|
AARON HENNE- the resident playwright for the Ovation Award Winning Son of Semele Ensemble, which most recently presented the acclaimed production of his play, “King Cat Calico Finally Flies Free!” His newest work, “Sliding Into Hades”, created in collaboration with the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's KOAN group and Ron Sossi opened April 14th. He has also served in various
dramaturgical and script development capacities for The Mark Taper Forum, The Theatre at Boston Court and The Colony Theatre. In 2005, Aaron was honored as a finalist for The Jerome Fellowship in Playwriting and for the Juilliard Playwriting Fellowship. He has had the pleasure of working and training with artists such as
David Henry Hwang, Len Jenkin, Paul Castagno and Culture Clash. Aaron has taught Theatre and Playwriting at the University of Alabama, The Robey
Theatre Company and currently serves as the Educational Programs
Director for We Tell Stories.
Al Watt works in Hollywood as a screenwriter and novelist. He has written screenplays for numerous production companies and is the best-selling author of the Time-Warner novel DIAMOND DOGS. In 2004, he was awarded France’s PRIX PRINTEMPS (best foreign novel). His play, Eddie, Kill The President just opened in L.A. to rave reviews. He lectures frequently on writing and creativity at colleges throughout North America. He has been teaching writing privately for ten years.
AMY FRIEDMAN, WRITING COACH teaches Personal Essay and Creative Nonfiction at UCLA Extension, has published widely and reads spoken word venues around LA. She has taught writing for 25 years, in New York, Canada and LA, writes a worldwide syndicated column of stories for kids, and has published two memoirs, Kick the Dog and Shoot the Cat and Nothing Sacred. Amy has worked as editor and coach with many Spoken Word performers, including Fresh Yarn's Hillary Carlip, Alan Olifson and Lan Tran.
MARK HARVEY LEVINE has had over 200 productions of his plays around the world, in theaters such as The Actor's Theatre of Louisville, City Theatre of Miami, and the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey. Scripted was published in the anthology "2004: The Best Ten Minute Plays for 2 Actors" (Smith & Kraus). Surprise was just chosen for publication in "Laugh Lines: Short Comic Plays", (Vintage Books). His play Shades swept the 2005 Annual Fifteen Minute Play Festival in New York, winning both the "Best Play" (Judge's Award) and "Audience Favorite" Award. Other awards include the Ten Minute Play Slams in Ashland(twice), the Chameleon Theatre Circle's New Play Festival (winning twice in the same year) the Alan Minieri Award from New York's Annual Fifteen Minute Play Festival (2000), and the Best Play Award from the Boston SuperSlam (the Best of the Best). His play The Rental is currently in development at Paramount Pictures to be a sitcom.
CHRISTOPHER MEEKS- In addition to teaching English at SMC, Chris teaches creative writing atCalArts and children's literature at Art Center College of Design. I write fiction and plays. I have published short fiction in a number of journals, including Rosebud, The Clackamas Literary Review, The Southern California Anthology, The Santa Barbara Review, Midday Moon, and Writers' Forum. My collected works will be published by Lulu Press as The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea. (To read some of my fiction, click here .) Produced plays include Fiveplay, Suburban Anger, and Who Lives? (To see one of my monologues, click here for a short video.) I have published four non-fiction children's books, two of which are still in print, and have published articles in nearly 20 newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Cinefantastique, Writer's Digest, Smart Computing, and Chic. I was a theatre critic for Daily Variety for eight years. I also wrote a number of columns about creative writing for Efuse.
LEON MARTELL, founding member of Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre, has been writing and performing for stage, television and radio for over 20 years. His professional writing credits include numerous award winning plays in Los Angeles - with L.A. Weekly, Dramalogue, Pen West, Ovation and Robey awards and nominations. HIs work has appeared on LA. Stages from the Padua HIlls Fesitval to the Colony and from the Evidence Room to the Greenway Court Theatre. He's an MFA graduate of the University of Iowa, and currently teaches playwriting and creative writing for UCLA extension and for the Academy of Dramatic Art.
JIM PENTECOST, PERFORMANCE COACH made his
motion picture debut with the blockbuster Disney animated feature, Pocahontas, and co-produced the live-action Homeward Bound II. He was Executive Producer for the Stephen Schwartz musical Geppetto on the Wonderful World of Disney. Jim's involvement in films follows a distinguished career as a producer, director and stage manager for theatre. His credits include the smash Broadway productions, Crimes of the Heart, La Cage Aux Folles, Romance, Romance, Gypsy with Tyne Daly, and the musical, Nick & Nora.
BRENDA VARDA is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and teacher. She's had numerous plays produced in Los Angeles both as playwright and composer/lyricist, along with being a solo writer & performer both in theatre & cabaret. A Second City veteran, she spent several years acting in TV film, theatre & commercials, and has collaborated in productions at Sacred Fools, The Met, The Evidence Room, and 24th St. Theatre. In addition, she teaches poetry and multimedia arts for the Heart Project throughout Los Angeles.
A B. A. in theatre and journalism, she also has a M.A. in clinical psych and has taught creative process - both as a class and as a consultant for 10 years
|
