
###
NEXT ACT
Playwright Biographies
MARCUS HUMMON (THE PIPER, music/lyrics) has been called Nashville's Renaissance Man. He has enjoyed a successful career as a songwriter, recording artist, producer, studio musician, playwright and author. His songs have been recorded in many genres - Pop, R&B, gospel - and most notably in country music. His country discography reads like a "who's who" list of country notables, including Rascal Flatts, Garth Brooks, The Dixie Chicks, Brooks and Dunn, and Tim McGraw...to name a few. Six of his songs have charted #1 on ‘Billboard', ‘Radio and Records' or ‘Cashbox'. Several of his songs have been nominated for Grammys, ACMs and CMAs. In 2005, BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD won the Grammy for Best Country Song. Turning to theatre, Hummon has written 5 musicals and 2 operas. Three of his musicals, Warrior, The Piper, and the opera-dance-hybrid Tut (a collaboration with Abdel Salaam and the Force Of Nature Dance Company) were featured Off-Broadway as part of the New York New Musical Festival. Warrior and American Duet received invitations to the prestigious Eugene O'Neill Summer Conference. Marcus lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife Becca and their 3 sons...Levi, Caney and Moses. MICHAEL AMAN (THE PIPER, book) wrote the book and lyrics for Becoming Tennessee (Richard Rodgers Award finalist 2009). His comedy Step Three was a semi-finalist for the 2011 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. His play The Unbleached American won best play 2012 for the African American Playwrights' Exchange (AAPEX). He co-wrote the book and lyrics for The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde (2005 NYMF). He also co-wrote the book for Let Me Sing! A Musical Evolution (George Street Playhouse; Charlotte Repertory Theatre). Michael has a Ph.D. in Theatre History and teaches at The College of Westchester. The plays of MICHAEL HOLLINGER (HOPE AND GRAVITY) include Ghost-Writer, Opus, Tooth and Claw, Red Herring, Incorruptible, Tiny Island, and An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf, all of which premiered at Philadelphia's Arden Theatre Company. These plays have enjoyed numerous productions around the country, in NYC, London, Paris, Athens, and elsewhere in Europe. His new translation of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac (co-adapted with Aaron Posner) premiered in 2011 at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C. A new musical, A Wonderful Noise (co-authored with Vance Lehmkuhl), premiered at Creede Repertory Theatre in 2009. Michael's awards include a Steinberg New Play Citation from the American Theatre Critics Association, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, a Mid-Atlantic Emmy, an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, four Barrymore Awards (including the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist), nominations for Lucille Lortel and John Gassner Awards, and fellowships from the Independence Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University, and a proud alumnus of New Dramatists. SUZANNE BRADBEER'S (THE GOD GAME) current work includes: God in the Goat, produced by Barrington Stage, February 2012; Full Bloom, which will be published by Playscripts, fall 2012; Naked Influence, workshopped at the Dorset Theatre Festival, directed by Daniella Topol; and Shakespeare In Vegas, workshopped at both the Drilling Company, directed by Giovanna Sardelli, and at ASU, directed by Zac Yurkovic and will be co-produced by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey and Dreamcatcher Rep, Winter 2013. Suzanne's prizes and awards include: New York Foundation for the Arts, the Berrilla Kerr Foundation, the Anna Sosenko Trust, the Ashland New Plays Festival, the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest, and the 2012 BMI Foundation Harrington Award. Monologues from many of Suzanne's plays have been published by Smith & Kraus, who have also published her plays Bethlehem, PA; Sometimes Romeo is Sad; Full Bloom; and Okoboji. Residencies: The New Harmony Project, New River Dramatists, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Nominated by Theresa Rebeck, Suzanne was also a fellow of The Lark's Playwrights' Workshop. Suzanne is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Dramatists Guild, Actors Studio P/D Workshop, and the BMI workshop. A professional highlight, working with Arthur Miller and Jim Houghton as the dramaturg on Miller's The American Clock, at the Signature Theater.
NEXT ACT NEW PLAY SUMMIT
FACT SHEET
NEXT ACT NEW PLAY SUMMIT: Nov 2-4
- HOPE AND GRAVITY by Michael Hollinger
- THE GOD GAME by Suzanne Bradbeer
- THE PIPER. Music & Lyrics by Marcus Hummon, Book by Michael Aman and Marcus Hummon
Tickets
$15/day (includes all events per day)/$30 Summit Pass to all events Students: $10/day/$21 Summit Pass to all events (with valid student ID) General Admission Seating/no reserved seats. For tickets: TICKETS BY PROCTORS 445-SHOW Online: http://www.capitalrep.org/Schedule of Events
Friday, Nov 2 HOPE AND GRAVITY, by Michael Hollinger GE Theatre, Proctors, 432 State St, Schenectady, NY 6:30 PM Complimentary light refreshments/cash bar 7:30 PM Reading, Post-reading Cash bar & complimentary dessert and lobby discussion with playwright Saturday, Nov 3 "The First 15: Be A Literary Manager" GE Theatre, Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady, NY- 12 Noon Meet & Greet with coffee and bagels
- 1:00 - 2:30 PM Readings of the first 15 minutes of 6 selected finalists and discussion
- 7:30 PM Reading: THE GOD GAME by Suzanne Bradbeer
- Post reading - Cash Bar & Complimentary dessert and discussion.
- 12:30 PM Complimentary Coffee/tea
- 1-2:30PM - Critics Panel, "New Work and the Critic"
- 2:30 - 4:00 PM Continental light refreshments (for post-Critics Circle Patrons and pre-show Musical Reading Patrons). Cash bar.
- 4:00 - 6:30 PM Reading (with singing) THE PIPER, music & lyrics by Marcus Hummon, book by Michael Aman and Marcus Hummon
###
CONTACT: Thom O'Connor 518-382-3884 X166 toconnor@proctors.org