News and Updates

One of the joys of living in New York City is uncovering all the countless, interwoven communities that make up the beautiful, complicated whole. For instance, having a kid in public school means I'm part of that community, and this year I'm lucky enough to be inivted to share at the annual "Writers' Night" fundraiser. This is real honor because this event features some truly spectacular writers - novelists, poets, librettists - and also highlights the creative work of some teachers whose talents overflow well beyond school hours. I plan on sharing something brand new, and hopefully I can even rope in a professional actor I know to help me read it. Tickets are free, food and drink are not. Donations accepted. WHEN: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 6:30 PM (ET) WHERE: Prohibition (in the backroom Speakeasy) on Columbus Ave at 85th St.

Truth be told, I’m in-between planets right now. The planet that I’m currently living on is full of simple, sturdy things that fit my soul. I live in a world of furniture, regular paychecks, planning for vacation, making a meal, trying to schedule date night with my wife, and occasionally seeing a Mets game with my son. This planet also includes theatre – seeing plays, bitching about plays, wearing a mask to see plays, seeing friends’ work – and it includes considerable landmass devoted to the Kingdom of Playwriting, with districts for my writers’ group, my laptop computer, my mentors and teachers, my rivals and friends, procrastination, hopes and dreams, minor breakthroughs, and major resistance. This planet is home. It is everything I can see in my ordinary consciousness. I suspect that it has everything I need to live a full and satisfying life. But there’s this other planet. This other planet is much harder to describe because I don't

I was talking with a colleague about one of my small-cast plays and I was trying to describe how productions were so "successful" (from an audience-interaction standpoint) while at the same time being tremendously difficult to justify economically. For my two-person drama TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING A POEM IN HONOR OF LIFE , a husband and wife navigate a support group for greiving parents in the aftermath of a school shooting. In multiple productions, the play has been staged in a "site specific" way - asking audience members to enter a small room, often in a church basement or other public space. Everyone sits in a cirlce of metal folding chairs reminiscent of contemporary support groups, and the actors enter the space and sit in the chairs alongside the audience. This staging allows for an intimacy and frankness that can be very compelling. It can also be uncomfortable for an audience to give and receive eye contact - both from actors, and from other audience members....

It's been a long year, and now that Spring is coming, a lot of theatres are trying to present new work again. The Drawing Board (NYC) is no different. They are presenting an evening of 10 monologues as a way to bring their community back together - even over Zoom. My contibution is called "What I'd Like to See" and yes, it's a comedy. I like the way The Drawing Board presents work in a virtual environment so that it helps viewers focus on the actor and the text. And I'm thrilled to be working with dear friends and collaborators: actor Peter Husovsky and director Linda Manning . Tickets are free; register here for the link. WHEN: Monday, April 26, 2021 at 7:00 PM (ET) WHERE: Your favorite screen!

I'm so happy to hear my new play THE SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY this week as part of the 10th annual Ingram New Works Festival at Nashville Repertory Theatre. Being an Ingram New Works Fellow this past year has been an amazing experience, and I'm thrilled to get to share this play. Responses from patrons: "I wish I could have said this stuff to my Dad." "I understand where they were coming from now." "I remember those years - I loved seeing them all over again." The best work comes from the heart, and this play is mine.

My new play THE SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY will have a reading with The Drawing Board (NYC) coming up this month. I'm glad to be working on this play in a safe environment, and I'm excited about the great cast they've assembled. Featuring: - Peter Husovsky - Michael Perrie Jr. - Rachel Lynn Jackson WHEN: Monday, February 25, 2019 @ 7:00 PM WHERE: The Drama League Theatre Center | 32 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10012

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been selected as a Playwright in Residence with the 2018 - 2019 Ingram New Works Lab at Nashville Repertory Theatre . During the course of the Lab Year, I'll have the chance to work on a brand new play in the safety of a pre-commercial environment.

My play TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING A POEM IN HONOR OF LIFE will be produced by The Salvage Company (NYC), as part of the 2018 New York International Fringe Festival. After a year off, FringeNYC is back with a re-imagined celebration of new work in a curated program. We're very lucky to be part of it, and to share this intimate, timely piece. Starring real-life husband-and-wife actors Monica Wyche and Dean Poynor, this immersive, site-specific production examines grief and healing after unimaginable loss. For dates, times, and tickets: The Salvage Company UPDATE: Check out this blog post on The Clyde Fitch Report about the origin of the play and the challenges of immersive production. UPDATE: Final shows have sold out. Tickets still available for Wed. Oct 24

" Up-close and personal " " Compelling " " Transformative " " A+ "   - Charleston City Paper Review " Powerful " " Urgent "   - "What to Watch" " Intimate " " Shining gems "   - Post and Courier The Salvage Company (NYC) presents a new production of my play TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING A POEM IN HONOR OF LIFE as part of the 2018 Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. Starring real-life husband-and-wife actors Monica Wyche and Dean Poynor, this immersive, site-specific production examines grief and healing after unimaginable loss.

  It’s always fun to be in the rehearsal room working on a new play. This week I had the special honor of watching the phenomenal work of some of my favorite artists: actors Chris White and Monica Wyche , and director Anne Tromsness . They are bravely exploring my play TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING A POEM IN HONOR OF LIFE for a production coming to Charleston, SC in summer 2018.

My new play TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING A POEM IN HONOR OF LIFE will have an exclusive run in Columbia, SC in March. The NiA Company is presenting the show in a site-specific production that draws the audience into the story. In keeping with NiA's mission to bring work to the community, the show can be seen at two locations: Tapps Arts Center in downtown Columbia, and also EdVenture Children's Museum in the Vista. I'm thrilled to see the amazing acting work of Darion McCloud and Bonita Peeples in this piece, and I'm grateful that Heather Leigh is directing. -- UPDATE: Here's a great preview article published by the Columbia Free Times .

Watch out, Saxpahaw. We're back! The Solar Theatre Project returns to Culture Mill for a milestone check-in as part of our extended residency. Over the course of two years, we will develop a new play entirely powered by renewable energy. I'm excited to continue working with the unstoppable Mikhael Tara Garver and Carl Faber in the creation of this piece, and I look forward to reconnecting with the amazing and multi-talented team of Tommy Noonan and Murielle Elizéon .

I have a chance to hear a new play being read this month by one of my favorite NYC teams - The Drawing Board . They're a committed troupe of theatre and film artists who present readings and discussion of new work. Come check out this brand new two-hander: CHRISTINA HARING AND JASON LANGE - Two college freshmen at an Evangelical Christian school navigate the passions and pressures of first love, surrounded by a watchful community, and under the eyes of a jealous God. WHEN: Monday, October 24, 2016 at 7:00 PM WHERE: MEC - 2nd Floor 825 Seventh Ave. @ 53rd St., NYC 10019 (Bring photo ID)

My new play FALL DOWN SEVEN will be presented as part of the Olmsted Salon " Cave Plays " reading series. (It's not *really* a cave - it's a basement in Gramercy - but it's historic and beautiful and maybe a little spooky.) FALL DOWN SEVEN explores some of my own personal fascinations: parenting, martial arts, and following your dreams even if they're out of step with the current century. "Jim always dreamed he'd be a Samurai when he grew up. But he's a dad. Living in Brooklyn. When trouble comes looking, in the form of a bullying incident at his son's school, Jim seizes the chance to teach some life lessons. But what is the place of honor in a fallen world?" Directed by James Yaegashi Featuring: - Shane McRae - Tina Chilip - Crystal Dickinson - Alton Alburo - Debargo Sanyal WHEN: Friday, September 30, 2016 at 8:00 PM WHERE: "The Cave" at Calvary St. George's Church - 209 E. 16th St, New York, NY 10003...

My play STEPPING OUT OF THE RIVER AT DAWN will have its first public reading in New York City next month. Hosted by The Sheen Center as part of their annual Reading Series, this play follows Rwandan immigrants living in Queens as they balance family and history on their own personal journey toward a meaningful marriage. I'm honored to be working with the wonderful May Adrales as the director, and a phenomenal cast. Featuring: - Nikiya Mathis - Owiso Odera - Patrick Ssenjovu - Shaun Bennet Fauntleroy Music by Mark Bruckner Tickets are available by email: readings@sheencenter.org WHEN: Monday, September 12, 2016 at 7:00 PM WHERE: The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture (18 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012)

That time when I wrote a play on a city bus? And it got performed the next day? Well now it's published in an amazing anthology. Pittsburgh's own Bricolage is one of the most daring theatres in the country, mounting new and experimental work from emerging and established playwrights. Their annual B.U.S. event (Bricolage Urban Scrawl) brings together some of the city's hottest talent for an all-out creative frenzy. I'm so grateful to be part of this collection. “ This work echoes the true essence and heart of our theater community, and stands as our love letter to the people and place we call home. ” — Tami Dixon & Jeffrey Carpenter (Thank you!)

I have a developmental reading of my brand new full-length play FALL DOWN SEVEN coming up next week here in NYC. I'm lucky to be working with The Drawing Board on this one - they are a vibrant organization that brings together professional actors and directors to explore new work. SYNOPSIS: Jim always imagined that he would be a Samurai when he grew up. But he's a dad. Living in Brooklyn. When trouble comes looking, in the form of a bullying incident at his son's school, Jim seizes the chance to teach some life lessons. But what is the place of honor in a fallen world? FALL DOWN SEVEN is a new comedy about parenting, martial arts, and following your dreams even if they're a few hundred years out of date. WHEN: Monday, October 26, 2015 at 7:00 PM WHERE: MEC - 2nd Floor 825 Seventh Ave. @ 53rd St., NYC 10019 (Bring photo ID)

A new short play I wrote is being presented by The Drawing Board as part of a collection of work they've developed. My offering is called THE END OF THE WORLD WILL COME WHILE I'M IN LINE. It's an existential snapshot of my own personal of hell-on-earth: the line at Trader Joe's on a Sunday night. WHEN: Monday, October 5, 2015 at 7:00 PM WHERE: The Players' Club - NYC ( 16 Gramercy Park South )

This week I'm in residence at Culture Mill in lovely Saxapahaw, NC. I'm collaborating with my friends, director Mikhael Tara Garver and designer Carl Faber on a new piece. We are examining how we can harness solar energy for responsible use in live theatre performances.

"A carefully concocted portrait of two characters trying to understand the impossible" "There is a kind of thrill for you to collect the dropped breadcrumbs of a story to weave together your own understanding." - Theatre is Easy "Equally cathartic and instructional" "We leave the circle a little heavier in knowledge but just maybe a bit lighter of soul." - CultureBot "It is truly amazing to watch these two people throw themselves so deeply into the story and have such an incredible, palpable connection to each other." - BuzzFeed