Second Playwrights Selected for 7dop
The final selection has been made! We are pleased to introduce the second set of playwrights chosen for the 7 Days of Play Festival.
Brett Hursey the writer of Scrambled, Directed by Nabil Vinas
Brett Hursey’s comedies have appeared in theaters across the country including venues in Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hollywood, as well as internationally in England, Australia and Canada. He’s also had twenty-five off/off-off Broadway productions in Manhattan and will have two shows appearing in the “Made in Vancouver” Festival during the 2010 Olympics.
Mike Smith Writer of Not Here, Directed by Alexander Christian Mulzac
Mike Smith is a native of Harlem, New York. He is a graduate of City College Center for Worker Education. Mike’s play, “Not here” has won an award for best play in the Aery Theatre 20/20 Play Festival. He’s been involved in a number of theatrical performances (writing and acting) at City College Center for Worker Education, and has had several poems featured in various publications through the Center. He is currently working for the New York City Department of Education as an Educational Assistant-Crisis Paraprofessional. Mike has a small role in an upcoming independent film Directed by Roderick Baraka entitled, “Infidelity.”
Matriarch By Miriam Tabb, Directed by Jean-Pierre Barthelemy
Miriam Tabb, actress, writer, director, and small business owner of Life Noted, has the amazing ability to get the most personal story out of anyone. Her sensitive awareness and empathy for people, relationships, and the world around her is the reason Miriam became a trained actress to re-enact important moments in life, onstage. Graduating from The City College of New York with a BA in Theatre, Miriam took her love for stories a step further to act, write, and direct moving pieces that honor the human spirit. Portraying, creating, and shaping characters onstage in productions like Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, James Baldwin’sAmen Corner, Trevor Rhone’s Two Can Play, her own Turning Points documentary drama, and much more have refined her love of stories to an art form. Miriam has added spoken word to her repertoire over the last few years, performing in NYC venues. Her most recent work reflects that experience through its poetic language. Matriarch is one woman’s personal journey of her pursuit of motherhood, and Miriam is proud it is debuting at The 7 Collective’s 7 Day Festival.
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
