MFA Alum Co-Produces New NBC Series: "Chuck"

Anne Cofell Saunders (MFA 2000), previously a writer for the critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning Battlestar Gallactica, is now a co-producer of the new NBC television series Chuck. The show is an action/comedy about a nerd who works at a big-box computer store by day, but is a secret-agent by night. It premieres Monday, September 24th at 8:00 pm, 7:00 Central.

Current MFA and MFA Alum Both at Shades of Black:

Current MFA playwright Reginald Edmund, and 2005 MFA alum Aaron Carter both had plays included in the 2007 Shades of Black Theater Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 13th: Aaron Carter's Panther Burn and Reginald Edmund's Goldielock and the Three Bears.

Recent MFA Alum Named Lit Manager of Tony Award-Winning Victory Gardens:

Beginning September 10th, 2007, Aaron Carter (MFA '05) has been appointed as the new literary manager for Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. (See Carter's bio on the "alumni page" by clicking the link in the green column to the left.) For the complete story visit:http://www.playbill.com/news/article/110994.html

1st Year MFA Play in New Jersey this past June:

Kara Dunn's ten-minute "Seven Questions" was selected for a reading at River Union Stage.

3rd Year MFA Dance/Theater Piece & Summer Productions

Third year MFA Joseph Gallo wrote the text for 80% of Love a dance/theater piece that debuted at the Obie award-winning Ice Factory Festival at the Ohio Theatre in New York, prompting nytheatre.com to write, "...this dance soap opera/symbolist dream play boasts a virtuosity seldom seen." In June, a workshop of Gallo's new play - Warning: Adult Content - was produced by Circus Theatricals at the Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles. Also on the boards this summer - Ya Gotta Believe! - seen in Mile Square Theatre's Seventh Inning Stretch Ten Minute Play Festival.

MFA Alum's OU Play at JAW

2004 MFA Playwriting alum Jacquelyn Reingold's A STORY ABOUT A GIRL (initially developed at OU) had a workshop this summer in the JAW Festival at Portland Center Stage in Portland, Oregon. Jackie has also started her second year writing for Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her next episode will air in November.

News Coverage of Recent Alum's Continuing Project With Medical Schools:

2007 MFA grad Merri Biechler's play Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver continues to gather research money, has become a teaching tool for medical schools, and is moving toward even greater community outreach. The play has been developed with the support of the OU School of Osteopathic Medicine and ongoing grants funded by the American Cancer Society, among others. See the article for more information at: http://www.ohio.edu/outlook/06-07/August/800n-067.cfm