THE SCREENWRITER DIES OF HIS OWN FREE WILL Comes to FringeNYC Tonight

The 18th annual New York International Fringe Festival - FringeNYC presents The Screenwriter Dies Of His Own Free Will, a new metafictional comedy on the art of the deal by FringeNYC veteran Jim Shankman. Craig J. George directs a cast of two including Jim Shankman* (Winner, Best Actor - United Solo 2013) and Steven Mark Friedman*. Performances will be stated at Venue #12: 64E4 Underground, 64 East 4th Street (bet. Second & Third Avenues). *Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. AEA Approved Showcase.

Willy Shotz is a heavyweight screenwriter. Producers kill for his stylish violence and gritty sci-fi. But Willy is facing the big deadline in the sky, which has given him a new vision of art and cinema and a new screenplay to go with it. Can he overcome the indignities of his illness to pitch his craftiest foe? Can he talk art like a man with his boyhood friend and sell this script before his expiration date? The Screenwriter Dies Of His Own Free Will is a two character metafictional comedy on the art of the deal.

Craig J. George (Director) Off-Broadway: Taming of the Shrew: Extreme (The Duke on 42nd Street) and over a dozen world premieres, including: Titus: A Grand and Gory Rock Musical (Cleveland Public Theatre), The Calico Buffalo & God's Country (NYMF), The Aperture (FringeNYC). Regional: Measure for Measure, Standing on Ceremony (Cleveland Public Theatre) Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew (Hamptons Shakespeare Festival). Other theaters worked at include South Coast Repertory, George Street Playhouse, The New Group, and York Theatre Company. www.craigjgeorge.com

His third production at FringeNYC, Jim Shankman is a playwright, actor and teacher. As an actor he has appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway and at regional theatres throughout the East Coast including The Dorset Theatre Festival, Florida Stage, New Jersey Rep, Playhouse on Park and The Rainbow Theatre. His plays Suicide Math, Kiss Your Brutal Hands and The Screenwriter Dies Of His Own Free Will have been presented in the New York International Fringe Festival. Kiss Your Brutal Hands, which he performed at the 2013 United Solo Festival on Theatre Row, won the festival's Best Actor Award. His plays have had staged readings at The New Group, Emerging Artists Theatre, Abingdon Theatre, New Jersey Rep, Penguin Rep, Michael Howard Studios and the T. Schreiber Studio. He taught theatre for seven years in the professional conservatory program at Michael Howard Studios. He has had short fiction published with Lumina and Popcorn Fiction. He has a BA from Princeton in Philosophy and an MFA in Fiction from the Writing Program at Sarah Lawrence College.

Since 1987, Steven Mark Friedman has been working and living in NYC. Early work included "Hung," directed by Michael Imperioli, a stint in the long running off-Broadway hit Beau Jeste and many productions with Circle Repertory's LAB Theater. Film work came quickly and often in the early 90's, with American Lesion, The Next Karate Kid and Sullivan's Last Call. Steve was the corporate national spokesman for Symantec/Peter Norton Utilities, traveling and abroad to perform in trade shows and live presentations. He continues to work contracts in just about every arena, including live theater, live and taped industrials, film and television, commercials and voiceovers. He is currently the voice of Crest Pro Health and Miralax, among others. In addition to coaching and teaching, Steve developed Able To Leap Films, a production company specializing in short films. Visit abletoleapfilms.com and stevenmarkfriedman.com

The Screenwriter Dies Of His Own Free Will is presented by FringeNYC. Director & Sound Designer: Craig J. George; ACR: Ian Kevin Scott; Public Relations: Paul Siebold / Off Off PR.

Performances of The Screenwriter Dies Of His Own Free Will will be held from August 20-29 on the following schedule: Thursday, August 20 @ 7:00 pm; Saturday, August 22 @ 1:00 pm; Sunday, August 23 @ 9:00 pm; Wednesday, August 26 @ 5:00 pm; and Saturday, August 29 @ 5:15 pm. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by visiting www.FringeNYC.org.