CV

BRIEF CURRICULUM VITAE

(NOTE: Only items since 2000 are listed)

Michael Wright

Retired Professor, 2018, The University of Tulsa

EDUCATION

Master of Fine Arts in Theatre, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana

Bachelor of General Studies in English, Rollins College School for Continuing Education, Winter Park, Florida

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Texts

Sensory Writing for Stage and Screen: Etudes and Exercises, published: August 2015

Playwriting in Process translated into Polish by Michał Zgutka, Publisher, Polish Scientific Pubs PWN, Warsaw, Poland; November 2014 (Note: first playwriting text ever published in Poland)

Playwriting in Process: Thinking and Working Theatrically, Heinemann Publishers, 1997; in ninth printing as of April 2007; Second Edition, Focus Publishing, 2010

Playwriting Master Class: The Personality of Process and the Art of Rewriting, Heinemann Publishers, 2000; Second Edition, Focus Publishing, 2010

Playwriting at Work and Play: Developmental Programs and Their Processes, Heinemann Publishers, 2005

Resource Works

Monologues for Men by Men, Volume 2, co-edited with Gary Garrison (New York University), Heinemann Publishers 2003

Monologues for Men by Men, co-edited with Gary Garrison (New York University), Heinemann Publishers, 2002; second printing August 2003

The Student's Guide to Playwriting Opportunities, 3rd Ed. co-edited with Christine Pyland; published by Theatre Directories, Inc., Dorset, VT, 2002

Plays Published

I am the Egg Man, a short play, published in Prick of the Spindle journal, an on-line literary magazine, September 2007

The Ref, a short play, published on-line at Original Works, August, 2006

Shoulders and The Ref, two short plays published in Healthy Primates and Other Plays, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, 2004

Sky Tumbling in Parabasis, the Quarterly of ASK Theatre Projects, Los Angeles, Spring Issue 2000

Kneading and It’s Half-Full, in A Grand Entrance: Monologues and Scenes for Mature Actors, Dramatic Publishers, Chicago, IL, 2000

Other Creative Writing-Related Experiences

Novels: The Baltimore Trilogy: Down the Ocean: Summer of '64; The Chessmen and In the Air 

“Lament,” a poem, published by This Land Press: Contemplations, Lamentations and Illuminations, Summer 2015 issue

“Kinetic Stillness” - a gallery installation/dance/performance piece, accepted for presentation at the Tulsa Artists Coalition Gallery; proposal accepted December 2014; presented May, 2015

“Something Happened” - a gallery installation/performance piece; the Tulsa Artists Coalition Gallery, May 2014

“Tulsa, May 2012,” a poem, published in This Land, July 15, 2012

Founder and moderator, the "Fictional Characters" writers group, an ongoing workshop that mixes student and professional writers working in theatre, film, poetry and prose forms, October 2001 to present

“Cooper Drives On,” a short story; First Place winner in the Friends of the Tulsa City County Public Library Adult Creative Writing Contest, published author division; April 2011

"Simple Enough," a short-short story published by Six Sentences, June 2007

"Twig," a short story, published on-line by 5th Story Review, September, 2006

"Twig," winner of the Seahorse Award in the 2005 Moondance International Film Festival, May 2005

"Big and Big and Big," a short story, winner of the Seahorse Award in the 2004 Moondance International Film Festival, May 2004

"Purely Gone," a short story; awarded Honorable Mention in the Friends of the Tulsa City County Public Library Adult Creative Writing Contest, published author division; April 2004

"Big and Big and Big," a short story; awarded Honorable Mention in the Friends of the Tulsa City County Public Library Adult Creative Writing Contest, published author division; April 2003

"Snow Out of Darkness," a poem, awarded Honorable Mention in the Friends of the Tulsa City County Public Library Adult Creative Writing Contest, published author division; April 2003

Writing: Produced Plays

Words and Music, an evening of my monologues and songs, focused on the vagaries of relationships; The Nightingale Theatre July 2015 (Note: all of the shows containing my monologues and/or songs are original, often written for specific performers)

The Feel-Good Show of the Summer, an evening of my monologues and songs as meditations on mortality; The Nightingale Theatre, June 2014

Sex Wars!, an evening of my monologues and songs about the endless battles between the genders, The Nightingale Theatre, June 2013

The Wright Stuff, an evening of poetry, stories and song, written and performed by myself and my son, Eli; Tulsa Performing Arts Center, SummerStage; July 2012

Jumper and Fools, one-act plays in the Heller Theatre production, “Keep It Brief!” Tulsa, August 2011

Aha! A collaborative project of monologues and songs at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Summer Stage, July 2011

Blood Relations, produced by the Nightingale Theatre, Tulsa, May 2011

Terra Incognita: Monologues and Songs About Women, Normal and Otherwise; co-written with Ashley Bellet; songs co-written with Karl Johnson, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Summer Stage, July 2010

Cheering, ten-minute play, Heller Theatre production, “Shorts,” Tulsa, June 2010

Passing Time Passing, An Evening With Fellow Human Beings, monologues and songs, Liggett Studio, Tulsa, June 2009

Tracks, radio play produced by Shoestring Radio Theatre for broadcast on KUSF Radio, Broadcast Services For the Blind, Shoestring Radio Theatre web site and the Public Radio Satellite System; broadcast May 2010, August broadcast

The Third Alpha, radio play produced by Shoestring Radio Theatre for broadcast on KUSF Radio, Broadcast Services For the Blind, Shoestring Radio Theatre web site and the Public Radio Satellite System; broadcast August 2008

Histories, radio play produced by Studio@620 WMNF Radio Theatre, St. Petersburg, Florida, April 2009, and the National Audio Theatre Festival, West Plains, Missouri, June 2007

Three short plays--Shoulders, The Ref, and Banana Bread--produced by Sapulpa Community Theatre as part of their Sapulpa Fictions program of new works, June 2007

I Am the Egg Man, produced by The University of Texas-Arlington Spring Play Festival, April 2004, produced by the ATHE New Play Development Workshop, New York City, 1996

Moment: A Vaudeville, written for the 24-Hour Play Festival producedby OKRep! at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, August 2003; adapted as a monologue entitled “Starry Night” for The Feel-Good Show of the Summer, Nightingale Theatre, June 2014

Return to the Upright Position, A collaborative work about 9/11, created under the direction of Caridad Svich; the play was given a public reading and/or production at the following theatres: The Women's Project, NewYork City, September 9, 2002; Perishable Theatre, Providence, September 9, 2002; The Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City September Peace Festival (Theatre Simple); Seattle, September 11, 2002; Room 120 Theatre, Austin, Texas; September 11, 2002; Cherry Lane Alternative, New York, November 21 & 23, 2002; Gilmorehill Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland March 11, 2003; Athena Theater Company at Harvard University, Boston, May 3, 2003; September, 2011, at The University of Tulsa, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, September 2011

Shoulders, produced by the ATHE New Play Development Workshop, Chicago, August, 2001; Produced by the Anakreontic Theatre Lab as its entry into "The MOM Fest," Austin, Texas, September, 2001

Knees & Toes, produced by TEXT Theatre and The University of Tulsa; Workshop production, September, 2001; produced by the Mobtown Theatre, in the Baltimore Playwrights’ Festival, June, 2001; finalist, the Mildred and Albert Panowski Playwriting Competition, Northern Michigan University, May, 2001; semifinalist in The Playwrights’ Center of Minneapolis PlayLabs competition, March, 2001; semifinalist, the Harvest Festival of New American Plays, co-produced by Austin ScriptWorks and the State Theatre Company, Austin, Texas, September, 2000; selected to represent the NYU project at ATHE conference, Washington,DC, August, 2000

The Ref, produced by the ATHE New Play Development Workshop,Washington, DC, August, 2000; Produced by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, July, 2000

Shocking Secrets About Elvis Revealed in Agonizing True-Life Confessions by Long-Time Fan, produced by the New English American Theatre of Stuttgart, Germany, December, 2000; produced by Space at 24, New York City, November, 2000; produced by Sin Fronteras/Writers Without Borders, Las Cruces, New Mexico, August, 1999; included in Sex Wars! production, 2013, Nightingale Theatre

Sixty-Six, produced by the University of Wisconsin-Rock County in “From the Road” April, 2000; produced by Sin Fronteras/Writers Without Borders, Las Cruces, NM, August, 1999; included in Sex Wars! production, 2013, Nightingale Theatre

Directing – Professional and Academic

Rubble by Eugenie Carabatsos, winner of the 2015 WomenWorks competition, November 2015

Brainstorms: New Works by Young Writers, Tulsa PAC; short plays by winners of the Tulsa Public Library Young Writers competition, November 2005-present

At the End of the Line, Tunnel Vision, by Lauren Mitchell, winner of the 2014 WomenWorks competition, November 2014

Once Upon A Bride There Was A Forest, winner of the 2013 WomenWorks (formerly New Works for Young Women) competition; April 2014

Beehive by Larry Gallagher; TU Theatre October 2013

Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon; TU Theatre, February 2013

Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets, Theatre Tulsa, Tulsa PAC, January 2012

Nancies by Adam Groff and Spaceships And Things That Look Like Them by Molly Hagan, two ten-minute plays; Kennedy Center, April 2011

The Scarlet Letter, adapted by Phyllis Nagy, Theatre Tulsa, Tulsa Performing Arts Center, January 2011

When Gods Walked the Earth by Carrie Louise Nutt, winner of the 2009 New Works for Young Women competition, Spring 2010

A Letter to My Mother at the End of the World by Kemuel DeMoville, winner of the 2008 New Works for Young Women competition, Spring 2009

Callback, by Emily Schwend, winner of the 2007 "New Works for Young Women" competition, September 2007

Directed readings of three winning plays--Peaches by Soo-Jin Lee, Tweaked by Paul Shoulberg, and Quality by Elaine Avila, from the 2006 New Works for Young Women, April 2007

Director, Green Girl by Sarah Hammond, Oct. 6-9, 2005, winner of the 2004 New Works for Young Women competition

Lifelike by Stephen Gnojewski, TU Theatre, September 2004 (winner for "Excellence in Direction" at the October 2004 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Oklahoma State Festival); winning script, New Works for Young Women, 2003

Bus Stop by Brandiss Lashai Steward, Southern Methodist University, Region VI Ten-Minute Play Festival, KCACTF Regional, Fayetteville, AR, February 2004

Far Away and Mountain Language, TU Theatre, December 2003

Night Passage by Jannis Klasing (Germany), World Interplay, Townsville, Australia, 2003

Rumple-Schmumple by Megan Gogerty, University of Texas-Austin, Region VI Ten-Minute Play Festival, KCACTF Regional, Ft. Worth, TX, February 2003

Rumble Fish, adaptation by Marcus Romer, based on the novel by S. E. Hinton, TU Theatre, December 2002 (American premier)

The Passenger by Polly Wiseman (UK) World Interplay, Townsville, Australia, 2001

AWARDS

Milan Stitt Award from the Kennedy Center, which reads: "To the extraordinary playwright, mentor and teacher, Michael Wright, with great appreciation for how you've changed American theatre," received the plaque and $2,500; April 2011 (note: this was only the 2nd Stitt award ever given)

First Place for my short story, "Cooper Drives On," in the Tulsa City-County Adult Writing Competition; April 2011

Association for Theatre in Higher Education Playwrights Program Award, "Outstanding Playwriting Teacher 2010," August 2010

Histories, a radio play, Grand Prize Winner in the National Audio Theatre Festival competition, May 2006

Seahorse Award, winning short story, "Twig," Moondance International Film Festival, May 2005

Excellence in Directing, KCACTF Oklahoma State Festival, October, 2004

Seahorse Award, winning short story, "Big and Big and Big,"Moondance International Film Festival, May 2004

Honorable Mention for "Purely Gone," a short story; in the Adult Creative Writing Contest (published writer category), sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries; April 2004

Honorable Mention for "Big and Big and Big," a short story; in the Adult Creative Writing Contest (published writer category), sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries; April 2003

Honorable Mention for "Snow Out of Darkness," a poem, in the Adult Creative Writing Contest (published writer category), sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries, April 2003

SERVICE AND OFFICES HELD 

International

United States Representative to World Interplay Festival of Young Playwrights, Townsville, Australia, and to Interplay Europe; 2000- present

Resource Member, The Playwrights Cove of The Necessary Stage, Singapore, 2003-present

International Center for Women Playwrights, Board Member, Director of Public Relations, 2005-2007

National

Resource Artist, WordBridge Playwrights Lab; 1995-2003

Vice-President for Conference 2007, ATHE, 2006-2007

National Advisor, Austin Script Works, 1998-2006

Playwriting Awards Committee (PAC) Representative, National Selection Team, Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, 1998-1999

Regional

PAC Chair, Region VI of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, 1993-1997

Chair, New Plays Committee of the Southwest Theatre Association; 1997 to 2000; committee member, 1995-97

Community

Member, Heller Theatre Board of Directors and Artistic  Board

Member, Board of Directors, Circle Cinema, 2009-present