News
Film Adaptation of Damascus Optioned by Bill Mechanic's Pandemonium
My screenplay adaptation of Damascus was recently optioned by Bill Mechanic's Pandemonium Entertainment. The full article can be found on Deadline at deadline.com/2017/08/bill-mechanic-pandemonium-options-award-winning-play-damascus-screenplay-from-bennett-fisher-1202156838/
Artistic Associate at Victory Gardens Theater
I'm thrilled to announce that, following my Shank Fellowship residency, I will be joining the Victory Gardens staff part time as an Artistic Associate, continuing to collaborate with the theater's artistic and education departments. Learn about our upcoming season at victorygardens.org
Immersive piece The Speakeasy passes 100th performance
The immersive theater production The Speakeasy, which I co-wrote with Nick Olivero, recently passed the 100th performance mark in San Francisco. The show contains over 1,500 pages of my original dialogue, spoken by 35 actors during the course of the night. Information and tickets can be found at www.thespeakeasysf.com
Damascus to receive Chicago premiere at Strawdog Theater Company.
I'm thrilled to announce that my play Damascus will receive it's Chicago premiere at Strawdog Theater Company in Chicago as part of the theater's 30th anniversary season. The production will be directed by Cody Estelle, and will run May 11-June 23, 2018. More at www.strawdog.org
Damascus receives workshops at BAPF, Florida Rep
My play Damascus was recently workshopped at Florida Rep's 3rd annual PlayLab, directed by Ria Cooper, and Playwrights Foundation's 40th Annual Bay Area Playwright's Festival, directed by Becca Wolff. More at www.floridarep.org and playwrightsfoundation.org
Damascus Wins 2nd Place at Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriting Awards
My play Damascus won second place at the 61st Samuel Goldwyn Screenwriting Awards, an annual competition for young writers. Past winners of the prize have included Francis Ford Coppola, Erich Roth, Allison Anders, and Jonathan Kellerman. More at http://legacy.tft.ucla.edu/goldwyn/
Shank Playwriting Residency at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago
In mid-September, I began a yearlong playwriting residency at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. I will be developing new creative work throughout the year and working closely with the theater's education department on its teen programs.
Borealis workshopped at Rattlestick, Alliance Theater with Kendeda Prize Finalists
Selections from my play Borealis were presented along with work from other Alliance Theater Kendeda Playwriting Prize Finalists at Rattlestick Theater in New York, directed by Jessica Holt. The play received another workshop and public reading at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, directed by Rachel May. More at alliancetheatre.org
Don't Be Evil receives New England premiere at Burbage Theater Company
My play Don't Be Evil was performed as part of Burbage Theatre Company's 2016-2017 season, in Providence, Rhode Island, directed by artistic director Jeff Church. More at www.burbagetheatre.org
Campo Maldito Finalist for Theater Bay Area Award
People of Interest's remount of my play Campo Maldito was nominated for Outstanding Guest Production for the 2016 Theater Bay Area Awards. More at http://www.theatrebayarea.org/?page=awards
Damascus a finalist for O'Neill, LOCAL Lab, Washington D.C. Source Festival, nominated for San Diego Critics Circle Award
My play Damascus was finalist for 2016 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, LOCAL theater company's 2016 LOCAL Lab, the 2017 Washington D.C. Source Festival. The Wagner New Play Festival production was also nominated for the San Diego Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play.
Photo credits: Jim Carmody (Damascus), Robin Fontaine (Don't Be Evil)