First Playwrights Selected for 7dop
We thank all the writers who submitted plays for consideration in this festival. With so many promising works it was difficult to narrow it down to two plays. After many hours of reading we found Gluttony by Ed Cardona Jr. and Laugh Riot by Michael Weems. Aligned with our mission to collaborate and engage the community we opened the stage to outside actors. We are pleased to introduce Shyla Idris, Betsy Holt, John Esposito and Damian Desiree. The performances are this weekend and tickets are on sale now. Hope to see you there.
Ed Cardona Jr. Selected as an Artistic Associate for the Working Theater’s 25th Anniversary Season, which will produce his play American Jornalero, a 1st Stage Production, New York City, March 2010 (theworkingtheater.org).His other plays include an adaptation of Pablo's Christmas (commissioned and published by Dramatic Publishing, 2009) from the children's book by Hugo C. Martin; Apricot Sunday, in 2008: The Best 10-Minute Plays for 2 Actors(Contemporary Playwright Series) by Lawrence Harbison, published, 2009;Black & Blue Fruit, New Works Lab '09, Intar Theatre, staged reading, New York City; Piragua Papi (Snow Cone Daddy), Insight 15, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, staged reading, New York City; Up or Down, staged reading, the Welcome Mat Reading Series, Partial Comfort Productions, New York City; PICK UP POTS!, staged reading, the Working Theater, New York City; Bottle Rockets, workshop production, Insight 14, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, New York City; Blunt-Piercing-Edge, staged reading, the Welcome Mat Reading Series, Partial Comfort Productions and NewWorksLab, Intar Theatre, New York City; and La Perla (The Pearl), Fiesta 2007: Words and Music, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, New York City. Cardona has been a resident with Hispanic Playwrights in Residence Lab at Intar Theatre and Hall Farm Center for the Arts & Education, Townsend, Vt. He is a member of Partial Comfort Productions and the Professional Playwrights Unit at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Cardona received his M.F.A. in playwriting from Columbia University, May 2006, where he received the John Golden Award for his thesis play, PICK UP POTS!
Michael Weems is a NYC based writer, playwright, and actor. Recent playwriting credits include: Bludgeon the Lime and Necessary Adjustments (Phare Play Productions) Fragments, Waiting Life, and Onward, Forward (Little Hibiscus Productions), Subtlety (Algonquin Productions), Burden Me (Strawberry Riant Festival & Awakening Drama); Waiting Life, Ready to Shine, and Subtlety (Brief Acts). Recent fiction/poetry credits: Love Me, As Well (Record Magazine - Winter 08-09) When We Reached the Forest (Indite Circle Literary) and being named the poet of the month for 'O Sweet Flowery Roses Literary Journal (October 2008), as well as recent works being published by 63 Channels Literary, Jump In Magazine, and Oregon Literary Review, amongst others. Thanks to my loves, Christine, Thomas, & Jack. www.michaeltweems.com
