Signature Theatre Selects "Dharma" for 2023 Season

My play, Dharma, has been selected for Signature Theatre's 2023 season of SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Readings. Tickets can be reserved at SigTheatre.org starting 2 weeks prior to each reading.

"We had a record number of submissions for the SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Readings series this year, and I was blown away by the talent of the writers in the DMV area," said Anika Chapin, Signature's new Director of Artistic Development. "The three plays chosen are all gems - funny, moving, and unique - and I can't wait to share them with Signature audiences.

SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Readings is an opportunity for playwrights, actors, directors, and patrons to explore new plays in a fun and informal environment. Each reading will include a post-show Q&A with the playwright and director. Over the last six years, four plays developed as part of the SigWorks program have gone on to full productions at Signature Theatre.

"Dharma" WINS 2022 KUMU KAHUA THEATRE AWARD

My play “Dharna” received the 2022 Pacific/Rim Prize from the Kumu Kahua Theatre at the University of Hawaii in Manoa(UHM). Kumu Kahua Theatre is a non-profit theatre company that has presented original productions of special relevance to the people of Hawaii since 1971.  

Each year, Kumu Kahua Theatre co-sponsors a playwriting contest with the UHM Theatre Department in its effort to bring new and exciting drama to the stage.  For the Pacific/Rim Prize, which is open to residents and non-residents of Hawai‘i, the play must be set in or deal with the Pacific Islands, the Pacific Rim, or the Pacific/Asian American experience. 

Previous winners include Susan Soon Ye Stanton.

Dharma to be featured as part of Studio Tenn's inaugural New Work Series

Studio Tenn is a professional regional theatre company and a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Franklin, Tennessee. Its programming centers around innovative, custom-designed presentations of classic plays and musicals as well as an original “Legacy” series of theatrical concerts celebrating the work of time-honored musicians.

The New Works Series intends to cultivate and nurture the talent of the next generation of Southern playwrights, composers, and lyricists, as we feel it is our responsibility to follow in the footsteps of great American Southern playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, Beth Henley, and Wayne Kirkpatrick (among others). Furthermore, the Studio Tenn New Works Series strives to deconstruct the notion of what voices, themes, and stories historically come from the Southern region of the United States.

We are thrilled to showcase the work of the next generation of Southern playwrights and composers, and in doing so give our community the opportunity to witness how new theater is created. The series is designed to foster a working relationship between artists, the development process, the community, and Studio Tenn. The New Works Series accepts original and unpublished full-length plays from playwrights, composers, and lyricists that are either from or currently residing in the South. Such states are as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 

Dharma will be performed February 6, 2023!

I'm a FIFE Fellow!

Bechdel Project, a feminist arts incubator, is launching its latest initiative, the FIFE Fellowship, a multi-year, artist-led fellowship for feminist writers that provides support to develop stories that have the power to change the world. The fellowship, Feminism Is For Everybody (FIFE), focuses on the concepts of intersectional feminism, building diverse community, and the wholistic integration of art into life. Throughout the fellowship, each writer will have access to Bechdel Project's studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to write, workshop, and present work along with guidance and support from the Bechdel Project staff. Fellows will be provided enrichment opportunities (such as retreats, guest speakers, and discussion groups), quarterly dinner parties and a virtual community hub, a yearly artist-led salon, and accommodations for out-of-town artists.

“At a time of diminishing opportunities for writers to develop work, we're excited to be making more space for feminist story-tellers," says co-creative director Jens Rasmussen "and as recent events in the US and around the world are showing, we need feminist stories now, more than ever."

The inaugural fellows are: Nayna Agrawal (Variety's "100 Writers to Watch"), Courtney Bailey (Immersion Play, SheNYC Arts), Imogen Grace (The Price of Perfection, Lifetime TV), MillerPrugh (You Will Never Read This, LadyFest - Immerwahr, Voyage Theater), arroyo monfiletto (My Mother The Sun, Echo Theater), Courtney Taylor (The Warren Commission Spectacular, Imaginarium Theatre), and Else Went (Oxford Man, MTC Sloan Commission.)

"Reality Check" is an Honorable Mention in Scriptwriters & Co initiative

My play, “Reality Check”, is an honorable mention with Scriptwriters & Co. Based in Bath, UK, Scriptwriters & Co brings writers (as well as actors and artists of other disciplines) together via script consulting, productions and readings, workshops and events.

Nicole Kidman's and Meryl Streep's Writing Lab

I’m pleased to share that my dramedy pilot, Honey Widows, placed in the top 2% of all submissions for this year’s Lab. Founded by Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep, The Writers Lab is the only program in the world devoted exclusively to script development for women-identifying writers over 40. The Lab is presented by co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon, with New York Women in Film & television, and in collaboration with the Writers Guild of America, East, with in-kind support from The Black List, Cinequest, Falco Ink, Film Fatales, Filmarket Hub, Final Draft, Population Media Center, and Roadmap Writers.

I'm a Finalist for NYC's WP Theater Lab

I’m delighted to be a finalist for the WP Theater Lab. This two-year residency for playwrights, directors and producers has served over 350 artists since its founding as The Director’s Forum in 1983. The Lab has two main goals: to cultivate the work of women+ artists, and to give them the tools they need to succeed in the industry. The Lab offers a professional network, entrepreneurial and leadership training, rehearsal space, and most significantly, tangible opportunities for the development and production of bold new work for the stage. The Lab residency culminates in the biennial Pipeline Festival, a festival of five new plays written, directed and produced by the Lab.

Now in its 44th Season, the WP is the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of Women+ at every stage of their careers. WP Theater received a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award, a 2019 Obie Award, both for Outstanding Body of Work, and a 2020 Special Drama Desk recognizing WP and its founder, Julia Miles.

Punctuation Play Selected for Axial Theatre's Reading Series

My play, Punctuation Play, has been selected for the Cactus Flower short play development initiative at Axial Theatre. The play will be presented on June 26th from noon to 3 p.m. at The Hudson Valley Writers Center in New York. More information can be found at www.axialtheatre.org.

Axial Theatre is a 23-year-old, ensemble-based theater company known for its dedication to developing and producing cutting-edge and new theater works. 

All plays selected for this initiative will also receive consideration for a full production in April 2023 at the Theatre.

I'm A Semi-Finalist for the 2022 Gary Marshall New Works Festival

Established in 1997, The Garry Marshal Theatre is critically acclaimed and an Ovation Award-winning venue known originally as the Falcon Theatre. Based in Los Angeles, the Theatre is dedicated to cultivating community, presenting innovative performances, offering educational opportunities, and championing connection and conversation through storytelling and cultural experiences. The five selected works will be presented September 23rd-25th.

I'm a Finalist for the Goldfinch Writers Residency

The Goldfinch Writers’ Retreat is a week-long, fully-funded residency established to support writers who demonstrate a unique commitment to their craft, by providing the time and space critical to a writing practice. This inaugural residency at Looking Glass Arts will be offered to two writers (45 or older) who are not yet published by a major outlet. Works can include a novel, collection of short stories, poetry, memoir, graphic novel, play, screenplay, essays or hybrid work. Residencies are self-directed. Travel, lodging, meals and an honorarium are provided.