Resumé
Awards and Honors
- 2011:
- Recipient, Collaboration Grant, Kansas Arts Commission
- 2010:
- Recipient, Playwriting Commission, William Inge Center for the Arts
- 2009:
- Winner, The Seven, Fusion Theatre Company competition
- 2008:
- Recipient, Playwriting Commission, Center for Kansas Studies
- Winner, "Best Historical/Western Film," Trail Dance Film Festival
- 2007:
- Recipient, Playwriting Commission, Center for Kansas Studies
- 2006:
- Winner, Cash Award, The Pen is a Mighty Sword International New Play Competition
- Recipient, Film Writing Commission, Center for Kansas Studies
- 2005:
- Recipient, Commission, William Inge Theatre Festival
- 2002:
- Playwright-in-residence, William Inge Theatre Festival
- 2001:
- Recipient, Kansas Arts Commission Fellowship in Playwriting
- Recipient, Commission, Brown Foundation & Washburn University
- Nomination, "Best Author of a New Play," Artistic Director Achievement Awards
- Winner, Dorothy Silver Award
- 2000:
- Winner, Stage 3 Festival of New Plays
- 1999:
- Recipient, Kansas Arts Commission Mini-Fellowship
- 1997:
- Winner, Festival of Emerging American Theatre
- Finalist, Charlotte Repertory Theatre's New Plays Festival
- 1996:
- Residency, The University of Georgia
- Finalist, Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival
- 1995:
- Selected for Sundance Playwrights Lab
- Selected for and attended The Eugene O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference
- 1994:
- Master Artist Fellowship, Indiana Arts Commission
- 1991:
- Recipient, Kentucky Foundation for Women grant for playwriting
- Residency, Mary Anderson Center for the Arts
- 1990:
- Master Artist Fellowship, Indiana Arts Commission
- Residency, Mary Anderson Center for the Arts
- 1989:
- Residency, Shenandoah Playwrights Retreat
- Named "State Treasure" by ARTS INDIANA MAGAZINE
- 1988:
- "Best of '87 Award" CITY MAGAZINE, Indianapolis
- 1987:
- Semi-finalist, Great Chicago Play Expo
- 1986:
- Master Artist Fellowship, Indiana Arts Commission
- Winner, Festival of Emerging American Theatre
- 1983:
- Indiana Arts Commission grant for playwriting
- Winner, Jane Chambers International Award
- 1982:
- Winner, Broad Ripple Playhouse Playwriting Competition
Productions of Dramatic Works (alphabetical)
AND WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS (full-length)
Readings and staged readings:
- Indiana Theatre Works, 1987
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis), 1987
- Shenandoah Playwrights Retreat, 1989
- Eureka Theatre (San Francisco), 1991
- Performers at Work (New York), 1992
Full productions:
- Phoenix Theatre, 1987 [This production taken to "Conference on Women in the Year 2000," Indiana U./Purdue U. at Indianapolis, 1988]
- Bloomington Playwrights Project, 1989
- Repertory People of Evansville, 1990
- Frontera @ Hyde Park, Austin TX, 1995
BELONGINGS (one-act)
Staged readings:
- Indiana Theatre Works, 1986
- Waldron Arts Center, 1993
- Mill Mountain Theatre (Roanoke VA) 1995
Full productions:
- St. Mary's College, 1988
- Bloomington Playwrights Project, 1989
- Washburn University Theatre, 1998
Broadcast:
- Public Television, Fullerton CA., 1993
THE BONES OF BUTTERFLIES (full-length)
Reading:
- William Inge Center for the Arts
CENTAURS (full-length)
Staged reading:
- Victory Gardens Theatre (Chicago), 1987
Full production:
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis), 1986 [This production taken to Lakeside Theatre, Lakeside MI, 1986]
DEAR JOHN (one-act)
Readings and staged readings:
- Playwrights Center of San Francisco, 1982
- Meridian Theatre (New York), 1983
- New York Theatre's Playwork Festival, Open Gate Theatre, 1983
Full production:
- Broad Ripple Playhouse, 1982
DEAR JOHN (full-length)
Readings and staged readings:
- Playwrights Center of San Francisco, 1983
- Phoenix Theatre, 1983
- Fellowship International at Indiana Repertory Theatre, 1983
- Brondia Productions (Toronto), 1996
- Moving Arts, Los Angeles Theatre Center, 2000
- Fremont Centre Theatre (South Pasadena), 2000
Full productions:
- Phoenix Theatre, 1983
- Theatre Building (Chicago, RDM Productions), 1984
- Oasis Productions, 1997
- Fremont Centre Theatre, 2001 ("Best Writer" nomination, ADA Valley)
- Phoenix Theatre fundraiser for NYC theatres, 2001
FLORIDA (full-length)
Readings:
- Phoenix Theatre, 1994
- Oasis Productions, 1994
- Eugene O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference, 1995
- Brondia Productions (Toronto), 1998, 2004
Full Productions:
- Georgia Repertory Theatre, 1996
- Phoenix Theatre, 1997
JUST ONE THING (ten-minute play)
Full Productions:
- Fusion Theatre Company (Albuquerque), 2009
- William Inge Theatre Festival, 2011
KEN AND BARBIE DO THE NASTY AT LARRY'S LEATHER BAR
Workshop:
- Chicago Dramatists Workshop, 1993
- Moving Arts (Los Angeles), reading, 1999
Full Productions:
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis) & Bloomington Playwrights Project Co-production, 1994
- The American Living Room Festival, HERE (NYC), 1995
- Oasis Productions, 1997
NOW LET ME FLY
- Commissioned for the 50th Anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision, Brown v. Board of Education, this play was presented at 65 venues across the country since May, 2004 including the national celebration at Topeka Performing Arts Center, the National Constitution Center (Philadelphia), the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights (Birmingham), Dobama Theater, and many more (for listing see website for A Nation Acts: http://anationacts.brownvboard.org)
THE ODD SEA (five-minute play)
Full Production:
- America: Now and Here (Kansas City), 2011
REAL LIVE MYTHICAL WOMEN (2 one-acts)
Full production:
- Paper Moon Theatre Company (Bloomington), 1980
THE RUNAWAY (one-act)
Full production:
- Bloomington Playwrights Project, 1990
TOUCHED (full-length one act)
Readings:
- William Inge Center for the Arts, 2006
- Kansas City Repertory Theatre by Martin Tanner Productions, 2010
Full Production:
- William Inge Theatre Festival, 2006
VISIONS OF RIGHT
Readings:
- Stage 3 Festival of New Plays, September 2000
- Midwest Modern Language Association Conference (by Unicorn Theatre, Kansas City), November 2000
- Phoenix Theatre, January and September 2001
- Halle Theatre, December 2001
- Chicago Dramatists Workshop, January 2002
- Martin Tanner Productions (Kansas City) upcoming, 2010
WEIGHTLESS (full-length)
Reading:
- Phoenix Theatre, 1998
Children's Theatre Scripts
Produced and toured by Paper Moon Theatre Co., 1979-81:
- THE CIRCUS WISH; THE FRIENDLY FURRY RHYMING MACHINE; HOOPLA!; NOODLES; PYRAMID AND FRISBEE
Commissioned and toured by Windfall Dancers, 1981:
- LONESTAR AND MOONSHADOW
Commissioned and toured by Picture This Players, 1992-1995:
- WAR'N'PEACE
Books Published
For audience of adult new readers:
- CHANGES (New York: Cambridge Book Co., 1983)
- STORIES AND SAYINGS (New York: Cambridge Book Co., 1983)
Film Scripts
- THE DOGS OF EDEN, in progress
- EVER SINCE THE BAD THING HAPPENED, an animated film, with Ron Markman, produced 1994
- THROUGH MARTHA'S EYES, 40 minutes, aired nationally on PBS, 2007
Related Experience
- Freelance Dramaturg, 1988-present
- Theatre Advisory Panel, Indiana Arts Commission, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1996; Kansas Arts Commission, 2004
- Grants Panelist, Culture Works, 1996
- Arts-in-Education Advisory Panel, Indiana Arts Commission, 1991 & 1992
- Workshop Leader, Arts Integration Conference, Boston Children's Theatre, 1990; Indianapolis Writers' Center Conference, 1988 & 1989; WILD OVER WORDS conference, Chicago, 1993-95; Bloomington Playwrights Project, 2000; William Inge Theatre Festival, 2003-2010
- Judge, Irene Ryan Acting Award, 1989
- Reader, Festival of Emerging American Theater, 1990-1995
- Critic and Judge, playwriting competition, American College Theatre Festival, 1988-1990
- Committee, Indiana Theatre Works, 1989 & 1992
- Audience discussion leader, Sunday Symposium, Phoenix Theatre, 1990-1991; Washburn University Theatre, 2001
- Panel moderator, WORDSTRUCK with Steve Tesich, 1991
- Keynote Speaker, academic conference on Brown v. Board, 2004
- William Inge Theatre Festival
- Advisory Board, 2006-2011
- Panelist, 2003-2011
- Panelist, Kansas Arts Commission Fellowship Panel, 2004-2005
Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Barnard College, 1967
- Graduate study, Creative Writing, Columbia University Faculty of the Arts, 1968-1969
- Graduate Study, Folklore Institute, Indiana University, 1971-1972
Teaching Experience
- Phoenix Theatre, Instructor, adult & professional classes in Playwriting and Film Scriptwriting 1987-1997
- Indiana Arts Commission AIE & VAP programs, 1989-1995
- Indiana University & Purdue University at Indianapolis, Instructor, adult class in Playwriting, 1991
- Marian College, Visiting Artist and Lecturer in Theatre, 1992-1993
- Indiana University, Instructor, School of Continuing Studies, 1993-1994
- Artist-in-Residence, University of Georgia, Spring 1996
- Workshop Leader, Topeka Civic Theatre, 1999
- Workshop Leader, William Inge Center for the Arts, 2003-2010
Affiliations
- The Dramatists Guild
- The Authors Guild
- Chicago Dramatists
- Theatre Communications Group