New Playwrights at UCLA Journal

Posted on September 14th in Announcement

Download a PDF of this year's New Playwrights Journal

The 4th annual edition of TFT Graduate Playwriting Program’s journal “New Playwrights at UCLA" is now available. Click here to download the PDF.

This year's issue introduces three original full length plays developed at UCLA and workshopped with professional actors and directors at the Los Angeles Theater Center: "Lost Cause," by Alex Maggio, "Babel Belly," by Craig Jessen, and "Swell Season," by Ayla Harrison.

"Lost Cause" was selected as a finalist for the 2011-12 Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition.

The Journal also includes three One Acts which were workshopped in last year's Francis Ford Coppola One Act Marathon: "How To Prevent the French Revolution," "Wife-Away" and "Kathleen Turner's Ear," which run the gamut from broad satire to sci-fi horror to poetic realism.

Several playwrights are being published in the Journal for a second time. Ayla Harrison's Coppola One Act, "Into the Wild Blue" and Alex Maggio's Ten Minute Play, "Hero's Luck," were published last year. This year Matt Quinlan’s Ten Minute play “Religion & Ice Cream” is being published.

Craig Jessen is doing triple duty this year, writing one of the full length plays “Babel Belly,” designing the journal's cover and having his ten minute play, "Fear Of Zombies," published — after being selected by Poor Mouth Theatre’s "Puttin’ On Your Shorts Festival” in New York City.

The 2010 UCLA New Plays Festival was presented at the Los Angeles Theater Center, 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles California. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Jose Luis Valenzuela, the UCLA New Plays Festival was presented as part of "Face of the World" at LATC Festival.

For the first time this year, UCLA playwrights experienced an intensive developmental process at LATC. After a cast was chosen which included first year MFA actors from UCLA, actors, director and playwright began an intensive one week eight hours a day rehearsal process.

DIRECTORS for the 2010 New Play Festival At LATC:

Casey Stengl for "Lost Cause."
Damaso Rodriguez for "Babel Belly."
Marya Mazor for "Swell Season."

ACTORS for the 2010 New Play Festival at LATC:

"Lost Cause:"

Betsy Reisz as Gillian
Brandon Bell as Shawn
Jeff Campanella as Conor

"Babel Belly:
Mike Disch as Bob
Jennifer Lynn Davis as Edie
Steve Quimby as Arthur

In "Swell Season:"
Adam Silver as Lee
Keston John as Eric
Jules Hartley as Madison

The UCLA MFA Actor Company at LATC:

Shonni Albritton
Adrienne Hertler
William Hickman
Evan Lipkin
Mary Beth Menna
Marcus Alex Oberheide
Philicia Saunders
Bryan West

Stage Managers:

Brenda Banda for "Lost Cause."
Ashleigh Pannell for "Babel Belly."
Danny Epstein for "Swell Season."

Special thanks to the LATC staff:

Jose Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Director

Paul Stuart Graham, General Manager

Cynthia Sanchez, Finance Director

Danielle Tolentino Tuason, Development & Special Events Director

Chantal Rodriguez, Programming Director/Literary Manager

R. Scott Thompson, Technical and Facilities Director

Andrea Zuniga, Box Office Manager/Educational Programming Coordinator

Lisa Erazo, Box Office Assistant

Adam Jocobo, House Manager

Phil Sokoloff Public Relations

Marlon Fuentes, Miguel Naranjo, Marketing Coordinators

Patrick Tomas, Web Design

Colorola Studios, Start Patterson, Graphic Design

The Los Angeles Theater Center is a facility of the City of Los Angeles and is operated by the Latino Theater Company.