Developing Fresh Voices and PRODUCING THEATRE for the 21st Century
2020 FELLOWS
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Fellow)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Fellow)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Fellow)
Chris is thankful for the opportunity to learn as a Fellow with TPS. As an actor, Christopher has worked at Nashville Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, Nashville Children's Theatre, SistaStyle Productions, The Theatre Bug, Blackbird Theatre, Street Theatre Company, ACT 1, 4th Story T
Chris is thankful for the opportunity to learn as a Fellow with TPS. As an actor, Christopher has worked at Nashville Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, Nashville Children's Theatre, SistaStyle Productions, The Theatre Bug, Blackbird Theatre, Street Theatre Company, ACT 1, 4th Story Theatre, Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre, and The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, among others. He directed four professional premieres by local playwrights for Playhouse Nashville, as well as PATHOGENESIS for the Ingram New Works Festival. As a writer, he co-created the award-winning short BEAUX & D'ARIA. He is a graduate of The Groundlings L.A. Writing Lab and also studied sketch writing with The Second City L.A. He is currently an Associate Artist with Nashville Story Garden's Greenhouse.
Brooke Bryant (Fellow)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Fellow)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Fellow)
Brooke has worn many “hats” in this lifetime, including singer, voiceover artist, theater educator and registered nurse, but most of her professional years have been spent acting on Nashville stages with local companies including Nashville Children’s Theater, Theatre Craft, People’s Branch Theater, and Tennessee Repertory Theater (now Nas
Brooke has worn many “hats” in this lifetime, including singer, voiceover artist, theater educator and registered nurse, but most of her professional years have been spent acting on Nashville stages with local companies including Nashville Children’s Theater, Theatre Craft, People’s Branch Theater, and Tennessee Repertory Theater (now Nashville Repertory Theater). Her original plays NIGHT WARRIOR and BOXES have been featured as staged readings at Tennessee Women’s Work Festival, and she is currently writing the script for a musical with legendary hit songwriter Roger Cook. Brooke shares a wonderful life with partner Kevin, daughter Abby, and their two adorable cats, Leo and Ollie.
Preston Crowder (Fellow)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Fellow)
Preston Crowder (Fellow)
Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Preston Crowder has dedicated his life to the theater arts. Starting as a young actor, he discovered a love for playwriting in high school. He pursued this passion at Oberlin College, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in Theater with a concentration in Playwriting. Devoted to social justice and act
Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Preston Crowder has dedicated his life to the theater arts. Starting as a young actor, he discovered a love for playwriting in high school. He pursued this passion at Oberlin College, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in Theater with a concentration in Playwriting. Devoted to social justice and activism, Preston aims to create plays that create conversation and address issues facing people of all backgrounds. His work has been presented by University School of Nashville (FLAMES, 2016) and The Juilliard School (BREAK YOUR CHAINS, 2017). Preston currently is pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at The New School.
Caitlin Myers (Fellow)
Shawn Whitsell (Fellow)
Caitlin Myers (Fellow)
Caitlin is a writer and educator living in Knoxville. Her work has appeared onstage courtesy of the Bard College Gravitas Festival, Tiger Lily Theatre, and Cattywampus Puppet Council, and has also been independently produced by herself and friends. Her reporting has appeared in print in Scalawag Magazine, 100 Days in Appalachia, and othe
Caitlin is a writer and educator living in Knoxville. Her work has appeared onstage courtesy of the Bard College Gravitas Festival, Tiger Lily Theatre, and Cattywampus Puppet Council, and has also been independently produced by herself and friends. Her reporting has appeared in print in Scalawag Magazine, 100 Days in Appalachia, and others. She is a recipient of the Kristi Havens Memorial Fellowship for a residency at the Sundress Academy of the Arts. When not writing, Caitlin can be seen teaching environmental ed, supporting workers on the picket line, and getting lost on mountain backroads.
Greg Morneau (Fellow)
Shawn Whitsell (Fellow)
Caitlin Myers (Fellow)
Greg is a playwright, animator, painter, and software developer. He studied political science, writing, painting, and animation at Phillips Exeter Academy, Amherst College and Santa Monica College. He has shown his paintings in galleries in Nashville and his hometown of Manchester, NH, where for several years he also created the posters f
Greg is a playwright, animator, painter, and software developer. He studied political science, writing, painting, and animation at Phillips Exeter Academy, Amherst College and Santa Monica College. He has shown his paintings in galleries in Nashville and his hometown of Manchester, NH, where for several years he also created the posters for the Mill City Festival. He has workshopped his plays at Nashville Story Garden’s Greenhouse Lab and Pipeline-Collective. Greg lives outside Nashville, where he’s working on an animated feature and a new play.
Shawn Whitsell (Fellow)
Shawn Whitsell (Fellow)
Shawn Whitsell (Fellow)
Shawn is a father, activist, poet and teaching artist. He is also an actor, playwright, director, producer and founder of the Destiny Theatre Experience. His one-man show "23/1" was named "Best Blend of Theater and Activism" by the Nashville Scene, for its message about solitary confinement and mass incarceration. When he isn't onstage, h
Shawn is a father, activist, poet and teaching artist. He is also an actor, playwright, director, producer and founder of the Destiny Theatre Experience. His one-man show "23/1" was named "Best Blend of Theater and Activism" by the Nashville Scene, for its message about solitary confinement and mass incarceration. When he isn't onstage, he visits schools and community spaces, teaching spoken word for Southern Word and drama for a number of arts institutions. He also serves as a volunteer for the School for Alternative Learning & Transformation (SALT) at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Shawn was a 2020 Nashville New Leaders Council fellow and is currently a member of the NLC board. He also serves on the boards of Street Theatre Company and Rooftop Nashville. He is a member of the Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board and the Co-Chair of the Criminal Justice Task Force for Nashville Organized For Action and Hope (NOAH).
2019 Fellows and Associates
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Associate)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Associate)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Associate)
As an actor, Christopher Bosen has worked at Nashville Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, Nashville Children's Theatre, SistaStyle Productions, The Theatre Bug, Blackbird Theatre, Street Theatre Company, ACT 1, 4th Story Theatre, Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre and Nashville Shakespeare
As an actor, Christopher Bosen has worked at Nashville Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, Nashville Children's Theatre, SistaStyle Productions, The Theatre Bug, Blackbird Theatre, Street Theatre Company, ACT 1, 4th Story Theatre, Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre and Nashville Shakespeare Festival, among others. He directed four professional premieres by local playwrights for Playhouse Nashville, as well as PATHOGENESIS for the Ingram New Works Festival. As a writer, he co-created the award-winning short BEAUX & D'ARIA. Currently an Associate Artist with Nashville Storygarden's Greenhouse, Chris is a graduate of The Groundlings L.A. Writing Lab and studied sketch writing with The Second City L.A. He is thankful for the opportunity to learn as a TPS Associate.
Briana Cox (Fellow)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Associate)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Associate)
Briana Cox was born and raised in Tullahoma, TN — a town inexplicably found on state maps. She is the oldest of seven children, a first-generation academic, and a recent graduate from Swarthmore College, where she studied cognitive science and Japanese. As a twenty-something emerging author, she doesn’t have many published pieces under h
Briana Cox was born and raised in Tullahoma, TN — a town inexplicably found on state maps. She is the oldest of seven children, a first-generation academic, and a recent graduate from Swarthmore College, where she studied cognitive science and Japanese. As a twenty-something emerging author, she doesn’t have many published pieces under her belt, but a few smatterings of prose and short fiction can be found in the Decades Review, the Swarthmore Review, and the YoungArts Writers’ Anthology. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time brushing up on Japanese to maybe one day be more literate than a Japanese middleschooler.
Preston Crowder (Associate)
Christopher R.C. Bosen (Associate)
Preston Crowder (Associate)
Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Preston Crowder has dedicated his life to the theater arts. Starting as a young actor, he discovered a love for playwriting in high school. He pursued this passion at Oberlin College, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in Theater with a concentration in Playwriting. Devoted to social justice and act
Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Preston Crowder has dedicated his life to the theater arts. Starting as a young actor, he discovered a love for playwriting in high school. He pursued this passion at Oberlin College, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in Theater with a concentration in Playwriting. Devoted to social justice and activism, Preston aims to create plays that create conversation and address issues facing people of all backgrounds. His work has been presented by University School of Nashville (FLAMES, 2016) and The Juilliard School (BREAK YOUR CHAINS, 2017). Preston currently is pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at The New School.
Lori Fischer (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick (Fellow)
Alicia Haymer (Fellow)
Lori Fischer received the 2008 New York University Harry Kondoleon Graduate Award in Playwriting recipient and was a 2008-09 Dramatists Guild Fellow. She received her MFA from the NYU Dramatic Writing Department in 2008. Her drama PETIE has been called a "modern day classic" and was recently produced by Theatre East in NYC. Lori co-wrote
Lori Fischer received the 2008 New York University Harry Kondoleon Graduate Award in Playwriting recipient and was a 2008-09 Dramatists Guild Fellow. She received her MFA from the NYU Dramatic Writing Department in 2008. Her drama PETIE has been called a "modern day classic" and was recently produced by Theatre East in NYC. Lori co-wrote and starred in her musical, THE SPARKLEY CLEAN FUNERAL SINGERS (published by Samuel French), at Capital Repertory Theatre and Cumberland County Playhouse. Lori also wrote and starred in her Off-Broadway musical, BARBARA’S BLUE KITCHEN, also published by Samuel French. In 2017, she performed in her comedy, GREENER PASTURES, at Cumberland County Playhouse. Lori is an adjunct writing professor at both New York University and Lipscomb University. Most recently, she was selected for the Dramatists Guild Foundation’s new playwriting initiative. Find out more about Lori at www.lorifischer.net.
Alicia Haymer (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick (Fellow)
Alicia Haymer (Fellow)
Alicia Haymer, a Nashville native and Fisk University alum, is honored to work with Tennessee Playwrights Studio as she develops her second full-length play. In the 20+ years that Alicia has been on stage in Nashville, she has worked with Nashville Children's Theater, Amun Ra Theater, SistaStyle Productions, Tennessee Women’s Theater Pr
Alicia Haymer, a Nashville native and Fisk University alum, is honored to work with Tennessee Playwrights Studio as she develops her second full-length play. In the 20+ years that Alicia has been on stage in Nashville, she has worked with Nashville Children's Theater, Amun Ra Theater, SistaStyle Productions, Tennessee Women’s Theater Project, Destiny Theater Experience and Nashville Repertory Theater, among other wonderful organizations. She has also had the pleasure of directing with Actor's Bridge Ensemble and Street Theatre. She is thankful for yet another opportunity to express herself through the written word.
Arabelle Pollick (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick is a choreographer, actress and devoted theatre lover who hails from Pittsburgh, PA. She moved south to Tennessee nearly six years ago after a stint in Madrid, Spain, where she studied migratory movement, women’s studies and art history at Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. She is the regional representative for the Dramatis
Arabelle Pollick is a choreographer, actress and devoted theatre lover who hails from Pittsburgh, PA. She moved south to Tennessee nearly six years ago after a stint in Madrid, Spain, where she studied migratory movement, women’s studies and art history at Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. She is the regional representative for the Dramatists Guild of America -- Tennessee Chapter. In 2017, she directed the Tennessee production of BANNED TOGETHER: A CENSORSHIP CABARET as part of a National project for the Dramatists Guild Legal Defense Fund. She is an aspiring playwright who questions everything and learns everyday that she knows nothing.
Jessica Lynn Suchon (Fellow)
Jessica Lynn Suchon is the author of SCAVENGER, winner of the 2018 Vinyl 45 Chapbook Contest and forthcoming from YesYes Books in 2019. She received her MFA from Southern Illinois University and has received honors from the Academy of American Poets, as well as an Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellowship. Her work has appeared or is forthco
Jessica Lynn Suchon is the author of SCAVENGER, winner of the 2018 Vinyl 45 Chapbook Contest and forthcoming from YesYes Books in 2019. She received her MFA from Southern Illinois University and has received honors from the Academy of American Poets, as well as an Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellowship. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Copper Nickel, Willow Springs, Ninth Letter, Yemassee, Muzzle Magazine and RHINO Poetry, among others. Her librettos have appeared or are forthcoming in works by Stephanie Ann Boyd for the Eureka Ensemble, EKMELES vocal ensemble, Æpex Contemporary Performance with the Dark Sky Project.
2018 Fellows and associates
Claudia Barnett (Fellow)
Claudia Barnett (Fellow)
Claudia Barnett (Fellow)
Claudia Barnett grew up in the Bronx and lives in the woods of Tennessee. Her plays have been developed and performed at the Great Plains Theatre Conference, the Ingram New Works Lab, the Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Festival, MultiStages, Stage Left Theatre, and Venus Theatre, and she won the Andaluz Award Jury Prize from Fusion Theatre.
Claudia Barnett grew up in the Bronx and lives in the woods of Tennessee. Her plays have been developed and performed at the Great Plains Theatre Conference, the Ingram New Works Lab, the Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Festival, MultiStages, Stage Left Theatre, and Venus Theatre, and she won the Andaluz Award Jury Prize from Fusion Theatre. She’s a professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University and the author of I Love You Terribly: Six Plays (2012) and No. 731 Degraw-street, Brooklyn, or Emily Dickinson’s Sister: A Play in Two Acts (2015), both published by Carnegie Mellon University Press.
Briana Cox (Associate)
Claudia Barnett (Fellow)
Claudia Barnett (Fellow)
Briana Cox was born and raised in Tullahoma, Tennessee — a town inexplicably found on state maps. She is the oldest of seven children, a first-generation academic, and a recent graduate from Swarthmore College, where she studied cognitive science and Japanese. As a twenty-something emerging author, she doesn’t have many published pieces
Briana Cox was born and raised in Tullahoma, Tennessee — a town inexplicably found on state maps. She is the oldest of seven children, a first-generation academic, and a recent graduate from Swarthmore College, where she studied cognitive science and Japanese. As a twenty-something emerging author, she doesn’t have many published pieces under her belt, but a few smatterings of prose and short fiction can be found in the Decades Review, the Swarthmore Review, and the YoungArts Writers’ Anthology. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time brushing up on Japanese to maybe one day be more literate than a Japanese middleschooler.
Matt Garner (Fellow)
Claudia Barnett (Fellow)
Matt Garner (Fellow)
Matt Garner’s work includes There are Others, produced at Belmont University and directed by David Ian Lee, as well as the short play Hotel Bar. He received his MFA in Acting from UNC-Chapel Hill where he was also a company member at PlayMakers Rep. Matt has performed in Red, A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park, In the Next Room, Death of
Matt Garner’s work includes There are Others, produced at Belmont University and directed by David Ian Lee, as well as the short play Hotel Bar. He received his MFA in Acting from UNC-Chapel Hill where he was also a company member at PlayMakers Rep. Matt has performed in Red, A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park, In the Next Room, Death of a Salesman, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, King Lear, and Henry V. He has read with Ingram New Works, both in the REPAloud series with Rebecca Gilman and Christopher Durang, as well as the Festival series with Tori Keenan-Zelt.
Gaye Jeffers (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick (Associate)
Louis Johnson (Fellow)
Gaye Jeffers is a director, playwright, and dramaturg. She is a theatre professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Jeffers’ play Philo, inspired by Sophocles’ Philoctetes, was workshopped at the 2014 Sewanee Writers’ Conference, where she studied with Daisy Foote and Dan O’Brien. She attended the Yale Writers’ Conference
Gaye Jeffers is a director, playwright, and dramaturg. She is a theatre professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Jeffers’ play Philo, inspired by Sophocles’ Philoctetes, was workshopped at the 2014 Sewanee Writers’ Conference, where she studied with Daisy Foote and Dan O’Brien. She attended the Yale Writers’ Conference in 2014 and worked with Amy Herzog. Other plays include Peace, The Day After Daddy, and Appealing Women. Gaye was the 2017 Playwright in Residence at the South Carolina Theatre Conference. Chicago theatre credits include the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Lifeline Theatre, and Victory Gardens Theater.
Louis Johnson (Fellow)
Arabelle Pollick (Associate)
Louis Johnson (Fellow)
Louis Johnson's works have received staged readings and productions at theatres and festivals including the African-American Meeting House (Boston), John D. O’Bryant Center at Northeastern University (Evanston), Our Place Theatre Project (Boston), People’s Branch Theatre (Nashville), Thespian Production Company (Ft. Myers), Red Harlem Re
Louis Johnson's works have received staged readings and productions at theatres and festivals including the African-American Meeting House (Boston), John D. O’Bryant Center at Northeastern University (Evanston), Our Place Theatre Project (Boston), People’s Branch Theatre (Nashville), Thespian Production Company (Ft. Myers), Red Harlem Reader’s Series Program (NYC), The BlackBoard Reading Series @ the Cell Theatre (NYC), Fade to Black Play Festival (Houston), 6’10 Festival of African-American Plays (Louisville), and the Shades of Black Theatre Festival (Nashville). He has also written for The Rhythmic Lounge magazine and is the lead writer/co-creator of the web-series, The Thrill of the Kill, an official selection of Phoenix Comicon Film Festival 2017.
Arabelle Pollick (Associate)
Arabelle Pollick (Associate)
Arabelle Pollick (Associate)
Arabelle Pollick is a choreographer, actress and devoted theatre lover who hails from Pittsburgh, PA. She moved south to Tennessee nearly six years ago after a stint in Madrid, Spain, where she studied migratory movement, women’s studies and art history at Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. She is the current ambassador for the Dramatists Gu
Arabelle Pollick is a choreographer, actress and devoted theatre lover who hails from Pittsburgh, PA. She moved south to Tennessee nearly six years ago after a stint in Madrid, Spain, where she studied migratory movement, women’s studies and art history at Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. She is the current ambassador for the Dramatists Guild of America Tennessee Chapter and works directly with playwright and DGTN representative, C. Kay 'Andy' Landis. In 2017, she directed the Tennessee production of Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret, part of a National project for the Dramatists Guild Legal Defense Fund. She is an aspiring playwright who questions everything. And, learns everyday that she knows nothing.