The reading went well! STC had an internal read of ICHABOD. They haven't picked a cast yet, this was simply so the creative team could hear the complete script for the first time. 

They're gearing up for auditions on the 24th and then rehearsals to pick up shortly after. This is all moving so excitingly fast, isn't it?

I am doing a few edits based on some notes and reactions from the reading that were incredibly helpful. It's fascinating to do notes and such over email. I've been spoiled these past few years at Ohio University being in the room all the time. 

On the flipside, there's something liberating about putting your trust in a creative team and letting go a bit. 

Not much else to report. Energy is being focused on the rewrites so they have them soon and on the packing that needs done as me and my wife are soon to celebrate our first anniversary this weekend and I hope to be packed for our trip and to have my edits complete by the time we depart.

Ichabod: Missing in Sleepy Hollow runs October 4-12 at Street Theatre Company in Nashville, TN. Directed by Elaina McKnight Shaver. Tickets are $7 and this show is spooky fun for the whole family. You can find more information at STC's website or by calling 615.554.7414.

It is with, pretty much, giddy excitement that I can finally announce that I am one of four playwrights selected for the 2013-2014 Ingram New Works Project at Tennessee Repertory Theatre in Nashville!

Alongside Nate Eppler, Andrew Kramer, and Dean Poynor, I'll be working on a brand new play during this season-long development workshop, culminating in a new works festival in May 2014. What a complete and awesome honor!

From the Tennessee Rep website: The Ingram New Works Lab is intended to be an artistic home for emerging regional playwrights to share work, hone craft, receive direction, and springboard themselves into the next phase of their writing career, providing a fertile environment for the emergence of great new plays.

Another amazing component to this opportunity is that the four playwrights (again, of which, I am one) will spend a week working with this year's Ingram New Works Fellow, which is Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright. Some of Mr. Wright's notable plays include I Am My Own Wife,Quills, The Little Mermaid, and Grey Gardens. You might understand, then, my excitement.

This is a fantastic opportunity and I cannot wait to begin my trips to Nashville to work with these talented writers and the wonderful artists at Tennessee Repertory Theatre! There will be more to share throughout this journey and I just want to thank Producing Artistic Director René D. Copeland, Playwright in Residence Nate Eppler, and everyone at Tennessee Rep who decided to include me in this project. [Image at right, courtesy of Tennessee Rep.]

I'll close this out by sharing the words of one of the project's greatest supporters (i.e. the person for whom the project is named), Martha R. Ingram.

Well said, Martha. Well said.

This is going to be a quick post tonight. On Monday, I sent the full script of "Ichabod: Missing in Sleepy Hollow" to Elaina and Cathy at Street Theatre Company. For those new to the blog, this play was selected by STC and Playhouse Nashville as the winner in their search for a new adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Now that the script is complete, it's off to the theater where they're having an internal reading tonight there in Nashville. I wish I could attend to hear it out loud! It's weird not to be there, but jetting off to Nashville isn't in the budget right now. 

This is a very different way of operating for me, but I'm going to take a deep breath, pray it goes well, and wait for notes from the director and artistic director. We've never met in person and this play was born via emails and anonymous contest selections (STC received blind script from Playhouse Nashville so that they would choose the script based on the script, not the writer---which is awesome as it challenges a writer to make the script shine on the page and it allows them to find the script that speaks to them). All that being said, from the beginning I have felt a connection to this theater and these artists and I know any notes I get will be smart and worth considering. They know what they're doing.

Break legs to everyone and I cannot wait to hear how it goes!

Ichabod: Missing in Sleepy Hollow runs October 4-12 at Street Theatre Company in Nashville, TN. Directed by Elaina McKnight Shaver. Tickets are $7 and this show is spooky fun for the whole family. You can find more information at STC's website or by calling 615.554.7414.