Chicago Dramatists Announces New Resident Playwrights

Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., has announced the induction of four outstanding writers to the ranks of its Resident Playwrights. The new additions, rounding out the number of current Resident Playwrights at 37 include Reginald Edmund, Rohina Malik, Jayme McGhan, and Martín Zimmerman.

"I am very excited about their excellence, accomplishment and diversity," said Chicago Dramatists Artistic Director Russ Tutterow. "I am confident they will be a great asset to our theatre. Through our long-standing Residency program, we seek to nurture accomplished, Chicago-based dramatists who we think have the potential to make significant contributions to The National Theatre."

Eleven Resident Playwrights are continuing for another three-year (renewable) term: Mary RutH Clarke, Cheryl Coons, John Green, Sarah Gubbins, Jim Henry, Robert Koon, Aline Lathrop, M.E.H. Lewis, Mia McCullough, Roger Rueff, and Jon Steinhagen.

"We are all the richer for their excellent work over their last term," said Tutterow.

More information on Chicago Dramatists' new Resident Playwrights can be found below.

Chicago Dramatists NEW RESIDENT PLAYWRIGHTS - 2011

REGINALD EDMUND is originally from Houston, Texas, where he was Artistic Director for the Silver House Theatre, as well as, the founder and producer for the Silver House Playwrights Festival and the Houston Urban Theatre Series. He was the inaugural recipient of the Kennedy Center Fellowship at Soul Mountain Retreat, as well as the 2009 National Runner-up for the Lorraine Hansberry and Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, and winner of the 2010 Southern Playwrights' Competition. He is currently working on a nine-play series titled "The City of The Bayou Collection," which includes "Redemption of Allah Black," "Juneteenth Street," "Southbridge," "Last Cadillac," "The Ordained Smile of Saint Sadie May Jenkins," "Blood Moon," and "White America," developed at Karamu House Theatre, County Playhouse Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Houston, The Playwrights' Center, Mixed Blood Theater, Pangea World Theatre, Liberation Theatre, Moving Arts, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre Company, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, and the Mid-American Theater Conference. Mr. Edmund received his BFA in Theatre-Performance from Texas Southern University and his MFA in playwriting from Ohio University. Recently, he spent a month in residence at the MacDowell Colony. His play "Southbridge" was presented at the Universidad del Valle - Sede Pacifico in Colombia.

ROHINA MALIK is a Chicago-based playwright, actress and solo performance artist. She was born and raised in London (UK) of South Asian heritage. Her one-woman play "Unveiled" had its world premiere at the 16th Street Theater in Berwyn, IL, where Ms. Malik performed to sold-out houses and critical acclaim. "Unveiled" was subsequently produced in Chicago at Victory Gardens Theater and at Next Theater in Evanston. In 2011, "Unveiled" will be produced at Brava Theater in San Francisco. She workshopped her play "Yasmina's Necklace" with the Goodman Theatre in their new staged reading series in 2009, directed by Henry Godinez. Her play "The Mecca Tales," which was commissioned by the Goodman, had a staged reading there in 2011, directed by Ron OJ Parson. Ms. Malik recently completed a one-year residency at The Goodman, as a member of The Goodman Theatre's first Playwright's Unit. She is an Artistic Associate at the 16th Street Theater.

JAYME McGHAN's plays have been produced and developed across the country at such theatres as Irish Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Washington Shakespeare Company, Stage Left Theatre, Mortar Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, Hot City Theatre, Yellow Tree Theatre, Cockroach Theatre, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Chased by an Elephant Theatre and many more. His plays include "The Fisherman," "Mother Bear," "Hellfire," "The Methuselah Tree," "Autonomy," "The Sweet Stuff," and "Damn the River Deep." Four of his plays are published. "The Fisherman" will receive its world premiere with Stage Left Theatre in Chicago in February of 2012. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Concordia University, Chicago. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

MARTÍN ZIMMERMAN is a multi-ethnic, bilingual playwright whose work spans a wide variety of styles, but always aspires to a seamless unity of aesthetic and story. His plays include "White Tie Ball," "The Making of a Modern Folk Hero," and "Seven Spots on the Sun," and have been produced or developed at The Kennedy Center, The Playwrights' Center, the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Primary Stages, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Theatre Row, Borderlands Theater, the Source Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Gift, Red Tape, The University of Texas at Austin, and Duke University. A recipient of the Carl Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship, the National New Play Network's Smith Prize, and a Core Apprenticeship at The Playwrights' Center, Mr. Zimmerman has been a finalist for the Kendeda Competition, the Jerome Fellowship, the Heideman Award, and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. He has also been a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Playwrights Conference, The Julie Harris Playwright Award, and the WordBridge Playwrights Lab. MFA in Playwriting: The University of Texas at Austin. BA in Theater Studies, BS in Economics: Duke University.

The Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright program offers a uniquely nurturing environment to playwrights who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions to the American theatre. The Resident playwrights comprise a diverse mix of established professionals and promising new writers who possess a wide range of artistic and stylistic interests. Admittance to the program is by application only, and the perks of residency are offered at no cost for a three-year renewable term.

Chicago Dramatists
In the fall of 1979, four playwrights came together to hear their work read aloud and to hone their craft. Today, Chicago Dramatists' amazing record of achievement has landed them an invaluable place in the artistic community as a vital source of inspiration to 40 Resident Playwrights, 160 Associate Playwrights, 60 Associate Artists, and thousands of audience members. Over the past three decades, Chicago Dramatists has worked with over a thousand playwrights, produced and developed thousands of plays and stayed true to its mission to nurture compelling, challenging and diverse plays that move on to productions, earn awards, and define the American theatre. Chicago Dramatists has helped launch the careers of hundreds of award-winning writers, including Tina Fey (30 Rock), Rick Cleveland (Mad Men), Rebecca Gilman (Spinning Into Butter), Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House), Lydia R. Diamond (Stick Fly) and Keith Huff (A Steady Rain). Each season Chicago Dramatists presents three world premiere productions and the signature Saturday Series, weekly staged readings of plays-in-progress. The theatre also conducts educational outreach to at-risk students at Chicago Public Schools, awakening the possibility of self-expression by writing for the theatre. Through passionate dedication, personal nurture and careful exposure, Chicago Dramatists carries on its mission of developing new plays and playwrights for the next generation of theatre.

Chicago Dramatists is located just minutes from the Loop at 1105 W. Chicago Avenue, at the 24-hour Chicago Avenue stop of the Blue Line subway, and is just off the Ogden and Augusta exits of the Kennedy Expressway. There is street parking available; a detailed parking map can be found at www.chicagodramatists.org/parking. For more information or reservations visit www.chicagodramatists.org.