who made his name off dick jokes. When Josh rolls into Chris’ chapel, the two brothers find themselves back into their old routine of name-calling and slap-fighting, just in time for the chapel’s five-year anniversary festivities. Can comedy save God?

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. 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.

Ryan Patrick Dolan’s play “Moraine” currently in Chicago!

March 31, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · News · Productions

Ryan Patrick Dolan’ 16 first year play from OU’s MFA Playwriting Program, MORAINE, is currently having its world premiere in Chicago at CIC Theater. It is directed by Mary Rose O’Connor and runs March 28th-April 19th.

He had reading of it last summer at the Trellis Reading Series, which was also directed by Mary Rose O’Connor. “Moraine” features a alumnus member of Ohio U’s Black Sheep Improv group, Caleb Fullan. Congrats Ryan on getting this awesome play out there! If you are in Chicago, go check it out!

Here is more about the play:

Mark is trying to keep his best friend alive, his ex from leaving town, and his de facto family of twenty and thirtysomethings intact. Moraine is a play about what it means to be a family in modern day Chicago.

Info about the Production:

“Moraine” by Ryan Patrick Dolan

CIC Theater 1422 E Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60613

March 28 – April 19th Thursday – Saturdays 8pm Sundays, 2pm

$15 cictheater.com

Cast: Allie Kunkler, Becca Slack, Caleb Fullen, Joel Reitsma, Patrice Foster, Rebecca Sohn, and Terrence Sims

http://morainetheplay.weebly.com/

More about Ryan

Ryan Patrick Dolan is a second year MFA Candidate in the Ohio University Playwriting Program under Charles Smith and Erik Ramsey. He has a B.A. in playwriting from Columbia College Chicago where he studied under playwright, Lisa Schlesinger. He 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.

Dolan’s play, “Daddy’s Little Girls,” was named a National Semifinalist for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s 10-minute play competition, the THE GARY GARRISON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING TEN-MINUTE PLAY. In conjunction with KCACTF, “Daddy’s Little Girls” also garnered him one of the eight, nationwide nominations for the National Partners of American Theatre Playwriting Award which recognizes “best-written, best-crafted script with the strongest writer’s “voice.”” His full-length play,“Moraine,” had a reading at the 2014 Seabury Quinn Jr. Playwrights Festival at Ohio University, and at the Trellis Reading Series at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Moraine is being produced at CIC Theater this March and April in Chicago, and is being directed by Mary Rose O’Connor.

Dolan produced four one-act plays written by three other Ohio University playwrights and himself called “10-4: The Truck Stop Plays” at CIC Theater in Chicago in the Summer of 2014. Dolan’s one-act “Burger King,” was directed by Ashley Neal. Ryan’s play “The Peace of Westphalia” was awarded the first-ever workshop production in the playwriting program at Columbia College. His ten-minute plays have been produced by American Theater Company, and Brown Couch Theater. 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 12-year veteran of the Chicago improv scene. He has primarily improvised 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. He also teaches workshops to Ohio University’s improv group, “Black Sheep.” His acting credits include productions at Steppenwolf Theater’s “Next Up” series, TimeLine Theater, Collaboraction, Strawdog, and Wildclaw Theater.

“March Madness” Madness coming this Friday!

March 30, 2015
by catherineforever666
· Current Students · Madness · News

The next madness of the semester will be produced by third year playwright, Morgan Patton! Her prompt is “March Madness” Madness! She has asked the playwrights to be inspired by the “March Madness” basketball games and how high stakes they are for both their audience and players!

Show is April 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 the fall semester, check out our Madness page.

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.

OU Playwriting Alum, Qui Nguyen, has a play in Oregon Shakespeare Festival next March!

March 25, 2015
by catherineforever666
· alumni · News · Productions · Qui Nguyen

OU MFA Playwriting Alum, Qui Nguyen has a new play in Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s upcoming season! Qui has made a name for himself with his adventurous, fun “geek” theater and we are very excited about his newest production opportunity!

From the Oregon Shakes Website: Opening in March is Vietgone by Qui Nguyen (March 30–Oct. 29, 2016). The play is based on the real-life story of Nguyen’s parent’s exodus from Vietnam in 1975 and their subsequent meeting and romance in a refugee camp in Arkansas. Vietgone will be directed by May Adrales, who will also direct the world premiere production of Vietgone at South Coast Repertory this fall.

Check here for the Season Announcement and here for Oregon Shakes Website

More about Qui

Qui Nguyen is a playwright, screenwriter, and Co-Founder of the OBIE Award-winning Vampire Cowboys of NYC. His work, known for its innovative use of pop-culture, stage violence, puppetry, and multimedia, has been lauded as “Culturally Savvy Comedy” by The New York Times, “Infectious Fun” by Variety, and “Tour De Force Theatre” by Time Out New York. This past season, The Chicago Tribune praised him as a “refreshing, break-the-rules writer” as Time Out Chicago named his play She Kills Monsters one of the 10 Best Plays of 2013.

Scripts include War is F**king Awesome (currently being developed by Sundance); She Kills Monsters (The Flea); Krunk Fu Battle Battle (East West Players); Bike Wreck (Ensemble Studio Theatre); Trial By Water (Ma-Yi Theater); Aliens Versus Cheerleaders (Keen Teens); Soul Samurai; The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi Theater & Vampire Cowboys); Lush Valley (HERE); and the critically acclaimed Vampire Cowboys productions of Alice in Slasherland; Fight Girl Battle World; Men of Steel; and Living Dead in Denmark.

His scripts are published by Samuel French, Playscripts, and Broadway Play Publishing.

Recent honors include being a 2014 Sundance Institute/Time Warner Fellow; a 2014 McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman Fellow; a 2013 Sundance Theatre Lab Fellow; a recipient of a 2013 AATE Distinguished Play Award (She Kills Monsters); a 2012 TCG Young Leader of Color; and receiving 2012 & 2009 GLAAD Media Award nominations for his plays She Kills Monsters and Soul Samurai.

He is a proud resident artist at New Dramatists, a core member of The Playwrights’ Center, an alumnus of Youngblood, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Ma-Yi Writers Lab, and the Keen Company New Play Lab.

Currently, Qui’s at work on new plays at South Coast Rep (Vietgone), Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis (Samantha Rai & The Shogun of Fear), HERE (Trade Practices), NYU (Five Days Till Saturday), The Playwrights Center (Dust), The Professional Performing Arts School (Begets); and Vampire Cowboys (Six Rounds of Vengeance). For television, he’s writes for the children’s cartoon, Peg+Cat, currently airing on PBS KIDS.

His company, Vampire Cowboys, often credited for being the pioneers of “geek theatre”, holds the unique distinction of being the first and currently only professional theatre organization to be officially sponsored by NY Comic Con. They’ve been praised by the Village Voice as “New York’s Best Army of Geeks” and currently in-residence at The New Ohio Theater and IRT.