Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Dramatic Writers

Carnegie Mellon Dramatic Writing represented at AWP Conference

2010-04-08T10:34:00.001-04:00

Association of Writers and Writing Programs
2010 Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado
Panel Today at 1:30

Playwriting: Rapture, Mystery and Practicalities. (Todd Ristau, Art Borreca, Bonnie Metzgar, Rebecca Rugg, Lisa Schlesinger, Rob Handel) This panel addresses questions on the craft of playwriting such as: Are plays a form of literature or are they merely blueprints for production? How is playwriting different from other forms of creative writing? How does the playwright's first goal of production, rather than publication, change the writing practice and product? How do we address these differences of craft for people who have seen and read little drama? Finally, how does a play move successfully from the page to the stage?

The Globe's 400-year wait is over

2010-02-24T12:43:00.003-05:00

"If playwright Nell Leyshon is overawed by the prospect of making history, she's hiding it well. It was announced this week that Leyshon had been commissioned by Shakespeare's Globe to write a drama for the theatre – the first woman to be asked since its opening in 1599."

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2010/02/globes-400-year-wait-is-over.html

(via News from the "Real World")

New Works Series 2010

2010-02-07T15:41:00.000-05:00

Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama Presents Four
New Plays in This Year's New Works Series, Feb. 10-27

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama presents this year's New Works Series featuring four new plays written by second-year master's degree students in the dramatic writing program. The New Works Series, which will be held Feb. 10-27, includes "Bellhammer" by Dean Poynor, "The Beast of Skitter Creek" by Brian Forrester, "Beneath" by Carolyn Kras and "A Boy Named Alice" by Joshua Elias Harmon. Performances will take place in the Wells Studio Theatre on the Carnegie Mellon campus. Tickets are free and are available at the box office one hour prior to the performance.

"The New Works Series is central to the experience of the playwrights in the graduate program," said Rob Handel, dramatic writing option coordinator. "It's their opportunity to collaborate with the artists and technicians in the other disciplines at the School of Drama. For audiences, it's a chance to experience the great American playwrights of tomorrow."

Earlier this month, students from the dramatic writing program took all three top prizes for playwriting at the regional conference of the American College Theatre Festival.

About the Performances

"Bellhammer" written by Dean Poynor
8 p.m., Feb. 10; 4 p.m., Feb. 12; 8 p.m., Feb. 13
"Bellhammer" takes us into the little-known world of Christian professional wrestling, where the glitz and fury of the wrestling ring entices audiences into hearing the Gospel.

"The Beast of Skitter Creek" written by Brian Forrester
8 p.m., Feb. 11; 8 p.m., Feb. 12; 2 p.m., Feb. 13
"The Beast of Skitter Creek" is a good, old-fashioned scary story about a young minister who returns to his Appalachian hometown in 1905 to discover that it is being terrorized by a monster born out of the town's violent past.

"Beneath" written by Carolyn Kras
8 p.m., Feb. 24; 4 p.m., Feb. 26; 8 p.m., Feb. 27
In "Beneath" a blind archeologist struggles to unearth the secret of love amidst the political turmoil of Iran in 1978.

"A Boy Named Alice" written by Joshua Elias Harmon
8 p.m., Feb. 25; 8 p.m., Feb. 26; 2 p.m., Feb. 27
"A Boy Named Alice" follows a young man in search of his biological mother. He knows she's a famous 1970s singer-songwriter but he's not sure which one.

How to Apply

2010-02-07T12:56:00.003-05:00

As a writer for theatre or film, you’re not writing to be read; you’re making a blueprint that contains all the information your future collaborators will need to create an event.

Carnegie Mellon is uniquely positioned to offer an intense experience that combines training in playwriting, screenwriting, and new theatrical forms. As an integral part of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, the oldest degree-granting theatre program in the United States, the Dramatic Writing program provides ongoing collaboration with the next generation of important actors, directors, and designers. Writers collaborate with these colleagues every week in Theatre Lab, as well as working on a television project twice a year.

Dramatic Writing MFA candidates have the opportunity to see their plays fully produced in the New Works Series. These productions are helmed by emerging directors under the supervision of Marianne Weems, and industry guests are brought in to respond to the plays. Recent guests have included the literary managers of the Huntington Theatre and Woolly Mammoth, and top representatives from The Gersh Agency.

The program is one of only six leading institutions chosen to participate in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Film School Awards, which awards $35,000 in total prize money annually to two students within the Carnegie Mellon Dramatic Writing program.

The program fosters leadership through a course called “Envisioning a Theatre,” in which students examine revolutionary movements in theatre; write manifestos of their own; and build a plan for starting a theater company.

MFA students benefit from the strong support of School of Drama alumni in the field, including Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked), Stephen Bochco (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law), and John Wells (ER, Third Watch). Recent guest faculty have included Mac Wellman, Jeffrey M. Jones, and Sherry Kramer. Recent alumni include Jonathan Larson Award winners Chris Dimond and Michael Kooman, James McManus (Princess Grace Award), Jason Williamson (Dramatists Guild Fellowship), and Kevin Christopher Snipes (SPF).

For more than two decades, Dramatic Writing scholarships at Carnegie Mellon have been underwritten by the Shubert Foundation. The program has longstanding ties to Pittsburgh’s City Theatre, which is devoted to the production and commissioning of new plays. MFA students intern with City Theatre’s literary department and have built lasting relationships with the company. There are unlimited possibilities for collaborating with the many new-media initiatives taking place across the Carnegie Mellon campus, recognized as a world headquarters for entertainment technology.

The program is headed by Rob Handel, a founding member and managing director of the Obie-winning playwrights’ collective 13P, and a resident playwright at New Dramatists.

Dramatic Writing applicants must submit either one full length play or one full length screenplay in addition to all university and school applications. Complete application details can be found at http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/drama/

Inquiries are welcome throughout the year.
Contact Associate Professor Rob Handel
Office Phone: (412) 268-2398
E-mail: rhandel@andrew.cmu.edu

CMU playwrights dominate American College Theatre Festival Region II

2009-12-17T10:10:00.005-05:00

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama dramatic writing program dominates the list of plays selected to be presented as readings at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region II Festival. The Festival will be held January 12-16 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Of the 11 plays to be presented at the Festival, no fewer than six are by CMU Dramatic Writing students.

Due to the dominance of CMU playwrights on the list below, the intensity of this competition may not be immediately apparent. KCACTF Region II includes colleges and universities throughout the following states: southwestern New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, northern Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio. Because of the timing of the CMU new plays festival, festival eligibility encompasses both current CMU students and students who received degrees in the previous year.

Scripts selected for a reading at the KCACTF Region 2 Festival:

Full Length:

A Boy Named Alice by Joshua Elias Harmon – Carnegie Mellon University

Carapace by David Robinson – Ohio University

One Act:

Baggage by Dan O'Neil – Carnegie Mellon University

Terminal Condition by David Robinson – Ohio University

Whistleblower by Carolyn Kras – Carnegie Mellon University

Ten Minute:

a brief theory of the cosmos by Molly Hagan – Ohio University

On a Clear Night by Dan O'Neil – Carnegie Mellon University

Organum by Dean Poynor – Carnegie Mellon University

Orphan Train by Julie Tosh – Carnegie Mellon University

The Field by Rachel Barclay – Catholic University of America

The Sound of Great Flags by David Robinson – Ohio University

Showcase 2009

2009-04-27T18:11:00.000-04:00

Here's the new poster for the New York Showcase, 2009.

New Works Festival 2009

2009-03-18T14:40:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all who participated in the successful New Works Festival this year!

FLYING IN MUD by Ronnell Wheeler
IN THE KNOW by Julie Tosh
DARK EDEN by Chad Pentler
THE BROKEN SPOKE by Edgar Mendoza

Playwright Bio - Rob Smith (2008)

2009-03-17T14:18:00.005-04:00

Rob Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Catawba College and this spring he completed his Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon University. Recently Rob co-adapted Carlo Goldino’s The Servant of Two Masters, which will tour Pittsburgh, PA as a Commedia Dell’Arte production presented by Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, under the direction of Mark Bell. His most recent play, Tightrope, received a student workshop at the 2008 Winter New Play Festival at Carnegie Mellon University.

His one-act plays “Trash” and “Fine” have received awards from the American College Theatre Festival, American Theatre Co-Op, Theatre Publicus. In 2003 Rob was named a National Team Fellow in Playwriting by the Kennedy Center. Rob’s newest one-act play “Dust” won the 2008 American College Theatre Festival Region II One-Act Play Competition. “Dust” will have a reading at the Kennedy Center in April and is a national finalist for the 2008 John Cauble Short Play Award. Before returning to school, he was a member of the Hypothetical Seven, one of Kansas City’s oldest Improv and Sketch Comedy Troupes.

Other works include: Double Lub Dub (two readings 2006, 2007), “HAVETO-DONTWANNA” (student production 2007), “Whistling in the Dark” (student production 2005), “Mrs. Adventure” (student production 2005), “Flop Flip (2006), Sycamore (2005), “Minor Song” (2005), “The Packer” (2004) For the screen, Rob wrote Match, for the Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Competition (2007) and produced and directed “The Closed Theatre” a mocumentary about the world’s greatest avant-garde theatre company.

Twice he was the recipient of the Shubert Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University (2006-2007, 2007-2008). Rob is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

Playwright Bio - John-Paul Nickel (2008)

2009-03-17T14:18:00.004-04:00

John-Paul Nickel holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University (2008) and a BA in Acting from Point Park University (2000). Off-Broadway, his ten-minute play “Ziggy” has been seen at The Atlantic Theater and his ten-minute play “The Big Exit” at 59E59 (both produced by Theater Masters). At the Kennedy Center, John-Paul’s ten-minute play, “The Interview,” was given a reading after winning The Kennedy Center-American College Theater Festival’s award for Best Ten-Minute Play (Region II). This June, John-Paul’s ten-minute play “Writer’s Block” will be produced at the Source Festival in Washington, DC. On television, John-Paul’s teleplay, “Forwarding Address” has aired on Pittsburgh, PA’s PBS affiliate WQED.

At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, his full-length comedy, Past Perfect, Future Tense, received two readings and a workshop, and his one-act play Page 104 received a staged reading. At The Pennsylvania Council for the Art’s Summer Festival of New Plays, John-Paul’s full-length comedy 22 Ways to Succeed & Be Seen was given a reading. In New York, John-Paul’s monologue “Handsome Me” was performed as part of Carnegie Mellon University’s 2007 Actor’s Showcase. In his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, John-Paul’s produced plays included: Family (Penn Ave. Theater), Comic Book Love (Gemini Theater), and “The Sign” (Unseam’d Shakespeare Co. for the Pittsburgh New Works Festival).

John-Paul is a two-time recipient of The Shubert Fellowship (2006 and 2007), a two-time winner of the Theater Masters’ National MFA Playwriting Competition (2007 and 2008) and a two-time finalist for the Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Award (2007 and 2008).

A managing director of the film production company Five Cent Productions, John-Paul is also an actor and an internationally award winning filmmaker. John-Paul’s films have screened at over twenty-five film festivals on four continents. Currently, he is in post-production on his first documentary, The Prague Quadrennial, which he shot on location in the Czech Republic.

John-Paul is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. and lives with his fiancé.

Playwright Bio - Carol J. Godart (2008)

2009-03-17T14:17:00.005-04:00

Carol J. Godart graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama with a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing in May 2008. While pursing her Master’s degree, Grae Matters, a non-realistic, raw, poetic drama, received several readings, development and a staged workshop in the 2008 Winter New Play Festival. Thread Count, a full length play, received several readings and was selected for the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts’ 2007 Summer New Play Festival. Her one-act play, “A Dime and Some Change,” received a staged reading, after development and two prior readings.

In addition, her monologue, “Dis-ease,” was featured in the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama’s Los Angeles Actor Showcase in March 2007. Carol is a proud theater educator. She taught Introductory and Advanced Playwriting at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a two-time recipient of the Shubert Foundation Fellowship Award.

In 2004, Carol graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing and a Second in Theater from Colorado State University. As a student there, her play, A Quarter Turn received a fully-realized student production, in addition to a staged reading (2003). Carol was granted the Governor’s Opportunity Scholarship four consecutive years during her time as an undergraduate.

Carol is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

Playwright Bio - France-Luce Benson (2008)

2009-03-17T14:17:00.004-04:00

France-Luce Benson graduates from Carnegie Mellon University with an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing this year. She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre from Florida International University. She founded Adunde Theatre Company in Miami, Fl and collaborated with African Heritage Cultural Center and Coconut Grove Playhouse.

In New York, she has participated in Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Going to the River Festival , 2002 - 2007. Her plays Silence of the Mambo, Destiny’s Edge, Ascension, and Floating Under Water have all had readings and/or workshops there. In 2000, she was honored as the Playwright in Residence for the Negro Ensemble Company, and was commissioned to write Barbara’s Keys; which premiered at the Lamb’s Theatre. Da Beat Trap, a one woman show written and performed by Ms. Benson, co-produced by NEC, debuted at the Producer’s Club. Fati’s Last Dance received a student workshop at Carnegie Mellon University. Later this month, Bricolage will present a workshop of Floating Under Water in Pittsburgh.

Ms. Benson is a two-time recipient of the Shubert Foundation Fellowship Award. Her screenplay, Healing Roots, was awarded the $10,000 prize in the Alfred P. Sloan competition. Fati’s Last Dance won an Honorable Mention prize in the Kennedy Center’s Lorraine Hansberry Award for Playwriting. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Playwright Bio - Michael Herman (2007)

2009-03-17T14:16:00.002-04:00

Michael is proud to be a founding member of Flour City Theatre Company, as well as FCTC’s Managing Director. He currently teaches acting and playwriting at his alma mater, SUNY Brockport, and scriptwriting at RIT. Michael is a playwright, actor, director and producer. His plays include CHASING THE DRAGON (Carnegie Mellon University’s 2007 Winter New Play Festival), LANGUAGE FAILS, WHISPER, TRIPPING MAX and GRILLING. He has participated twice in The Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive. A two-time recipient of the Schubert Fellowship for Dramatic Writing, Michael graduated with an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild, and holds a BA in both English and Theatre from SUNY Brockport.

Playwright Bio - Jason Williamson (2007)

2009-03-17T14:15:00.004-04:00

Jason Williamson's plays have received performances or readings across the country, from his home state of North Carolina to Chicago to Alaska. His work has been seen at The Greensboro Fringe Festival, The Stone Leaf Theatre Festival, The Broach Theater, PS211, Speaking Ring Theatre, and The Last Frontier Theatre Conference, among other venues. His ten minute play, Breathing, Caterpillars, was a finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Heideman award in 2005. The Hymn Cage was a finalist for the 2006 O'Neill Conference. He is currently a semi-finalist for the 2007 O'Neill Conference with Goat Song for Asa Jacobs. His newest play, Ether Steeds, recently received a workshop production at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He will receive his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon in the spring of 2007.

Playwright Bio - Christopher Dimond (2007)

2009-03-17T14:15:00.003-04:00

Christopher Dimond’s first musical, Homeless: The Musical (music by Suzanne Polak), premiered at Duquesne University (2006) where it will be remounted by Pittsburgh’s Summer Company this July. He wrote the lyrics for the song cycle Homemade Fusion (music by Michael Kooman), which debuted at Carnegie Mellon before transferring to Pittsburgh’s Civic Light Opera Cabaret Space (both 2006). He also contributed lyrics to productions of Shakespeare’s As You Like It (2006) and Brecht’s Man is Man (2006), both at Carnegie Mellon University.

His most recent musical, Dani Girl (music by Michael Kooman), was given a workshop production as part of CMU’s 2007 Winter New Plays Festival. Other works include Confessions of an 8th Grade Nobody (readings: CMU, 2006), Burying Barbie (winner: Chameleon Theatre Circle’s 8th Annual New Play Competition, 2007), It’s a Miserable Life (winner: Uncle Dickie’s Wicked Little Christmas II competition, 2004), and Shakespeare on Drugs (winner: Outstanding Production, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, 2002).

As a screenwriter, his animated feature Monkey Trials was the winner of CMU’s 2006 Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Competition.

Chris has taught playwriting at CMU, the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Suffield Academy, Chatham College Summer Arts and Music Day Camp, and Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School. He served as dramaturg for Pittsburgh City Theatre’s Young Playwrights’ Festival (2006) and is a two-time recipient of the Schubert Fellowship for Dramatic Writing (CMU). Chris is a graduate of Duquesne University and The University of Pennsylvania, and will receive his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University in May of 2007.

Playwright Bio - Mary F. Unser (2006)

2009-03-17T14:14:00.001-04:00

Mary F. Unser is a writer and an actor. Her play, The Only Gift was a semi-finalist for the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Playwrights’ Center’s PlayLabs Festival and the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference (all 2006). It also helped make Unser a finalist for a 2006 Jerome Fellowship at The Playwrights’ Center and was chosen as part of the 2005 CMU Summer New Play Festival (Pittsburgh).

Most recently, her play, Samaritan, was given a workshop production at Carnegie Mellon University.

Short plays include: Belly (chosen for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region II;finalist for Snowdance 10-min. Comedy Festival, Racine, WI), Temporaria (winner and produced by Perishable Theatre’s Women’s Playwriting Festival; finalist,Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 10-minute play festival; semi-finalist, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s (EST) one-act play marathon; produced by EST’s Actor/Director Lab and at EST’s Octoberfest), Coffee Incident #2 and Between Siddhartha and the Angel (both produced by EST A/D Lab), The Pledge (produced by EST’s A/D Lab and NY Int’l Fringe Festival), Buttergator (semi-finalist, EST’s one-act play marathon; produced by EST’s A/D Lab) and Tight (semi-finalist, EST’s one act play marathon; produced by EST’s A/D Lab and OW! Co. at Theatre 22. Additionally, Tight was filmed as a short and is currently in post-production).

As a screenwriter, Unser won the CMU Alfred P. Sloan Science Teleplay Competition for Love Chance, which was taped in May 2005 and was aired on PBS in January 2006. Additionally, she was a finalist for the CMU Sloan Screenwriting Competition in 2005 and 2006.

She has taught Beginning and Advanced Playwriting at Carnegie Mellon University, Playwriting at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and dramaturged for City Theatre Company's (Pittsburgh) Young Playwrights Festival. She has read plays for City Theatre Company as well as the 2003 and 2004 New York Int’l Fringe Festival. This past summer she co-created the newest (and best) CMU roboceptionist (yes folks, a robot receptionist): Marion “Tank” LeFleur.

Unser, a two-time recipient of a Schubert Fellowship for Dramatic Writing (CMU), graduates with an MFA in Dramatic Writing in 2006. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, the Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC) and Actors' Equity Association. She holds a BA in Biology from St. Anselm College and was valedictorian of her bartending class.

As an actor, she has most recently worked at EST, The Women’s Project and the Neighborhood Playhouse.

Full resume available upon request.

Playwright Bio - James McManus (2006)

2009-03-17T14:13:00.002-04:00

James McManus is the recipient of the 2006 Princess Grace Award in playwriting for his play, Cherry Smoke, which was recently published by Samuel French. Plays include Blood Potato, Cement City, Underground, Sheena, Cherry Smoke, Bulldog Whiskey, Dorothy 6 and The Night They Drugged the Orange. His plays have been performed and developed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Clockwork Theatre, Diverse City Theatre, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, New Dramatists, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, The Inkwell, Irish Repertory Theatre, Lark Play Development Center and the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. He was a 2007 & 2008 finalist for the PONY Fellowship and a two-time recipient of the Schubert Fellowship for Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon University where he received his MFA in 2006. McManus’ short film, Loves and Bones, is currently in post-production.

Playwright Bio - Frank Anthony Polito (2006)

2009-03-17T14:12:00.002-04:00

A native of Detroit, MI, playwright Frank Anthony Polito will receive his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in May 2006.

His first play, JOHN R, was produced in New York (Muse of Fire Productions, 2001) and starred Tony award-nominee John Tartaglia (Avenue Q.) Other full-lengths include: Another Day on Willow Street (CMU Winter New Play Festival, 2006), The Secret Anniversary (reading: CMU, 2005) and Band Fags! (staged reading: Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Chicago, 2004). His one-act plays include: “Blue Tuesday” (staged readings: Playwrights/Actors Contemporary Theatre, NYC, 2005 and Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, VA, 2005) and “Menage a Troy” (staged reading: CMU Playground, Fall 2005). Also an actor, Frank has written and performed the one-man show, “infected” (CMU Playground, Spring 2005). His teleplay, “Blind Faith,” was a finalist for the CMU/Alfred P. Sloan teleplay competition in 2004.

Frank is the two-time recipient of a Schubert Fellowship and a member of Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He is currently adapting Band Fags! into both a screenplay and a novel.

As an actor, Frank has appeared Off-Broadway at Revelation Theater and Primary Stages. Other NYC credits include: The Fourth Unity (“Unity Fest,” “Trafficking in Broken Hearts”), TOSOS II (“A Perfect Relationship”), (“Damage & Desire,” and “A Place Like This”) and the award-winning NYC Fringe Festival production, “Woman in the Animal Kingdom.”

Regional: The Shakespeare Theatre, Hartford Stage, Meadow Brook Theatre and The Source Theatre (2002 GLAAD media award recipient and DC-area premiere of “corpus Christi.”)

Film and TV: “One True Thing,” w/ Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger “Family Pictures,” “One Life to Live,” “Spin City” and “The Sopranos.”

Welcome Playwrights!

2009-03-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

So this is the new blog for playwrights who have graduated from Carnegie Mellon University. All these gifted MFA's are now making their mark in the world. And soon each of them will be able to post news items here, keep in touch, and promote their work!

Check back often!