PLAYWRITING MFA at Ohio University (Master of Fine Arts Playwriting Program)

Joseph Gallo: His play My Italy Story (Penguin Rep, TheatreWorks, Seton Hall University), which had its New York debut Off-Broadway at the 47th Street Theatre, and was nominated for the Gay Talese Literary Prize, was revived last season at 12 Miles West Theater in New Jersey. Recent New York credits include his
full-length play Warning: Adult Content at Theatre 54, and as co-creator and writer of the dance/theater piece 80% of Love at the
Obie award-winning Ice Factory Festival at the Ohio Theatre. A recipient of the 2006 Scott McPherson Award in Playwriting, his work
has additionally been seen on the stages of HERE, Circle Rep Lab, Pearl Theater, Samuel Beckett Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, 78th Street Theatre, Waterfront Ensemble, Atlantic Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse, Delaware Stage Company, Seven Angels Theatre, Orlando Fringe Festival, and at both the Hayworth Theatre and Hudson Guild Theatre in Los Angeles. He has also worked extensively in development on both film and television projects, including a film chronicling the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and on the screenplay adaptation of the memoir Woody, Cisco & Me. His original screenplays include My Italy Story and the pilot episode for the television series Gotham House, while most recently he wrote the story Robert Zarinsky for Court-TV.

Nicholas Sgouros: Nick received a B.A. in English from Ball State University, where his play Radicals became the first student written full-length play produced by the Ball State School of Theatre as part of their season. He has interned for Fox Broadcasting in their late night comedy development division where he worked with the writers of their new hit show Talk Show with Spike Feresten. His play School by the Sea was recently workshopped at the Knightsbridge Theatre in Los Angeles and his new play Annika Gold will be read as part of this season’s Round Table Reading Series at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. He is the 2007 winner of the Ohio University Scott McPherson Award.

Second-Year MFA Playwrights (2007-08):

Kara Dunn: Kara was raised in California and has been moving east in pursuit of drama and education for many years. Recently her ten-minute play, The Risqué Root, was selected for a staged reading at the 2008 Association for Theater in Higher Education conference in Denver, CO, and also received a staged reading at the 2008 Mid-America Theater Conference in Kansas City, MO. Kara’s Seven Questions had a staged reading in 2007 at River Union Stage, Frenchtown NJ. Her drama, Red Light Spectrum was selected and produced for the 2006 Playwrights In Process series held by Shenandoah International Playwrights and The Whole Art Theater in Kalamazoo, MI. Red Light Spectrum also received the 2005 Western Michigan University Research and Creative Activities Award. Her one act play, Mnemosyne was staged in the 2006 New Play Project series in the York Theatre at WMU. Mnemosyne was a recipient of the Martin Critchell Award for Best Drama in 2005.

Reginald Edmund: Reginald Edmund is a second year graduate playwright from Houston, Texas. He is the former Artistic Director for the Silver House Theatre, as well as the founder and producer for the Silver House Playwrights Festival, and the Houston Urban Theatre Series where he was awarded as the Recipient of Rolling-Out Magazine “Houston’s 40 under 40” community choice award for his achievement in drama. He is also a proud member of the African American Playwright Exchange. His plays, which include Redemption Of Allah Black, Juneteenth Street, Black Theatre: Solar Eclipse, and Goldielocks And The Three Bears, have been developed at Karamu House Theatre, County Playhouse Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Houston, the Playwright Center of Minneapolis, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre Company and the Mid-American Theater Conference. He received his BFA in Theatre-Performance from Texas Southern University, and was hailed as the “Collective Artist” by the Houston Sun newspaper. The Prince of Houston Urban Theatre, Reggie's work focuses on raising political consciousness and spirituality.

Dana Lynn Formby is a blue-collar playwright whose voice was carved by the relentless Wyoming wind-- lips tight, eyes squinted, legs crossed because god knows what could blow in. She is a second year MFA Candidate in Playwriting at Ohio University. Her plays include Armed With Peanut Butter which was invited to New York's American Globe Theatre as part of their short play festival, Sugar Bear, which was commissioned by the Ohio University's School of Nursing; Inherit the Whole, which was given a reading at Premiere Stages in Union New Jersey as part of their intern showcase; and Loaded Gavel, which was presented this past summer at the Houston Urban Reading Series. Dana's first full-length, Frequency 98.6, received a full production at the University of Wyoming in 2005 and was invited to be one of five plays performed at the regional American College Theatre Festival in 2006. Her one-act play, Monday After Work, won her a scholarship to the 2005 Playwright's Intensive at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

G. William Zorn: Bill is originally from Illinois. His work has been produced all over the country, including Sick Day and Straight Girls... at Bailiwick Repertory in Chicago, Connecting at Isis Arts in San Francisco and Theatre Babylon in Seattle, and Poetry at 4th Unity Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival in NYC. His play Six/Love was chosen to represent Region III of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Bill is also an award-winning actor, director and vocal musician.

First-Year MFA Playwrights (2007-08):

Ryan Dowler: Ryan was born and raised in West Texas. He was among the top six in the nation in Duet Acting at the International Thespian Conference in 2000, before attending Ole Miss on an acting scholarship. As a student in the BFA Acting program, he pursued a degree in Sociology with a specialization in Gender Studies. After presenting a paper on corporate interests and gender at the UM Gender Conference in 2002, he left Ole Miss to write about his experiences working for one year as an employee at a McDonalds Restaurant outside Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2005, he completed his work in Sociology, earning a degree from the University of North Texas while making his directorial debut with David Marshall Grant’s Snakebit (“Venom Flows in Splendid Snakebit” – Dallas Morning News). Ryan then spent a year at the University of Texas, El Paso coordinating a new play series and developing West Memphis, a play that examines the role of small town religion in the high-profile prosecution of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. for the murder of three eight-year-old boys in rural Arkansas. His short play, Mammals which deals with the issue of gender, received a reading at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and was awarded first place in the KCACTF National Ten Minute Play competition. In 2008, Mammals was produced in the United States and the U.K. while touring with the North American Playwrights Alliance. Currently, Ryan is an instructor at Ohio University, where he studies under Charles Smith and Erik Ramsey in the Professional Playwriting Program.

David Robinson received his BA in Literature/Theater from New College of Florida where he developed his plays Make-Up and Present (the former receiving full production). In addition to his work as a theater critic for The Bradenton Herald, David's writing has also appeared in the film journal, CineACTION.

Garret Schneider was born and raised in midcoast Maine. For vacations the family would go to their cabin, where they would spend the week digging a porto-potty, hiking, clearing brush, and/or pumping water. He went to undergrad at Lehigh University and graduated with a BA in Theater and Mathematics. His first play ("Proud Beasts") about amphetamine addicted mathematicians, was given a reading a Lehigh University. He has also spent time at the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, where he studied under: Lee Blessing, Chay Yew, Marsha Norman, Mark Bly, Heather McDonald, Gary Garrison, Melanie Marnich, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. For the two years before coming to Ohio, Garret worked at Heartwood Regional Theater where he acted, designed, and learned more about his artistic voice.

Note: For specific MFA playwriting program information on scholarships, admission, curriculum, degree requirements, or how to apply, visit the Ohio University School of Theater web site by clicking here. For the MFA news blog, the latest on guest artists in residence, MFA faculty news, current MFA student playwright bios, MFA playwriting festival scheduling and updates, and MFA playwriting alumni news please navigate using the links in the left column.