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Developing Fresh Voices and PRODUCING THEATRE for the 21st Century
MJ (Myah Jackson)
MJ (Myah Jackson)
MJ (Myah Jackson)
MJ (Myah Jackson) is a writer, actor, dancer, and singer from Chicago, IL, where she has been performing ever since she was 3 years old. She is currently a graduating MBA student at Tennessee State University, where she also received her BA in English with a History minor and BS in Communications with a Theatre Performance focus. She disc
MJ (Myah Jackson) is a writer, actor, dancer, and singer from Chicago, IL, where she has been performing ever since she was 3 years old. She is currently a graduating MBA student at Tennessee State University, where she also received her BA in English with a History minor and BS in Communications with a Theatre Performance focus. She discovered her love for writing at a young age and has continued to cultivate her storytelling voice and styles ever since! She began working in Nashville in 2019 with Sistastyle Productions, performing as Tracy Ada in STEAL AWAY and continues to be active in Nashville’s theater community. She directed and co-produced her first show with Verge Theater Company as their featured collegiate playwright for Black Future month in 2022 with her original play CHANCE. Her poetry was also featured in the Orlando Museum of Art and Black Girl Theatre Magic’s Onija event in 2019 and her piece BEFORE THE SUNRISE won Best in Show. She works with love, not against hate, and the power of storytelling to heal and expand community in this world. MJ is so excited to explore her new ideas and expand her writing skills with the Tennessee Playwrights Studio Fellowship program in 2024 and can’t wait to bring this very special project to life.
Melissa McKnight
MJ (Myah Jackson)
MJ (Myah Jackson)
Melissa McKnight is a playwright living in Memphis whose work explores metamodernist views of class and gender. Her interest in theater manifested after a few acting roles and improv classes in Nashville. Since graduating as a Human Relations major from The University of Oklahoma in 2010 she has worked as a Backup Singer, sang in an award
Melissa McKnight is a playwright living in Memphis whose work explores metamodernist views of class and gender. Her interest in theater manifested after a few acting roles and improv classes in Nashville. Since graduating as a Human Relations major from The University of Oklahoma in 2010 she has worked as a Backup Singer, sang in an award winning Sweet Adelines Show Chorus, and worked as an Organizer on Barack Obama’s incumbent Campaign in 2012. She began performing as a Standup Comedian eight years ago and hosted The Moth storySLAM in Nashville from May 2019-December 2020. Her latest gigs were as a principal performer in a few Vicks Vapor Rub commercials, and she grew an entire human in 2023.
Keisha Morrow
MJ (Myah Jackson)
Keisha Morrow
Keisha Morrow is from West Tennessee and grew up doing theatre. She has been in plays such as the THE GLASS MENAGERIE and MACBETH, and is returning to theatre after a long absence. She is currently studying for a minor in theatre at ETSU and teaches high school English/Theatre Arts.
Allison Page
Natalie P. Wright
Natalie P. Wright
Allison Page is a nationally produced and published playwright & comedy writer living in Nashville, by way of San Francisco and rural Minnesota. She generally writes about monsters, some with scales or fur, and some who look like your aunt. She has written: THE PYRAMID, a comedy about a group of high schoolers who start a dangerous wellne
Allison Page is a nationally produced and published playwright & comedy writer living in Nashville, by way of San Francisco and rural Minnesota. She generally writes about monsters, some with scales or fur, and some who look like your aunt. She has written: THE PYRAMID, a comedy about a group of high schoolers who start a dangerous wellness cult, HELLHOUND, a comedy about six teens chased along the River Styx by a three-headed dog, THE SON OF SAM IS IN THE BATHROOM AT THE DRUNKEN HORSE, a comedy about three young New Jersey women who narrowly escape an encounter with a serial killer and get a plate of cannoli — and many others. Her pilot script, BEWARE THE JABBERWOCK, about the importance of free knowledge and libraries, was a semifinalist in the 2023 Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and a quarterfinalist in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest. She spent eight years as the Artistic Director of San Francisco’s largest sketch comedy company, Killing My Lobster, where she also wrote and performed for over a decade. You can find some of her scripts at newplayexchange.org/users/3403/allison-page, and find her very niche, very goofy rural Minnesota stories at https://allisonpage.substack.com.
Natalie P. Wright
Natalie P. Wright
Natalie P. Wright
Natalie P. Wright was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She first fell in love with the theatre wearing a pillowcase as a dress in a first-grade production of ANNIE. She is currently a student at Vanderbilt University studying psychology, theatre, and creative writing. Her short play WWI ESSAY SHITTY FIRST DRAFT was selected for a
Natalie P. Wright was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She first fell in love with the theatre wearing a pillowcase as a dress in a first-grade production of ANNIE. She is currently a student at Vanderbilt University studying psychology, theatre, and creative writing. Her short play WWI ESSAY SHITTY FIRST DRAFT was selected for a staged reading as part of Vanderbilt University Theatre’s New Play Fest (2023). Natalie wrote, directed, and produced the full-length play ENTER MACBETH with Vanderbilt University’s Iceberg Theatre Company in October of 2023. She is currently serving as the president of both Vanderbilt University Theatre and Iceberg Theatre Company.
Jaclynn Jutting (Fellow)
Jaclynn Jutting (Fellow)
Jaclynn Jutting (Fellow)
Jaclynn Jutting is an award-winning freelance director and teaching artist, working out of Nashville and Chicago. Her work as director focuses on the contemporary play and contemporary adaptations of classics. She most recently directed the U.S. premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s MOSQUITOES with Chicago’s Steep Theatre and was an Artist in Resid
Jaclynn Jutting is an award-winning freelance director and teaching artist, working out of Nashville and Chicago. Her work as director focuses on the contemporary play and contemporary adaptations of classics. She most recently directed the U.S. premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s MOSQUITOES with Chicago’s Steep Theatre and was an Artist in Residence at Vanderbilt University, directing Annie Baker’s UNCLE VANYA. She has directed with Steppenwolf, Raven, Nashville Repertory Theater, Actors Bridge Ensemble, Verge Theater and Oz Arts Nashville. She has worked at MTSU, Nashville Public Library and was the Director of the BFA-Directing program at Belmont University. She received her BA from Knox College and an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University. She is currently an adjunct professor at Lipscomb University, teaching a solo performance class at the Debra K. Johnson rehabilitation center.
Emmalee Manes (Fellow)
Jaclynn Jutting (Fellow)
Jaclynn Jutting (Fellow)
Emmalee Manes is a playwright with a passion for story-sharing across cultures. After graduating as a double major in Creative Writing and Journalism from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, she moved to rural Japan, where she taught English in Japanese public schools for three years, before returning to the states and settling down i
Emmalee Manes is a playwright with a passion for story-sharing across cultures. After graduating as a double major in Creative Writing and Journalism from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, she moved to rural Japan, where she taught English in Japanese public schools for three years, before returning to the states and settling down in Nashville. Her 10-minute plays have been produced at Lee University and The Art Thing in Toyama, Japan. Outside of theatre, Emmalee enjoys film, non-fiction, and poetry. She served as Director of Toyama International Film festival for three years and was the Content Manager for the 2021 Nashville Film Festival. She has also enjoyed working to further U.S.-Japan relations as the Social Media Coordinator at Nashville’s Japanese Consulate. Most recently, Emmalee received Lee University’s 2020 Young Alumni Grant to complete her first full-length play, FOLDING, which was workshopped at Nashville’s Pipeline-Collective.
Kate McGunagle (Fellow)
Melissa McKnight (Associate)
Amina S. McIntyre (Fellow)
Kate McGunagle is a queer writer, artist, and Montana native whose creative work centers around gender, identity, and the body, especially in the context of violence, media, and community. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared or are forthcoming in Passages North, Five Points, The North American Review, and The Whitefish Review, and he
Kate McGunagle is a queer writer, artist, and Montana native whose creative work centers around gender, identity, and the body, especially in the context of violence, media, and community. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared or are forthcoming in Passages North, Five Points, The North American Review, and The Whitefish Review, and her essay “Passive Voice” was the recipient of the 2021 Terry Tempest Williams Prize in Creative Nonfiction. A graduate of Princeton University and Boston University’s M.F.A. program in Creative Writing, Kate has over fifteen years of performance experience and is currently an active member of Nashville's Pipeline Collective. Her first play, Woman Bird Man, examines a Montana-based religious cult whose members grapple with identity, truth, and redemption in the space of one fateful weekend. She currently lives in Nashville.
Amina S. McIntyre (Fellow)
Melissa McKnight (Associate)
Amina S. McIntyre (Fellow)
Amina S. McIntyre is an Atlanta based playwright whose productions and readings include: Actor’s Express, Atlanta History Museum, Working Title Playwrights, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Out of Hand Theatre, and The Blue Series (2019 Taurean Award Nominee for Excellence in Theatre) and Vanguard Repertory Theatre (Suzi Bass Award Winner). She
Amina S. McIntyre is an Atlanta based playwright whose productions and readings include: Actor’s Express, Atlanta History Museum, Working Title Playwrights, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Out of Hand Theatre, and The Blue Series (2019 Taurean Award Nominee for Excellence in Theatre) and Vanguard Repertory Theatre (Suzi Bass Award Winner). She has received her BA in Anthropology from Colby College, MA in African American and African Diaspora Studies from Indiana University, MFA in Creative Writing (Playwriting) at Spalding University, and Masters of Theological Studies from Emory University. She was a Playwriting Apprentice at Horizon Theatre Company, Managing Director of Karibu Performing Arts, 2014-2016 Atlanta Region Young Ambassador for the Dramatist’s Guild, Co-Producer of WeReckon: A Southern Chronicle and the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs 2014-2015 Emerging Theatre Artist. McIntyre currently serves as Co-Founder of the Hush Harbor Lab and is a Ph.D student in Religion at Vanderbilt University.
Melissa McKnight (Associate)
Melissa McKnight (Associate)
Melissa McKnight (Associate)
Melissa McKnight (aka Graceful Honeybee) (Associate) is one of those multiple-creative-outlet-chasing-bohemians you may have heard about. Her foundation of Performing and Visual Arts was established in her hometown of Miami, Florida, and her immediate family's relocation to Tulsa, Oklahoma when she was 9 years old cemented her sense of ir
Melissa McKnight (aka Graceful Honeybee) (Associate) is one of those multiple-creative-outlet-chasing-bohemians you may have heard about. Her foundation of Performing and Visual Arts was established in her hometown of Miami, Florida, and her immediate family's relocation to Tulsa, Oklahoma when she was 9 years old cemented her sense of irony! Since graduating from The University of Oklahoma in 2010, she’s worked as a backup singer, sang in the award winning Sweet Adelines Show Chorus, and worked as an organizer on Barack Obama’s incumbent campaign in 2012. She began performing as a standup comedian six years ago and hosted The Moth storySLAM in Nashville from May 2019 to December 2020. Her work highlights the absurdity and wonderment of meta-modernist living. In addition to inspiring others to think critically about their existence within a society where few profit from the suffering of many, she hopes to see the stories she’s writing come to life on stage.
René Millán (Fellow)
Christan Riley (Associate)
Christan Riley (Associate)
René Millán (Fellow) The son of Mexican immigrants, René Millán was born and raised in San Diego, CA, the youngest of five boys. Millán attended the prestigious Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle where he devised two theatrical pieces dealing with immigration, ethnic identity and social justice.
René Millán (Fellow) The son of Mexican immigrants, René Millán was born and raised in San Diego, CA, the youngest of five boys. Millán attended the prestigious Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle where he devised two theatrical pieces dealing with immigration, ethnic identity and social justice. The foundation of his studies and his inspiration for devised pieces is the Suzuki Method of Actor Training; a physical mode used to build a bridge between mind, body and spirit- a method he teaches and has expanded on. René has lived and worked in New York City and Los Angeles where he has acted on Broadway, Off Broadway, film and television. He has also starred in plays at major regional theaters around the country including the Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse and Yale Rep where he also received a Beinecke visiting scholar fellowship to teach Suzuki inspired movement and acting. He was a core acting company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for seven seasons. Throughout his career he has devised and collaborated on theatrical works combining movement, text, and multimedia platforms. He teaches acting through Millán Acting Studio and is based in Nashville, TN where he also directs and acts. He has a performance piece and film based on the artist Martín Ramírez in the works. He lives with his wife and three children.
Christan Riley (Associate)
Christan Riley (Associate)
Christan Riley (Associate)
Christan Riley (Associate) was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She attended Fisk University where she performed as a Jubilee Singer and enjoyed her matriculation at the HBCU as a Spanish major. From painting and playing the piano to writing skits, dancing, and acting in plays, Christan has loved all things arts since she was a kid. She
Christan Riley (Associate) was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She attended Fisk University where she performed as a Jubilee Singer and enjoyed her matriculation at the HBCU as a Spanish major. From painting and playing the piano to writing skits, dancing, and acting in plays, Christan has loved all things arts since she was a kid. She has been affiliated with Dream 7 Theatre Productions for 20 yrs and operates as the youth director and secretary of the board. She has written several plays and is currently co-writing a musical about The Original Fisk Jubilee Singers through a Metro Arts Thrive Partnership Grant with Dream 7/A.R.T.S. “Theatre and writing is truly part of my passion. I know I’m walking in purpose, because I ENJOY doing the work!” She is a loving wife and mother of 4 children. She feels blessed to work on her passions from home.
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.