Greg Abbott (Anne
Frank Society)
Gregory Abbott is the coordinator for the
Minnesota Shorts Play Festival. He has had several plays performed from Alaska
to Nebraska and short plays performed across the country. He is a member of the
Minneapolis Playwright Center.
Brent Alles (Seamless
Transition)
Brent Alles is a Michigan-based playwright and
educator whose work blends humor with grounded storytelling. His plays have
been produced and recognized by theaters and festivals across the country. They
often explore relationships, identity, and the absurdity of modern life. He has
written extensively in both full-length and short-form formats. In addition to
his writing, Brent teaches business and innovation at the college level, where
he encourages students to think creatively and bring new ideas to life. He is a
member of the Dramatists Guild and continues to develop new work for the stage.
As always, he thanks his lovely wife Camille for all her support.
Hilary Bluestein-Lyons (Fishing)
Hilary Bluestein-Lyons (she/they) is a
playwright, screenwriter, poet, stand-up comic, director, comedy improviser,
and actor. They received a degree in Creative Writing (poetry) from the
University of Arizona and an MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen from the New
Hampshire Institute of Art. Their plays, Call My Dead Wife and HisStory are
published through Next Stage Press. Petrified Forest is included in the Smith
& Kraus anthology, Best 10-Minute Plays of 2022. A monologue from Martin's
Treehouse is included in the Smith & Kraus anthology, Best Men's Monologues
of 2022. A monologue from Call My Dead Wife is included in the Smith &
Kraus anthology, Best Men's Monologues of 2024. And a monologue from their
musical, Clothing, is included in the Smith & Kraus anthology, WE/US:
Monologues for Gender Minority Characters. Their play, Tighten Your Borscht
Belt, was a semifinalist with the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Several of
their plays have been produced throughout the country. Hilary lives in Los
Angeles, CA where they draw their inspiration and sense of humor from their
four kids and a 13 year old, 5-toothed Yorkie. They are a proud member of the
Dramatists Guild and Honor Roll! an advocacy group of women+ playwrights over
40.
Chloe Bolan (The
Shrine)
Chloe Bolan’s “Love in the Time of Dementia” was an O’Neill Conference semi-finalist in 2016. Recently, the play was voted on to be read by the Perennial Players for their Festival 7/30/23. Before this Her Story Theatre’s Women Writers Festival chose this play as its centerpiece 6/24/23 The musical “Parasol” with composer Gerald H Bailey was a finalist in three different contests in 2018, 2017, and 2015. “Blizzard” was produced by Chicago Unity Players in 3/2028. Children’s play “M. Kiki” was produced and directed by the author, won a Target grant in 1996, and was published by Heartland Plays in 2011. “Heart of Chac” won an Artist Fellowship Award from the IL Arts Council in 1988, and “Egg” won a Midwest Playwright’s fellowship at the University of Wisconsin under Dale Wasserman in 1976. The author has had three readings of the musical “Driving the Dream,” again with composer Gerald H. Bailey. They are both members of Dramatist Guild and Chicago Writers’ Bloc where Chloe is on the board.
Gabe Borken (Broken
Record)
Gabe Borken is a Minneapolis-based playwright
pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre and a minor in Directing at Drake University.
He has experience working with professionals all across London, New York, and
the Midwestern U.S. in acting, singing, directing, songwriting, and video
editing & production.
Dan Born (64
Days)
Dan Born was formerly a resident playwright with the Midwest Dramatists Center. He has had plays produced in the Kansas City and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. If all goes well, he will produce a show this
summer in Lawrence, Unghosting the Chromosome, about Walter Sutton, a KU
student who made significant advances in genetics at the turn of the 20th
century. Whether by habit or happenstance, he writes mostly historical plays.
Paul Braverman (Dirty
Harry and Virgin Sally)
Paul is a Bay Area playwright and actor. His
plays have received over one hundred productions and readings in Bay Area
venues, as well as nationally and internationally. He was a Heideman Award
finalist in 2009 for The Alpha Bindleman, and several times has been a
wild-card finalist at the world’s largest short play festival - Short &
Sweet in Sydney, Australia. Paul is a member of The Dramatists Guild of
America, The Playwrights’ Center of SF, and is a founding member of The Pear
Theatre Playwrights Guild.
John Busser (Something
Borrowed)
John Busser is an actor/writer/graphic
artist from Avon, Ohio. He is the co-runner of Cleveland Public Theatre's
writer's workshop, The Dark Room, which helps playwrights test drive new work.
He has written over 120 short plays, some of which have been produced
throughout the US, Canada, the UK, India, and Australia. Some of his more
well-known works include: Children's Letters to Satan (and Other Horrible
Scribblings), a collection of 7 of his original plays which is available from
Next Stage Press. An award-winning short play of his, Obstacle, was made into a
film that has played festivals across the globe. His sci-fi dramedy Taylor-Made
premiered on Broken Arts Entertainment audio series The Future and garnered
over 4000 views. He had the honor of having his comedy 37 ORIGAMI BEES
performed at the 2025 Midwest Conference. He writes his nonsense in lieu of
having to perform community service.
Mike Byham (Erstwhile)
Mike Byham has had several productions on the
community theatre and scholastic level. His plays have also won multiple
awards. Recently, Southlake was named winner of 2024 Theatre
Network of Texas POPS! competition and was produced at The Core Theatre. Mike
works as an aircraft performance engineer for a major airline with headquarters
in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Mike is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the
American Association of Community Theatre.
William Carter (The
Waiting Room)
Will Carter is a Lecturer of English at Kennesaw
State University. His work has been performed at Boston University, Kennesaw
State University, Oglethorpe University, Know Theater, and others. His memoir
about the first seven months of his recovery after suffering a brain injury and
a stroke his senior year of high school, Getting Better, is published by
Running Wild Press.
Richard Lyons Conlon (The
Upside of Gravity)
Richard is a proud Lifetime Member of the Dramatists Guild, an O’Neill Semi-Finalist, and Resident Playwright Alum at Chicago Dramatists where his social satire “7 Minutes to Live” received an extended-run world premiere last year. Kerry Reid of the Chicago Reader called it: “Highly entertaining, funny, sexy, action-packed” with “whip-smart dialogue” and "the edgy, high-talent ingredients Chicago storefront theatre is famous for.” His play “A Harvest Truth”, based on interviews with Ukrainian residents living under constant Russian bombardment, premiered in New York at the Secret Theatre’s Queen’s New Play Festival in 2026. “I am Charlotte”, which deals with the deadly consequences of the Dobbs decision on real-life human beings, was premiered at Eclectic Theatre’s new play festival in Chicago in 2026. Richard has written over 60 plays, but is most passionate about his current, ongoing project – “El Sueño Americano” – which takes on the illegal and immoral I.C.E. terrorism currently being inflicted upon our country. It has had readings with the Naked Angels in Chicago and the Greenhouse Ensemble in New York.
Donald Cooper (Popular
Opinion)
Cooper was born in New York City and raised in
Huntington, NY. He was selected for the Dramatists Guild's inaugural Young
Playwrights Group (1981), with Christopher Durang as assigned mentor. He
received a BA in Theater Arts from Stony Brook University (1985). He was a
finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Festival (1988). From 1989-2006,
through a career in travel, he kept writing, developing works at Theater
Rhinoceros and the Playwrights Center of San Francisco (PCSF). Cooper was a
finalist for NJ Rep's Brut Festival (2004). Between 2007-2021, he worked in
nonprofit, writing only sporadically. He resumed writing in 2022. Two of his
one-acts, Doors Are Closing and I'll Get There, won "Audience
Favorite" at PCSF's Playoffs (2024, 2025) and were also featured at the
Midwest Dramatist Conference (2024, 2025). Doors Are Closing was also selection
for the 2025 Fresh Fruit Festival. Cooper resides in Oakland, CA.
Ben Corbett (Turnbuckle)
Ben Corbett is a playwright, filmmaker,
audiobook narrator and Designated Linklater Voice Teacher. His first 10-minute
play, Apple, was workshopped at the Midwest Dramatists Conference in 2025. It
will receive its first production, as a radio play, on the Theatrical
Shenanigans podcast in December 2026. His documentary, The Arkansas Accent
Project, won a Mid-America Emmy in 2024, as well as several awards in the
regional film festival circuit. His one-man show, Fat Men in Yoga Pants, which
was developed both in the Valdez Theatre Fringe (2023) and the Play Lab (2024),
debuted at Ronin Theatre Company in Phoenix, Arizona, in July 2025. It also
played at the Main Street Creative Arts Center in Mesa, AZ in March 2026. He is
a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher and a Certified Colaianni Speech
Instructor. His professional vocal coaching credits include Ronin Theatre
Company, TheatreSquared, City Rep, the William Inge Theatre Festival, the
Hollywood Fringe Festival, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Barter Theatre,
Burning Coal Theatre Company, Bare Theatre, Shakespeare Dallas, and Shakespeare
Santa Cruz. He is a Senior Editor for the International Dialects of English
Archive.
David Crespy (La
Susona)
David Crespy founded the University of Missouri
dramatic writing program which received the 2017 Gold Medallion from the
American College Theatre Festival (ACTF). He is the artistic director of the
Missouri Playwrights Workshop and the Mizzou New Play Series. He had previously
received the ACTF Gold Medallion in 2011 as the former National Playwriting
Program chair for Region V ACTF. Crespy is an Albee Foundation Fellow and a
two-time Fulbright Scholar to Spain and Greece, as well as a member of the College
of Fellows of the American Theatre. Dr. Crespy's current book is Dreamwork for
Dramatic Writing: Dreamwrighting for Stage and Screen, published by Brill in
2024. His current book projects include Lanford Wilson and the American Drama,
to be published in 2027 by the University of Missouri Press, and a new final
biography of Edward Albee, titled Edward Albee: Third Act!
David Datz (Small
Personal Items)
I am a writer, stage director, and actor in Los
Angeles. I have written several 10-minute plays, which have been performed in
Los Angeles, Columbus, OH, and New York. I have also written four full-length
plays. My full-length comedy, Basement Folly, had a run in Beverly
Hills, CA.
Ian Donley (A
Seussified Grindr Date)
Ian Donley is an actor/playwright based in
Southern California. He is an alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
and has his BA in English at the University of California, Riverside. He is
also a freelance writer who specializes in sexuality and identity. He has been
published in publications like BuzzFeed, Craft Beer, and Business Insider to
name a few.
Douglas Gearhart (Happy
and Tiff)
Born and raised in Maryland, Douglas has worked
as a mental health counselor, a soldier, a bellhop, and an intelligence
analyst. He currently resides in the Tampa, FL area.
Marshall Gibbs (A
Steamboat Willie Gravestone)
Marshall Logan Gibbs (they/them) is a
Baltimore-based playwright whose published plays include Monster (or #metoo, Brute) with 1319 Press and No Experience Necessary with Next Stage Press. Their
work has also been published in the 2026 Best Men's Stage Monologues by Smith
& Kraus. Their one-act plays Interplanetary Paul's Divorce Spectacular, My Daughter's a Demon, and Abstracted. have been performed in theaters all across
the United States. Staged readings and development of their work have been held
at the Valdez Theatre Conference, Midwest Dramatists Conference, Baltimore
Playwrights Festival, Lumos Players, DMV Playwrights, and Special Interest
Theatre, among others. They identify as genderfluid and neurodivergent and they
are a proud member of the Dramatist's Guild.
David Gill (Laying
To Rest)
Irregulars (Cherry Lane, NY); Providence
(Transient Theater, Chicago; Roy Arias, NYC); F*cked –up Family Trilogy:
Experimenting with Katz, Irregulars & Unfinished (TheatreLab); More Myself
Than I Am (Secret Theatre & Manhattan Repertory, Best Play; HEARTbroke
2022); A Most Egregious Way (HEARTbroke 2020); Fault Lines (Blurring
Boundaries, Secret Theatre, Short+Sweet Dubai, Bloomsbury USA Best American
Short Plays 2018-2019); Wee Annie's Hold (octoberFEARfest; BOO 2025), Inside
& Out (Blurring Boundaries 2021), Defying Lorelei (Blurring Boundaries
2022), Eugene and Oliver Back at the Whitehorse Tavern (HEARTbroke 2022), In
the Garden of the Hesperides (Blurring Boundaries 2023; Queens Short Play
Festival 2024, Smith & Kraus Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2025), The Bay of
Fundy (Pittsburgh New Works Festival 2025, Outstanding Contribution from a
Playwright Prize for Best Script, Oswego Players 2025 Donald J. McCann One-Act
Playwriting Contest Second Place Award). Co-founder and Artistic Director of
New Ambassadors Theatre Company. DGA Member.
Max Gill (Future
War)
Maximillian Gill's work has been staged by a
number of companies and festivals including Theatre West in Los Angeles, the
Abingdon Theatre Company, Gloucester Stage Company in Massachusetts, and the
New York City Children's Theater. His plays include Your Undecaying Flames
(Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference short list finalist), Stay Up
and Keep Rolling (Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference semi-finalist,
Premiere Stages semi-finalist), Machines Eat People (Seven Devils Playwrights
Conference semi-finalist), Blank Slate (Bay Area Playwrights Festival
semi-finalist), and American Divide (Kitchen Dog finalist, Creede Repertory
finalist, Landing Theatre Company semi-finalist). He is a member of the New
Ambassadors Theatre Company and the American Renaissance Theatre Company in New
York City. Much of his work can be read on New Play Exchange.
Diana Grillo (It
Was A Mistake)
Diana M. Grillo is a short story author and
playwright. Diana’s book An Accidental Murder and Other Stories is an
award-winning short story collection. Many of the stories explore the struggles
of women surviving in abusive situations. Diana has written eight 10-minute
plays and three full-length plays. An adaptation of her short story, Accidental
Murder and The Test, was read on stage at First Look at the Theatre Artists
Studio, Scottsdale, AZ. Her 10-minute play, The Package, was performed at the
Studio’s Summer Shorts. Diana adapted her short story, An Accidental Murder, into a full-length play and had a staged reading of the play at the NYU Casa
Italiana Zerilli-Marimò on November 17, 2025. Diana worked as a paralegal and
social worker. Now retired, she lives with her husband in Cave Creek, Arizona.
She is an artistic member of the Theatre Artists Studio, a member of the
Arizona Authors Association, and a member of the Dramatist Guild. Her website
is shortstoriesbydiana.com
Alli Hartley-Kong (Small
Potatoes)
Alli Hartley-Kong is a playwright based in the
Washington DC area. Her full-length play Apartment Swap had its world-premiere
at the Workhouse Arts Center, and The Goodbye House (co-written with Kim
Dungey) was read at the DC Fringe Festival. Recent productions of her short
works include plays at Chester Theatre Group (NJ), Richey Sun Coast Theatre
(FL), and Powerstories Theatre (FL), among dozens of others over the last five
years. Nationally, Alli's work has been shortlisted for the Bay Area
Playwrights Festival, the Henley Rose, and the Blank/Future of Playwriting
Prize. She is an alumni of the Theatre Washington Mentor Program, the PlayPenn
Cohort, and a proud Dramatist Guild member. Her most favorite recent role is as
a new mom to Sammy, born in October of 2025.
Samuel Heyman (Who's
Afraid of Bram Stoker?)
Sam Heyman (he/they) is a queer, Jewish
playwright and novelist based in Nashville, TN. A proud member of the
Dramatists Guild of America, Sam is an active part of his writing community,
both locally as an instructor for The Porch Writers Collective and virtually as
producer of the Playwrights Thriving Reading Series. Sam's plays have been
developed with support from the Sewanee Writers Conference, the Valdez Theatre
Conference, the Midwest Dramatists Conference, the Desert Playwrights Retreat,
and the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, among other
organizations. In 2025, Sam's play [the inner universe] was an Epiphanies New
Works Festival semi-finalist and was presented as part of the inaugural Act
Out, Diva! New Play Festival in Asbury Park, NJ. In 2026, Sam's play The Lover
and the Fighter was featured in Lakewood Theatre Company's Playwright Festival.
Sam's plays can be found on New Play Exchange.
Andra Hunter (College
Toe)
Andra Laine Hunter is an actor, playwright,
director, producer, and adjunct professor with Dallas College. Favorite roles
include Penelope in The Lady Demands Satisfaction, Hermia in A Midsummer
Night's Dream, Bowe in Dumb Supper, Grace in Waterless Places, Ann in All My
Sons, and Chick in Crimes of the Heart. Her play The Abbey of the Holy Lonesome
is available in audio format by the Garden of Voices wherever you get your
podcasts. She has three plays published with Next Stage Press: Holly Abel &
the Missing Mothers, Frankenstein/Monster, and Nutcracker: Krakatuk. Other
publication credits include Drama in Plague Time, The Flyway Journal of Writing
and the Environment, and Apricity magazine. Andra's plays have been produced
around the USA and in Canada. Andra is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and
you can find her work on the New Play Exchange.
Susan Lily Jackson (More
Light, More Light)
Finalist—Susan J. Westfall Playwrighting Award;
Semi-Finalist for the National Playwrights Conference—Eugene O’Neill Center-
monologue (LEAVING, SIMONE) chosen for THE MONOLOGUE PROJECT-Curator, Dominique
Morisseau; Staged- read/produced New York, Bay Area, Eugene O’Neill Foundation,
William Inge Festival, Sydney, London, etc. DEATH BE NOT LOUD! --Best of
Capital Fringe—Washington Post positive review. SF PLAYGROUND SOLO
FESTIVAL—Vertigo: But Not the Movie! (and performed at the Marsh Monday night
Solo) Published: Smith and Kraus, (2017-2025) Finalist: Broken Arts
Performance; Creede Repertory Theatre; Henley Rose Competition for Female
Playwrights; Fusion Theatre Company; Centre Stage; 3Girls Theatre Co; THROWN
STONE Theatre Company; Alum- SF PlayGround; Mid-America Theatre Conference;
Last Frontier Theatre Conference; Powerstories: Voices of Women Festival,
Florida; Columbus Black Theatre Festival. Commissioned: Years Ahead-Oakland;
Upstage Napa Theatre Company Resident Playwright; SF Young Playwrights: Lauren
Yee and Christopher Chen. Jackson taught theatre at City College of San
Francisco for over thirty years.
Ward Kay (Permission)
Ward Kay is a playwright and former Artistic
Director of NOVA Nightsky Theater. He has had about 20 productions of his plays
performed around the country. His play The Bride in Blackout won Best Playlab
Production at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival and honorable mention at The
Old Opera House New Visions Festival. His short play Three Times a Lady has
won awards from the NVTA and the Little Theatre of Alexandria. Previous MDC
readings include Ring Around the Rosary and The Ride Home. He is a proud
member of the Dramatist Guild. His plays can be found on the New Play Exchange
website. Website: https://www.wardkayplays.com/
Kieran Khanna (Erstwhile)
Kieran Vijay Khanna is an Indian-American actor,
playwright, and director from Miami, Florida. After graduating from Suffolk
University with a BA in Theatre, Kieran has had the opportunity to explore and
create new works and collaborate with amazing upcoming artists. Born and raised
in South Florida, Kieran has always known the beach and the ocean as his
backyard. His plays have been developed and produced by Suffolk University,
Deadword Theatre Company, and The Midwest Dramatists Center. He has also directed
at the Miami One Acts Festival, and has also trained at the Atlantic Acting
School.
Greg Lam (It's
A Wonderful Scrooge)
Greg Lam is a playwright, screenwriter,
podcaster and board game designer who lives in the Bay Area. He is the
co-founder of the Asian-American Playwright Collective, a member of The Pulp
Stage Writer's Room, Playground SF, and the administrator of The Pear Theatre's
Playwright Guild.
Ken Love (The
Deal)
Born in New Rochelle NY, Mr. Love has worked as
a professional actor (A.E.A.) for over 40 years in a number of stage
productions. As a playwright and member of the Dramatists Guild, he has had
readings/productions of a number of 10 minute plays. His full length play
"Black River" was given a reading at the Phoenix Theatre New Works
Festival, Phoenix AZ in 2009. His full-length play "Default" was read
at the Valdez Theatre Conference, Valdez AK in June 2021. "Default"
also received a virtual reading sponsored by the Dramatists Guild for their DG
Footlights 2020 Virtual Reading Series. His play "Moonlight Over
L.A." was part of the Connect Virtual Reading Series, 5/2020. "The
Losing End", a sequel to "Default", received a Zoom reading by
Merely Writers/Merely Players, Atlanta GA on 9/2022. "Dance Into
Night" was read by Merely Writers/Merely Players in 2024.
Holly Lovejoy (Off
the Market)
Forever a Yinzer daughter, Holly Raina Lovejoy
is a playwright, screenwriter, intimacy coach/coordinator/director,
orgastronomist, artivist, and queer, unapologetic badass. Drawing on personal
history and experience, Holly writes unabashedly about social justice,
feminism, queerness, women, sex, parenting, trauma, abuse, body image and
relationships. Her newest forays have been moving into stand-up comedy and
mixed media art, and launching an erotic salon.
Steve Martin (Ice
Cream Stool Pigeon)
Steven G. Martin is an internationally tolerated
playwright living in rural Indiana. When not confounding audiences with
overthought and overwrought dramas, he is offending them with
unlikely-to-be-produced comedies including an examination of a nuclear family
in 1950s America through a demonic lens, a helicopter parent sex farce that
compares Thanksgiving meals to gay sex practices, and a silly, high-premium
(18% milkfat) farcical dark comedy inspired by a container of Breyers.
Allan Maule (Shared Calendar)
Allan is an NC-based playwright and writer who's
written for the stage and various screen sizes for more than 15 years. Favorite
productions of his plays include The Weight of Everything We Know (Theatre
Raleigh), EverScape (NYC Fringe 2015 and Sonorous Road Theater), Two Late
(Carrboro Arts Center 10x10 Festival), Tales and Fermentations (Seed Art
Share), and Framing the Shot (Sonorous Road Theater). Allan also worked as a
video game writer and voice director on the MMORPG Fallen Earth and the serious
games DI2050 and Uptick. He is a graduate of Duke University and holds a
masters in performance studies from UNC Chapel Hill.
Conor McShane (Sir
David Brewster's Ghost)
Conor McShane is a playwright, occasional actor,
and even more occasional musician. His plays have been produced throughout the
Chicagoland area, as well as in Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, New York, and Los
Angeles. Most recently, his play "The Devil Baby of Hull House" was a
finalist for the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival one-act
play contest. He is the co-founder of TypeSet Theatre co., a new works
initiative, and its monthly writer's workshop, the Wayword Writers Collective.
He strives to create theatre that is deeply human, exploring fundamental truths
of existence with heart and humor. He recently moved back to his home state of
Michigan after 10 years in Chicago with his partner and fellow theatre-maker,
Leslie Hull.
Mark Mulkerin (Where
The Illusion Ends)
Mark Mulkerin’s path to theater began when his
Emerson College poetry professor encouraged him to pursue playwriting instead.
He went on to earn his MFA and study playwriting and dramaturgy; however,
family life interceded as he raised three neurodivergent kids as a stay-at-home
dad. With the kids mostly grown, he’s returned to playwriting. His credits
include Where Illusions End at Theatre Three’s 2025 one-act play festival,
Billy and the ADHD at the Third Annual Fern Street Play Festival, Metastatic at
PGE’s Faces of America Festival #7, Bumper Sticker Kindness at PGE’s Faces of
America Festival #4, and Schooling at The Actors Theatre of Little Rock’s Micro
Play Festival. He also performs locally as a comedic magician.
Michael O Day (Hazelnut
Dreams)
Michael C. O'Day made his playwriting debut with
Dragon's Breath, which was produced as part of the 2014 New York International
Fringe Festival. He is a two-time finalist in the Shakespeare's New
Contemporaries competition, for his plays Wolf Crossing and The Tragedie of
King John Falstaff. His plays have been featured at the 2025 Midwest Dramatists
Conference, Valdez Theatre Conference, Old Academy Players in Philadelphia,
Boston University's Stage Troupe, Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton, and the
Lower East Side Festival of the Arts. Also an actor, he was a company member of
the Obie award-winning Classical Theatre of Harlem, appearing in eight of their
productions as well as their installment of Suzan Lori-Parks' 365 Days/365
Plays at the Public Theater. He has served as co-Creative Director of Naked
Angels NYC's Tuesdays at Nine cold reading series since Fall of 2019.
Marj O'Neill-Butler (What
To Do When You're Old and Feeling Out of Sorts)
Award-winning playwright Marj O'Neill-Butler is
the Regional Rep for the Dramatists Guild – Florida Region. She is also a
member of the New Play Exchange, Honor Roll and the International Center for
Women Playwrights. Her work has been seen in 37 states, the District of
Columbia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India,
Australia and S. Korea. She has had 74 different plays produced in multiple
theatres, numerous readings, and of course, many rejections. A published
playwright and mother of two grown sons, Marj is a proud member of the
Dramatists Guild, Actors Equity, and SAG-AFTRA.
Jacquelyn Priskorn (Erstwhile)
Jacquelyn Priskorn has been writing plays since she took her first class with playwright Kitty Dubin in 1997. She is now a member of The Dramatists Guild and has had several plays and screenplays produced and published since that first class, including the movie Love & Plutonium, which is currently available on Amazon. Also a member of Actor’s Equity, Ms. Priskorn began writing to create fun and exciting roles for anyone and everyone. https://www.jacquiefloyd.com/writing
Alison Reeger Cook (The
Ghost of Dorian Gray)
Alison Reeger Cook is a playwright, novelist,
and award-winning screenwriter, and previously attended the Midwest Dramatists
Conference in 2024. Her plays have been performed at the University of Iowa in
Iowa City; Chicago, Illinois; and Atlanta, Georgia. She is also the author of
the young adult fantasy series The Scholar and the Sphinx (Dragonfire Press)
and the high fantasy series The Scale Seekers. Her short film B.L.I.S.S. won
the Audience Choice Award at the Great Lakes International Film Festival in 2022.
Larry Rinkel (The
Bad Boy of the Sonnets)
Before turning to playwriting full-time, Larry
Rinkel taught English at Rider College in New Jersey and later worked as a
technical writer. A lifelong devotee of art, theater, film, and classical
music, he has had work produced across the United States and has been a
semi-finalist at several international festivals. Highlights: winner, Best Play
at Secret Theatre's 1-Act Festival for "A Semicolon is a Double,"
summer 2022; "A Kreutzer Sonata," winner, Jewish Play Project,
ThinkTank Theater, Tampa, FL, 2024; also winner, Secret Theatre's UNFringed
Festival 2017; "Capriccio Radio," Long Island premiere in 2023;
"Canterbury Sextet," published in 2021 by Next Stage Press and
produced at the Rogue Theater Festival in June 2024; several plays and
monologues published in Smith & Kraus anthologies 2022-24. Currently
writing a play about the problems facing a production of Shakespeare's
"Othello" in a college environment
Everett Robert (Dinner
Date)
Everett Robert is a Kansas native who has spent
over 30 years in the theatre ecosystem as an actor, director, producer, and
playwright. Hailed as "one of our best new children's authors" by
Heartland Play Publishers, his work has been produced nationally, with
productions in New York City, Hollywood, and Atlanta. His play Sputnik was
developed at the 2023 Midwest Dramatists Conference, selected for the 2024
William Inge Festival, and produced at the 2025 Barn Players 6x10 Festival.
Inspired by the cultural landscape of the Great Plains, his writing explores
the quiet complexities, dry humor, and emotional restraint of Midwestern life.
He currently resides in Kansas City, where he continues developing new work for
the stage and supports as many plays as he can.
Kim Ruyle (He
Ain't No Stephen Adly Guirgis)
Kim’s first full-length play won an award and
was produced in 2018. He now has 12 full-length plays, and most have received
recognition/awards and fully staged productions – more than 65 productions in
17 states and in England. He is a member of Dramatists Guild, Playwrights’
Center, Chicago Dramatists, alumnus of the Kennedy Center Playwriting
Intensive, and graduate of the TRU Master-Level Producer Development and
Mentorship Program. In 2023, Kim received the inaugural Network Playwright
Award from Chicago Dramatists. Five of Kim’s plays are published/licensed by
Dramatic Publishing and Next Stage Press. Tennessee Wet Rub was a winner of
AACT’s 2024 NewPlayFest.
Kathryn Ryan (MIA,
MYSELF, AND A.I.)
Kathryn Ryan is a playwright whose work has been
produced Off-Broadway and presented at U.S. theaters and festivals from New
York to Alaska. Her full-length plays "Wallowich @ Home, Alone" and
"Lilli Marlene" premiered Off-Broadway. Seventeen of her other
full-length, one-act, and short plays have been staged in more than a dozen
states, virtually, and in Seoul South Korea, reaching audiences worldwide. Her
work will be included in the upcoming "Best 10-Minute Plays 2026" anthology,
published by Smith & Kraus. She also has been published by Drama Notebook.
A winner of the Oxford 10-Minute Playwriting Competition, her plays have been
presented at the Valdez Theatre Conference, the Mid-America Theatre Conference
and the William Inge Festival. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild
and has been part of PlayGround-NY's Writers Pool since 2022. She trained at
the NYC High School of Performing Arts, SUNY Purchase, and Ensemble Studio
Theatre.
Sacha Satta (End
Of The Line)
Sache (Steven) J. Satta (they/he) is a Professor
of Voice and Acting at Towson University with acting and directing credits in
New York and Baltimore. They were a finalist for the Dramatist’s Guild National
Fellowship 2024 and was chosen as a Fellow for the 2025 Lambda Literary Retreat
for Emerging LGBTQ+ Writers. Most recently his short play Something Blue won
First Place at the 10:4:Tenn National Playwriting Contest sponsored by the
University of Alabama’s Women’s College. Other short works: The Thousandth
Crane took Audience Favorite at ArtFactory’s 2023 festival; Clifton Manor was
selected for the Eileen Moushey Short Play Festival 2024; Floating Down to
Camelot took 2nd Place Audience Favorite at The Acorn in 2023; The Thrill took
Judges’ Choice at Short & Sweet Hollywood 2024. Full-length works: Lily,
Arthur was included in The Baltimore Playwright’s Festival 2024; Floating Down
to Camelot was chosen for UP Theatre’s Midwinter Reading Series; Shifting was
read at Fells Point Corner Theatre’s Salon Series; The Raft was selected for
the Valdez Theatre Conference 2025. Floating Down to Camelot was produced in
August 2025 by Spotlighters Theatre in Baltimore. www.stevenjsatta.com
Jesse Saywell (Moderate)
Jesse Saywell is an artist and educator who has
worked across the country as an actor, director, playwright, and producer. Career
highlights include performances at Arena Stage, Lincoln Center, and the White
House, and award-winning performances in Big River and Young Frankenstein. His
plays have been performed across the country, including DIGNITY, which had its
world premiere in 2023 in California. His plays have also been presented at the
Valdez Theatre Conference and His directing experience spans from classics to
new works. He previously served as the Associate Artistic Director of Actors
Repertory Theatre of Simi in Simi Valley, California. Jesse is an Assistant
Professor and Director of the Theatre Program at Saint Anselm College in
Manchester, New Hampshire.
Glenn Schudel (Honorable
Men)
Glenn Schudel has spent thirty years in theatre,
doing everything from acting to directing to stage management to text coaching.
He has served as the production manager for the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway
Festival, toured nationally with the American Shakespeare Center, and led
dialogue and rhetoric workshops all along the Eastern seaboard. He teaches
Creative Writing at Ringling College of Art and Design, writes romance novels
under a pen name, and has a picture book, The Interactive Shakespeare, forthcoming
from Bushel & Peck Press. He lives with a malevolent cat, a neurotic dog,
and a balcony full of overgrown bonsai trees.
Dana is an award-winning Los Angeles theater maker. She is currently working with Thrown Stone in CT on a writing a new play commission. "@Playaz" is an O'Neill Finalist and had its World Premiere in 2021. "Early Birds" premiered in 2019. "Presto!", an O'Neill Semi-Finalist, was at the Hudson Valley Theater Festival, and "The April & Mr. Bigglesworth Super Special Funtime Show" was produced by Thrown Stone. She has also had plays at Valdez Theater, Landford Wilson, Surfside, Nomad, Eclectic, Echo, Theatre of NOTE, LeftEdge, Sky Pilot, REDcat LA, Disney Hall, Segerstrom Center, La Jolla Playhouse, The Curtis and LACMA. Dana is the Program Director of the MADLab New Play Development Program at Moving Arts.
Aaron Scully (Clicks)
Aaron Scully is an Associate Professor of
Theatre at the University of Central Missouri (UCM). He received his PhD from
the University of Missouri in 2018. Aaron is a past Chair of the Kennedy Center
American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region V National Playwriting
Program. He is the Co-Coordinator for the Judith Royer Excellence in
Playwriting Award for the Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) and
is also the Conference Planner for the Playwrights and Creative Teams Focus
Group at ATHE. In 2024, KC Public Theatre produced and toured his play The
Disappointments. His play Remember the Dance received national recognition from
the Kennedy Center as an Invited Production at the 2024 Regional Festival.
Several of Aaron's other plays have been produced around the country. His play
Tenn will be produced in St. Louis by First Run Theatre this summer.
Yasemin Seyben (Donation)
Seyben has 20 years of teaching experience in
theater arts across Türkiye, Europe, and the US. Currently teaching at the
College of Southern Idaho, she has previously served as an assistant professor
at Istanbul University and Bennington College. Seyben holds degrees in
Playwriting, Visual Communication Design, and a PhD in Theater Criticism. She
has published several monographs and articles on Turkish theater and directed
numerous college productions. Seyben's recent playwriting works include The
American Letter and Intro to Greek Theatre, and upcoming plays like A Beauty
Mark.
Scott (he/him) is an LGBTQ+/neurodivergent/Mixed Korean American writer whose plays have been performed across the U.S., and internationally in Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Previous MDC plays: Imperfect Storms and Hibernation. His short plays collections/cycles include Playing on the Periphery: Monologues and Scenes for Queer Kids and Demon Bitch Goddess (Amazon); Hellish Delights (Next Stage Press); Beautiful Noises and Drain (Smith & Kraus); Turtles and Bulldogs, Up on a Roof, and Badger and Frame (Applause); murmurs (Samuel French/Concord); "Guten Tag, Baby!" (Left Edge Theatre and Good Life Review); 600 km NE Lima (Flyway Journal), and TARTARUS (NPX). Two-time Emmy Award winner for General Hospital.
Barry Slater (Silver
Penny)
After spending years as a novelist, Barry found
his meter as a playwright. In 2014, Off Kilter, a short play concerning a
controversial sculpture, was produced to the confusion and delight of the
gallery goers at the Downey Museum of Art. Forgive Me, Brother won second prize
at the Strawberry One Act Festival in New York in 2015. Twin Peaks, was a
finalist at The Piano Fight Theater Short Lived VI play competition in San
Francisco, in 2016. He has also had local readings of plays in City Lights in
San Jose and The Shelton and Sutter Theater in San Francisco. In 2020, his
play, Confession was in full run at the Dragon Theater in Redwood City, when COVID shut down live theater in the US. The play was favorably reviewed in the
regional press. When he's not writing plays, he practices family medicine and
resides in northern California.
Jasmine Spiess (The
Void)
Jasmine Spiess is a NYC-based playwright whose
full-length play, "On Any Given Day in America..." (developed as part
of The Playground Experiment First Reads Festival), appeared as part of the
2022 Valdez Theatre Conference. Her short play, "Standing Up" was
produced by New Ambassadors Theatre Company. "Tree Hugger" was
produced and filmed by Break A Leg Productions. "The Hypothesis" was
published and produced as part of the Faces of America Monologue Festival through
The Playground Experiment. Jasmine is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of
America: www.jasminespiess.com.
Dan Taube (Stranded)
Dan is a neurodivergent playwright, director and
actor. In Chicago he has had readings through Chicago Dramatists and Naked
Angels and his play, “Monster Girl” was produced through Rhino Fest. Other
productions include “Frankentherapy” with Towne Street Theatre, “Lou and Bud
Kill Their Dad” at Texas A&M University, and “Thoughts and Prayers” at
Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. At Chicago Dramatists Dan was a
Network Playwright, a regular participant in their “Playwrights Aloud” series
and the 2019 recipient of the M.E.H. Lewis scholarship. Dan has a BFA in Acting
from New York University and a MFA in Directing from DePaul University. He is
also an alumnus of Playground Chicago and the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive. His work has been published by Smith and Kraus through their “Best
of” series. Dan is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Abby Uphoff (Mother
Eater)
Abby Uphoff (she/her) is a second-year Creative
Writing PhD candidate at Illinois State University who writes both playwriting
and creative nonfiction. Her most recent short play, "American
Girl(s)," is the 2nd place national winner of the John Cauble Short Play
Award and was produced in a staged concert reading at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, DC and in colleges across the Midwest. Her nonfiction has
previously been published in EPIC Literary Magazine, and she has an upcoming
pedagogy publication in FRAME Literary Magazine.
Katherine Vellis (Not
As Expected for Midwest)
Katherine H. Vellis is a professor at Broward
College and a freelance writer. She's a member of Dramatists Guild,
Playwrights' Center, New Play Exchange, and South Florida Theater League.
Katherine is also a staff writer of book reviews. Recent short play productions
include Terrible Tues. at Miami One Acts and Number Up? at the Fresh Fruit
Festival in NYC; and Pandora 2.0 with Broken Arts Entertainment. Her
existential play, Rough Air, was published in the International Journal, Hello
Godot and the play Book Club was published in Test Tube Theater's anthology.
