New Play Commission from Off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre

I have been honored with a play commission from the Lucille Lortel Theatre’s Alcove New Play Development Program. Over the course of the next year I will be reworking, revising, blowing up and starting again my play Here Rests the Heart.

The Alcove is run by the Lucille Lortel’s Artistic Director for New Play Development, Caridad Svich. In its 4th year of commissioning new plays, this program has supported dozens of playwrights. Click here to read about the group of writers selected alongside me.

Here Rests the Heart was inspired by several things: dating back to 2012, I took several trips to Poland, exploring both the theater and the country itself. I became enamored with Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Krakow and heartbroken by Auschwitz and the complicated relationships the Polish people have with their history. Prompted by these trips I began to explore my own Polish history and on one trip in particular I was able to connect with my Polish cousin, Magda, who shared with me some genealogy research she had done. This play, set in the context of the current political climates of Poland and the U.S.A., is my attempt to reconcile my present with my past while trying to find the place art occupies in times when society seems to be struggling for its essential survival.

If this play interests you and you want to support it and/or my work in general, feel free to contact me.





World Premiere of THE MEETING August 2026 with Space Pirates Theatre Collective

I am excited to announce THE MEETING will have its world premiere next summer in Los Angeles with Space Pirates. This is their inaugural season and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of it.

About THE MEETING: Five former theatre makers convene a meeting in a near-future, fascist America, when all forms of art (and even the utterance of any art-related words) have been banned. These artists discuss what a person is to do in a world when one's purpose in life has been eradicated. During the discussion both the artists and attendees of The Meeting begin to learn even the most fascist society can never stop people from being who they truly are.

Space Pirates Theatre Collective is a new nonprofit theatre group dedicated to providing immersive theatrical experiences for our community at an affordable price, while paying our artists an equal, thriving wage and giving them all an equal equity stake in the success of each given production. We seek to both stage new works by emerging artists and to re-imagine plays that have already been produced with our immersive design methodology, focusing on work that is contemporary and of the moment.

Podcast Interview: The Future of Art in American

I was recently asked by Olivia Lilley to be on her podcast The Future of Art in America to talk about my work as a playwright and a podcaster. I first met Olivia shortly after moving to Chicago in 2017. She was the Artistic Director of Prop Thtr at the time and included my play about runaway teenagers in her reading series. But we never had a long conversation until now. On this podcast we talk Chicago theater, being a late bloomer, and trying to be successful at multiple things simultaneously.

Olivia is an artist and entrepreneur. She's a fighter and a hustler and a leader. She recently moved to New Orleans and I've been following her experiences there on her Instagram where she documents her life daily. I was proud to be invited on this podcast and feel bonded for life to this great supporter of other artists. So give a listen to our chat at this link.

THE MEETING to be workshopped by the Twin Cities' Melancholics Anonymous

THE MEETING is a play I originally wrote as a warning to the world about the encroachment of fascism on our culture. When I first started imagining this play I was influenced by many Central and Eastern European writers I met over several trips to Poland. The conversations I had with them coupled with the theatre productions I attended opened me up in unexpected ways. I sat with this idea of a play for several years until the quiet moments imposed on us due to the pandemic had me thinking it was time to write.

THE MEETING is about a group of theatre makers living in a society where theatre—and all forms of art—is banned. The question I’m asking myself in writing this is “what do we do if who we are is not allowed by the government?” This play, I hope, is one answer to that question.

A workshop of THE MEETING was presented by Theatre Unleashed at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2025. I had the great fortune of attending one of the performances on No Kings Day. They did a remarkable job bringing my vision to life and showing me the potential in my play. Now Melancholics Anonymous will be workshopping the play which will allow me ample time to really allow this play to become its truest self in advance of (what I hope) will be several productions in 2026.

The workshop and presentation will be taking place in January of 2026. Sign up for Melancholics’ email list or follow them on social media for more information on that.

Fearless Theatrical Creations Presents The Gravediggers Union

As part of their “In Development” program Twin Cities theater company, Fearless Theatrical, will be workshopping The Gravediggers Union for two weeks prior to presenting it to the public in readings on July 7th and 8th at Open Book at 1011 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415.

Synopsis:

“In this play about found family and yearning to go some place you can never find, a group of people work at a cemetery in the fictional Ashworth, New Hampshire; some wish they were elsewhere and others are perfectly happy to be miserable where they are. Ronnie used to be married to Bobby, who is unhappily married to Ricky. Mike plays drums in a wedding band on the weekend and can’t stop talking about the song “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Johnny shows up at the cemetery surreptitiously recording a podcast called “Welcome to AshTown.” They all work together digging holes and passing the time. When the WalMart of cemeteries opens across the street everybody begins to worry about losing their jobs so they plan to put on a production of Three Sisters to raise money to buy the cemetery themselves. The only problem is nobody goes to plays anymore...”

The workshop and reading is directed by Kevin T. Houle and features an ensemble of Twin Cities actors Ross Flores, Isabelle Hopewell, Robin Carlisle, Sam Buegler, Bill Sikorski, and Christopher Taykalo.

Visit Fearless Theatricals to reserve a seat.

Theatre Unleashed Presenting THE MEETING at Hollywood Fringe Festival

The Meeting will be presented for a limited fun of five performances as part of the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Theatre Unleashed will be producing the play at Thymele Arts (Shirley Dawn Studio) 5481 Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles.

Read about the show here at this link.

““When I first heard the concept of this show, I honestly didn’t even want to read the script,” said producer and TU co-founder Jenn Crafts. “It’s just too real right now. But I think that that’s the thing that really makes it unique. This play is truly written so beautifully that audiences will really feel like they’re just in a meeting with other concerned citizens. It’s what we all need right now.””
— NoHo Arts

Performance dates:

Friday June 6 2025, 7:00pm

Saturday June 14 2025, 12:00pm

Sunday June 22 2025, 6:30pm

Wednesday June 25 2025, 8:30pm

Saturday June 28 2025, 3:00pm

The Meeting is directed by Richard Piatt and features Veronica Carey Matthews, Julia Plostnieks, Krisen Bennett, Marcela Barientos, and Mitch Lerner.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Synopsis: Five former performing artists convene a meeting in a fascist future, when all forms of art (and even the utterance of any art-related words) have been banned. These artists discuss what a person is to do in a world when one’s purpose in life has been eradicated. During the discussion both the artists and attendees (aka “audience”) of The Meeting sit in a circle together… over time they begin to learn even the most fascist society can never stop people from being who they truly are.

THE CALL LIST Part of Garage Theatre's 25th Season

The Call List, a play I wrote for one actor, is part of Garage Theatre’s 25th Season. The production will run May 2-17 at their space in Long Beach, CA. This production is an advance of the yet unannounced world premiere production scheduled to take place in 2026.

The production is directed by Diana Kaufmann and features an alum from Season 22 of The Bachelor, Bekah Martinez.

Visit thegaragetheatre.org information and click H E R E for tickets.

The Call List is about a dispirited legal assistant who is tasked with calling individuals on a list left behind by a man who committed suicide. The work assignment could not come at a worse time, as they are dealing with their own life/work existential crisis while their mother and sister badger them via text message. Wanting to connect with their estranged father, it's a few kind words from a stranger that might give them what they ultimately need.

New Play Commission

I was recently commissioned by Matthew McCray, Artistic Director for Son of Semele in Los Angeles, to write a play inspired by the work I have been doing with The Subtext Podcast. This podcast has been running for nearly 10 years, starting as a program of LA Stage Alliance in 2015 and moving to American Theatre magazine in 2018. In each episode I interview a playwright about their lives and their writing. But the subtext of The Subtext is my journey as a playwright. The play I am writing is essentially a memoir of the time following the parallel paths I’ve trekked as a podcaster and playwright over the last decade. Matt is collaborating with me on the story and I will be writing the script which will be completed in 2025.

This commission arrived at a particular time for me. When Matt contacted me about this project he had no idea how long I had been struggling to forge my playwriting path as the podcast grew in popularity. I have, on many occasions, considered ending The Subtext due to my insecurities and frustration. Instead of quitting, I get to write about it. It will be a painful and vulnerable process and I’m scared to write it. But that probably means we are on to something. This is not a play I ever would have sought to write so I am incredibly grateful to Matt and Son of Semele for bringing this to me. He is one of my all time favorite directors and literally every Son of Semele production I attended while living in Los Angeles blew my mind open and inspired me to be a better artist.

Sign up for Son of Semele’s email list to stay up to date on this project.

ABOUT SON OF SEMELE: Semele creates and produces theatrical work that explores compelling universal questions, celebrates creative risk-taking, and centers collaboration and community. The impact of a theatrical experience should resonate beyond the theater door. We embrace the friction between emotion and intellect, integrating design, rhythm, media, technology, and performance to present theatre that is emotionally engaging, thought-provoking, and ambitious in reach.

Nautilus Composer-Librettist Studio

I had the good fortune of being selected for the Nautilus Composer-Librettist Studio. Over the course of two+ intensive weeks, I learned about a variety of music-theater characteristics, song structures, and songwriting techniques while collaborating with a composers and performers in the creation of new works. This was an incredible opportunity I’ve long wished to be part of. I came in knowing virtually nothing about how to write music for theater, despite having attempted to write many songs in several plays.

The Minnesota Star Tribune visited the studio to witness firsthand the magic of this program. They watched several works-in-progress, including a song written by me and composed by the great Timothy Kirchhof.

“The tone shifted greatly during rehearsal of the freshly written two-person scenes. A graveside dialogue sung by a grieving son (Joshua Row) and his deceased mother (Keri Rodau) brought to life Brian James Polak’s anguished lyrics that were lent weighty sadness by the minor-key music of Tim Kirchhof. Some participants were moved to tears as they offered feedback.”

Read the entire article here to learn more about this wonderful program, led by the inimitable Ben Krywosz at this link.

ABOUT NAUTILUS:

Since 1986 Nautilus (formerly The New Music-Theater Ensemble) has provided opportunities for the artistic growth of music-theater artists who create, develop, and produce new operas and other forms of music-theater that are emotionally expansive, dramatically engaging, and spiritually stimulating. We form partnerships between creators, performers, and audiences in order to contribute to the quality and diversity of new American music-theater, and we envision an extended family of artists and audiences that uses music-theater as a tool to support the individual and collective growth of the human spirit.