News and Updates

When it rains it pours. I've got a reading of TRUMPET SOLO at the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina coming up Tuesday, June 24, at 7:00 PM. I love this theatre because of the care and precision the put in to their productions. Plus they're really cool.    Leave a comment

I'm really excited to have a reading of a new play I'm working on at Trustus Theatre . This play, TRUMPET SOLO , is about a man who has a vision of the afterlife that rocks his view of reality. I'm honored to have the phenomenal actor Chris White in the role of Alan. Come check it out Monday, June 23, at 7:00 PM in the new black box.    Leave a comment

I'm doing some catching up this weekend. I've got a list of plays that I have to see to be able to say that I'm in the "theater scene". I've heard raves about most of these, and the others just pique my interest: From Up Here (Liz Flahive) August: Osage County (Tracy Letts) Body Awareness (Annie Baker) Fuerzabruta (De la Guarda) reasons to be pretty (Neil Labute) Hopefully I'll have a chance to post some thoughts about some of these after I see them. They're such sizable and provocative works that it may take time (years) for them to really soak in.

We were in Pittsburgh this week and I got to see an impressive production of August Wilson's TWO TRAINS RUNNING at the indomitable Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre . The production featured Sala Udin, a personal friend of Wilson's, and I get the feeling that this is August as he should be - first-hand, focused, intimate, relaxed. His griot roots were given ample room to stretch throughout the evening, laying an intricate groundwork of language and images that brings the audience into a deeper understanding of the characters and themselves.

I have decided to treat myself to some focused time and attention for my writing. Earning an MFA degree seems to be the way to go. And by the hand of God, it looks like I'm going with Carnegie Mellon and their well-respected dramatic writing program. I got the chance to talk with quite a few students during the decision process, and I feel like I got their honest, critical assessment of the program. (Highly recommended for you kids thinking about grad school.) I'm sure there's a lot to write about getting a degree in writing, but I'll skip that for now. I'm busy enjoying the excitement / anxiety / anticipation...

OK, I'm not writing a 24-hour long play (it's more like 10 minutes), rather I have only 24 hours in which to write it. Less than that, really, because the director and actors will have to use half that time to rehearse, memorize, and produce it. I'll probably only get a few hours of writing, max, but I think it will be good to not edit too much. There's no way to prepare (at least I don't want to plan stuff out before hand) so I'm looking forward to it, but I'm a little nervous, too. Check out the Free Times article or go to the Trustus Theatre web site for more details.

So this tax day, having already filed and e-deposited our little return, I'm going to spend some time with friends at Trustus Theatre doing a reading of a new work in progress. This one is a comedy (hopefully) about death, family and gardening in the nude.