A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to travel to Ogden, Utah, for the world premiere of my play The Amphibians at Weber State University. The production exceeded my expectations in every way imaginable—the acting, production values, dramaturgical support, all of it.
But equally as moving as the show itself was the students' passion for environmentalism, and how the themes of the show could extend to their rehearsal and production process. Everything—from the creature to the set to the costumes—was created through reused, upcycled, or in-stock materials, resulting in a zero-waste production that looked, sounded, and felt incredible. Megan Swann of The Signpost wrote a wonderful, informative article on the entire process, and you can also check out the online program for more info on all the amazing artists behind the show. Lastly, head on over to the The Amphibians' page on my website for a look at some of the production photos, captured by David Daniels of dav.d photography. Huge thanks to all the good people at Weber State for bringing my work to such vivid life. And there's more in store for The Amphibians this year, including its next production from Sundown Collaborative Theatre in Denton, Texas this July, and a few other things I can't talk about just yet. Hope to see you at the theater!
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My play The Amphibians is enjoying its world premiere next week at Weber State University! The cast and crew have thrown their all into this show, and I couldn't be more excited to fly to Utah and see their work.
dav.d photography took some really lovely publicity images for the play. The below one, in particular, really captures the energy and friendship between the characters of Bryn and Simone. Just as exciting, the Weber State premiere is a zero-waste production, which keeps with the play's examination of the climate crisis and how it might affect the emotional state of future generations. Read more about it in Weber State University's sustainability newsletter. Click here for tickets, and if you're in the Salt Lake City/Ogden area, come by and say hi! I'll be there opening night (Friday, February 23rd), with a talkback taking place afterward. Can't wait! I'm so excited to announce that my play The Amphibians is getting its second production next year, this time in Denton, Texas with Sundown Collaborative Theatre!
It's being directed by the wonderful Erin Malone Turner and will be part of the theatre's sweet 16th season in July. Stay tuned for specific dates, casting announcements, ticket details, and more. In the meantime, enjoy the killer teaser image that Sundown cooked up below! In early December, I'll be participating in the Out of the Hat Festival, produced by my good friends over at The Workshop Theater! The way it works is pretty epic: the company selects 31 playwrights and pairs them each with two actors. Based on a prompt (this year, it's the word "fire"), the playwrights create a new short play for their respective performers, and the whole shebang goes up over two weeks.
I was paired with the wonderful Karen Marulanda and Michael Ortiz, both of the Fled Collective and elsewhere. We've got a spooky and (we hope!) darkly funny playlet coming your way called "Autumn Mix". It goes up at AMT Theater (354 W 45th St), alongside four other short plays. You can check out all of the plays on various nights between November 28th and December 7th. The shows are all at 7 p.m. Get your tickets here for just $10 and learn more about the other artists involved. It's always great to collaborate with The Workshop Theater, and I appreciate them having me. Come check us out! After four years of development and workshops at various theatre companies, my play The Amphibians is finally getting its world premiere at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah!
I've never been to Utah, and am lucky enough to fly out there for the show and teach a playwriting workshop to students during tech week. We're already in production meetings, and it looks like the creative team is truly cooking up something very special and visually thrilling. The show runs February 23rd through March 2nd. Click here for more info, and stay tuned for ticket links and other exciting announcements. Utah, I'll see you soon! River Watchers—our immersive play on a moving 14-person canoe in Newtown Creek—was one of the most rewarding artistic experiences of my life. We enjoyed a completely sold-out run in October, and will hopefully remount it sometime in the future. In the meantime, here's some of the press we got, as well as some incredible action shots from show photographer Kate Baranovskaya. Enjoy! – Review in Greenpointers – Feature in All Arts – Feature in Broadway World – Feature in The New York Post I'm beyond excited to announce that I was chosen to be part of The Civilians' R&D Group! Now in its 13th year, the R&D Group puts together a cohort of writers, composers, and directors to each work on a project that relies on creative investigation. I'll be toiling away at my play The Tusk Hunters, which I've previously developed through The Workshop Theater, UT Austin, and elsewhere. Here's a synopsis:
Two men in the Alaskan tundra search for woolly mammoth tusks as an alternative to elephant ivory. But their most recent discovery causes their employer to pivot from the ivory trade to a project straight out of science fiction as a means of combatting climate change. Inspired by the real-life founding of Colossal Biosciences, The Tusk Hunters explores the morality of de-extinction and the toll that scientifically revolutionary ideas take on those who execute them. I've been chipping away at The Tusk Hunters for quite some time, and I'm hoping to come out of the R&D Group next year with a new research-driven draft that compellingly presents the play's scientific ideas while still being narratively satisfying. We'll all be presenting our work in a public reading series called Findings in June, so keep a lookout for that. You can read more about all the brilliant artists in the R&D Group on the Civilians website, as well as in Playbill and American Theatre. Thanks so much to The Civilians for taking a chance on me and my work. Can't wait to get started!
This week, Dina Vovsi, Jens Rasmussen, and I guested on Stage Whisper, a podcast dedicated to showcasing all things theatre in New York! We spoke in detail about the creation of our new play on the water, River Watchers, in addition to sharing theatre memories and some of our favorite practitioners working in the field today.
Check out the episode below in advance of our opening this week (we're very sold out, but you can sign up for the waitlist here). Big thanks to host Andrew Cortes for such a warm and inviting conversation, and for supporting new work! I'm honored to be a Finalist in The Next Forever, an initiative created by The Civilians and Princeton University's High Meadows Environmental Institute to create dramatic works that address the climate crisis. Director/co-creator Dina Vovsi and I made it to the final round with River Watchers (called Canoe Play back when she pitched it), which you can of course check out this week through its production at Newtown Creek with The Motor Company.
My play about woolly mammoths and de-extinction, The Tusk Hunters, also advanced as a Semi-Finalist. I'll have some more exciting news to share about that project very soon. Thanks so much to The Civilians and Princeton for considering my work, and huge congrats to Next Forever winners AriDy Nox and Kareem Fahmy! That's right! During the last two weekends in October, you can venture to the waterfront of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint for River Watchers, a new play on a boat that I co-created with director Dina Vovsi and adventurer/actor Jens Rasmussen. It also features the wonderful Amanda Bruton, with stage management and other roles from Emma Sonricker.
Set in a 29-foot Langley canoe, River Watchers sends 14 audience members on a mission to rehabilitate the creek after more than a century of constant pollution. Keep a lookout for marine life, and be ready to paddle and persevere. River Watchers is produced by The Motor Company, with additional support from the Brooklyn Arts Council, North Brooklyn Community Boathouse, and The Puffin Foundation. Our run is currently sold out, but you can reserve a spot on our waitlist. I'm so grateful to be part of this unique project and can't wait for everyone to see what we've come up with. Check out the evocative and ethereal poster design below from Lauren Matrka. See you on the water! |
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