Professional Affiliations
Active member of the Dramatists Guild.
Education
Edward Albee Playwriting Workshop and Modern Drama Seminar, The University of Houston.
Selected by Edward Albee for his semester-long master class in playwriting and modern drama.
MFA in Writing, the School of The Art Institute of Chicago.
Trustee Fellowship.
BA, English Major in Writing Fiction, Northwestern University.
Edwin L. Shuman Award for Fiction.
Professional Development
2025: Chicago Musical Theatre Writers Workshop, American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University – led by Dr. Masi Asare, Artistic Director, AMTP.
Developed "Computer Chess" through 10-week intensive workshop program.
Current Projects
Together with collaborator Robert Melton, I create original musicals:
Computer Chess – in this musical comedy-drama adapted from Andrew Bujalski's cult film: In 1980, computer programmers compete to build the first chess machine that can beat a human. A couples' encounter group explores what it means to be human. Double-booked in a hotel ballroom over one weekend. Who — or what — evolves first?
Full libretto complete; demo recorded.
SOPHiE – In this rock musical set in 1995: When terrorizing strangers by phone stops being fun, 20-something Sophie forms an all-female band bent on revenge—only to discover her worst impulses make the best songs, and collaboration might save her life.
Full libretto complete; demo recorded.
Other Ways – a musical connecting two captivity narratives separated by more than three centuries.
Script in draft; music and lyrics in development.
Jaybird Woodpecker – a musical about the violent 1889 conflict between the Jaybirds and Woodpeckers in Fort Bend County, Texas, and the buried secrets that surface a hundred years later.
In early development.
Awards, Grants, & Fellowships
Rockefeller Foundation Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund Grant, 2007 (with Rubber Repertory)
Outstanding "None of the Above," Austin Critics Table, 2009 (The Casket of Passing Fancy)
Best Actress, Austin Critics Table, 2009 (The Casket of Passing Fancy)
Best Comedy, Austin Critics Table, 2007 (The Assumption)
Finalist, Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2005, 2006, 2007
Semi-Finalist, PlayLabs Festival, The Playwrights' Center, 2006
David Mark Cohen New Play Award Nominee, 2004, 2007
Trustee Fellowship, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1999-2001
Edwin L. Shuman Award for Fiction, Northwestern University, 1991
Theatrical Productions
Texas Music: The Untold Stories (Performance Director, 2020) Directed the inaugural Texas Monthly & SXSW music and storytelling show at ACL Live Moody Theater, featuring T Bone Burnett, Shawn Colvin, Charley Crockett, and Lil' Keke. (SXSW canceled due to COVID-19.)
Texas Monthly LIVE (Producer & Director, 2018) Conceptualized, co-wrote, and staged Texas Monthly's first full-length multimedia event at the Paramount Theatre, blending journalism with theatrical performance. Musical director: Carrie Rodriguez.
Inappropriate Touching (Solo Performance, FronteraFest Long Fringe, 2014) A darkly comic storytelling piece exploring personal history and cultural taboos.
The Casket of Passing Fancy (Co-creator & Performer, Rubber Repertory, 2008) An immersive theatrical experience where audience members selected from 500 unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund.
10 Works of Art (Playwright, Actors' Apprentice Showcase, Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2007) Published in Hobart. Finalist, Heideman Award.
Have You Ever Been Assassinated? (Playwright & Librettist, Rude Mechanicals, 2006) A politically charged, genre-blurring play with music by composer Graham Reynolds. Finalist, David Mark Cohen New Play Award.
The Assumption (Contributing Writer, Refraction Arts, 2006) Best Comedy, Austin Critics Table.
This Is How Life Is Created (Playwright, Austin Script Works, 2004) Published in Fence Magazine and Fence Books' A Best of Fence: The First Nine Years. Finalist, Heideman Award.
Don't Drown (Playwright, Rude Mechanicals, 2004) David Mark Cohen New Play Award nominee.
Publications
Fence Books, A Best of Fence: The First Nine Years (2009) — "This Is How Life Is Created"
Fence Magazine (2004-2005) — "This Is How Life Is Created"
Hobart (2007) — "10 Works of Art"
ScriptWorks 20/20: 20 Plays from 20 Years of Out of Ink (2018) — "American Women And Their Hatchets"
The Austin Chronicle (2003, 2005) — short fiction, honorable mention
Stage Performances
Performed extensively as an actor and storyteller throughout Texas (2011-2019), including solo and ensemble work at FronteraFest, Fusebox Festival, the Austin Film Society, and The Story Department. Co-founded The Grownup Lady Story Company with Annie La Ganga (2012-2016).
Film Performances
There There, dir. Andrew Bujalski (2022) - phantom cast member
Dear Mr. Brody, documentary, dir. Keith Maitland (2021)
TOWER, documentary, dir. Keith Maitland (2016)
7 Chinese Brothers, dir. Bob Byington (2015)
Results, dir. Andrew Bujalski (2015)
Computer Chess, dir. Andrew Bujalski (2013)
Harmony and Me, dir. Bob Byington (2010) — voice actor
Selected Collaborations
Rude Mechanicals (Austin, TX) — Company member and playwright, 2006-2010
Rubber Repertory (Austin, TX) — Guest co-creator, 2008 and 2011
Texas Monthly / SXSW — Performance director and producer, 2018 and 2020
Austin Film Society — Co-producer, host, and storyteller, 2014-2017
Fusebox Festival — Guest artist, 2006 and 2015
Other Professional Work
Rough cut screener for filmmakers including Andrew Bujalski, the Zellner Brothers, Bob Byington, Keith Maitland, and Karen Skloss
Panelist, Literature Grants, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division (2008)
Screener, Narrative Features, SXSW Film Festival (2008-2009)
Moderator, Texas Book Festival (2013, 2015)
Dramaturg, Austin Script Works and Rubber Repertory
Selected Press
Coverage in American Theatre Magazine, The Austin Chronicle, Newcity Stage, the Austin American-Statesman, Arts+Culture Texas, the Texas Observer, and the Chicago Reader. Full bibliography available upon request.