News and Updates

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 thrilled to announce that my new play, BELLHAMMER , will be presented in workshop production at Carnegie Mellon University directed by MFA director Katherine Brook. This play represents my MFA thesis, and should be a rocking time. BELLHAMMER is an epic tale of glory, fame, and the temptations of Television. Set in the world of Christian Professional Wrestling, we follow Sampson Bellhammer, champion wrestler and man of faith, as he does battle against the forces of darkness all around him. Will Sampson fulfill his calling from God to victory over evil, or will the entire universe slip away into utter destruction? 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. WHEN: Wednesday, February 10 @ 8:00 PM Friday, February 12 @ 4:00 PM Saturday, February 13 @ 8:00 PM WHERE: The John Wells Studio Theatre Purnell Center for the Arts CMU School of Drama 4908 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA...

I'm pleased to announce a reading of my Zombie pscyho-thriller play Homo apocalyptus in San Franscisco later this spring. I was contacted by a hip young director Kirk Johnson who proposed this collaboration as part of their New Play series. He works with The Garage Theatre and it promises to be an exciting night.

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.