HOME * SHAKING THE DEW FROM THE LILIES * ASPHALT JUNGLE SHORTS * SHE SPEAKS * UNHINGED * URBAN SCRAWLERS * BIOS

TICKETS * MISSION STATEMENT & BOARD * AUDITIONS * SUBMISSIONS * SPONSORS * REVIEWS & MEDIA * PHOTOS * CONTACT

Flush Ink Performing Arts Presents

THE PLAYWRIGHTS

It also takes an entire village to put on a show. Ours is growing…

Dori Appel	Dori Appel is an award-winning playwright, poet, and fiction writer.  More than a dozen full-length plays, plus many one-acts, shorts, and monologues have been staged as full productions or readings in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Several have also received awards, including the Oregon Book Award in Drama in 1998, 1999, and 2001. Girl Talk and Hot Flashes, both co-authored with Carolyn Myers, are published by Samuel French, and a number of monologues are included in anthologies.  Dori's collection of poems, Another Rude Awakening, is forthcoming from Cherry Grove Collections in 2008. Dori’s play, Treasure Hunt, was performed on the sidewalk in AJS III, and we were thrilled to have her here from the State of Washington to see the show.
Shirley Barrie	Shirley Barrie is a playwright from who has received two Chalmers Awards and a Dora Award for her work. Her newest play, Beautiful Lady, Tell Me…, a vaudeville musical murder mystery, will be produced at 4th Line Theatre, Millbrook in August, 2007.  Other recent productions:  the award winning one-act, Revelation (Alumnae New Ideas, Toronto Fringe), Possession (Alumnae New Ideas) and two new adaptations of old tales:  Hansel and Gretel (Geordie Theatre) and The Girl in the Flower Basket (Japanese Folklore Theatre Productions).  She was in South Africa for much of 2005/06 working as Senior Story Editor on Jozi-H (short for Johannesburg Hospital) , a 13 x one-hour TV medical drama series broadcast on CBC TV in Canada and SABC in South Africa. Shirley was a co-founder of the Tricycle Theatre in London, England and of Straight Stitching Productions in Toronto. Brianna’s Quest ~ (Act: I Scenes I&II), was read for She Speaks 2007.
Meny Beriro	Meny Beriro was born in Gibraltar and raised in Queens, New York. Meny studied playwriting at PLAYWRIGHT’S HORIZONS THEATRE SCHOOL. His works include Grosso Is In Jail (presented at the Samuel French Short play Festival in 2005), A Love of Music (Creative Mechanics Stage This! Semi-Finalist 2005), Climbing the Unisphere (public reading October 2006 at Queens Theatre in the Park) and Twenty Broken Legs (staged reading by Mid Life Productions, March 2006). Most recently his monologue, Worn, was presented by This Woman’s Work Theatre Co. in January, 2007, and in February 2007, The National Anthem of Mercury was presented by EndTimes Productions. Meny’s play, Shock, was performed in a make-shift art gallery in AJS II.
William Bolden	William Borden's plays have won over 100 national playwriting competitions and have had over 300 productions, at Actors Theatre of Louisville and in New York, Los Angeles, India, South Africa, Spain, Canada, Germany, Norway, and elsewhere. The film adaptation of his play, The Last Prostitute, starring Sonia Braga and produced by Universal Studios, was shown on Lifetime Television and in Europe. His play Reunion, retitled I Remember You Now and starring Deborah Harry, was filmed for theatrical release by Darinka Productions and has been shown in New York, Paris, London, Croatia, Romania, and Wales. His plays have been published in Scenes and Monologues from the Best New International Plays, The Best Stage Scenes 1998, The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2007, The Playwrights' Center Monologues for Women, and many other anthologies. His novel, Dancing with Bears, is forthcoming from Livingston Press. His novel Superstoe, first published in the U.S. by Harper & Row and in England by Victor Gollancz, was reissued by Orloff Press. A Core Alumnus Playwright at The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, he is a member of PEN, The Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, and the Authors Guild. William’s Website William’s play, QUARKS, was performed in AJS IV, in the Rum Runner.
Michael Burgan	As a freelance writer, Michael Burgan has written more than 100 non-fiction books for kids. He studied playwriting for one year in Emerson College's MFA writing program and is currently a network playwright with Chicago Dramatists and a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Playwriting Center. Credits include: Alternate selection, 1999 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival (GIGO) Curtain Players 2005 Playwrights’ Festival, Westerville, Ohio (Mayor Mac) Appetite Theatre 2005 Bruschetta Festival, Chicago (Bob’s Head and Toys in the Attic) Theatres Against War 2005 Freedom Follies, New York (Truth, Justice, and…) Around the Coyote 2006 Play Reading Series, Chicago (Last Refuge) Michael’s play is Can Can’t was performed in a garbage dumpster AJS II.
Mark L. Burris	Mark. L. Burris lives and plays in Missouri.  Banter is his first play. Aside from his work in finances, Mark has an organic landscaping business. He finds solace in nature and spends much of his time outdoors.  He is an armchair philosopher with a fascinating, albeit cynical view on life. Mark L. Burris’s play, Banter, co-written with L.D. Garver, was performed throughout Asphalt Jungle Shorts I.
Ashley Burton	Ashley is an actress, singer, dancer and educator who is an active member of the Canadian Theatrical community. Ashley is a graduate of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts where she was the recipient of the Eileen Farrell Triple Threat Award. She is currently in her second season at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where she plays the “Circus Kit Kat Girl” in CABARET and also performed in OKLAHOMA in 2007.  Favorite past credits include “Lisa” in MAMMA MIA, “Jasmine cover/Harem Girl” in DISNEY’S ALADDIN, “Angie” in the CTV television series INSTANT STAR, "Texas" in CABARET, and "Rose" in LES BELLES SOEURES. You might also recognize Ashley in the Milk Hip Hop Commercial “Want Milk”. Her next upcoming television appearance will be her character of Sholana Peach in THE LASTEST BUZZ IN '09. Ashley plans to continue to write and perform in her own shows while continuing her work in theater, film and television. She also takes great pride of her continual work with the community of young aspiring performing artists. To learn more about Ashley's work visit www.aburtongroup.com Ashley was the producer, director and writer of her own work, NONA’S PARTY part of UNHINGED performed in the gazeebo on Victoria Park Isand.
Robyn Buttrell	Robyn Buttrell has been playwright-in-residence at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille and The Factory Theatre as well as an associate playwright with Canadian Stage and the Tarragon Theatre. Two of her stage monologues can be found in the anthology The Perfect Piece published by Playwrights Canada Press, who also published her play Bad Taste. Most recently The Makings of a Man, her irreverent adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, , was work-shopped and presented at Nightwood Theatre’s Groundswell Festival in Toronto; she’s had numerous dramas produced and broadcast by CBC radio and CBC t.v., including the five-part comedy Mrs. Poole Takes a Job, an extended monologue for one man Darleen, and the award-winning drama Queenie’s History of the World, whose complicated sound script won Best Sound at the International Radio Awards. A copy of Queenie’s History of the World was later donated by the CBC to the National Radio Archives in New York City as ‘an example of Canadian Radio Drama’. Robyn is also a published fiction and creative nonfiction writer twice nominated for a National Magazine Award. Born and raised in Oxford County, Robyn now lives in Kitchener with her husband and daughter. Robyn’s monologue, That Sinking Feeling, was performed for She Speaks 2008.
Jennifer Cornish	Jennifer Cornish has most recently appeared as Martha in "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" (KWLT), Sally in the premiere production of Dianne Lococo's "Alien Guest", Penny in "Money and Friends" and Alexa in "As Bees In Honey Drown" (Galt LT).   You may also recognize her as the itinerant bongo player from "Asphalt Jungle Shorts III" with Flush Ink Productions, and her readings in She Speaks 2008. Jennifer’s play, PERMIT ME PLEASE was performed in less than a minute in AJS IV.
David Coxhead	David Coxhead’s “Grammar Bum” is based on his short story by the same name, which was published on the now-defunct TrashNerd.com. He has studied at Syracuse University and The Second City writing program. He works as a boat captain in Chicago. David’s play, GRAMMAR BUMS, will be performed.
Nicholas Cumming	Nicholas Cumming is a local theatre creator with a BA in Drama and English from the University of Waterloo. He has been a company member of the Multicultural Theatre Space since 2004. He has appeared in Exit Strategy, Yes or No!, Seasons of Immigration, Legion of Memory I + II, Me Here/Me Happy, Motio X Industria, and Three Legged Horse with the MT Space; Tennessee Williams’ I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow with Poor Tom Productions; Asphalt Jungle Shorts I, II & III with Flush Ink; and Mimetic Flesh/Mimetic Hotel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Spring Awakening with UW Drama. He directed and wrote The Children’s Crusade for the UPStart Fringe 2007, and HE for UPStart 2004.  He is a poet and playwright currently working on several plays with Pat the Dog, KW’s professional playwrights’ development centre. He is also a member of the earthling collective, whose WARMER project is examining the environment and human dynamics in a local context. Nick wrote COPY PROTECTION – part of UNHINGED ’08 and co-wrote TIMED RELEASE with Katharine Mills which they performed in UNHINGED ’09 at Exhibit Café.
Lea Daniel	Lea Daniel was a founding member of Theatre & Company’s Writers Bloc and PlayLab and is currently a member of Pat the Dog playwrights’ collective. Her short play Highway Robbery was produced as part of Theatre & Company’s May Playfest (1999); Burn was part of May Playfest (2002); Heretic, a full-length play was chosen for the Off-The-Page Series at Equity Showcase Theatre, Toronto (2003), for a reading at The Cobblestone Festival, Paris, Ontario (2004) and was work-shopped in 2006. Lea is an award-winning illustrator and writer of books for children. Lea Daniel’s Colour Me Fuchsia (fragments) was part of She Speaks 2007, and In The East a Glass of Water was performed in a green space in AJS II.
Francine Dick	Francine Dick lives in Toronto and is part of the Alumnae Theatre's New Play Development group.  Her play, As Large As Alone, was part of the Alumane's New Ideas Festival in 2006.  She is also the author of Meditations and A Wedding in Blue and White.  Under the name of Miriam Wright she published a collection of short stories, The Inner Core. Francine’s play, Down Memory Lane, was part of She Speaks 2007.
Linda Eisenstein	Linda Eisenstein’s plays and musicals have been produced throughout the US, and in England, Australia, Canada,  South Africa, and the Philippines. She is a three-time recipient of Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Playwriting Fellowships for Three the Hard Way and her musicals Star Wares: The Next Generation and Discordia (both with James Levin). Other prizes include the Gilmore Creek Award (Three the Hard Way), Sappho’s Symposium Competition (The Names of the Beast), an All-England Festival Prize (Marla’s Devotion), and a New York Theatre Innovation Award nomination (Eisenstein's Monster).  She has been a finalist for the Jane Chambers Competition (Rehearsing Cyrano), the Heideman Award (Higher), and the Midwest Play Competition (The Last Red Wagon Tent Show in the Land).  Fifteen of her short plays and monologues have been anthologized by Heinemann, Smith & Kraus, Dramatic Publishing, Penguin, Viking Press, and others.  Linda is a member of the Cleveland Play House Playwrights’ Unit, the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., ASCAP, and the International Center for Women Playwrights. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Linda two plays, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE & BALANCING ACT were performed outside the chapel in the City Hall, and in The Rum Runner (a bar) – respectively, for AJS I, and we were thrilled when Linda came up from Ohio to see.
Christine Emmert	Christine is an actress, playwright, director and theatre educator. She has been in the theatre world for fifty years. Presently she is rehearsing a production of Lettuce and Lovage in the Philadelphia area.  Her plays have been performed in three (now four) countries, published in three, and she continues to write as well as appear on stage.  She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America.  Her novel ISMENE was published three years ago. Christine is a member of ICWP. Christine’s play, BOXING IT, was performed at She Speaks 2008, and THE AUDITIONS in She Speaks ’09. What a pleasure to have her and her husband join us from Pennsylvania for both events.
Tom Jacob Ewles	Tom is an 18 year old student from the East End of London, UK. Gripped with a fascination for entertaining at a young age, he has aspired to become an actor or writer ever since. Or a fireman. The first acting role he can remember undertaking was a lamppost, but he’s moved onto more challenging things since then. As a writer he lists his influences as Harold Pinter, Philip Ridley, Steven Berkoff, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde and strange people he meets on the streets of London. He completes his current education courses in July and intends to take a year out before further education in order to sleep, write, act, eat, and play more videogames. Hopefully a drama school will take pity on him and let him enroll in 2009. Tom’s play, GENES, was performed outside the parking garage – good place for a smoke - in AJS IV.
Lauren Feldman	LAUREN FELDMAN is a playwright and performer from Miami, Florida. Her plays include: a People, Grace or the Art of Climbing, Fill Our Mouths, Leda, The Coupling Heuristic, On the Tusk, When It Rains, Asteroid Belt, The Kissing Play, Fugue 24, Penguins, and others – as well as the solo piece Funny Story, and the devised/collaborative plays The Apocryphal Project, Grey Gone, and NEO. Her plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in London, Canada, and Australia. She was a U.S. playwright delegate with the Royal Court Theatre and World Interplay Australia, a semi-finalist for the 2009 O’Neill Playwrights Conference, a two-time semi-finalist for the Heideman Award, and is the recipient of the Cheryl Crawford Playwriting Scholarship, Audrey Wood Playwriting Scholarship, two Downstage Miami grants, a Florida Artist Enhancement Grant, two Carbonell Award nominations, and the NYC Drama Book Shop Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre. She was recently an artist-in-residence at Sewanee University of the South, Cornell University, and Theater Emory’s Brave New Works Festival. She has taught and mentored playwriting to middle school, high school, and college students, as well as to veterans with PTSD. Lauren is also a professional actor, is proficient in American Sign Language, and is an experienced and avid rock-climber. Yale School of Drama, M.F.A.; Cornell University, B.A.; Alumna of The Shakespeare Programme, British-American Drama Academy. Lauren’s play, FUNNY STORY, was performed in three locations in AJS V.
T. Cat Ford	T. Cat Ford’s Pow’r In The Blood (New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest, Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights), opened Barter Theatre’s 75th Anniversary season. As a collaborative member of Philadelphia’s Cardboard Box Collective’s she will create a new play scheduled for production in September, 2009. Other plays: A Simple Gift, Roar Lions! Roar!!, Links, Mermen and searchers.net, a computer dating extravaganza. Ms. Ford is a member of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre’s Playwright’s Unit, the Actor’s Studio P/D Unit and is a fellow of New River Dramatists. Cat’s play, GUT SHOT, was read in She Speaks ’09, and we were thrilled to have her come up from NYC for the event.
Catherine Frid	Catherine Frid’s plays include The Tango Player (Inspirato Toronto 10-Minute Festival), Fetish and Quest (Asphalt Jungle Shorts), and The Mess (She Speaks). Her one-act drama Greater Good was selected by 6^th@Penn Theatre in San Diego, California, for inclusion in the Human Rights Play Festival. She sits on the boards of directors of Aluna Theatre and Flush Ink Performing Arts. Cate would like to thank the many people who read versions of this script and gave feedback. Special thanks to Tony Harris, Ana Mulrooney and Don who taught her about stock trading, the music business and life on the street; however the characters in Dead Cat Bounce are not based on these generous people. She sits on the board of directors  of Aluna Theatre in Toronto and was a founding board member of Flush Ink Productions. Catherine’s play, Fetish, was performed in AJS III, and Quest in AJS IV. Her play The Mess, was read in She Speaks, 2008. Also her play, DEAD CAT BOUNCE was part of UNHINGED, produced by Cat Free Productions.
L.D. Garver	Banter is L.D. Garver's first play.  He lives in Missouri where he is continually entertained by his sons, Jacob and Ben.  Although not directly involved in theatre, he is a avid patron and is said to have a voice like an angel...although no one has yet said that of his character.  Aside from writing, Larry enjoys building things, collecting things, playing Texas Hold 'Em and watching the Chiefs nearly win.  L.D. Garver’s play, Banter, co-written with Mark L. Burris, was performed throughout Asphalt Jungle Shorts I.
Paddy Gillard-Bentley	Paddy Gillard-Bentley has been involved in one aspect of theatre or another since her Mother, Tessa, was four months pregnant with her, performing in Time Out For Ginger. Her full-length play, Shaking the Dew from the Lilies, debuted in Kitchener, Ont. Canada, in November 2002 and received its American premier in 2005, in Denver, Co. Quantum Entanglement has been produced several times (Philadelphia, Calgary, Kitchener). Her one-acts, White Noise, Sanguine Sonata & Comic Strip, and many shorter plays have been produced in Canada, the US, and UK. Frailty Thy Name is Woe has been published by Meriweather in Volume II of Young Women's Monologues from Contemporary Plays, And Then Full Circle has been published in Mother/Daughter Monologues Volume 4: Urgent Maturity Paddy is the Artistic Director of Flush Ink Performing Arts and a former President of ICWP (International Centre for Women Playwrights). Paddy’s plays online. Paddy’s plays Howard and the Snake (City Hall Stairs) & About Surreal Life (Rum Runner) were in AJS I and Honey Meet the Bickersons (throughout) & Well Bread (Kitchener’s City Hall) were in AJS III & Ring Tone – fifteen or so feet below the sidewalk, was in AJS IV. Opaque was read in She Speaks 2007 and Coaxing the Kitty in 2008. Quantum Entanglement was part of UNHINGED, performed at ArtBar – Centre in the Square. Final Scene of LIKE A TERRIBLE BEAUTY was read for She Speaks ’09. MUCK and INVOLUNTARY AD INTERIM were part of AJS V and WHITE NOISE was performed by Arlene Thomas & Andrew Frey in Unhinged ’09.
L.H. Grant	L.H. (Lee) Grant has written many full-length and one-act plays. His work has been produced in New York, Massachusetts and Vienna, Austria. Lee is also an artist whose paintings have been exhibited in several galleries. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lee took advantage of the closeness to the border with Canada and spent a good deal of time visiting many places in Ontario including Algonquin Provincial Park where the cry of the loons and majesty of the aurora borealis left an indelible mark. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Lee currently resides in Northern California. Lee’s plays 600 SECONDS, AJS I, MAN_WOMAN_MAN in AJS III and PIECES OF MIME in AJS IV – practically everywhere.
Sherri Grubert	SHERI GRAUBERT is a playwright and actress. Plays include: Johnny’s Girl (Festival of New Plays, Prop Thtr, Chicago); The Adelaide Chronicles (nominated for Cherry Lane mentor program, semi-finalist Mill Mountain Theatre); G.R.A.P.E.H.E.A.D.S (Last Frontier Theatre Conference, The Drilling Company; WBAI Radio: THAW); Love Dust (Sun Dog Theatre Company - Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry); The Vestibule (Festival of One Acts, Neighborhood Playhouse); Last Word (selected by Soho Theatre, London; staged reading TDC/78^th St Theatre Lab); St Croix (Clubbed Thumb 50 States and More pageant); Ms. Santos Dream after Reading Medea (TDC);Coffee &Prozac (selected by PFD in London); The Hundred Years’ War (TDC); The Secret of Dogs (Radio); King of the World, (Alcoholic Fringe, Alaska) A Few Good Eggs (Words of Choice) Penny Black (Invited to PlayLabs, Great Plains Theatre Festival 2008, current finalist Women at Plays(4)) Magnolia Day (Source Festival, DC, 2008: Reading HB Studio Theatre) Gerry (The Drilling Company-Hero) Parental Consent (winner, Theatre Oxford) A Few Good Eggs(Words of Choice) Ginto & May (Current Semi-finalist, Shorter & Sweeter Festival) The Millhouse Contract (semi-finalist, Lakeshore 5^th Annual 10 Minute Play Contest )Penelope (Ashpalt Jungle, V) Dick Spacey and the Space Detectives (Only Make Believe). Currently working on a new commission for Only Make Believe, a sequel to Dick Spacey: Dave Space-Out. www.sherigraubert.info Sheri’s play, PENELOPE, was performed in AJS V at the Rum Runner.
Reina Hardy	Reina is a playwright with credits in Chicago, New York, and Muncie, Indiana. Her play Erratica will make its professional world premiere in July 2009 with Sacramento's Capital Stage.  Reina has also worked with Orlando Shakespeare, Algonquin Theatre, the Side Project, Write Act Rep, the House Theatre, and many others.  Look for her poems in various magazines, look for excerpts from her plays in "Audition Arsenal," "The Ultimate Audition Book" and "Best Scenes for Two Actors," and look for her theatre reviews on the Sun Times website. Once, Reina resolved to see a show in every Chicago fringe venue during the course of a year. Her failure is chronicled at wayoffloop.blogspot.com. Reina is a 2003 graduate of Columbia University, where she won the Brick Memorial Prize for playwriting, and a 2011 MFA candidate at Ohio University. She is also founder and artistic director of the Viola Project, Chicago's best Shakespeare performance workshop for girls. Reina’s play, CELESTIAL LIQUOR, was part of She Speaks ’09.
Diane Rao Harman	Diane Rao Harman is a playwright, director and dramaturg living in New Concord, Ohio, where she serves on the faculty in theatre at Muskingum College. A professional dramaturg, Diane is currently working on “Blackbird” at the Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO) in Columbus, where she has previously dramaturged “Escanaba in Da Moonlight,” and “Boston Marriage.” Last year, one act of her full-length play “Sunset; Sunrise” was read at the Mid America Theatre Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Diane is treasurer of the Ohio Theatre Alliance and a member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights. A member of the Ibsen Society of America, Diane writes the blog Eating Ibsen (www.eatingibsen.blogspot.com). Diane’s play, CALLING FIVE-SEVEN-FIVE was performed in various places around Victoria Park in AJS V.
Jean Kristen Hedgecock	Jean Kristen Hedgecock’s work has been performed in New York at The Lion Theatre, The Pulse Ensemble Theatre, The Triad Theatre and The Walter Reade Theatre as well as regionally at various theatres. Her work has been published in several anthologies and journals including New Monologues for Women, Poems and Plays, Shades of December, Confrontation, Iris, The Raven Chronicles, The LadyFest Anthology, and is forthcoming in Lady Jane Miscellany. She lives and writes in Atlanta. Jean’s play, SNOW EVERYWHERE DESCENDING, was part of She Speaks ’09.
Laura Henry	Laura Henry’s full length plays have been produced or work-shopped at theatres across the country, including OpenStage Theatre & Co., Centenary Stage Company, Echo Theatre and Urban Stages. Laura has received fellowships from Cornerstone Theater Company, the Edward F. Albee Foundation and the Dramatists Guild and has been a finalist for the Princess Grace Award. She is a graduate of the MFA playwriting program at the University of California, San Diego and currently teaches for Theatre for a New Audience and Young Playwrights, Inc.  Ano 1868 has been previously seen in the DNA short play festival, produced by the University of Idaho/Idaho Repertory Theatre (USA), the Harrowgate Theatre (Great Britain) and at Java Theatre in Boston (USA).  Laura’s play, Año 1868, was performed behind the Mayfair Hotel in AJS I.
Brett Hursey	Brett Hursey's comedies have appeared in theaters across the country including venues in Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hollywood, as well as internationally in England and Australia. He's also had over twenty off/off-off Broadway productions in Manhattan. Brett lives in the hinterlands of Farmville, Virginia. Brett’s play, STRAIGHT TALK, was performed at the Rum Runner in AJS V.
Yohanan Kaldi	Yohanan Kaldi began to write for the theatre some years ago, mainly libretti for operas, like: THE BIG BAKERY ROBBERY – opera buffa (based on two short stories by Haruki Murakami); winner of the 2007 International Libretto Competition of NetzZeit Vienna, The Luzerne Theatre (Switzerland) and OperaGenesis (ROH2), London. Music: Misato Mochizuki (Japan). World premiere: Luzerne Theatre, January 2009. Second premiere: NetzZeit Theatre, Vienna, February 2009. Next production: Sunsory Festival, Tokyo, March 2010, with additional performances in Osaka. OPERATION MIDNIGHT - a comic mystery opera that was produced by the "bonn chance!" Music Theatre of Oper Bonn, Germany. Music: Richard Farber. MACHA'S DIARY - chamber opera on the life and loves of the Czech Romantic poet Karel Hynek Macha. Premiered at the Prague National Theatre's Kolowrat Auditorium. Music: Emil Viklicky (Czech Republic). THE AXE - a horror opera after the play "Graf Öderland" by Max Frisch. Music: Max E Keller (Switzerland); commissioned by the Swiss Pro Helvetia Foundation and the Komische Oper Berlin. A word on TOWERING PASSION: his son, Ruven drew Yohanan's attention to a newspaper article on a Parisian woman, who has married the Eiffel Tower. This is what gave the inspiration to a short play on objectum sexuality. The opportunity to submit it to AJS 5 was a godsend. Out of Kitchener's rich photographic internet site the charming picture of the Clocktower in the Victoria Park was chosen to function as an object of love. Yohanan - born in Hungary, in Israel since 1968, married. Has three children, two dogs, lives with his wife Hagar in a village on the northern rim of the Negev Desert. Yohanan’s play, TOTEM, was performed in AJS IV and TOWER OF PASSION in AJS V.
Grace Kary	Grace Kary is a graduate of Ryerson’s media arts program in Toronto and an active member in the independent media community in Canada, Grace Kary is the first recipient of the prestigious Hunter Award for her script “Immaculate”. Her short films have appeared in film festivals around the world and on Canadian television. In addition, she has received grants from civic, provincial and national granting bodies including the Canada Council, the Toronto Arts Council and the Waterloo Regional Arts Foundation. The Sun is a Neon sign is her first full-length play. She has had a short play has been produced in Canada. Two upcoming exhibits of her work include a show in Mexico March 2007 and an installation piece in Zero to One Gallery, Kitchener in June 2007. Grace’s play, The Sun is a Neon Sign, was read at She Speaks 2007, and A Grave Familiarity, was read at She Speaks 2008.
Nancy Kenny	NANCY KENNY is thrilled to have her work presented in Kitchener-Waterloo again after her last short play, Buds, was first staged as part of She Speaks.  An actor and playwright based in Ottawa, she is a founding member of Evolution Theatre and currently serves as the company’s Director of Communications.  In 2007, she completed her first one-act play, Reality Check, which was a commercial success at the Ottawa Fringe Festival.  Nancy is currently working on a piece entitled No Exit Upstage to be presented this summer in Ottawa, Winnipeg and, perhaps, even Kitchener-Waterloo. She is also creating a one woman show which she plans to tour cross-country in 2010.  Nancy’s play, BUDS, was read for She Speaks ’09 & BLIND DATE was performed in the Rum Runner at AJS V.
Hank Kimmel	Hank Kimmel is a founding member and President of Working Title Plawywrights, an Atlanta-based theatre company dedicated to the development of playwrights and new plays – http://www.workingtitleplaywrights.com One of his goals is to have his work produced in 50 states, and he is more than halfway to his goal.  More info:  http://ww.hankkimmel.com Hank’s Play, MIS==CHARACTERIZATION, was performed in AJS IV at the KW Book Store.
Shirley King	Shirley lives in Benicia, California.  My first play, MORGANA'S HEART, won a California Arts Council competition for best new play and was produced in 2002. Since then my plays have had numerous productions, workshops and readings by theatre companies including, Radiant Theatre, Penobscot Theatre, Big Idea Theatre, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, SlamBoston, Women's Theatre Alliance of Chicago, Instant Theatre, University of North Dakota, Stockyards Theatre Project's Pro Peace Plays series, Asphalt Jungle Shorts, Kitchener, Canada and Short Leaps Festival, Eureka Theatre, San Francisco. MURLOCK, USA will be produced by both Riverside Theater and Universal Theater in 2008. In February, Love Creek Productions will produce THE DIE IS CAST/STREET HAMLET. MARKERS will be produced March 2008 by the University of Maryland at Baltimore together with commissioned plays by Naomi Wallace and Tina Howe.  Awards: finalist for the Maxim Mazumdar Award, three finalists for the Nancy Weil New Play Search, finalist for the 2006 Contra Costa Times New Play Competition, Kansas City's Barn Project, Australia's Short & Sweet Festival and Solano County Repertory's 2008 Play Competition.  I'm a member of The Dramatists Guild and International Center for Women Playwrights. Shirley’s Home Page Shirley’s play, THE ORANGE WHISTLE, was performed on the fifth floor of a parking garage in AJS I and NAME GAME was read in She Speaks 2008. NO DICE was part of AJS V – performed on the stairs of a rehab centre.
Gary Kirkham	Gary Kirkham is a playwright, actor, filmmaker, et al. His play, Queen Milli of Galt, won the Samuel French Canadian Playwriting Competition and will be part of the 2007 Blyth Festival Season. His one act play, Look, was adapted into a short film staring Mike Peng and Alan Sapp. His newest play, Falling: A Wake, will premiere at the Registry Theatre March 15-24, 2007! Gary is a member of Lost & Found Theatre. He has also acted with Theatre & Company and most recently, MT Space, touring in their version of The Season of Immigration. Gary spent years as an improviser with several comedy troupes including Mental Floss and was in The Second City’s Master class. And, if you didn’t blink, you might have seen him in several sketches on The Kids in the Hall. As a filmmaker, Gary filming Bard on the Street, a series of Shakespearean monologues performed on locations throughout the region. Gary Kirkham’s plays BETH AT 50 (behind The Mayfair Hotel), & LIVE NUDE MANNEQUINS (in a shop window) were performed in AJS I. BETH AT 50 was revived for Asphalt Jungle Lederhosen.
Tamara Knezic	Tamara Knezic, from Toronoto, likes to mix it up. In 2006 she edited the content for the Pride Toronto website, worked on the Journal for the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted and work-shopped a play she wrote called "Willfully Blind". She's excited about having her newest play included as part of the ICWP's staged readings on International Women's Day 2007. Tamara’s play, THE DEATH OF SUZIE LAU - was part of She Speaks, 2007.
Kathleen Kramer	Kathleen Kramer is a playwright, actor, and poet. She lives near Ithaca, NY, where her full-length plays, Colorful Bricks and Fanatics and The Tadpole Stage, have been presented to standing-room-only audiences. Her full-length, Solitary Lights, received a staged reading by 3rd Floor Productions, a women's playwriting and producing collective, of which Kathleen is a member. In February '07, Sleeps Through Storms, a 20-minute play about a woman's relationship with an unseen entity residing in her attic, was presented by Armory Square Playhouse in Syracuse, NY. Some of Kathleen's shorter works have been featured in a creative writing curriculum at Ithaca College, while others have been part of group shows produced by 3rd Floor Productions. The most recent group show, Queueue, included six of Kathleen's short plays about people standing in lines of various kinds and the drama and comedy which can occur in these common settings. Two of Kathleen’s plays, BAD FEET (in the queue) and ALLEN FUNT IS DEAD (at the Cenotaph) were performed in AJS II. We were thrilled to have her and her husband join us for an evening from NY.
Jae Kramisen	Jae Kramisen, a New York City native, became a recipient of the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Playwright Award at only fifteen years old.  Since then her plays have been performed at numerous theaters including Circle Theatre, Venus Theatre, Bloomington Playwrights, Playwrights’ Circle, Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, Collaboration Sketchbook Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, among others. Jae is also an actress and solo performance artist who performs her own one woman shows. This is the first presentation of Shatter and Jae would like to thank everyone at Flush Ink for believing in her work. Jae Kramisen’s play, SHATTER, was part of She Speaks ’09.
Andrew Lakin	Andrew Lakin has been performing on stage and designing lights in the K-W region for over a decade. He is delighted to be a founding member of Lost & Found Theatre, where he has performed in Vigil and Cotton Patch Gospel, designed lights for Eleemosynary, and directed The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine. He has also recently performed with MT Space and the Perimeter Institute. Other favourite productions include The Foreigner, Cherry Docs, Three in the Back...Two in the Head, Waiting for Godot, and Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, all at Theatre & Co. Other lighting designs there include Red Lips, A Walk in the Woods, Proof, and Mary's Wedding. In his spare time, Andrew writes, spends time with his wonderful wife Joanne and their Yellow Lab puppy Lucy, and he is looking forward to his next big challenge in life... becoming a father! Andrew Lakin’s play, SENTINEL, was performed at the corner of King & Frederick Streets. in AJS III, and in his own words, it was its Galactic Premier!
Mark Harvey Levine	MARK HARVEY LEVINE'S plays have been produced all over the world. Evenings of his work, such as "Cabfare For The Common Man", and "C'est Levine" have appeared in Los Angeles, Boston, Indianapolis and even Amsterdam. Another evening, "Aperitivos", played in Brazil (in Portuguese!) from 2005 to 2007, touring nationally. His plays have also appeared in Canada, South Korea, Czech Republic, Morocco, England, Australia, Germany and Switzerland with upcoming productions in China. His short play "Surprise" was included in "Match Games" recently at the Actors Theatre Of Louisville. He lives online at www.markharveylevine.com. He lives offline in Pasadena with his lovely wife and toddler. Mark’s play, TAKE OUR PICTURE, was performed beneath the Clock Tower in Victoria Park for AJS V.
Em Lewis	EM LEWIS is a member of Moving Arts Theater Company, the Alliance of LA Playwrights, the International Center for Women Playwrights and the Dramatists Guild. Her plays have been read and produced around the country. Heads (a hostage drama, set against the war in Iraq) had its world premiere at the Blank Theater in Los Angeles, won Coe College’s New Works for the Stage competition, was featured in the hotINK International Festival of New Plays at NYU, and was a semi-finalist for the O’Neill Playwrights Conference and the Julie Harris Award. It was featured in the GPTC Long Play Lab in 2007. Infinite Black Suitcase (about grief and survival in rural Oregon; a semi-finalist for the 2006 O’Neill Playwrights Conference) received its world premiere in LA in April 2007, produced by TheSpyAnts. Lewis lives in southern California now – but she’s from Oregon. E.M. Lewis on the web. Ellen’s play, LEND ME A MENTOR, was performed inside KW Book Store in AJS III.
David Lewison	David’s plays and one-acts have been produced by companies including Theatre Neo, Company of Angels, Chautauqua Theatre Alliance, and the Turnip Theatre Company. A graduate of NYU and AFI-CAFTS. David also co-wrote the award-winning comedy short, "Dora Was Dysfunctional." Acting credits include "Vanilla Sky," “My Wife and Kids,” “LAX,” and “Side Order of Life.” David’s website. David’s plays, CRAZY & WALKING DISTANCE, where performed in AJS III, one began with the actress screaming from behind some bushes, the other, at the Delta Inn.
Robin Rice Lichtig	Robin Rice Lichtig has authored over 40 plays, taught playwriting in Mongolia and been produced from Alaska to Africa. She is currently developing an autobiographical full-length, Suki Livingston Opens Like A Parachute, in New York. A few other full-length titles: Lola And The Planet Of Glorious Diversity, Embracing The Undertoad, Women W/O Walls, the power of birds. Honors include: Chambers, Shiner, Smith Prize, Karamu, and the Goshen Peace Play Prize. Gloom, Doom And Soul-Crushing Misery will be published by Smith & Kraus in 2008 and Deja Vu All Over Again in 2009. Purity And The Prince will be produced in Toronto in June. Other publishers include: Dramatist, Brooklyn, Bakers, JAC. Member: Dramatist Guild, International Centre for Women Playwrights, League of Professional Theatre Women. Synopses of available scripts at http://www.dramamama.net Robin’s play, Seducing Ramona, was part of She Speaks ’09.
Christopher Lockheardt	Christopher Lockheardt is an amateur playwright and has the bank account to prove it. His wise and beautiful wife suggests that if he cashed the royalty checks received from generous theaters rather than framing and hanging them in his study, he might then be able to afford from time to time to buy her a drink at a really nice bar. \ Christopher’s play, LUKE MEETS CHARLENE AT A REALLY NICE BAR, was performed at the Delta Inn, a really nice bar, for AJS II.
J. Brian Long	Though born in South Carolina and, as a child, having taken up residence for extended periods of time in both Florida and Texas, J Brian Long has spent most of his life in eastern Tennessee. He has served on the board of directors for the Knoxville Writer’s Guild and edits the poetry section of a regional print magazine. He is author of a volume of poems, The Singing of the Wheels: Poems from Somewhere Not Far (Wind, 2004) which was nominated for the Kentucky Literary Award. He has served as a reader for the Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel, and is a columnist and freelance contributor for the Knoxville News-Sentinel. His work has also been published in various magazines and literary journals. Brian’s play, TWO, was performed in and around the City Hall in AJS III.
Melissa Major	Melissa Major grew up in rural Ontario and now resides in Toronto. She graduated from York University 's Glendon campus with a degree in Drama Studies as well as a degree in Psychology. Awards for her work include the York University President's Prize for Playwriting in 2004 (Art is a Cupboard), 2006 (Unicorn Horns) and 2007 (Kicking and Smiling). Art is a Cupboard was also a semi-finalist for Reverie Productions' Next Generation Playwriting Contest in New York (2006). Her only children's play Wanda T. Grimsby, Detective Extraordinaire won the 2006 Summer Shorts Festival Playwriting Competition, where the play was produced by Youth Education OnStage in Williston, North Dakota. One of her short plays, Delly's Belly was a finalist for the 2006 Emerging Artist Theatre's Fall EATfest award in New York, where it garnered a staged reading. Although her focus is on writing, she also makes a habit of parading around in other hats, such as the intricate director's hat, the inventive actor's hat and the illustrious poet's hat. Recent credits include a physical reading of Unicorn Horns for Nuit Blanche Toronto (Playwright/Performer), stage managing several shows for the Ashkenaz Festival at the Harbourfront Centre (Uprising: A Ballet by Donna Greenberg; The Wandering Jew; & Blue Cows & Green Ducks), the Toronto Fringe Festival production of Art is a Cupboard (Playwright) & playing the role of dog/grandma in Puzzled Man (New Ideas Festival, Alumnae Theatre). On a personal level, she enjoys cycling, painting and conducting obscure psychological research in her spare time. She has an extremely delightful family. Unicorn Horns was produced in the IDEA 2007 World Congress of theatre this July in Hong Kong. Melissa’s play is DOUBLE-EDGED WORD, was performed in the Legion parking lot, with a bit of a run first, for AJS II.
Mary Alice Mark	Mary Alice Mark’s plays for young actors on social issues have been produced by New York Children’s Theatre, Miami Beach Community Theatre, Quest Theatre and Institute of West Palm Beach, Florida, Prairie Players Youth Theatre, (Iowa), Phoenix Theatre of Harlingen, Texas, and Enrichment Works, (L.A.). Her poem, Walls can be read on the social justice pages of Artists for Peace, Justice and Civil Liberties at www.taparts.org. Mary Alice lives with her family in Woodstock, New York. Mary’s play, REVISITED, was performed from the second floor of a parking garage, and on the sidewalk for AJS III.
Lynda Martens	Lynda has been playing around with acting and directing in London and area community theatres for three years.  In 2007 she ventured into writing, and wrote her first play, "Naked in the Kitchen", which won best original script at the 2007 London-One-Act-Festival.  The same play will receive a staged reading as part of Theatre One's 'Emerging Voices' promising playwrights program in Nanaimo, B.C., and a full professional production as part of Theatre Aurora's Playwright's of Spring Festival, both in April, 2008.   Both "Naked" and her second play "Fear of Angels" received nominations for best original script at London's 2007 Brickenden awards.  Lynda is honoured to be included as a part of the She Speaks' showcase of women writers.  She is a member of ICWP. Linda’s play, JUST FOR ME, was read in She Speaks 2008.
Kristine McGovern	Kristine McGovern graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in philosophy and spent 20 years as a print journalist. Her first short play, “Waiting for the Ice Cream Man,” was selected for the Playwrights’ Showcase of the Western Region in 2004. Since then, her short works have been performed at the Short Attention Span Festival, The Frankenstein Experiment, and the Palm Springs National Short Play Festival. Several short scripts also were selected for the Katrina Project, a Readers’ Theater collaboration to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. As a recovering journalist, Kristine enjoys the freedom of playwriting and being able to make up quotes as needed. She now edits books from her Centennial, Colo., home, which she shares with her husband, two horses, a German shepherd, five barn cats, and Lily, a diabolical goat that soon may appear in the Free category on Craigslist. Her son, Matt, is a college freshman majoring in history. Kristine was delighted to be part of the Asphalt Jungle Shorts. Kristine’s play, FOR WANT OF A SHOE, was performed at the Delta Inn, in AJS II.
Josh Mcilvain	Josh McIlvain is pleased to be making his Kitchener debut, and to be a part of an innovative evening! He is from Philadelphia, currently lives in New York City, and recently traveled to Greenland. He is a playwright, editor, and the songwriter/frontman for the band Sexcop. Josh’s plays, MODERN DANCE & BENCH PLAY, were both performed in AJS III. One with a writhing actor on the wheelchair ramp in front of the City Hall, and another in the Rum Runner – Walper Terrace.
Katharine Mills	KATHARINE MILLS most recently appeared as Milli in Galt Little Theatre's production of Queen Milli of Galt. Other recent performances include stalking the Asphalt Jungle in various guises, appearances in Poor Tom Productions' I Can't Imagine Tomorrow and Still Life In Leather, and What!sInThere? Productions' Children's Crusade and Copy Protection (the latter of which was included in Unhinged 2008). She is a poet, designer, and painter, studies singing, movement, and clown, and is perpetually fascinated by the interconnectedness of everything. Katharine co-wrote TIMED RELEASE with Nicholas Cumming.
Jenni Munday	Jennifer Munday was in Burlington – she normally lives in Australia, and because she was, we had the privelege to work with her in She Speaks, as well as Asphalt Jungle Shorts II. She has only recently braved the art of playwriting with some very small pieces and a larger work that is the product of her doctoral research on 'adapting the novel for live performance, VitaBrevis.  Her Masters research and earlier professional performance work centered around creating performances in unusual places - her performing group, Elbow Room's last work was Tom's Women, by Geoffrey Sykes – a series of female monologues based on the paintings of an Australian artist, Tom Roberts.  Her works also explore and include aspects of technology. Jenni’s play, ON THE EDGE was part of She Speaks 2007.
German Munoz	Tijuana, Mexico is where German Munoz will always call home. He wrote his first play when he was in junior high. Seeing it performed by the class caused him much exhilaration, but the thought of becoming a playwright didn’t materialize until much later when his mother dragged him to see Edward Albee’s “Three tall women” after her friend cancelled at the last minute. Seeing this play, performed in Spanish, made him realize how powerful and moving theater could be. He currently lives near Seattle, WA in the USA and misses Mexico every day. German’s play, YES-NO was performed in AJS IV at the chess tables in front of the City Hall.
Julian Olf	Julian Olf teaches and directs theater at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His screenplay, ANTHONY, won a Gold Award at WorldFest International Film Festival and received a professional reading by the Drama Garage of Hollywood. His short comedy, “1-900-SEX-DATE,” won the Nantucket Short Play Award and has received productions at the Nantucket Actor’s Theater, the West Coast Ensemble - L.A., New Century Theatre - Northampton, and Phare Productions - NYC. His play, “I LUV BETSY + JOEY + MARY LOU…, as produced at the Brooklyn Lyceum and at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, NYC; FUN WITH JAY LENO: A SHAMELESS DOMESTIC DRAMA was produced by NativeAliens at the Player’s Loft, NYC; and UNTITLED PUBLIC RADIO SEGMENT was produced by Two Trees Productions, Vancouver, BC. Most recently, his short, WSF: A LOVE STORY FOR THE STAGE, received a professional reading by Boston Theater Works at the Boston Center for the Arts. For more on the subject of his work, click here Julian’s play, THE ASSIGNMENT, was performed in a parking lot for AJS III.
Judith Pratt	Judith has worked as an actor, director, theatre professor, and reviewer. Her plays have been produced in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Kansas City MO, Austin TX, and read at Edward Albee’s Great Plains Theatre Conference and the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. Her full length-play The Wright Place has been published by JAC Publishing Co. Most recently, her short play Moving Parts was produced by the Looking Glass Theatre in New York City. Judith is member of Wolf’s Mouth Theatre Collective, the Dramatists Guild and the International Center for Women Playwrights. She also works as a free-lance writer for business and higher education. JUDITH’S WEBSITE Judith’s play, THE WINDOWS, was read in She Speaks ’09, and we were thrilled to have her come up from Ithaca, NY.
Lindsay Price	Lindsay is the primary writer for Theatrefolk, an independent publishing company that sells original and adapted scripts to high schools around the world. Recently, Lindsay's play APPLIANCE was performed in Denver, Colorado by the And Toto Too Theatre Company. Upcoming, she's quite proud to have her play FLAKY LIPS take part in TADA Youth Theatre's Best of 15 Years Staged Reading Series in NYC where she'll also be the recipient of the Gregory Millard Playwriting Award. Lindsay’s play, MAN OF MY DREAMS, was performed in a make-shift fortune teller’s shop in AJS I.
Isabel Russell-Ides	Isabella Russell-Ides (Cosmo & Gigi: Existential Lovebirds) is an award winning playwright and poet & urban legend: Lie on your belly on any warm sidewalk in America and you can hear her beat. The queen of Spain rocks! Isabella came back to the theatre scene in 2003 with Think Tanks for Christmas At Ground Zero. Following that at the 2004 FIT Festival with Leonard’s Car about which the Dallas Observer wrote: “The dialogue is crisp, clever and fresh; the emotions big, brazen and ballsy.” In 2005, she founded My Way productions (thus becoming a writer/producer). My Way staged four plays by Isabella: Chalk Temple, American Infidelity, In a God Box and a shiny all-new Leonard’s Car, recipient of 2006 Dallas Theatre League Leon Rabin Award. Isabella’s play is COSMO & GIGI: EXISTENTIAL LOVEBIRDS , was performed throughout AJS II.
Francesca Sanders	Francesca Sanders is an award winning playwright who hails from Portland, Oregon. Since she began writing in 2000, she’s been the recipient of The Oregon Literary Fellowship for Drama, Portland Civic Theatre Guild Fellowship for Theatrical Excellence, Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation- Playwriting Grant, Women’s Work Residency- New Perspectives Theatre, New York; Commission- Portland Center Stage; Commission- Integrity Productions (8 Views Towards Center runs October- November 2007.) She has also been selected to participate in the Seven Devil’s Playwriting Conference. She’s been a Finalist for the Rosenthal New Play Prize, Seattle Rep’s New Work Festival, Ojai Playwriting Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, JAW (just add water/West,) New Harmony Project, Play Labs (Playwright’s Center Minneapolis) and has had readings or productions from Bangalore, India to North Dakota. “The juggling that Sanders does with reality and illusion is deft and skillful. A terrific piece of theatrical writing.” “A captivating new play.”- NY Theatre.com “A very talented playwright” The Oregonian Francesca’s monologue – A BIG FRONT PORCH – was performed in AJS IV at the top of a tannery.
Brendan Schaefer	Brendan is glad to be back on stage after years of absence from the limelight. Brendan completed his bachelors degree in Theatre Arts at the University of Arizona in 1990, and spent a number of years with Theatre & Company in Kitchener in the 1990s, when it was still a small ensemble of dedicated starving artists. Roles from that period include Johann in The Shunning and Trisotin in The Sisterhood, as well as the role of Technical Director, Production Manager, Box Office Manager, Lighting Director, and Chief Cook & Bottlewasher in many other productions. Most recently (although not that recent) Brendan has appeared in a few "short works fest" pieces, including the legendary 5 minute Bonkers in the Bank Queue (not its real title) penned by the venerable Andrew Lakin. Brendan currently works for Habitat for Humanity Canada, and lives with his wife, Sarah, and two boys, Aidan & Faolan, in a quirky old farmhouse outside of New Dundee. Brendan’s play, BLITZ, was co-written by Bruce Wolff and performed in front of the fountain at the City Hall - AJS II.
David Schrag	David Schrag started acting in the first grade and had dreams of winning an Oscar, Emmy, or Tony until his senior year at Harvard. Then, having been rejected twice by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, he realized he might need to do something else to earn a living. Sixteen years later, he was pulled back into the theater, this time on the other end of the script. “Not On My Watch” premiered at the Devanaughn Theater Company’s Dragonfly Festival in Boston in 2007 and was also featured in that year’s Boston Theater Marathon. His previous effort, “Life Savings,” was performed in festivals produced by the Chameleon Theatre Circle (Burnsville, MN), Theatre One Productions (Middleboro, MA), and the Herring Run ArtsFest (Middleboro, MA). While not writing plays, David is an information technology consultant for small businesses in the Boston area. He lives in Brighton with his wife and cat. David’s play, NOT ON MY WATCH, was performed in the rotunda at the City Hall for AJS III.
Peter Snoad	Peter Snoad is a writer and actor whose plays have been read and produced throughout the U.S. This is the Canadian premiere of My Name is Art, which was previously staged in Boston, Massachusetts (the Devanaughn Theatre and the Boston Theatre Marathon); Austin, Texas (The Vestige Group); and San Pedro, California (Little Fish Theatre). Peter’s play, Rosa, a comedy-drama about the “war on terror”, premiered in Boston, Mass. last year in a production by Alarm Clock Theatre. His latest full-length play, Guided Tour, which won the 2007 Stanley Drama Award, a national playwriting award in the U.S., will be staged by Centre Stage-South Carolina, in Greenville, SC in June. Peter is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Screen Actors Guild. He lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Peter’s play is - MY NAME IS ART – was performed in a make-shift art gallery for AJS II.
Donna Spector	Donna Spector’s play GOLDEN LADDER (Women Playwrights: Best Plays of 2002 , Smith & Kraus) was produced Off Broadway in 2002 at the Players Theatre, as was her first play, ANOTHER PARADISE, in 1986. This year GOLDEN LADDER was produced by Hope College in Michigan. Spector’s plays have also appeared Off Off Broadway, regionally and in Canada, Ireland and Greece. A member of Dramatists Guild, Poets & Writers and International Centre for Women Playwrights, she received two N.E.H. grants to study in Greece and production grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the New York Council for the Arts. She has been a finalist in the Beverly Hills/Julie Harris, Mill Mountain Theatre, Herbert Mark Newman and Theatre Unbound contests, a semi-finalist in the Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project and short-listed in the BBC/British Council International Playwriting Competition. Her play SHORT-TERM AFFAIRS is in 35 IN 10: THIRTY-FIVE TEN-MINUTE PLAYS (Dramatic Publishing) and was the winner in the Palm Springs National Short Play Fest, a finalist in ATL National Ten-Minute Play Contest and produced at Playwrights Circle in Palm Springs, Gallery Players, Brooklyn, and Actors on the Verge, NYC. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and her poems, stories, scenes and monologues have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies. Donna’s Website Donna’s play, SHORT-TERM AFFAIRS, was performed in a make-shift office and part of AJS I.
J. J. Steinfeld	Fiction writer, poet, and playwright J. J. Steinfeld lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He has published a novel, Our Hero in the Cradle of Confederation (Pottersfield Press), nine short story collections, the previous three by Gaspereau Press — Should the Word Hell Be Capitalized?, Anton Chekhov Was Never in Charlottetown, and Would You Hide Me? — and a poetry collection, An Affection for Precipices (Serengeti Press). His short stories and poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and periodicals internationally, and over thirty of his one-act and full-length plays have been performed in Canada and the United States, including the full-length plays Acting Violently, The Franz Kafka Therapy Session, and The Golden Age of Monsters, and the one-act plays Godot’s Leafless Tree, The Waiting Ends, The Entrance-or-Not Barroom, No End in Sight, Flowers for the Vases, The Word-Lover, Laugh for Sanity, A Murderous Art, Back to Back, Freesias in Whiskey, The Heirloom: An Evidence Play, and God’s Work. J.J.’s play, BACK TO BACK, was performed with a couple tied to a tree in AJS IV.
Roger Sumner	ROGER SUMNER is excited to be back on the street for his fifth consecutive AJS show. You may have seen him downtown recently with Warmer in the Living Earth Festival or on stage in KWLT's well-received "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." He also just sort of turns up a lot. A dedicated dilettante and confirmed niobiumaddict, Roger likes to play with words, sharp objects, improvised musical instruments and gravity. ROGER is excited to have the world premier of his play be part of Asphalt Jungle Shorts. Roger’s play, BUS MOOR, was performed in front of the bus terminal for AJS V (and on a bus for spOtlight)
Bara Swain	Bara Swain was pleased to be part of this year’s SHE SPEAKS! Venues for her plays include the Dubuque Fine Arts One-Act Play Festival (IA), the Festival of Women Playwrights (MO), Playwright's Round Table (FLA), Y.E.S. Summer Shorts International Festival (ND), Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival (NYC), Resilience of the Spirit Festival (CA), NYC 15 Minute Play Festival, Flint City Theater Short Play Festival (MI), Puttin' on the Ritz (NJ), and the Turnip Theater Featured Writer Series (NYC). Through grant support, Bara premiered ten original plays and two dramatic readings of fiction at the Kaufmann Theater, American Museum of Natural History (NYC).  Her full-length play, Small Acts of Kindness, will be performed at the Jewish Theatre Workshop (MD) in March 2008. She has upcoming publications in the Smith & Kraus anthologies Best Ten-Minute Plays 2007 for Two Actors and 221 One-Minute Monologues from Literature, Meriwether Publishing’s Contemporary Monologues for Young Women, Vol. II, and the Journal of Law and Family Studies. Bara is the proud mother of actress Jessica Swain. Bara’ play, GRAVEYARD SHIFT, was read at She Speaks 2008, and she did some wonderful fund-raising for The Canadian Cancer Society from all the way over there.
Molly Best Tinsley	MOLLY BEST TINSLEY, in an episode of sanity, left the strain of teaching creative writing at the Naval Academy to try full-time writing in Ashland, OR.  She’s the recipient of two National Endowment of the Arts fellowships in fiction, and her story collection, Throwing Knives, won the Oregon Book Award in 2001.   Her dramatic work has been a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Conference and the Heideman award, among other prizes.  Her first full-length production, “Fission,” by Live Girls! Theatre, was selected runner-up for Seattle’s best new play by The Seattle Times. AJS V presented the opportunity for a world premier for Molly’s play, RETURN OF THE CAN-CAN.
Werner Trieschmann	Werner Trieschmann, who lives somewhere in the wilds of Little Rock, Arkansas, has lived on the margins of the playwriting world so long he's forgotten how the whole sorry mess got started. Mind you, he's been fortunate and happy to see his plays performed on a lot different stages in a lot of different cities from Los Angeles to New York and (his favorite) Albuquerque. He's also had his plays published by Playscripts, Dramatic Publishing Company and Original Works Publishing. Anyway, Werner is just stupid enough to keep on going despite all the evidence to the contrary. For some reason, he seems to really dig it. If you would like to read more of his work, you can e-mail him at wtrieschmann@arkansasonline.com and he'll be more than willing to share scripts, stories, recipes, etc. Werner’s play, SPIT, was performed at the City Hall Fountain in AJS IV.
Kit Wainer	Kit Wainer has been an actor for more than fifty years and a playwright for a lot less. She has created & performed in several one-woman shows An excerpt from her play, Therapy Therapy is in “Audition Arsenal” and her first full length, multi-character play, Queermonsterfreak, is in preproduction now at home in Ithaca. Kit’s play, RASPUTIN’S ORGAN, was part of She Speaks ’09, and we were thrilled to have her trek to K. Town for the event.
David Wiener	David Wiener’s work has been performed in theatres across the U.S., London, and is slated for a production in India this summer. “An Honest Arrangement” won Best Play in the 2006 New York City 15 Minute Play Festival (American Globe Theatre) and was published in Smith & Kraus’s “Best Plays 2006 – 2 Characters.” “Bride on the Rocks” has also been performed in New York. He completed a literary internship at La Jolla Playhouse and then served as that theatre’s Dramaturgy Associate for the 2007-2008 season. He is also a performing arts writer and has been published in Cahiers du Cinema, The Journal of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, The Producers Guild Journal, American Cinematographer and is the author of Burns, Falls, and Crashes, a book on motion-picture stunt men, stunt women, and stunt pilots. (He can be reached at: dwiener@ucsd.edu) David’s play - BRIDE ON THE ROCKS, was performed in the Rum Runner in AJS IV.
Michael G. Wilmot	Michael Wilmot is a writer/actor based in London Ontario Canada. His work will be part of the Inspirato Festival in Toronto this June and has also been performed at the Grand Theatre's Playwrights Cabaret in 2008 and 2009. His One Act play "7-10 Split" will be presnted during the NAAA Play Reading Festival in England, also this June. His One Act play "Loveshack" was short-listed at the 2008 Aurora Playwrights of Spring Festival, won numerous awards at the 2008 London One Act Play Festival including "Best Original Script" and was also nominated for a Brickenden Award in the same category. It will also be performed in the 2009 London Fringe Festival and is currently being expanded into a full length version. Michael is very pleased and excited to be part of Asphalt Jungle Shorts and is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Michael’s play, A SIMPLE QUESTION, was performed at the Kava Bean in AJS V.
Shirley Wilson	Shirley Wilson is a member of Playwrights Forum in Norfolk VA, and is a writer of plays, screenplays, and short stories. Awards are: 1993 Governor’s Screenwriting Competition, sponsored by the Virginia Film Office and more recently, screenplay Finalist in the 2006 Moondance International Film Festival, as well as a one-act award in the same festival, for a stageplay, “Woman of Property.” Last year, her play, Ruby Lee and Johnny was a Finalist in Regent Theater’s One Act Play Festival and was produced in Feb. ’06. She has had a staged reading of “Private Music” at the Generic Theater in Norfolk VA, and a monologue included in A Chesapeake Celebration, at the Kimball Theater in Williamsburg VA. Shirley’s play, SCENE FIVE, was performed on the busiest intersection in downtown Kitchener, King & Queen, for AJS III.
Alan Woods	Alan Woods is the director of the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at The Ohio State University, where he serves on the faculty of the Department of Theatre.  A widely-published theatre scholar, his most recent work has focused on popular entertainment and the perpetuation and effects of stereotyping.  He was named a Fellow of the College of the American Theatre at the Kennedy Center in 1996.  He works in professional theatre as a dramaturg, most recently for productions of Uncle Vanya, Dirty Blonde, Lobby Hero, Having Our Say, Sleuth, Robert Post: Here in America, Dealer=s Choice and Nixon=s Nixon at the Contemporary American Theatre Company in Columbus.  His dramaturgical materials have been used in theatres throughout Ohio, and also regionally in Kentucky, North Carolina, upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.  His previous short play, Not the Delaney Sisters, was selected for performance at the Senior Theatre Festival in 2003 Alan’s play, LAST CALL, was performed at the Rum Runner in AJS I.