News and Updates

Congratulations to Shanon Weaver, Tom Green, and Melissa Livingston of a chick and a dude productions for three nominations at the 2011 B. Iden Payne Awards for their amazing production of Paradise Key ! The B. Iden Payne Awards are awarded annually by the Greater Austin Creative Alliance to recognize outstanding contributions to the Austin theatre community. And Paradise Key was nominated for Best Drama, Best Director (Melissa Livingston), and Best Actor in a Drama (Tom Green as HALB).

This week a new, high-energy production of my play Paradise Key opened in Austin, TX at the Hyde Park Theatre . The production features Austin's own a chick and a dude productions and runs from March 31 through April 16. I'll fly down there next week for a post-show talk-back, and to enjoy the run. Actor / producer Shanon Weaver as David gets locked in the room with Tom Green as Halb, while Melissa Livingston directs. Dangerous fun. UPDATE: After a great opening weekend, the production received critical praise, and strong audiences responses. I was able to participate in a talk-back session after a show this past Friday, and every last audience member stayed in their seats to listen. Check out these reviews online: "Buckle your chin strap." "Excellent performances by both Tom Green and Shannon Weaver tell the uncomfortable story."   - NowPlayingAustin.com "Poynor has great strengths as a playwright." "Two characters, one room, and a...

The rise of mass media and broadcast television in the late 40's and early 50's fanned the flames of public outrage against Polio, and also galvanized the forces that found a cure. In the spirit of historical redux, check out the new promotional video for my play Paradise Key coming to the Hyde Park Theatre in Austin, TX produced by a chick and a dude productions . I have had a great time working with Shanon Weaver (at right) and director Melissa Livingston (not pictured), and I promise that if you "like" this on Facebook, nothing bad will happen to your computer. UPDATE: In an interesting public-health-related twist, there will be no smoking during this production because of Austin City ordinances. The artistic team is working to maintain the historical accuracy presented in the script, while trying not to break the law.

I am thrilled to announce an upcoming production of my award-winning play Paradise Key to be performed in Austin, TX at the Hyde Park Theatre . The production will run from March 31 through April 16, 2011 and is being produced by Austin's own a chick and a dude productions . I have had a great time working with (actor / producer) Shanon Weaver and (director) Melissa Livingston and I'm stoked about the production.

My new play PARADISE KEY will be produced next month at Trustus Theatre (Columbia, SC) as the final play of their 25th Anniversary season. PARADISE KEY was the winner of the 2010 Trustus Playwrights Festival (which has been running for 22 years) and I'm humbled to be in the company of (then) emerging playwrights like Stephen Belber, David Lindsay-Abaire, Andrea Lepcio, and Sarah Hammond. Rehearsals have been outstanding – as if the cast walked straight out of my mind. Playwriting is (seriously) the best job in the world. WHEN: Aug 11 – 16, 2010 WHERE: Trustus Theatre - Google Map BOX OFFICE: 803.254.9732 UPDATE: Due to an illness, the opening night for this production will now be Wednesday, August 11. UPDATE #2: Here are some links to the great press on the show: Free Times article by Jeffrey Day. The State newspaper article by Otis Taylor.

My new play PARADISE KEY is currently running at the Arena Players Repertory Theatre on Long Island, NY, and will be extended for two more weeks. It is now scheduled to close April 4, 2010. This will be the last NYC-area showing of this play for a while, so get your tickets now. For more information, call the theatre Box Office at: 516-293-0674. UPDATE: The show received a nice review from Newsday. Congratulations to the cast and crew for their dedication to telling this story.

UPDATE: I was in NY last week, despite the snow, to work with Fred DeFeis and the cast on the final rehearsals of PARADISE KEY which opened recently at Arena Players Rep on Long Island. It was good to see the show on its feet, and the performances were brave and inspiring. It's a two-hander so both the roles are huge, and it was humbling to watch the actors give them so much life and meaning. I'm looking forward to going back this weekend to watch some of the run. Here's an article from the Long Island Pulse on the selection of the show.

My new play PARADISE KEY will open this week at Arena Players Repertory Theatre on Long Island (NY), as part of their 59th season. The Artistic Director of APRTC, Fred DeFeis, will direct. Set in 1951, this play explores the historical roots of interrogation in America. We follow a young Counter-Intelligence agent named David as he interviews a German medical doctor. Over the course of one night, David must find what the doctor has been hiding - a vaccine for Polio - or risk an American disaster. WHEN: February 26 - March 21 WHERE: Arena Players Repertory Theatre - Google Map MORE: 516-293-0674 TICKETS: Available on TheatreMania.com

I'm very glad to announce that my play PARADISE KEY will have a reading today in Columbia, SC, at the amazing Trustus Theatre . PARADISE KEY was selected as the winner of the 2010 Trustus Playwrights Festival, a nation-wide competition that receives hundreds of entries each year. Some notable past winners of this contest include David Lindsay-Abaire, Stephen Belber, Sarah Hammond, and John Tuttle. This reading is the first step in a year-long development process that will culminate in a full production next August as part of the theatre's 25th anniversary season.

OK, I'm really excited to announce that my full length play PARADISE KEY has been named the winner of the 2010 Trustus Theatre Playwrights Festival. This is a national competition for full length plays, that receives hundreds of entries each year. I knew I was a finalist a few weeks ago, and now I've been told I won! That means they will have a reading of the play this fall (August 15, 2009), I believe, and then a full production next fall. Check back for dates, times, more info, and more jubilation!

I'm excited to announce a reading of my new full length play, PARADISE KEY, coming up in exactly two weeks. It will be at the CMU School of Drama , on the third floor in the Brown Studio, on Wednesday, April 29th at 6:30 PM. No tickets are required, but you can contact me to learn more.

I'm looking forward to a reading of a new play I'm working on coming up in the next few weeks. The play is tentatively called DEVIL'S KEY, and it will be read at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 8:00 PM, somewhere in Purnell Hall. This piece has deviated sharply from its original trajectory, so I'm excited to hear how it sounds. The play takes place in 1951, in the sweaty back room of a U.S. Army safe house on one of the Florida keys. It only has two actors, a younger American investigator, and an older Doctor, who must both solve the mysteries of their pasts, in order to leave the room alive.