Recent Alum Creates TV Show in Chicago

Beginning in January 2007, Christopher De Paola (MFA 2006) will be working for the Chicago television station WCIU: Channel 26. His position will be as a head writer and on-air talent for "Green Screen Adventures," a children's program currently in development. Look for Chris on four distinct episodes per week set to begin airing in February.

Recent Alum's Episode of "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" to Air 1/02/07:

The latest episode of "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" written by 2004 MFA playwriting alum Jacquelyn Reingold will air on NBC on Tuesday, January 2nd at 9:00 pm EST. The director is Steve Shill. The actors include: Erick Avari, Eric Bogosian, Jason Cerbone, Patti D'Arbanville, Mahira Kakkar, Tony LoBianco, Julianne Nicholson, Chris Noth, Maulik Pancholy, and Meera Simhan. Jackie's first episode aired last October.

Recent Alum in NYC:

2005 MFA Alum Aaron Carter's play Swamp Baby will be read in February at the Soho Think Tank, 6th floor reading series: http://www.sohothinktank.org/sixthfloor.html. Carter's If Condition (his thesis play at OU) will be produced as part of the Manhattan Rep's Winterfest 2007 in March.

2nd-year MFA Makes Region III Finals of KC/ACTF:

2nd-year MFA Joseph Gallo's short play Star Song was recently selected as one of six plays to be workshopped at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region III held in Milwaukee at Marquette University this coming January. The winner among the six plays, based on the scripts submitted the last day of the workshop, will go on to be produced at the Kennedy Center in May 2007.

3rd-year MFA at Victory Gardens:

3rd-year MFA Laura Jacqmin's play 10 Virgins was read at Victory Gardens as part of their Readers Theater; directed by Zack Zulauf.

Recent Alum at Victory Gardens:

2006 Alum Christopher De Paola's thesis play Streets Come Knocking was given a reading at Victory Gardens as part of their Readers Theater. Under the guidance of the Literary Manager, Andrea J. Dymond, the Readers Theater program assists playwrights in the development of their work by allowing them to hear their plays read aloud by actors in front of a live audience. This reading of Streets Come Knocking was directed by Eddie Torres, Artistic Director of Teatro Vista Theater Company.

2nd-year MFA Pulls Grant Money:

2nd-year MFA Joseph Gallo has been awarded $1300 by the GSS to travel and research his second-year full length play.

MFA Program in Chicago:

The OU MFA Playwriting Program traveled as a group to Chicago for the weekend to see Program Head Charles Smith's play Denmark at the Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre and also 2005 MFA Alum Aaron Carter's play produced by MPAACT at Victory Gardens Greenhouse. The students also met with VG Artistic Director Dennis Zacek and Sandy Shinner, Associate Artistic Director, for a seminar on the Chicago theatre scene, and what VG is looking for from OU MFAs when they submit scripts.

2005 MFA Alum at "Around the Coyote" In Chicago:

Alum Aaron Carter's play First Words will be read at Around The Coyote on November 18th. First Words explores the power that hope exerts on our perception of reality. The influence of hope can allow us to persevere against all odds. It can also blind us to important truths. In First Words, the power of hope can either save or destroy a family raising an autistic child... Around the Coyote is committed to fostering new art in all its forms. This reading series is a platform for playwrights to reach new audiences while workshopping new scripts. The reading series offers playwrights and directors a forum in which to table their script in the hopes of creating a stronger play. Directed by Zach Zulauf. Nov. 18th, 2006 at 7pm at the Around the Coyote Gallery. $5 suggested donation.

More Reviews of MFA Alum's Chicago Premiere:

2005 Alum Aaron Carter's play Panther Burn opened recently in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune review can be found here: Click Here. (Note: to log into the Chicago Tribune you'll have to create a free account with them.) A "Time Out: Chicago" review of the play can be found by Clicking Here. For the Windy City Times review, Click Here. (See his first review by scrolling down to the date: 11/4/06).

3rd-Year MFA Earns More Grant Money:

3rd-year MFA Laura Jacqmin has earned a Fall Quarter Graduate Student Senate Original Work Grant in the amount of $750 to continue research on her thesis play. To date, Jacqmin has pulled in $6,750 in grant money for assistance in writing her play 10 Virgins. (The two 3rd-year MFA students, Jacqmin and Merri Biechler, have together pulled in almost $27,000 in the last year alone to support the research and writing of their thesis plays; and, in the last two years OU playwrights have earned about $45,000 in new play development funding.)

MFA Alum at Drilling Co. & Winning Trustus Theatre Fest Production:

Justin Boyd’s (MFA 2003) short play Crusade will open Nov. 9 in New York City as part of Security 2, a production by the Drilling Co., where OU Acting professor Shelley Delaney is an artistic associate. Also, his play Copy Man recently won the 2007 Trustus Theatre Playwrights’ Festival (Columbia, S.C.), and will be produced there in August 2007. The play was also selected as a semifinalist for the 2006 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and as a finalist for the Lark Play Development Center’s 2006 Playwrights’ Week.

Review of 3rd-Year MFA's Production at Perishable:

The following link is to a review of 3rd-year MFA Laura Jacqmin's Gotham is Safe Again at Perishable Theatre. Written by Channing Gray (Spalding Gray's brother) in the Providence Journal: click here

Review of MFA Alum's Chicago Premiere:

2005 Alum Aaron Carter's play Panther Burn opened recently in Chicago. A short review can be found at the following link in the Chicago Reader:http://www.chicagoreader.com/listings/static/listings.html#91

MFA Alum Directs New Play at Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia

The Preyer, written by Kareem Rogers and directed by Dwight Wilkins (OU MFA Alum), also features original music by Tim Johnson. The play explores the male psyche and the complexity of male-female relationships. It features actors Jerald Bennett, Andre Jones, Jack Drummond, Kevin Moore, Terrell Nelson, and actresses Nichelle Nichols, Dionne Stone, Donnie Hammond, Tiffany Barrett, Anjoli Santiago, and Joella Norris. Performance Location: Freedom Theater, 1346 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121. www.FreedomTheatre.org. Nov. 3rd-5th.

MFA Playwriting Alum Nominated for Hugo Award:

Playwriting alum Anne Cofell Saunders' television script for an episode of Battlestar Galactica has been nominated for a 2006 Hugo Award. The episode is "Pegasus", first broadcast last season. (Anne is a staff writer and story editor for the series.) The Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form" is one of the annual Hugo Award categories presented by members of the World Science Fiction Convention. It is for a dramatic production in any medium of running time 90 minutes or less. To see Anne's television writing bio go to the "alumni" link on the left border of this page.

MFA Student Interviewed About Perishable Production:

3rd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin is interviewed about her writing in connection with winning production at Perishable Theatre:
http://rezaritesri.com/blog/?p=88

Alum Produced at Drama of Works:

From MFA alum (2005) Melissa Gawlowski: "I've got a ten-minute play going up as part of Drama of Works' Carnival of Samhain. It's a four-day festival of puppetry... and then there's my non-puppet play. I'm gonna be so outclassed by the puppets, but that's alright. I'm really excited about it, because puppets rule in general, and these acts sound especially awesome. Check out the web site (link's below) and you'll see what I mean. You can get tickets from the Henry Street Settlement at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/2015 (or if that link doesn't work, just google Abrons Arts Center)." For more: http://www.dramaofworks.com/carnival/index.html

Production at Perishable:

3rd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin’s GOTHAM IS SAFE AGAIN! will be produced at Perishable Theatre’s 13th Annual Women’s Playwriting Festival, October 26th through the November 5th. Click here for more info: http://www.perishable.org/show.htm

Production at Cleveland Public Theatre:

3rd-year MFA playwright Merri Biechler's BRACE FOR IMPACT will be presented as part of the Cleveland Public Theatre's Not Quite Series opening October 19 and running through October 22.

Play Published:

3rd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin's play LUCKY will be published in a forthcoming anthology from Smith & Kraus, entitled THE BEST 10-MINUTE PLAYS 2006: 2 ACTORS. Estimated release date is spring 2007. The play LUCKY was also the American College Theatre Festival Region III winner at the festival in January of 2006.

MFA Alum's World Premiere:

Aaron Carter's (MFA 2005) play Panther Burn will receive a world premiere on October 27th in Chicago. Produced by MPAACT theater and directed by Andrea J. Dymond, lit manager of Victory Gardens, the play's blurb reads: "In an effort to fan the flames of Revolution, two black radicals kidnap the Governor's daughter and convince the public the crime was committed by white supremacists. When public interest in the kidnapping wanes, a last desperate bid is made to keep the sparks of Revolution alive." The play runs through December 4th at the Victory Gardens theatre.

MFA Alum Earns Major Productions in English and Spanish:

Chantal Bilodeau's (MFA 2001) most recent play PLEASURE & PAIN will be presented at the Magic Theatre in February 2007 and in a Spanish translation in Mexico City in May 2007. Both productions come out of development with the Lark theatre in NYC. For more info on the Magic production, go to: www.magictheatre.org. For more info on the Lark development process go to: www.larktheatre.org.

Denmark World Premiere

Program Head, Charles Smith's play Denmark is currently in previews at the Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago. Denmark is the inaugural play to open VG's new production space, the famed Biograph Theater. From VG's web site about the play: " What is our commitment to fulfill our personal hopes and dreams, versus our obligation to a greater public good, at the time when the need for that greater public good is dire? With his distinctive flair, Charles Smith explores these provocative questions in his searing historical drama about freed slave Denmark Vesey, who in 1822, used his new earnings as a carpenter, not to free the woman he loved but to plan an extensive slave uprising in Charleston, South Carolina." The play runs through November 12th.

MFA Alum Pens a "Law and Order: CI" Episode:

Direct from Jackie Reingold (OU MFA 2004): "My first LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT will air on Tuesday, October 10th at 9PM. Actors include: Chris Noth, Julianne Nicholson, Eric Bogosian, Geoffrey Nauffts, Rosalyn Coleman, and Rocco Sisto. It's directed by Jim McKay. Executive Producer, Warren Leight. I had a great time; it was crazy fun. If you see it, hope that comes through. Cheers, Jackie."

Our Weekly Madness Productions Get Press:

A recent article explores Madness from the inside. Please visit the web site below:
http://www.ohio.edu/outlook/06-07/October/58f-067.cfm
(The above link opens in a new window. If you fail to see the page, copy and paste the web address into a new browser window.) You can also find out more about Madness by clicking here: madness details.

Staged Reading:

3rd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin's play BUTT NEKKID will receive a staged reading at The Side Project (Chicago) as part of their HARVEST Festival, Sunday, October 15, 10:30 AM. For more info, see www.thesideproject.net.

OU MFAs in Chicago Dramatists:

Aaron Carter (OU MFA 2005) and 3rd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin have been selected as "Resident Playwrights" of Chicago Dramatists. From CD's web site: "Since 1979, Chicago Dramatists, the playwrights' theatre, has devoted all of its resources and programming to its singular mission of developing new plays and nurturing playwrights. Last season alone, Chicago Dramatists' playwrights earned a record number of 624 productions, awards, commissions, readings, and other honors, at large and small theatres in Chicago and around the country." http://www.chicagodramatists.org/

Playwright Wins "Perishable" Competition:

3rd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin’s GOTHAM IS SAFE AGAIN! has been selected as the winner of Perishable Theatre’s 13th Annual Women’s Playwriting Contest. It will be produced at PerishableTheatre, Rhode Island's Research and Development Theatre, in late October of 2006.

MFA Alum Hired to Write for "Law and Order: Criminal Intent":

Jackie Reingold (OU MFA 2004) has just been hired onto the writing staff of "Law and Order: Criminal Intent". Jackie was here at OU a week ago for the OU Playwrights' Festival as a guest respondent. Her previous TV credits include NBC’s "Miss Match" starring Alicia Silverstone, and MTV’s "Daria". Keep track of what Jackie is up to at: www.jacquelynreingold.com

Summer Internships and Research:

1st-year MFA Nick Sgouros will be on internship at 20th Century Fox this summer working on development of late night comedy programming. 1st-year MFA Joseph Gallo will travel to Japan this summer to study Kabuki theatre for an upcoming play he plans to write. 2nd year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin has been invited to participate in the University Playwrights Workshop at Stanford University this coming summer, to workshop her new play BUTT NEKKID. 2nd-year MFA Merri Biechler will be traveling to numerous nationally recognized medical schools and meeting with specialists this summer using some of the $19,000 in Ohio University grant money she was recently awarded to research and write her new play about end of life and palliative care issues.

Happyslap at CATF

2nd-year MFA Laura Jacqmin's HAPPYSLAP will be produced at the Contemporary American Theater Festival as their Actors' Lab Production this summer, directed by Melissa Crespo, the current Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow at Arena Stage. There will be four performances at various odd times and dates starting July 21, free to the public. Ed Herendeen, Artisitic Director of CATF, saw the play at OU's recent playwrights' festival and immediately requested it for his Actors' Lab.

Recent Alum Takes 3rd in Chicago Dramatist's "Many Voices Project":

3rd-year MFA Christopher De Paola's play STREETS COME KNOCKING has been selected as one of twelve finalists for Chicago Dramatist's Many Voices Project. The Many Voices Project is a national competition/search to find new playwrights of color sponsored by Chicago Dramatists and numerous Chicago theater companies. STREETS COME KNOCKING will be read during a two-week festival running in Chicago, July 10th-23rd. (STREETS was Chris's OU Playwrights' Festival play this past month receiving a studio production in the Hahne Theater.) UPDATE (8/15/06) Chris' play was selected in third place at the Many Voices Project.

MFA Alum in Residence at Grinell:

Aaron Carter (MFA 2005) has been invited to be playwright in residence for a month at Grinnell College in Iowa next April. He'll be teaching a playwriting intensive and Grinnell will be reading and developing his latest new play.

OU Playwrights Grab Large Grants:

2nd year MFA playwrights Merri Biechler and Laura Jacqmin have been awarded Ohio University SEA grants in the amount of $6,000 each to support the research and writing of their thesis plays in their third year. In addition, Merri Biechler has also been awarded OU's Trisolini Fellowship in the amount of $13,000 for her third year of school. (Last year, current third year MFA Mark Witteveen was also awarded the SEA and Trisolini money; in the past two years, OU MFA playwrights have applied for and received over $45,000 in grant money to support the research and writing of their plays.)

Revival of Current MFA playwright's Off-Broadway play:

MY ITALY STORY, a play written by Joseph Gallo (first-year MFA playwright) will be opening in four days at the theatre "12 Miles West" in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on their 200-seat equity stage.
Web site: http://www.12mileswest.org

Happyslap at Victory Gardens:

2nd year MFA Laura Jacqmin's HAPPYSLAP recently received a reading at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, and will be presented as a staged reading in the 2006 Kitchen Dog Theater's New Works Festival.

OU Playwrights in Sketchbook:

2nd-year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin's short play POOL OF and 2005 Alum Aaron Carter's KEGGER will be produced in Collaboraction's Sketchbook 6 Festival this August in Chicago at the Chopin Theatre.

Teaching Award:

2nd year MFA playwright Merri Biechler has been awarded OU's Graduate Associate Outstanding Teaching Award. Merri was in competition with GA's from across the university, and the award is given only to the top four GA lecturers based on both undergraduate student reviews of teaching style/ability as well as an interview process conducted by a student committee.

Suzan-Lori Parks visits OU MFA:

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks conducted a seminar for MFA playwrightstoday. Ms Parks discussed her writing philosophy and her career as a playwright.

MFA Alum Has Reading Off-Broadway:

From MFA director Michael Page, concerning alum Melissa Gawlowski:
"I just wanted to write and let the folks in Athens know that Melissa Gawlowski (MFA Playwriting '05) and I got the green light to do a staged reading of her play THE CRITIC Off-Broadway. It will feature the talents of OU alumni Nick Stofocik and Tom Myers as well as Ashley McHugh and Joe Calloway of Broadway's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels... The information is below - the power of the OU SOT connection." THE CRITIC,by Melissa Gawlowski, Directed by Michael Page. Thursday, March 9, 2006, 7:00 PM, Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, Dorthey Streslin Theatre, 312 West 36th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10018 (Editor's Note: Melissa's play, The Critic, was her 2nd year MFA Festival play.)

From MFA playwriting alum Aaron Carter ('05):

"In the fall of 2006, Aaron's play Panther Burn will be produced in Chicago by MPAACT in association with Prop Theatre. The play will be directed by Andrea Dymond, Literary Manager and Resident Director of Victory Gardens. In "Panther Burn", a group of militant black activists kidnap outstanding members of the African-American community. The aim of the activists is to draw attention to those whom the successes of the civil rights movement has left behind. As the kidnapping drags on, lines between captive and captor blur and everyone must take a stand between idealism and the seductive effectiveness of violence."

MFA Alum Play Produced Off-Broadway:

From MFA playwriting alum Qui Nguyen: TRIAL BY WATER, by Qui Nguyen, playing March 12 - April 9, 2006 at The Culture Project, 45 Bleeker Street, NYC. Directed by John Gould Rubin, and featuring Arthur Acuna, Genevieve DeVeyra, Dinh Doan, Jojo Gonzalez, Karen Tsen Lee, Timothy McCown Reynolds, and Jessica Chanly Smith. "Trial By Water is the unforgettable story of the redemption of two teenage brothers forced to flee Vietnam by boat in the middle of the night. When the ship’s engine breaks down, their dreams of a better life are shattered by the nightmare of being stranded at sea. With hope fading, each brother must confront his own morality when faced with unthinkable acts of survival. Upending the traditional narratives of the Boat People, the play eschews stereotypes for a gritty, nuanced, and honest portrayal of the many compromises immigrants must go through to search for permanent moorings. "

MFA Alum Develops at the Lark:

From Chantal Bilodeau, MFA Playwriting alum (2002): There's a reading of my new play PLEASURE & PAIN at the Lark Theatre in New York on February 16th at 7pm. For reservations, location, etc., go to www.larktheatre.org.

Current MFA to Attend Stanford Workshop

2nd year MFA playwright Laura Jacqmin has been invited to participate in the University Playwrights Workshop at Stanford University this coming summer, to workshop her new play BUTT NEKKID. More info on the new Stanford program from their web site: "Stanford University and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival are pleased to announce the launching of the University Playwrights Workshop. This new program is designed to provide graduate students in playwriting with the opportunity to experience first hand the development process on a new play with professionals... Twelve playwrights will be selected from prestigious programs and brought together for two weeks during which they will develop one of their plays with a team of well-known regional theatre directors, accomplished dramaturgs, and highly skilled professional actors, culminating in a staged reading." (http://www.stanford.edu/group/newplays)

Current MFA Produced at Otterbein:

3rd year MFA playwright Christopher De Paola's festival play from last year, Watchdog, has been selected for production at Otterbein College this coming spring.

Revival of Current MFA's Off-Broadway Play:

A revival of first year MFA Joseph Gallo's Off-Broadway play - MY ITALY STORY - will be produced at 12 Miles West in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on their 200-seat equity stage in May 2006.

Charles Smith Commissioned by Joyce Foundation:

From an Ohio University press release: "The Joyce Foundation has awarded a $50,000 Joyce Award grant to the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) to support the commission of a new play by Ohio University Professor of Playwriting Charles Smith... Smith's play will tell the story of the infamous 1930 lynching in Marion, Indiana. It will focus on the personal stories of James Cameron, the only survivor of the lynching and the two African-American teenagers who were lynched, Abraham Smith and Thomas Shipp. The three teenagers had been accused of shooting a young white man and shooting and raping his fiancée. The two men that were killed were dragged out of their jail cells by an angry mob, beaten and hanged."

Current MFA Playwrights Sweep ACTF:

MFA program members Laura Jacqmin, Merri Biechler, and Mark Witteveen swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's Region III 10-minute play competition. Their plays were given staged readings at the festival held on the campus of Illinois State University in Bloomington, Illinois. A clean sweep of the top three spots over submissions from five states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

2nd Year Playwright

Laura Jacqmin's short play Dawg will be produced at the Around the Coyote Winter Arts Festival in Chicago this February.