reading of Fire on Earth on August 23rd by the Huntington

I don't know a lot of the details yet, but at the moment, the Huntington Theatre Company is planning to hold a public reading of my newest full-length play, Fire on Earth, on August 23rd.  I'll have more details on cast, director, space, and time (it'll be in the evening) soon, but at least I know the date.

If you're in the Boston area, I hope you'll save the date on the calendar--it's a fun and interesting play (in my humble opinion), about the creation of the English Bible (it may not sound like fun, but it has intrigue, torture, people getting burned at the stake, and even shipwrecks).  I've been developing the play for years, but in the Huntington Playwriting Fellows program this year I've undertaken a huge rewrite (changed to a different character, reworked most of the structure, cut the number of actors from 6 to 4, and lost about half the characters).  I'm eager to this chance to hear the new version, but will definitely need an audience there to help me gauge how it's playing.

My First Commission!

I recently signed a contract for my first commissioned work, which feels pretty cool.  The Central Square Theatre in Cambridge has commissioned me to write a 10-15 minute play in conjunction with the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research's Youth Astronomy Apprenticeship program (quite a mouthful, huh?).  The program brings in about two dozen high school students from Boston and Cambridge to engage in hands-on learning and exploration of astronomy over the course of the summer and after school during the rest of the year.  I'll be working with about four of the kids to come up with a play that helps them show audiences some of the things they've been exploring (this year's focus is on the telescope). 

The kids and staff are bright and lots of fun.  I've been to two sessions so far, and look forward to more as I try to come up with a script that's just what they need to communicate about their program.