News and Updates

Midtown meets Key West this month in a reading of my new play THE MORE BEYOND with one of NYC's hottest theatre clans. The Drawing Board tackles meaty, challenging work, in an informal, collaborative setting, and I'm honored to be part of their schedule. Plus they have a roster deep enough to produce this reading - 34 characters! - without (almost any) double casting. THE MORE BEYOND follows a Spanish treasure galleon in 1622 that sinks off the coast of Florida, and a modern-day treasure hunter from Key West as he tries to piece his life back together and find lost glory. WHERE: MEC - 825 Seventh Ave, 2nd floor. (Bring photo ID) WHEN: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 7:00 PM

My new play YOUNG NEGRESS STEPPING OUT OF THE RIVER AT DAWN was selected for a main stage reading at the 2013 Great Plains Theatre Conference this coming summer in Omaha. I'm humbled and honored to be selected for this event. Playwrights being featured this year include Erik Ehn who graciously advised me in the early stages of this project, and also Kate Snodgrass who encouraged and challenged me during the Summer Playwrights' Intensive at the Kennedy Center last year. It's gonna be a great week!

If you need a warm, dry, well-lighted place to spend a few hours on Friday evening, then come by The Dramatists Guild for their Friday Night Footlights series. My new play YOUNG NEGRESS STEPPING OUT OF THE RIVER AT DAWN will have a reading and I'd love to have you there. This play grew out of my experiences in Rwanda earlier this year. It shines a spotlight on the daily struggles of a small population of illegal immigrants living and working in the United States, as they seek to harmonize the demands of their own culture and traditions, with a new life far from home. Featuring: Donnetta Lavinia Grays - ALYZE Owiso Odera - MARTIN Jamyl Dobson - EDMOND JoAnna Rhinehart - RONNIE Our director is the lovely Mary Birnbaum . WHEN: Friday, November 2, 2012 at 6:00 PM (promptly) WHERE: The Dramatists Guild - 1501 Broadway, Suite 710

I am honored to be able to direct a upcoming reading of a brand new play FOR THE LOVE OF DAMIEN HIRST written by my friend the incredibly talented Michael Patrick Collins. It isn't every day that we get to step outside our comfort zone and try on different roles in the theatre, but I think it's important. And I have worked with some amazing directors, both as an actor and as a playwright, so all I do is act like those directors, and treat the playwright like I want to be treated. The story tells itself. The Drawing Board presents FOR THE LOVE OF DAMIEN HIRST by Michael Patrick Collins WHEN: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 7:00 PM WHERE: The Players Club (16 Gramercy Park, NYC)

This week I get to participate in a bold theatre experiment. Theatrespeak is hosting Write Out Front : a showcase of some 70 playwrights who will be writing, live, in public, while trapped in the front window of the Drama Book Shop . It's either a brilliant performance piece ennobling the work of the lonely artist at her desk, or it's writer's worst nightmare. (Ok, techncially the writers are not 'trapped' in the window. But their thoughts are electronically exhibited on a flat screen facing West 40th Street.) It reminds me of the Suzan-Lori Parks installation-cum-personal-challenge Watch Me Work at the Public last year, which I enjoyed very much. I hope that this project is half as productive, and a tenth as inspiring. Thanks to writer and instigator Micheline Auger for making things happen. WHEN: Thursday, August 16 from 3:00 PM to 4:45 PM WHERE: Drama Book Shop (250 West 40th Street)

My screenplay INDEPENDENT was named as an official selection for the 2012 Action on Film International Film Festival . INDEPENDENT is the story of a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who teaches himself martial arts through video games, You Tube, and movies.

Took a tour of the Juan Sebastian de Elcano , a training vessel for Midshipmen of the Spanish Naval Academy. This beauty, built in 1927, is about twice the size of the Javea in THE MORE BEYOND but holds about the same number of crew. For all that's changed in the last 300 years, sailing is still taught by the basics - navigation, duty, and the power of the wind.