News and Updates

My new play BELLHAMMER will have a reading at Trustus Theatre in Columbia, SC on Tuesday evening, December 15. BELLHAMMER is the story of a Christian Professional Wrestler named Sampson Bellhammer who stumbles upon the ultimate secrets of the universe. When he is tempted by fame and fortune, will he give in, or will he fight? Yup. He's gonna fight. And it's gonna get ugly. BELLHAMMER is the thesis play for my MFA at Carnegie Mellon, and will have a workshop production in Pittsburgh in February, 2010. Check back soon for more details.

I learned this week that my new ten-minute play, Organum , was selected for a reading at the 2010 Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival Region II Conference . Organum is the story of a travelling monk in medieval France who brings a beautiful and dangerous gift to a rich young lady: he teaches her the secrets of musical harmony, despite the Pope's official decree against it. The word "organum" comes from Latin (as in organs of the body) and describes this type of early music. It also carries with it the meaning that all the parts must work together to achieve the full potential of the whole. This short play was developed specifically for the excellent Theatre Lab at Carnegie Mellon, and I am really proud that other CMU writers were also selected for this event.

I'm extremely grateful to announce that my screenplay SALK has been selected as the winner of the 2009 Student Screenplay Competition sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation . As the winning entry from Carnegie Mellon University, this award comes with a $25,000 prize. SALK is the true story of the life of Jonas Salk and his quest to find a Polio vaccine. Salk lived and worked here in Pittsburgh, and I immediately felt a kinship with him. I became fascinated with Polio and mid-Century vaccination sciences, and that sparked a separate project that went in a totally different direction. It eventually became my award winning play PARADISE KEY , which suggests an alternate history of the discovery of the vaccine. UPDATE: Check out the web site Science and Film , sponsored by the Museum of the Moving Image, for more information about the Sloan awards and the Sloan community. They also have a synopsis for SALK listed under the Student Film Awards section.

If you're in New York City this week, come check out my award-winning play LOSING SLEEP which is opening Off-Off Broadway, produced by the American Theatre of Actors . I've enjoyed working with the theatre and the director Michael Bordwell , and I'm excited to see the results. Swing on over to the Facebook Group for photos, cast info, and more. Show opens Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at ATA's Sargent Theatre - 314 West 54th Street (between 8th and 9th Aves). For tickets, please call (212) 581-3044.

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.

I'm thrilled to finally be presenting a staged reading of my new-play-in-development, Homo apocalyptus , here in Key West, FL. The reading will take place on Thursday, August 6, 2009, at 7:00 PM, at the old Key West Armory, the home of The Studios of Key West , which has been our generous host for a development residency this summer. This reading is the result of a tremendous amount of effort during this residency, but it also means that summer is drawing to a close, and my days in Key West are soon to end. (Hopefully I'll make it out, before the Zombies arrive...) UPDATE: Here's an interview I had with Eric Holowacz, the gracious and hospitable Director of TSKW.

The South Carolina weekly Columbia City Paper did an article about me in their most recent issue. We talked about writing and stuff, but I have to say I don't remember it happening exactly that... Also, here's an article by the Southern arts aficionado Jeffrey Day on his blog Carolina Culture . He was interested in our Key West residency for my new play in development Homo apocalyptus , and kindly sandwiched us in between other local arts events. Finally, here's the official news item from The Studios of Key West with more details about Homo apocalyptus and the reading coming up August 6.