PLAYWRITING
NEWS:
Spring 2008 Update

SABBATICAL!
After 10 years of working full time for the Omaha Theater Company, I have decided to take a three-month sabbatical this spring (March through May) to write. I recently realized that I haven’t written a play that didn’t have production parameters (when it starts rehearsal and size of cast) since graduate school. So I am going to work on some projects that I want to work on.

I have a new play about my grandmothers that I have wanted to work on for a while AND I want to take a stab at turning my original play King Chemo into a children’s book. I’m also hoping to work on cleaning up a couple of older projects, too. AND I’ll also really clean up my home office, take a couple of trips, and get plenty of naps with my pups. The sabbatical is about taking time to take care of my artistic self. Obviously, I am REALLY looking forward to the break.

CONFERENCES
In March I am going to Chattanooga, TN to the Southeast Theatre Conference (SETC) where I am giving feedback to the theater for young audience productions at the conference and am presenting on a couple of panels.

In July, I am going to the annual American Alliance for Theater and Education (AATE) Conference in Atlanta. I am on two panels during that conference: one on doing TIE work with medical/health issues and another on children’s theater touring.

PUBLISHED ARTICLE
Theater for Young Audiences Today, the journal for the United States Center for the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, published my article “Queer Youth Theatre: Challenges, Strategies, and Mission” where I interviewed leaders of 4 other queer youth theater groups to compare our approaches to the work and its role in theater for young audiences. It is in the spring 2007 issue.

DRAMATIC PUBLISHING
My original plays King Chemo and The Bully Show are available through Dramatic Publishing. They are listed in the 2007-2008 Catalog! How cool is that? www.dramaticpublishing.com

Winter 2007-2008

Michael Lyon recently interviewed Joseph Slate (author), Brian Guehring (playwright), and Kevin Ehrhart (director) about bringing their musical version of Miss Bindergarten to the stage.

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Brian Guehring's
original plays :
The Bully Show

and
King Chemo

are now available through Dramatic Publishing. They are listed in the new 2006-2007 Catalog!

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CONFERENCES

I just got back from the ASSITEJ/USA conference (or the TYA/USA conference) in Minneapolis and saw some great international performances. Next I go to TCG (Theater Communications Group) for an education director conference. Then in August, I travel to Vancouver (assuming my passport returns by then) to go to the AATE conference (American Alliance for Theater Education). I am leading a session on the role of the playwright in a Theater In Education play.

PUBLISHED ARTICLE

Theater for Young Audiences Today, the journal for the United States Center for the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, published my article "Queer Youth Theatre: Challenges, Strategies, and Mission" where I interviewed leaders of 4 other queer youth theater groups to compare our approaches to the work and its role in theater for young audiences.

NATIONAL AWARD WINNER

Last July, my friend and colleague Tracy Iwersen and I went to Orlando for an awards ceremony of the National Education Association. Our Pride Players teen theater group was awarded a Human and Civil Rights award for youth advocacy. The ceremony was really fancy (thank goodness our costume rental had a nice tuxedo I could use) and inspiring. There are a lot of amazing educators doing inspiring work in the public schools here in the United States. It was a huge honor to be on stage with these great educators and advocates.