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Around the Coyote 2007 Reading Series Love Variation Our Vigil Strange Check Chicago Her-Rah, 2007 15 Hour Project 2006 Reading Series |
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LOVE VARIATION Written by David Perez Directed by Meghan Beals McCarthy November 15, 2007, 8pm Curated by Megan Shuchman $5 suggested donation. Refreshments provided. Starring Brian Stojak Tim McCarthy Brenda Arellano Zachary Gonzalez-Landis Alan Schmuckler How do you mend a broken heart? If you are Hank, you date someone else's boyfriend. In an attempt to escape the pain of a recent heartbreak, Hank falls for Oliver, a handsome but flawed stranger attempting to resuscitate his "open" but dying relationship. Haunted by the memory of his ex, and suffocated by the parameters of his growing affection for Oliver, Hank begins to unravel. David Perez's "Love Variation" explores the many incarnations of love - and not just the good ones. David Perez is a Chicago based Playwright, Director, and Actor (in that order.) He is the Artistic Director of Pavement Group, a new performance entity. Pavement Group produced the premiere of David's play "Perks of Nudity" last November at Ep Theatre, He has worked locally with Teatro Vista (365 Days/Plays, Tapas,) Bailiwick (The Tricky Part,) Collaboraction (Sketchbook 6,) where he is an associate, American Theatre Company (Living Out,) as well as directed Pavement Group's participation in 365 Days/365 Plays. Upcoming projects include assisting Jessica Thebus on "Dead Man's Cell Phone" at Steppenwolf, curating "Crush Plays" a new plays reading series with Pavement Group, and "Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of The 20th Century" which he will direct for Pavement Group in May of 2008 at Av-aerie. He is a proud graduate of Cornish College of the Arts. |
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OUR VIGIL STRANGE Written by Sarah Gubbins Directed by Megan Shuchman October 18, 2007 from 7pm Curated by Megan Shuchman $5 suggested donation. Refreshments provided. Starring Amy Cornelius Amanda Jane Dunne Sarah Gitenstein Alex Goodman Michael Kessler Tim McCarthy Rani Waterman As six college friends head into their senior year, the world seems full of possibilities. But the tragic events of one Friday night party could change their lives forever. Sarah Gubbins has been working in Chicago theater for the past nine years as a dramaturg and playwright. Her short play Out of Order is a finalist for the Heideman Award at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and was produced at the Estrogen Fest and the Rhino Fest this year. Her short plays, Underoos and Mea Culpa were produced as part of 20% Theater's Snapshots 06 and 07 respectively. She wrote the book to Fatty Arbuckle's Spectacular Musical Revue which was produced by Second City Theatricals. She is the recipient of the 2007 Agnes Nixon Playwriting Award at Northwestern University where she is currently pursuing a MFA in Screenwriting and Playwriting. |
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CHECK July 28, 2007 8pm $5 suggested donation. Free Peroni beer. Check, written by Matthew Parker and directed by Zack Zulauf. In a world of men, one's currency lies in his past or his potential. What will he do to be Great? And how far will he go to hold onto it? Writer's bio: Matt Parker will forever strive to live up to his last name. Peter Parker. Parker Posey. Parker Lewis Can't Lose. He has complexes about all three. He is also from Kansas. He'd like to think anything you can say he's already heard, but he welcomes new attempts. As an NU '03 grad of most things theatre, Check is his most recent foray into playwriting. To date, he has been most visible as a performer - most recently appearing and collaborating in Contents May Be Extremely Hot , Redmoon's daring and beautiful Once Upon a Time , and the award-winning Laika's Coffin for Sketchbook '06. If you're really generous with your theatregoing time, you might've seen the weirdly effective metatheatrical piece he wrote and directed for Around the Coyote's Fall '06 Festival called Stop Me If You've Read This One . Director's bio: Zach Zulauf worked with Around the Coyote in the fall of 2006 on a reading of Aaron Carter's First Words . He has directed developmental readings for Hypatia Theatre Company (Faith by Kymberly Harris), Depaul University (Avian by Caitlin Montanye Parrish), and Victory Gardens Theater (10 Virgins by Laura Jacqmin and Last Love by Peter Papadopoulos). | |
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CHICAGO HER-RAH 2007 June 21-24, 2007 Her-Rah for Weekend of Women's Playwrights : Chicago Sun Times A Story for All Ages : Mendelein Review The International Centre for Women Playwrights and Around the Coyote are pleased to announce Chicago HER-RAH 2007: A Festival of The World's Best Women Playwrights And Their New Plays, on June 21-24, 2007 at the Around the Coyote Gallery, 1935-1/2 W. North Ave. in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. CHICAGO HER-RAH 2007 will present staged readings of new, production-ready plays by women from all over the world. Rather than serving as a developmental workshop, the purpose of this event is to present high-profile staged readings of production-ready, women-authored scripts for the express purpose of providing promotional presentation that will lead these scripts into full production by professional theatres. ICWP received more than 150 play submissions from women playwrights all over the world for consideration in this event; the resulting program is a dynamic mix of 17 plays in a wide variety of playwriting genres, styles, and subject matter from playwrights all over the U.S. and world. The included playwrights represent all regions of the United States, as well as South Africa, Mongolia, and Romania. All of the featured plays are either Chicago or U.S. premieres. Panel discussions on the craft of playwriting and networking parties with members of the Chicago theatre scene are also included in the four-day event. HER-RAH! features 2007's LARGEST and MOST DIVERSE one-weekend-only assembly of plays, playwrights, actors, and directors in Chicagoland's ENTIRE theater season, with plays of interest to women, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Transsexual communities, Senior Citizens, and more! The readings are directed by Chicago's hottest up-and-coming young directors. Many of Chicago's top off-Loop actors are also featured in the readings, including Jennifer Shin and Mia Park from Collaboraction's current hit play, THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF JENNY CHOW. Admission and ticket reservation info: ICWP and Around the Coyote offer an All-Festival Pass, which gains admission to all staged readings, panel discussions, and networking parties for $15. A-la-carte admission to individual readings/panels is $5. Admission is first-come, first-served basis; reservations will not be accepted. Box office info line: (347) 436-0683 (info only). Box office accepts cash or checks only; sorry, no credit cards. About ICWP: The International Centre for Women Playwrights is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting women playwrights around the world by: bringing international attention to their achievements, encouraging production of their plays, translation, publication, and international distributions of their works, providing means for communication and contact among the sister community of the world's women dramatists, assisting them in developing the tools of their craft, in determining their own artistic forms, and in setting their own critical standards. A complete listing of the included Chicago HER-RAH! plays and playwrights follows: (Actors marked with * denote members of the Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States) SWEET GINGER, HOT AND BLUE, by P.H. Lin (New York, NY USA). Directed by Alison Daigle. (***ASIAN-AMERICAN INTEREST) Ginger Chan wants to be an artist. Her immigrant father insists she become a doctor. Can the family survive, or will the combustible relationship between daughter and father destroy it? Complicating things are a 95-year-old Jewish woman, a female Buddha, and the apparition-spirits of Ginger's mother and brother. Cast: Haruna Tsuchiya (Quan-Yin); Marc J. Rita (Fu-Swun Chan); Jennifer Shin (Ginger Chan); Margaret Kustermann (Tillie); Mia Park (Ma); Daniel Han (Der-Li) EMPTY FRIDGE, CARROTS, AND TOMATOES, by Naranjargal Khashkhuu (Ulaanbaatar, MONGOLIA). Directed by Lydia Milman. (***ASIAN-AMERICAN INTEREST) The meager contents of a refrigerator become the catalyst for a family conflict and a heated discussion on the true nature of love and marriage in Mongolian society. Cast: Phil Tang (Tumur); Min-aha Beek (Ouyun); Cary Shoda (Kurel); Helen Young (Murun); Sun Hong (Ganbat); EVERYBODY ELSE (IS FUCKING PERFECT) by Karen Jeynes (Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA). Directed by Hollis Rabin. Life is almost perfect in the suburban home of newlyweds Gavin and Cathy---a stable happy home and a good husband who is all she ever dreamed of. Enter Cathy's sister Traci, fresh from yet another disastrous relationship in London. Sparks fly in this wacky middle-class South African comedy---especially when Traci begins an affair with toyboy Jared. Cast: Todd Mengay (Gavin); Missy Moreno (Cathy); Kerri Morrison (Traci); Scott Butler (Jared); John Alder (Stage Directions) EVEN THE DIRT BLEEDS DOWN HERE, by Carolyn Nur Wistrand (Flint, MI USA). Directed by Jemma Alix Levy. (***AFRICAN-AMERICAN INTEREST) This play is a folkloric drama of the Deep South that embraces the relationship between magic and everyday life, the hierarchy of skin tone, and the unity of themes in African-American life over the 20th century. The characters appear in 1904 and 1974 linked by fate, blood, and conjure. Cast: Angelique Westerfield (Miss Cally/Corrachiba); Kelly Owens (Miss Dorcus/Miss Delilah); Mercy Oni (Creadell/Dessie) Sean Nix (Green-eyed Bruce/Gambling Gullah Jack); Sheila Garg (Caroline/Camille); Ryan Hutton (Clayton Chester); Ellen Peace (Delphine/Swamp Witch); Olivia Porter (Celeste/Molly Means) HEADS, by EM Lewis (Santa Monica, CA USA). Directed by Sydney Chatman. A British Embassy worker, an American engineer, a network journalist and a freelance photographer are held captive in Iraq. As death draws close, each hostage must decide what he'll do to survive. Cast: Tovah Hicks (Conway); Dennis Grimes (Velazquez); David Adams (Wolfe); Tiffany Scott* (Caroline Conway) Wayne Carr* (Apres) ANOTHER PIECE OF CAKE, by Madelyn Sergel (Gurnee, IL USA). Directed by Jennifer M. Hawk. Four old women telling the truth. (***SENIOR CITIZEN INTEREST) Cast: Alexandra Main (Tandy); Laura Skokan (Diane); Caroline Dodge Latta (Clara); June Miller (Maggie); Candance Krestel (Ann); Mickey Crocker (Terry); Jason Frydman (Edward) BOSWELL'S DREAMS, by Marie Kohler (Milwaukee, WI USA). Directed by Jenniffer J. Thusing. A comic-drama about the power of friendship, authenticity, and the written word, this play is grounded in the relationship between the 18th-century writers James Boswell and Samuel Johnson---but also leaps forward in time to the discovery of Boswell's personal journals by a female American graduate student in the 1950s. Cast: Ryan Hutton (James Boswell); Walter Brody (Samuel Johnson); Justine Turner (Joan Weinstein); Katie Siri (Ensemble); Franette Liebow (Ensemble); Rick Smith (Ensemble); Andrew Pond (Ensemble); Peter Vamakas (Ensemble) PUSH, by Kristen Lazarian (Sherman Oaks, CA USA). Directed by Geoffrey Carlson. PUSH is the story of Brooke Gatwick, a vibrant Los Angeles art dealer with everything going for her. She has a loving husband, a solid group of friends, and a thriving career with money to burn. She also has deep insecurities about love and committment---and she's not the only one. Brooke's husband, Owen, is also in doubt of his wife's fidelity. But some tests are meant for failure, as Brooke and Owen soon discover. When love becomes a game for this couple, it's a "push" that leaves everyone devastated and the fate of one marriage hanging in the balance. Cast: Becky Schallert (Brooke); Christine Makouske (Eleanor); Kate Hurley (Amy); Elizabeth Burbee (Charlotte); Nathan Albert (Owen); Matt Wilson (Adam); Zach Bosteel (Ansgar) BIRTH, by Karen Brody (Accord, NY USA) Directed by Katie Jones. This documentary play, based on interviews the playwright conducted with 118 women, is about modern childbirth in America. Cast: Cyra K. Pollizzi (Amanda); Judith Laughlin (Jillian); Lori Duncan (Lisa); Tina Carney (Natalie); Jessica Camacho (Vanessa); PJ Monson (Beth); Jazmin Corona (Janet); Amanda Hogan (Sandy) INCOMING, by Kathy Anderson (Audubon, NJ USA) Directed by Matthew Singletary. (***GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL INTEREST) A lesbian couple is having a baby in an unusual way, involving an inverse gravity board, a game of Red Rover, and an ex-lover trapped in a hospital bed. Cast: Kay Capasso (Liz); Ton-Essa La'Rocque (Sally); Stacy Boldrick (Lou); Tom Lally (Dad); Andy John (Man 1); Jonathan Musser (Man 2); Nicole Stachura (Stage Directions) THE NUCLEAR SECRET, by Lucia Verona (BUCHAREST, ROMANIA). Directed by Gregory Gerhard. This play presents the "huis clos", the confidential moment of the face-to-face discussion between the acting President of a country and the new President-elect. The acting President has to tell his successor the most important state secrets. Cast: Paul David Popp (President 1); Greg Hardin (President 2) B4, by Kathy Hsieh (Seattle, WA USA). Directed by Kimberly Senior. Three couples. Three time periods. One NYC apartment. Japanese-American couple Grace and Jimmy are re-starting their lives after being interned in WWII. Walter Weissman and his wife Rachel struggle to break the blacklist in the 1950s. Christina desperately searches for her husband after he leaves for the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Cast: Cary Shoda (Jimmy); Betty Gabriel (Grace/Anna); Rob Skrocki (Walter); Elaine Rivkin* (Rachael); Christine Buinan (Christina); Carl Anderson (Paul) MANHATTAN CASANOVA by Jenny Lyn Bader (New York, NY USA). Directed by Linda Roberts. Dr. Charlotte Kaplan is a skeptical psychiatrist, attuned to trends, noticing that all of her patients and friends are falling in love even more quickly than usual. Could one man be responsible? A comedy about compulsive seduction. Cast: Bonnie Hilton (Charlotte); Diane Oppenheim (Pam); Ann Marie Hultgren (Anne); Harry Hultgren (John); Karen Arnold (Eva); Kelli Kopp (Nicki/Voice of the Time/Voice of the Weather) GRIEVING FOR GENEVIEVE by Kathleen Warnock (Astoria, NY USA). Directed by Thrisa Hodits. (***GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL INTEREST) The Peck sisters and their mother gather in Baltimore for Delilah's wedding. A stroke of bad luck changes their plans, and the sisters have to take charge of the mother who's always tried to run their lives. Cast: Earlina McLaurin (Danni); Barbara Whitney (Delilah/Ensemble); Eliza Stoughton (Angel); Amy Ripepi (Genevieve); Matt Edlen (Offstage Voice/Stage Directions) THEIR WINGS WERE BLUE, by Carmen Betancourt (Queens Village, NY USA). Directed by Mikalina Araceli Rabinsky. Three characters escape from the Picasso painting The Tragedy. The museum curator who watches over the painting falls in love with one of them and gives chase. Cast: Mike Pusatari (Nottingham); Arielle Nobile (Enriquetta); Tomas Herman (Alonzo); Nik Mitseff (Lorenzo) Donna Osowski (Suzanne); Lydia Landor (Toffle); J. Isreal Greene (Jackson) DARLIN', by Charlotte Samples (Torrance, CA USA). Directed by Renee Gorka. The anticipated arrival of a government photographer to an "Okie" migrant worker camp in the midst of the Great Depression brings forth a little girl's dream of having her picture taken in her deceased mother's one good, store-bought dress. Cast: Kim Vaness (Loyce); Brian Robert Dongarra (Curtley); Charlie Jensen (Joe Don); PJ Monson (Althea); Glen Allen Pruett* (Papa); Norman Bowers (Carl); Ryan Hutton (Billy) WHY'D YA MAKE ME WEAR THAT, JOE?, by Vanda (New York, NY USA) Directed by Scott Bishop. (***GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL INTEREST) Two women fall in love with each other while their men are off fighting in the South Pacific in World War II. Cast: Leeann Zahrt (Charlie); Michael Sullivan (Joe); Elise Lammers (Aubra); Michael Peters (Philip); Joan McGrath (Grandma); Katie Weisenberger (Emily); John Coriell (Mover/Others/Stage Directions) CHICAGO HER-RAH! 2007 DAILY SCHEDULE: (ALL EVENTS TAKE PLACE AT AROUND THE COYOTE, 1935 1/2 W. NORTH AVENUE.) THURSDAY, June 21: 7pm-8pm: Networking Party for audience, actors, directors, playwrights, and theatre producers. FRIDAY, June 22: 9 am- 11 am: PANEL DISCUSSIONS:9 am-10 am: Panel discussion on teaching playwriting to "the next generation" of women writers, moderated by Kathy Corbett of Melbourne, Australia (University of Melbourne). Panelists will include Lisa Dillman, local Chicago playwright and teacher.11 am-1:30 pm: PUSH SATURDAY, June 23: 9 am-11 am: B4 SUNDAY, June 24: 9 am-11 am: BOSWELL'S DREAMS Playwright Bios: LUCIA VERONA (Bucharest, ROMANIA; author of THE NUCLEAR SECRET) Born in Arad, a town in the West of Romania, Lucia Verona studied at the Music Academy in Bucharest, wishing to become an opera singer, but as she soon realized that she would never be a second Callas, she moved on and started writing. She writes plays - mostly comedies, some of which were produced or awarded major prizes -, novels and short stories. Lucia is also a translator of drama from Hungarian, French and English. A member of the Romanian Writers' Union, she is currently president of the playwriting and theatrical criticism of the Bucharest Writers' Association (which is the Bucharest branch of the Writers' Union) KAREN JEYNES (Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA; author of EVERYBODY ELSE IS FUCKING PERFECT) is a 25-year-old writer, director, producer and stage manager with an unfortunate tendency towards comedy. She studied English and Drama at University of Cape Town. Her plays include "Laying Blame", "sky too big", "Backwards in High Heels" (co-authored with the cast), "Don't Mention Sex", "Kiss Kiss" and the multi award-winning "Everybody Else (is Fucking Perfect)". She has also directed "The Best Man", "Pillow Talk" and "Txt Me". Her adaptation of Thomas Rapakgadi's "The Purse is Mine" aired on South African Bush Radio in 2006, and she is busy writing a radio drama series for SAFM with Nkuli Sibeko, tentatively entitled "Office Hours". Her teenage novel "Jacques Attack" (also co-authored with Nkuli Sibeko) was published in 2004 as part of the Siyagruva Series for New Africa Books, and her new book, "Flipside" co-authored with Eeshaam September, is due for release this year. NARANJARGAL KHASHKHUU (Ulaanbaatar, MONGOLIA; author of EMPTY FRIDGE, CARROTS, AND TOMATOES) Ms. Khashkhuu is profiled in The Best 100 Mongolian Women (1996); a chapter of "Who is Who?" in the Encyclopedia Mongolia and the Best 108 Mongolian Women (2004). She initiated the Mongolian Friends of Shakespeare program, and the Globe Art Centre in Mongolia, organizing Shakespeare Festivals and the International forum of women filmmakers The World with Women Eyes. Playwriting Awards include The Leon Prize for Best Play (Love Hidden in the Heart). A Mongolian journalist, Ms. Khashkhuu set up the NGO Globe International, promoting and supporting media freedom; she speaks at International events on the Mongolian media situation; and is involved in training, advocacy and lobbying for media freedom. Ms. Khashkhuu has visited more than 30 countries. She teaches television theory and practice at Mongolian universities and colleges; has published a book on TV journalism; and has received 10 journalism awards. KRISTEN LAZARIAN (Sherman Oaks, CA USA; author of PUSH) is a Los Angeles-based playwright who has had her full-length and short plays at many venues in L.A., including the Geffen Playhouse, First Stage, East-West Players, Theatre Geo, the Road Theatre, Pacific Resident Theatre, 68 Cent Crew, and the Blank Theatre. Her works have also been staged across the United States, including New York City, and international productions in Holland, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Her play PUSH swept the 2006 Fritz Blitz Awards for New Plays, winning in every category including Outstanding Playwright. Her plays have been published by Smith & Kraus and the Laguna Review. In addition to writing plays, Ms. Lazarian is a published theater critic and poet. She has also written for television animation. MARIE KOHLER (Milwaukee, WI USA; author of BOSWELL'S DREAMS) co-founded Milwaukee-based Renaissance Theatreworks in 1993 and currently serves as its Co-Artistic Director and Resident Playwright, having written three of the company's five original works. Her play COUNTING DAYS earned a nomination as the American Association of Theater Critic's "Best New Regional Play" in 1995 and was a finalist in the Charlotte Repertory Theater's Best New Plays Competition. Her play MIDNIGHT AND MOLL FLANDERS was named "Best New Play of 2000 by Milwaukee Magazine. BOSWELL'S DREAMS was also named "Best of the Year" by Milwaukee Magazine. Ms. Kohler was honored with the Milwaukee Arts Board 2005 "Artist of the Year" Award, and recently served as Professional Guest Playwright Respondent at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). She holds a BA from Harvard University and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. KAREN BRODY (Accord, NY USA; author of BIRTH) is a playwright, journalist, and mother. Ms. Brody began her professional career with two years in the Peace Corps and went on to work in international development primarily with women's groups in Kenya, Guatemala and New York City. In the early 1990s, Brody's passion for storytelling kick-started her career as a journalist, writing on health and women's issues for Mothering Magazine and several other publications. After having delivered her two children at home with midwives in 1999 and 2001, Brody became a passionate advocate for pregnant mothers. She began interviewing mothers about their birth experiences and in 2005 wrote her first play, a documentary-style piece called BIRTH. By 2006, BIRTH has received scores of productions nationwide and is commercially successful primarily among birth professionals. Ms. Brody also founded Birth on Labor Day (BOLD) as a way to raise awareness about the global maternity care crisis. CAROLYN NUR WISTRAND (Flint, MI USA; author of EVEN THE DIRT BLEEDS DOWN HERE) Ms. Nur Wistrand's plays have been staged at the Nat Horne Theatre, Harold Clurman Theatre, Playwrights Preview Productions and Open Eye: New Stagings in New York City; The Bilingual Foundation for the Arts in Los Angeles; The Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia; The Phoenix Civic Plaza, and at numerous educational and community venues. She is a faculty member in the Department of Africana Studies, University of Michigan-Flint. Her plays are published by Africa World Press, One Act Play Depot, Contemporary Drama Service, and Carmel Publishers in Chandigarh, India. She is a member of ICWP, the Dramatists Guild, and BAFA International Organization for the Arts. KATHLEEN WARNOCK (Astoria, NY USA; author of GRIEVING FOR GENEVIEVE) is a playwright from New York City's borough of Queens. Her full-length play ROCK THE LINE was produced by Emerging Artists Theatre (NYC) and published by United Stages. She received the Robert Chesley Award for Emerging Playwright in 2006. GRIEVING FOR GENEVIEVE was produced by En Avant Playwrights at the Midtown International Theater Festival (NYC) in 2005. Her other plays have been produced in New York City and regionally around the country, as well as international productions in London and Dublin. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Emerging Artists Theatre, TOSOS II Theatre, and En Avant Playwrights, as well as ICWP. By day, she proudly edits Frommer's Travel Guides. KATHY HSIEH (Seattle, WA USA; author of B4) is an award-winning playwright, actor, and producer based in Seattle, Washington. Her scripts have received premier productions with SIS Productions, Northwest Asian American Theatre and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. As an actor, she has worked on workshop productions of new works with playwrights such as Chay Yew, Philip Kan Gotanda, Julia Cho, Alvin Eng, Jose Cruz Gonzalez, and others. She has also performed with the Tony Award-winning Seattle Repertory Theatre and Intiman, as well as ACT, Book-It, Empty Space, Group Theatre, Tacoma Actors Guild, Freehold, ReAct, Living Voices, and SIS Productions. CHARLOTTE SAMPLES (Torrance, CA USA; author of DARLIN') Charlotte began her playwriting career in the Advanced Playwrights' Workshop at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, California under the tutelage of John Glore. She has won a number of playwriting awards, including First Prize in the 2002 William P and Arlene R Lewis Playwriting Competition; First Prize in the 2001 Sprenger-Lang Foundation New Play Competition; and she was a Finalist for the 1999 Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center National Playwrights' Conference. She was also the recipient of a 1998 grant to the Shenandoah International Playwrights' Retreat in Staunton, VA. By day, she does toy-brand copywriting for MGA Entertainment, Mattel Toys, Wham-O, and other toy companies, and she has contributed articles to The Los Angeles Times, Westways, and many other publications. P.H. LIN (New York City, NY USA; author of SWEET GINGER, HOT AND BLUE) Ms. Lin has had her plays produced and/or workshopped in NYC by Women's Project and Productions; The Lark; Pulse Ensemble Theatre; Nomad Theatre Company; and Diverse City Theatre Co. Her work has also received productions and staged readings by various theatres in Washington, DC; Michigan; North Carolina; Ohio; Pennsylvania; and Virginia. She holds an MFA in Theater Arts from the Catholic University of America, and is also a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. In addition, she has received numerous individual artist awards from the State of Maryland and Montgomery County, Maryland. Ms. Lin is the winner of George Mason University's Mary Robert Rinehart Award as well as Dayton FutureFest National Playwriting Competition. EM Lewis (Santa Monica, CA USA; author of HEADS) Ms. Lewis is a member of Moving Arts Theater Company, the Alliance of LA Playwrights, ICWP and the Dramatists Guild. Her plays have been read and produced all over the United States. Her newest play, HEADS, was read at Pacific Resident Theater and The Blank Theater, both in Los Angeles; and at the hotINK International Festival of New Plays at NYU. It is also the winner of Coe College's New Works For The Stage competition, and was a semi-finalist for the 2007 O'Neill Playwrights Conference. VANDA (New York City, NY USA; author of WHY'D YA MAKE ME WEAR THAT, JOE? Vanda's play VILE AFFECTIONS played to sold-out audiences at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2006. WHY'D YA MAKE ME WEAR THAT, JOE is nominated for this year's Susan Smith Blackburn Award, and also won Honorable Mention in the Writer's Digest Playwriting Contest, as well as being a winner in the Ashland New Plays Series. WHY'D YA MAKE ME WEAR THAT, JOE is also a finalist or semi-finalist in a number of other playwriting contests, including the Reva Shiner Award, the Panowski Playwriting Award, Playlabs at The Playwrights' Center, the O'Neill Playwrights Conference, and the Cherry Lane Alternative Mentor Program. Vanda won an Edward Albee Fellowship for her play SCREAMING IN THE WILDERNESS. Vanda's one-act plays have been produced all over the world. She is a member of The Actors' Studio in New York City. MADELYN SERGEL (Gurnee, IL USA; author of ANOTHER PIECE OF CAKE) Madelyn Sergel is a playwright and freelance writer. Recent staged readings include THREE CUPS, directed by Gift Theatre ensemble member Alexandra Main, and ANOTHER PIECE OF CAKE, both seen at Citadel Theatre. Her play TALK received a staged reading at the Gurnee Theatre Company, directed by GTC Artistic Director and Shattered Globe ensemble member Doug McDade. A graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in theatre, Ms. Sergel acted professionally for many years with theatres throughout Chicagoland. A member of SAG/AFTRA, she also worked in commercials, industrials, and print. CARMEN BETANCOURT (Queens Village, NY USA; author of THEIR WINGS WERE BLUE) Carmen draws inspiration for her plays from the nooks and crannies of New York City, where she has lived most of her life, as well as South America, land of her roots. She is a graduate of NYU and has attended various theater playwriting schools. Carmen enjoys gardening, traveling, doing volunteer work at literacy centers, and most of all, letting her imagination roam wild as she concocts her plots. JENNY LYN BADER (New York City, NY USA; author of MANHATTAN CASANOVA) Recent productions of Ms. Bader's plays include MANHATTAN CASANOVA (Hudson Stage Company), NONE OF THE ABOVE (New Georges), and OUT OF MIND (NYU/Strasberg). Ms. Bader's plays have also been produced at Center Stage NY, Vital Theatre, HERE Arts Center, The Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Florida's City Theatre, and many other theatres around the United States. Her plays and other writings have been published by Vintage Press, Smith & Kraus, Dramatists Play Service, Warner Books, and other publishers. She has received an Edith Oliver Award from the Eugene O'Neill Center and a "Best of the Fringe" selection at the New York International Fringe Festival, and a Lark Playwriting Fellowship, for which she was nominated by Wendy Wasserstein. Ms. Bader graduated from Harvard University, where she received the Whitehill Prize for humane letters and arts. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Writers Guild- East, and the Authors Guild. KATHY ANDERSON (Audubon, NJ USA; author of INCOMING) Kathy has been a writer of plays, essays, and short stories for more than three decades. Her plays have been produced at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Philadelphia Theatre Workshop, and the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia SPARK Festival, among other venues. Her writing has also been published in The Advocate and Antietam Review. She is a recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship (1999) and was a participant in the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference fiction workshop (2003). Producer Bios: JILL ELAINE HUGHES (Producer/Curator/Event Coordinator) A current member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights Executive Board, Jill Elaine Hughes has been active in the Chicago theater community as a playwright, director, actor and producer for nearly 10 years. Ms. Hughes founded the nationally acclaimed Stockyards Theatre Project in 1999 and served as its Artistic Director for five years, and also established Stockyards' annual Women's Performance Art Festival in 2000. Her plays have been produced or have received staged readings in Chicagoland by Stockyards Theatre Project, Chicago Dramatists, Bailiwick Arts Center, Theatre of Western Springs, Stage Left Theatre, Women's Theatre Alliance, Boxer Rebellion Ensemble, Around the Coyote, Writers Bloc, Estrogen Fest, Experimental Theatre Chicago, Speaking Ring Theatre Company, Theatre Entropy, and around the U.S. and world by East Village Experimental Theatre Co. (Philadelphia), Belleville Theatre Guild (Canada) NewGate Theatre (Providence, RI), Whole World Theatre (Atlanta), Brooklyn College, Harrogate Theatre (United Kingdom), Insurrection Theatre (Phoenix, AZ), A Working Theatre Co. (Portsmouth, OH), University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Rockland Productions (Los Angeles, CA), Regroup Theatre (Los Angeles, CA) and many more. Her plays are published by Smith & Kraus, Meriwether Publishing Ltd., and Brooklyn Play Publishers. She is also a novelist and journalist who has contributed to many magazines and newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, New Art Examiner, Cat Fancy, Missouri Review, Barfly, and many other publications. Ms. Hughes' play INTELLIGENT DESIGN was recently named a Semi-Finalist for the prestigious Julie Harris Playwriting Award. Her debut novel MARKET FOR LOVE will be released next year. KATIE JONES (Co-Producer/Assistant Curator) Katie Jones is currently the Outreach Coordinator at American Theater Company, and she directs Northlight Theatre's Open Door Ensemble of Senior Citizens. She has also worked in different capacities with Around the Coyote, Citadel Theatre Company, and Steppenwolf's Crosstown Teen Ensemble. Katie is also a member of the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center and Directors Lab Chicago, where she has found a deep love for working with playwrights on new material. She is originally from South Carolina and received her degree in Performing Arts from Clemson University. CYNTHIA CASTIGLIONE (Around The Coyote Theatre Curator/Liasion) has been Around the Coyote's theater curator since 2003. She is a producer and actress who has worked in all areas of theatre with such companies as Redmoon, Piven, and Collaboraction. She is a Board Member of Co-Op Image and a producer for the Human Television Network, with whom she is currently working on an outdoor installation to be installed in Spring of 2006.Cynthia is a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University. |
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15 Hour Project : Presented by Work(shop)-in-Progress an all-day event of workshopping, rehearsal, and performance Saturday, February 24 from 9am to midnight $20 to participate in workshop, $10 to attend performances WiP will be creating three new show forms through the workshop process they've developed over the past year. These forms will then be passed on to three esteemed directors, rehearsed that same afternoon, and performed that same night at the Around the Coyote Gallery! Schedule is as follows: 9:00 AM Check in 9:30-2:00 Work(shop)-in-Progress with Don Hall Don Hall, WiP's director, will run a 4 1/2 hour workshop to generate three brand new show formats. The structure of this will be slightly different than the traditional WiP format, and will use input from all workshop participants to create some truly unique shows. These shows will be performed a few times, polished a bit, and prepped for rehearsal. At the end of the WiP, the participants will be broken into three groups, to work on one singular format. 2-3 PM Lunch break 3-6:00 PM Rehearsal The groups will spread to three rehearsal spaces with their three directors, Jason Geis, James Honey, and Cholley Kuhaneck. They will rehearse the formats they created that morning, tweaking, polishing, and preparing them for performance. The shows being prepared will aim for a 35-45 minute show length. We're also working on getting an accompanist for the evening. 8:30 PM Door open at Around the Coyote The Around the Coyote Gallery will be our stage for the night. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10. As a participant, you get in free, of course. 9 PM The 15 Hour Project shows begin. After each show will be a brief intermission, followed by the next show. Shows will be over by about 11:45. Cost: Only $20! That's right. This entire day of workshop, rehearsal, and performance will cost $20, to cover the expenses of the day. WiP is not about making a huge profit- it's about providing opportunities. And there's more... Given that there is no better promotion than word-of-mouth, and given that WiP would love to make this event as inexpensive as possible, WiP will pay you. That's the word. When audience members purchase a ticket for the shows of the 15 Hour Project, we'll ask them how they heard about the show. For every audience member that mentions your name, you will receive $5 cash at the end of the night. Simple. We want you to have an audience, and we want to give back. For more information, or to register for the 15 Hour Project, please send an email to submit@WorkshopInProgress.com . We ask that you have at least 6 months of improv experience. We will be limiting this to 30 participants, so register early! You may make payments for The 15 Hour Project via PayPal, in person at any weekly WiP session, via snail mail, or on the day of The 15 Hour Project. When you email to register, please note your preferred payment method, and details will be sent back to you. Please be aware, your slot in The 15 Hour Project is not guaranteed until your payment is received. For more information visit workshopinprogress.com |
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Do you have a new play you want to workshop in front of an audience as part of our Third Thursday Reading Series? Visit our Opportunities for Artists page for more details on how to submit your play. |
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| all content © 2006-2008 around the coyote .:. questions/comments to anthony(<-at->)aroundthecoyote(<-dot->)org | ||||||||||||||||
