Textbook

Full Length Satire for Puppets | 7 Puppeteers

Hear ye, hear ye, elite and decorated citizens of the world! Regent Reginald Charleston III invites you to join the newest colony to enter the world sphere. Yes, you with the highest cheekbones and the lowest BMIs, the biggest brains and the fattest wallets. You of excellent breeding with purebred horses and designer handbags. You top grossing, top scoring, top bananas. Regent Reggie has been toiling tirelessly to prepare the land for your arrival. Be assured that you and your family will be welcomed to a clean, wholesome settlement free from offensive literature, meddlesome scavenger animals or piles of dead bodies. Help form the most attractive, prosperous, best-est society this poor world has ever seen. RSVP by 6:00pm today. The first 100 members get a free t-shirt!

Awards & Grants

GuSH Research Grant | Carnegie Mellon University | 2024

Production history

Staged Reading | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh PA, 2024
Workshop | Self-Produced | Pittsburgh PA, 2024

the ascension of maxi

10 Minute Satire | 2 Actors

Welcome all to the Church of Big Beauty! We have gathered here today to celebrate the Ascension. Today Maxi, our supreme leader, will sacrifice herself for our collective cosmetic sins. Join her, along with Kathy, the top selling Mary Kay consultant in all of North America and Barbara, the advertising executive that brought you Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, in song and prayer as we prepare for her holy transformation. What will happen when Maxi ascends to heaven and meets the God Maybelline? Will she fulfill her holy purpose, or is her mission just beginning?

The Ascension of Maxi will soon be a full length one-woman show! Stay tuned for updates.

Awards & Grants

Frank-Ratchye Further Fund Grant | The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO For Creative Inquiry | 2024

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Staged Reading | Carnegie Mellon University 2024 MFA Dramatic Writing Cohort | New York City, 2024
Workshop | Produced by Jamie Olah | Pittsburgh, 2023

Eden in Silence

One Act Drama | 7 Actors

Eden is leaving. After surviving five years of abuse at the hands of her boyfriend Christopher, she packs up her belongings and steps out the door. But what should be a fresh new beginning is hardly an end to her struggle. Every success she has in building a new life is upended by Christopher’s sudden presence. Defeated, Eden retreats from the world. Will she rise to overcome her past or give into her despair? Using physical theatre and visual spectacle, Eden in Silence challenges the stigma of domestic abuse and champions the transformative power of human connection.

AWARDS & Grants

Certificate of Merit | Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival NPP | 2023
Individual Artists Program Grant | City of Chicago DCASE | 2017

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Workshop Production | Co-produced by Jamie Olah and Links Hall | Chicago IL, 2017
Staged Reading | The New Colony | Chicago IL, 2016

The workshop production of Eden in Silence was accompanied by panel discussions on domestic violence that featured representatives from Apna Ghar, Between Friends, The Center for Advancing Domestic Peace, The Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, KAN-WIN, and Sarah’s Circle.

Breaker

Full Length Drama | 5 Actors

Simone Breaker was in control. As a Special Agent and Forensic Scientist with the FBI, she led teams around the world to process countless major crime scenes. Now, at age 57, Simone is retiring to a promising new chapter at home with her husband and daughter. But will the tranquility of her new life be haunted by memories from her past? Will she be strong enough to maintain control? Inspired by true events, Breaker explores the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder and its effect on the family.

Special thanks to Shahna Richman and the 2018 workshop ensemble: Brian Boller, Jackie Bowes, RjW Mays, Errol McLendon, Priya Mohanty, and Kaileigh JaKirra Robinson.

Awards & Grants

Individual Artists Program Grant | City of Chicago DCASE | 2018

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Workshop Production | Co-produced by Jamie Olah and Links Hall | Chicago, 2018
Workshop | Prop Thtr | Chicago, 2018
Staged Reading | Performing Arts Studio | Chicago, 2019

The workshop production of Breaker was accompanied by panel discussions on PTSD that featured Dr. Damon T. Arnold, Virginia Lawton Boller, Shahna M. Richman, Tracey Riley, and Tawny Spinelli.

clandestine

Full Length Drama | 5 Actors

In this theatrical thriller, Reya Veil, an Operations Officer with the CIA, must atone for past wrongs. After nearly a decade of serving the needs of her country at the expense of her family, Reya is called to action when her estranged twin sister hastily marries a questionable man. Shortly thereafter, her mother is murdered by an unknown assassin and Reya goes undercover to discover the killer. In the end, she must sacrifice everything to bring justice to her family.

AWARDS & Grants

Finalist | Pittsburgh Public Theater New Play Contest | Pittsburgh, 2023

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Workshop | Hypothetical Productions | Virtual, 2022

georgia & Gertie

10 Minute Comedy | 4 Actors

Georgia is sick of eating bananas and mashed potatoes and oatmeal. Just beyond the kitchen door of the assisted living facility that she calls home lies a cornucopia of delicious delicacies, but first she’s got to get through nurse Janine. With the help of her gal Gertie, a banana peel, and a whole lot of gumption, Georgia might just end the day sinking her teeth into a nice juicy steak.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Production | Clock Productions | Chicago, 2018

Descendants

10 Minute Movement-Based Drama | 6 Actors

A man and a woman fall in love. A family is formed and torn apart. Life continues. A new family forms while the remnants of the broken family mend and grow. Attempts to reconcile are rejected. Children grow and form new families who wonder: will the light of the future help ease the pain of the past? Using movement and tableaux, Descendants presents a sweeping narrative of love, infidelity, and the lasting effects of divorce.  

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Production | Union College | Schenectady, 2024
Production | The Arc Theatre | Chicago, 2019

Cowabunga

10 Minute Comedy for Video Call | 3 Actors

On the eve of the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw, two friends frantically prepare for an important anniversary.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Production | Broken Nose Theatre | Chicago, 2021

THE MIRACLE FOOD

10 Minute Comedy for Red Nose Clown | 1 Clown

The Miracle Food is an intimate, participatory performance piece for small audiences that utilizes red nose clown to shed light and humor on our relationships with "good" and "bad" foods. 

Production History

Production | Food & Performance (F&P) | Chicago, 2012

ANNA TO THE WEST

10 Minute Devised Dance Theatre | 5 Dancers

Twelve-year-old Anna Conway has been called to adventure and she doesn’t want to go. It is 1843, and her family is packing up the only home she has ever known to seek a new life in Oregon Country. Deadly disease, intense heat, roaring rivers and treacherous mountain passes loom on the horizon. It’s every tween’s nightmare. Using physical storytelling and dance, Anna to the West tells one girl’s coming-of-age story against the backdrop of a sweeping American migration. 

Devised with Genesee Spridco and the 2015 acting ensemble: Claire Bauman, John Cartwright, Danielle Gennaoui, Cindy Henkin, and Dan Plehal.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Production | Physical Festival Chicago | Chicago, 2015
Production | Adventure Stage Chicago | Chicago, 2015

MATE: MALE ATTRACTION TECHNIQUES EXPOSED

Full Length Devised Comedy | 4 Actors

Four inept zoologists reveal their revolutionary findings connecting the animal mating displays found in nature to the human courtship techniques employed at the local neighborhood bar. Unfortunately, their own romantic interests keep on getting in the way. Using physical comedy, song, dance, and an old-school overhead projector, MATE explores the animal desires within us all.

Devised with the 2010 acting ensemble: Chris Delgado, Danielle Gennaoui, Deanna Myers, and Keland Scher

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Production | Grassroots Theatre Project | Chicago, 2010

FRUGAL LOVE

Full Length Devised Comedy | 7 Actors

Frugal Love: An Evening of Poor Theatre for Poor Dates is a performance of comedic vignettes addressing the combined themes of dating, money, and food. 

Devised with the 2009 acting ensemble: Morgan Cohen, Sarah Greywitt, Jill Olson, Cindy Rangel, Meghan Reardon, Helen Young, and Leanne Zahrt

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Production | The Moving Dock Theatre Co. | Chicago, 2009