Spooky alumni news, in brief:

Joyce Van Dyke

The Armenian Library and Museum of America will host a preview of Joyce Van Dyke's Deported on Nov. 6...

Monica Bauer's already award-winning My Occasion of Sin is nominated for an Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award, in the Best Original Script category...

Join Lydia Diamond, director Kenny Leon, and the cast of Stick Fly for a conversation about the play in The Greene Space on Nov. 2...

The Balcony, directed by John Kuntz, opens on Nov. 17 at the Boston Conservatory Theater...

Congrats again to New Rep's New Voices @ New Rep Playwriting Fellows (lots of familiar faces here)...

Karen Zakarías' The Sins of Sor Juana opened last week at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts...

Opening weekend...

El Demonio Rosa expects you to see The River Was Whiskey. 

(And he means business, y'all.)

For tickets, please visit bostonplaywrights.org or call 866.811.4111

Q&A: Zayd Dohrn on 'Want' and 'Outside People'

Zayd Dohrn’s Want opens tonight at Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s First Look Repertory of New Work, and in January his Outside People opens Off-Broadway in a co-production by The Vineyard Theatre and Naked Angels. Of course, we had questions for him…

KAM: Wow – you have a one play (Want) at Steppenwolf, and another (Outside People) opening Off-Broadway in January. I guess we could say this is shaping up to be a really busy fall and winter for you. How are you managing your time?
 

ZD: It’s been busy, but the timing worked out well. Right now I’m in the middle of rehearsals for Want. We open October 27 and run through November 20. Then Outside People rehearsals start two days later, so they’re close, but not completely simultaneous. Luckily, I don’t have to be in two places at the same time.

The Flood

Playwright Will Fancher

In 2007 I had an image pop into my head of an old man and a young boy sitting in a rundown house, talking about their sins. In 2009, having turned that image into a play called The River was Whiskey and labored on it for a semester in Melinda Lopez's workshop here at BPT, I put it away for good. I had hit a brick wall. The language had curdled into a pointless babble of ain'ts and y'alls, the characters' motives and desires were murky at best (nonsensical at worst), and I was in open revolt against anything that might be regarded as southern gothic, which is all too often assumed to be the default style of a Southern writer. And there was nothing I could do to fix it. Every revision was just digging the hole deeper.

Alumni news, in brief:

The Book Club Play

Check out the new Web site for Joyce Van Dyke’s Deported… 

Stick Fly meets the press…

Zayd Dohrn’s Want opens 10/27 as part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 7th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work (watch this space for more on this project later in the week)…

Actress Kate Snodgrass was featured in the reading of Don Cohen’s Length of Stay at the Munroe Center for the Arts, directed by Melinda Lopez…

New video for Karen Zacarías’ The Book Club Play, now at Arena Stage…

Gregory Fletcher interviewed Sons of the Prophet star Santino Fontana for the Stage and Cinema blog…

Will Fancher’s The River Was Whiskey opens this week right here at BPT…

Q&A: Sinan Ünel discusses 'Mad Person'

Sinan Ünel

Sinan Ünel’s play A Mad Person’s Chronicle of a Miserable Marriage – about the tumultuous marriage of Leo and Sonya Tolstoy, narrated by one "mad" actor (John Andert) who portrays both characters – just finished a successful weekend at Whaler’s Wharf (produced by Counter Productions) in Provincetown, and beginning on November 6, will settle in for a run at Stage Left Studio in New York City. In the interim, Sinan answered a few questions about the project…and offered a glimpse of his current project. (And yes, this space will certainly feature a follow-up with Sinan about that play, too.)

KAM: Mad Person was originally produced in 1995. Are you evolving the script at all this time around?

SÜ: Actually, no. The script has not changed very much at all. Just a few small changes. The direction has changed quite a bit and the performance as well. John and I are both a lot more mature!

The World of 'The Farm'

Dale Place and Lindsey McWhorter in The Farm

The Farm is a play about a two CIA agents, one of whom is being interrogated by the other about a case that has the agency questioning his stability. It is an extremely apprehensive battle. My character, Parker, is new to the agency, and has been given this assignment because of her admiration for Finn who is a highly trained veteran in the agency. The play keeps us on the edge of our seats up until the very last second and will hopefully do the same for the audiences.

I have really enjoyed working on this character with David Gammons and Walt McGough and working with the extremely talented Dale Place and Nael Nacer. David has done an excellent job with helping us to create the depth and tension necessary for this complexly thrilling world that Walt has created, and his excitement and enthusiasm has really inspired me as an artist.

I feel tremendously blessed to be working with Kate Snodgrass and Boston Playwrights' Theatre and hope everyone enjoys the show as much as I do.

-Lindsey McWhorter

Alumni news, in brief:

John Kuntz, photo by Stratton McCrady

John Kuntz’s award-winning The Hotel Nepenthe is now available as an e-book, from Concord ePress…

Sinan Ünel’s Pathétique will be part of Hartford Stage’s Brand:NEW playreading festival in November…

Emily Kaye Lazzaro will take the stage this December as a member of the cast of the New England premiere of classmate Walt McGough’s Priscilla Dreams the Answer, produced by Fresh Ink Theatre Company…

Check out Gregory Fletcher's contributions to NYC’s Stage and Cinema blog…

John Shea has a new Web site – find information about his work, his blog, and more at www.pages2stages.com...

Breaking Bad in 'The Farm'

Lindsey McWhorter and Dale Place in The Farm

From the first time I read Walt McGough's terrific play, I was so taken by the ease and immediacy of his great dialogue I think I actually started to drool. A chance to play a highly-skilled clandestine operative of the CIA with some deep, dark secrets? An opportunity to "break bad?" I'm still pinching myself ... ok, it's the best role I've had in longer than I can remember. There, I've said it!

Alumni news, in brief:

Colleen Hughes, Emily Kaye Lazzaro, and Anna Renée Pattison (along with award-winning playwright James McLindon) are the first playwriting fellows at Watertown’s New Repertory Theatre…

Stick Fly producer Alicia Keys is composing original music for the Broadway-bound production of Lydia Diamond’s play…

John Greiner-Ferris has joined the board of Another Country Productions…

For a little fun, check out John Kuntz’s account of what it was like backstage at Mortal Terror…

Steve Jobs, The Beatles, and us

Jobs, with the iPhone 4

Many of us were saddened this week to learn of the passing of Apple Inc. leader and visionary Steve Jobs.

I, for one, feel his presence in my everyday life as I talk on the phone, listen to music, stargaze, watch movies, and indeed, write this post. Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement address has gotten a lot of air play, and lots of folks – here’s one from Jay-Z – have posted moving tributes online. 

For us theatre artists, I am partial to this 2003 60 Minutes interview in which he discusses collaboration (more on CBS.com): 

 

Un luchador en la ciudad

Este fin de semana pasado, el luchadore El Demonio Rosa tuvo un recorrido a pie de algunos de los teatros en Nueva York donde las obras dramáticas por dramaturgos de BPT (y nuestros amigos) aparecerá este otoño...

“Stick Fly! Viva Lydia!”

Always Watching in 'The Farm'

L-R: Dale Place and Nael Nacer in The Farm by Walt McGough

I do a lot of watching in The Farm. My character, The Enemy, is a phantom predator who spends a lot of the play stalking his prey. He's mostly in the shadows but he is always watching.

So in these past few weeks I've had the privilege of watching David Gammons, Dale Place, and Lindsey McWhorter at work. It's been a blast seeing Dale and Lindsey going to toe-to-toe as their characters, Finn and Parker. They. Are. Badass.

Alumni news, in brief:

What is this?*

Melinda Lopez’s Sonia Flew graced the stage at Bowling Green State University last weekend…

Monica Bauer’s new play Porter’s Will will receive a reading at The East End Naked Stage Company in November…

K. Alexa Mavromatis’ one-act True Blue will be part of NYC-based Playhouse Creatures' From Page to Stage Festival of Original Work in November, and her short play Bastard will be included in Looking Glass Theatre’s Writer/Director Forum in December…

Werner Trieschmann shared thoughts on monologue writing on the Playscripts blog last week…