PlayGround-LA Company in the News September-2020

See what PlayGround-LA Writers, Alumni, and Company Members are up to as we get ready for the October 12th Monday Night PlayGround!

Michael P. Adams‘ play, THE MATADOR, originally written from a PlayGround-LA theme, will have a reading this fall as part of Fusion Theatre’s The Seven New Works Festival.

Amanda L. Andrei is teaching a two-week intensive, Writing with Herbs, through Ariel Gore’s Literary Kitchen. In this hands-on, experimental intensive, you’ll choose an herb, use it to generate work, and reflect on your writing process, gaining a deeper self-awareness and appreciation for how plants can support both you and your writing. You can sign up here. Additionally, an excerpt of her comic “American Qi” (drawn by Nadia Mujalli) was also published in the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) National’s Image Magazine. Read it here.

Evan Baughfman’s collection of horror stories, THE EMACIATED MAN AND OTHER TERRIFYING TALES FROM POE MIDDLE SCHOOL, will be released on September 15th by Thurston Howl Publications. In other news, Evan’s six-year-old son, Mason, has won 1st place – Kindergarten in the PBS SoCal KIDS Writing Contest for his story, THE LONELY FISH.

The music video for “God Loves Me Too – Brian Falduto” directed by Rachel Borders won the audience award at the 2020 International Independent Music Video Awards.  You can watch the video here.

Diana Burbano was part of the San Diego Repertory’s Latinx Festival Sept 5 2020 with a staged reading of her play SAPIENCE, featured earlier this summer in the PlayGround Zoom Fest.

Sylvia Bush is in rehearsal with former PlayGround LA writer Forrest Hartl on a virtual improv production celebrating the Cerritos College resident troupe’s 35th anniversary. She’s working with playwright Zury Margarita Ruiz on a new ten minute play MISS MOST PRESSING ISSUE for Tulane University’s fall production ReFramed which will be featured as part of the yearlong festival the Jubilee. Oh, and she’s keeping things light with a joke of the day for neighbors to see as they pass the kitchen window. What do you call a pig that does karate? A pork chop. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay hopeful.

Jordan Carlson is collaborating with fellow company member, Stephanie Keefer, on the virtual short film LAST DAY.

Catch Allie Costa in YOU ME & HER, now available on Amazon. Allie plays the younger version of the lead in this award-winning comedy. Also look for her in CHOREOGRAPHY CONFINED, now making its rounds on the film festival circuit, and the forthcoming new musical GIDEON AND THE BLUNDERSNORP. Allie’s script 20 QUESTIONS was recently nominated for Best Comedic Screenplay, and her original monologue STAY HOME was selected for SLAMinutes. Learn more about Allie’s projects here.

Frieda de Lackner created a video with Playground company members Krystal Mosley, Christina Wren, Rondrell McCormick, and Tahmus Rounds, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.You can watch it here.  

Carolyn Deskin has just completed her second directorial project, is somehow continuing to act through the pandemic, and will be applying for film schools in the coming months.

Briggs Hatton is working on the production team of Season 3 of THE MISERY INDEX, a hilarious game show with new episodes coming to TBS this October. He’s also reading scripts as a Semifinalist Judge for the 27th annual Austin Film Festival.

Starina Johnson recently played a frazzled mom fighting squirrels and spooling in Towne Street Theatre’s CORONA AND OTHER MALADIES. Her play, ROAD TRIP, was performed by Skypilot Theatre and can be viewed here.   Her short film, THE NEW NORMAL, has been selected for BENT LGBTQ Film Festival and Flip the Script Fest, and can be viewed here.  Her play, BORDER TOWNS, won the first round of The Hive’s The Ten Show Competition and can be viewed here.

Jonathan Josephson‘s short play PHONE FRIEND will be included in Short+Sweet Dublin 2021.  His short play, THE TALE OF DAKOTA DAWSON (originally written for Playground-LA) was shortlisted for the same festival. Jonathan’s evening-length ole-timey baseball play BIG ED,THE KING OF SWATSVILLE was recently named a Semi-Finalist for the Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition. More about Jonathan’s doings here. 

Mildred Inez Lewis‘  HOW’S THE STORE? was produced in the Company of Angels’ What’s Going On? festival. Her play SUITCASES was read by Plays for Us at the NYC Actors Center in August. It will be produced by Ensemble Studio Theatre-Los Angeles as part of their Early Bird Special festival and podcasted by the Open Door Theatre.  Her play SUBMERGED will be published by Extinction Rebellion and OUR DAYS AFTER will be submitted to the Breath Project. MIldred is  continuing her exploration of comedy with the Company of Angels’ Angel City Improv troupe.

Scott Mullen has been writing way too many short plays specifically taking place on Zoom, which is this weird new medium now but will hopefully cease being a thing sometime next year.  Also, he had a play performed at the South Pole, which he didn’t even know was on his bucket list until it happened.

Tiana Randall-Quant has just finished co-writing an episodic digital series with the Wallis Studio Ensemble, called FAIRYLAND FOIBLES. It is available both through the Wallis Studio Ensemble Facebook page and through their YouTube. 

Tahmus Rounds drove from Los Angeles to Lincoln City Oregon to be in nature away from home and crowds, dug clams and made chowder that was unbelievably delicious. He misses his community of excellent humans known as PlaygroundLA. 

Charles Velasquez-Witosky just recently released a trilogy of feature films that he produced with a group of frequent collaborators over the past few years online. All three films, THE GENERAL SPECIFIC, SHANTY TOWN, and DUKELAND can be found for free here. He acted in two out of them and produced all three.

Jennie Webb is grateful to have had opportunities to develop a few plays in August with amazing artists: THE BIG RED NAUGAHYDE BOOTH (OR, WOULD-BE ELKS) directed by Laura Stribling, SEPARATE LOADS directed by Patty Cornell (part of EST/LA’s LTD Program) and plays with Rogue Machine Theatre and as part of The Road Theatre Company’s Under Construction.  She’s excited that the organization she runs, LA Female Playwrights Initiative , has been able to support women+ writers and directors and create community since March through virtual Micro-Read Hook-Ups – the next event is September 13… and there may be room for a few more female-identifying playwrights to submit 1-pg Micro-Reads! More Info here.  

Christina Wren‘s comedy series, HICKSTERS, recently won Best Series in MOM Film Fest for episodes 4 and 5 which highlight issues – and hilarity – around pregnancy and motherhood . Her newest short film, LAZARETTO, filmed during quarantine following social distancing guidelines, premiered as part of Women of Color Filmmakers’ quarantine film challenge and will be released on the social media platform, Vero, on September 17! LAZARETTO follows a group of badass women who band together to breach the system when a corrupt government forcibly imprisons 35% of the population due to a quickly spreading outbreak. And she’s been recording voice overs. Lots and lots of voiceovers.