Expanded Summer Studio Retreat for Teen Writers and Actors at Tao House

Announcement submitted by Eugene O’Neill Foundation:

Fledgling playwrights and actors interested in developing their own short plays and having them performed will beinterested in the O’Neill Studio Retreat, taking place at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site this summer in Danville.

The newly expanded workshop runs from Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 19, with a day off on July 13. Applications for the program will be accepted through June 22.

The O’Neill Studio Retreat is a unique program, designed to encourage creative production by the students as well as to provide a more thorough understanding of Nobel Prize winning playwright Eugene O’Neill and his place in American drama.

Sponsored by the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House, in partnership with the National Park Service, the intensive workshop provides the opportunity for young writers and actors to work collaboratively with professional playwrights and stage directors in the development of original ten-minute plays. The program is geared for advanced high school students, and has been expanded this year to allow for a more comfortable timeframe to develop and prepare the emerging scripts for presentation.

A limited number of writers and actors can be accepted into the intensive workshop. The O’Neill Studio Retreat meets daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 from July 9-19, and culminates with a performance in the Old Barn Theatre before a community audience on the final afternoon.

This is a collaborative workshop in playwriting and acting, led by two experienced theatre professionals. Published playwright Ignacio Zulueta will oversee the writing track. In addition to having his work produced around the country, Zulueta has been recipient of an Emerging Playwrights Award and a Fellowship from San Francisco Playground.

Professional actor and educator Chad Deverman will also return to lead this summer’s acting program. Deverman is a professional actor who has worked with many local groups including Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, TheatreWorks, and California Shakespeare Theatre, as well as several film and television companies.

Applications for participation in the July 9-19 workshop are available online at www.eugeneoneill.org (click on “O’Neill Studio Retreat “).

The O’Neill Studio Retreat is supported by grants from the Wood Foundation and the Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation.

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