Holy cow, holy cow – we are SO excited about next week’s ONSTAGE reading in Minneapolis that we can hardly stand it! Anne Bertram with Theatre Unbound is absolutely rocking our world with her dedication to this event. Huzzah!
So, without further ado, allow us to introduce you to the awesome female playwrights whose work is getting read this Tuesday, March 10th at 7:30 at The People’s Center Theatre (425 20th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454). If you’re in the neighborhood, we hope you’ll join Theatre Unbound for a lovely evening of awesome new work by these FABULOUS female playwrights!
Jaclyn Grogan (AFTER THE CHICKEN DANCE) is a playwright, a nomad, and an extroverted introvert. Her dark comedies, dream plays, and farcical shorts explore the absurdist themes by which she lives, including the ultimate struggle for control in an illogical universe in which no control is to be had. Ever. Jaclyn’s plays have been performed in cities across the country, including workshops at academic conferences, staged readings, and productions at regional theatres. In May 2015, Jaclyn will receive her MFA in Playwriting from Southern Illinois University. She also received her undergraduate degree in English and Theatre Studies from Wellesley College. Prior to writing plays, Jaclyn served as a college counselor for high school students within the Texas public school system. In her unstructured spare time, Jaclyn lives vicariously through documentary-style crime television. Jaclyn will never drive a vehicle with a personalized license plate should she ever need to run from the law.
Nayna Agrawal (SLUT) is an MFA in stage and screen writing student at Northwestern University. Her plays have appeared in Chicago, Ithaca, New Bedford, Seattle and Evanston. She was a writing intern with HBO last summer and the winner of an Emmy Foundation scholarship.
**This is Nayna’s second time as an ONSTAGE Semi-finalist. Her play, Purple Eggs, was a 2014 ONSTAGE semi-finalist in our Planting the Seed Festival.
Anne Hamilton (THE SHOEBOX) is a NYC-based freelance dramaturg and the Founder of Hamilton Dramaturgy, an international consultancy. She holds an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts, and has worked with Andrei Serban, Michael Mayer, Lynn Nottage, NYMF, Niegel Smith, and Classic Stage Company. She created Hamilton Dramaturgy’s TheatreNow!, and her specialties include new play development, production dramaturgy, new musicals, career advising, advocacy, and oral histories. She was a Bogliasco Foundation Fellow. www.hamiltonlit.com
**This is Anne’s second time as an ONSTAGE Finalist. Her play, OFEM was a 2014 Finalist in our Planting the Seed Festival.
Eli Effinger-Weintraub (AT THE GATES OF THE HOUSE OF THE MOTHER OF WATERS) is a playwright and prosaist celebrating the magical in the mundane. Gadfly Theatre Productions premiered her play Girl Gumshoe & Detective Dad in October 2014; she is a many-time writer for Theatre Unbound’s 24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown; and her short plays have appeared in festivals around the country. Her prose publications, both fiction and nonfiction, run the gamut from Steampunk Tales and Electric Velocipede to Alyson Books, Seal Press, and Llewellyn Worldwide. Eli is honored to be part of the writing team for Theatre Unbound’s collaborative Title IX project about women in sports, which begins touring in September 2015. Eli lives in Minneapolis with her wife and frequent inspiration, visual and fiber artist Leora Effinger-Weintraub.
Kirsten Van Ritzen (SOLO JOURNEYS) is a professional actor and comedienne who has received acclaim across Canada for her performances in theatre, comedy, TV, film and radio; she has also performed in Orlando, Chicago and L.A. Kirsten has written and performed several solo plays including ALL MY DAY JOBS published in the anthology ONE FOR THE ROAD: NEW PLAYS FOR ONE ACTOR (Signature Editions). She is the author of THE COMEDY DIVA DIARIES (iUniverse) a humour novel about a female comic trying to make it in Hollywood. A member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, Kirsten has two full-length plays in development THE TRIPLEX and MAD LADY PEEL. Wishing success and inspiration to my colleagues on all your creative journeys! www.kirstenvanritzen.com www.comedydivadiaries.com @mscomedydiva
Rachael Brogan Flanery (WORKING LATE) is an actress and writer in the Twin Cities. She has her MFA in playwriting from UCLA and BA in theater from the University of Iowa. Her plays have been produced in Aspen, CO., Iowa City, IA., Los Angeles, CA., Minneapolis, MN., Prescott, AZ., and New York, NY. She is currently performing her one woman show “Shades of Ginger” as part of Theatre Unbound’s 2015 Girl Shorts. She is co-founder of Twin Cities’ theater company: Table Salt Productions and has performed in many of their shows since 2009. She is thrilled to be involved in LBDI Female Playwrights Onstage for the second time. In her spare time she is a wife, mother, and teacher.
