News and Updates

So I'm headed down under to participate as the Playwright in Residence with the Cairns Festival in Queensland, Australia. The fest is an annual celebration of local culture, and I'm honored to be an international guest. This marks the first production of my new play Homo apocalyptus - a love story about Zombies, survival, and the meaning of family. It also marks the first production of The Salvage Company , a new theatre venture dedicated to creating and producing original works. The Salvage Comany believes that even things that have been wrecked can be raised again. I think this fits in perfectly with the Undead, of course, and also with the spirit of the play. WHEN: August 31 - September 2 WHERE: The Attic

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.

It has been incredibly hot in the city this summer since we moved here, but we've been staying cool by enjoying an unbelievable raft of shows. To name a few: Burnt Part Boys The Little One by James Comtois On the Levee by Marcus Gardley directed by Lear DeBessonet The Zero Hour by Madeleine George Rock of Ages A Disappearing Number by Simon McBurney and Complicite Our Town Freud's Last Session directed by Tyler Marchant I'll choose not to squeeze these shows into pithy words or sardine phrases, since they could each fill oceans. I'm just glad I had the chance to swim in them while I'm here.

I'm so pleased to have the chance to be a returning artist in residence at the lovely and gracious Studios of Key West this summer. TSKW provides access to the inside world of this fascinating island, and the cottage we're staying in offers artists and writers the perfect place to reflect and cool off, all under the shade of a graceful mango tree. I'm here developing a new play about the Treasure Hunting industry - a staple of Key West life for hundreds of years - and I've been conducting research, interviews and gathering experiences. All this will feed into the eventual formation of a work around salvage and recovery, which I hope to develop further this fall. Stay tuned.

So this week I'm in New York for the 2010 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama Showcase. This represents the culmination of our efforts at CMU and helps us get introduced to the professional community. We have a good schedule of meetings and events, plus a cocktail party tomorrow night. (If you think you can make it, let me know and I'll get you on the list.) Come meet the future playmakers of the American theatre. WHEN: Wednesday, May 19 from 6:00-9:00 WHERE: Midtown Loft 267 Fifth Avenue (at 29th Street) 11th Floor

“ When we were young, we were told that poetry is about voice, about finding a voice and speaking with this voice, but the older I get I think it's not about voice, it's about listening and the art of listening, listening with attention. I don't just mean with the ear; bringing the quality of attention to the world. ” - The Irish poet Kathleen Jamie (with whom I share a birthday) From The Writer's Almanac

“ You need courage to follow the formless path, until the true form of the work emerges. ” - Peter Brook