Photos from id theatre projects

 

2005 Conference

June 6 - 18, 2005 at the Alpine Playhouse in McCall Idaho (map)

The 2005 Plays

Be Here Then by Judy Anderson - Johnny comes marching home from the war to find the life and livelihood of his rural American home town has changed… and so has he.

Jem & I by Ron Fitzgerald - Loraine hides under the pious skirts of her new life, insisting her daughters, Jem and Abby, call her “aunt.” When Loraine, a high school guidance counselor, is fired for mixing church and state it sets off a chain of events that threatens to expose them all.

In the Sawtooths by Dano Madden - Avid backpackers, Oby, Nellie and Darin, are prepared for anything the great outdoors can throw their way. But when tragedy strikes in their own front yard, can these old friends navigate the immense and unexpected wilderness of life?

The Feast of the Flying Cow... and Other Stories of War by Jeni Mahoney - Trapped in a world that is as absurd as it is brutal, a socialite turned relief worker, attempts to award a free feast and celebrity-style photo shoot to a besieged, war weary family.

American Midget by Jonathan Yukich - The mysterious Mr. Much convinces ordinary Albert that he is a midget… but is he? Join one man’s struggle to distinguish reality from delusion in a world far more outlandish, but only slightly more absurd, than our own.

 

Plays from the McCall Donnelly High School

Corporate Pose by Ashley Allen

The Lark & the Royal Duke by Dylan Crawford

What A Dream by Brandon Joiner

The Leaving by Nate Thrash .

 

Plays from the Playwrights Intensive

DeathComes to Sweet William by Bernadine Cockey

The Post Modernist by Mona Curtis

The Playwrights

JUDY ANDERSON (Be Here Then) was born and raised in Wisconsin where she learned to love the lakes, rivers and the North Woods.  In 1970, she left the University in Madison and moved out West a with a group of "back-to-the-landers".  By 1972 she had settled in Idaho where she has raised 6 kids who brought her her hardest lessons and the greatest fun.  In the mid-80's she and her family developed a family circus which they've performed off and on for 20-some years. Her dream was always to work with the Bread and Puppet Theater.  Her favorite job was working for the Forest Service doing riparian inventory, but for the last 10 years she has taught Drama, Humanities and Playwriting. It has been a privilege to work with this community's children; they make her laugh so hard. She's always tried to balance her politics with art and gardening, so nothing gets completely out of hand.

BERNADINE COCKEY (Death Comes to Sweet William) lives a cabin in the woods, where she hunts and tracks her own plays.  She is currently stalking a great American tragedy, and hopes to make a killing soon.  Her interests include acting, directing, and making phone calls at the Bistro.  She has written several soon-to-be-award winning plays.

MONA CURTIS (The Post Modernist) is a native of Idaho and although reading, writing, and art have been a large part of her life for many years, other than a few local exhibits, her work hasn't had much exposure.  She has written a play called The Post-Modernist and is happy to have it received and supported by an organization as well known as the Seven Devils Playwrights' Conference. The play could be classified as absurd theater although, on the onset, she had no absurdist intentions.  She hopes it can help us to realize that although there are tremendous and serious flaws in the world, that philosophies abound that are frightening in their implications, that there is still hope, that there is still laughter, and that there still exists an absurdity that makes sense.

RON FITZGERALD (Jem & I) Ron's plays include Cyclone, Parts Unknown, The River, Hair Of The Dog, Safe and an adaptation of The Diaries Of Adam And Eve by Mark Twain. Cyclone and Parts Unknown were originally presented at The National Playwrights Conference. Ron attended The Juilliard School on a Playwriting Fellowship with Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang. At Juilliard, Ron was twice awarded The LeCompte du Nouy Grant from The Lincoln Center Foundation. He is also the recipient of the John Golden Award from Columbia University for Best Play and a Tennessee Williams Fellowship from The University of the South.

DANO MADDEN (In The Sawtooths) is a playwright and stage director. He is thrilled to be making his second trip to the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. Mr. Madden participated in 2001, developing his play The Raccoon. In April his play Ella premiered as part of the Rutgers University New Play Festival. Mr. Madden's ten-minute play, The Save is being produced this month as part of Mile Square Theatre's annual “7th Inning Stretch” fundraiser in Hoboken , New Jersey . In 1999/ 2000 Mr. Madden was an intern at Actors Theatre of Louisville where he had the honor of studying directing with Jon Jory. Mr. Madden's directing credits at ATL include: Back Story (24 th Humana Festival), Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You and An Evening Crossword. He also appeared as a groom in Big Love (24 th Humana Festival). Mr. Madden's credits in writing include: Yo-yo (State Theater in Olympia, Washington), Forecast (Honorable Mention at the University of Idaho's annual DNA one-page play festival), Red Giant in the Milky Way (Idaho Theatre for Youth), The New (Actors Theatre of Louisville Festival of New Ten-Minute Plays 2000), The Soft Sand (1996 Idaho Governor's Awards in the Arts), The Stamp (First Night Boise 1999) and Drop (SAMUEL FRENCH Inc). Drop was the winner of the 1997 Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival's National Short-Play Award as well as the first Anchorage Press Theatre for Youth Award. Mr. Madden was the recipient of the 2001 Idaho Commission on the Arts Fellowship in playwriting. In 1997 he was inducted into the Boise State University Hall of Fame. He is currently pursuing his MFA in playwriting at Rutgers University . He would like to thank his friends and family for their continued support.

JENI MAHONEY (Artistic Director and The Feast of the Flying Cow... and Other Stories of War) Co-Artistic Director of id Theatre Company, and formerly Associate Director of Mint Theater Company in New York (2002 Drama Desk Award, 2001 OBIE) and Head of the Playwriting Program at Playwrights Horizons Theater School/NYU Tisch, Jeni's current project is her nearly-four-month-old daughter (and new boss) Noa. Her play The Feast of the Flying Cow…And Other Stories of War was presented at the National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Center, The MidWestern New Plays Festival, Lark Theater and Rattlestick Productions and will be presented this fall by InterAct Theater in Philadelphia . Other plays include Mercy Falls , Bad Water Juju , Light , Salty , The Martyrdom of Washington Booth and Running in Circles Screaming . You will find her work in Best Stage Monologues for Men 1999 , Best Stage Monologues for Women 1999 , Best Stage Scenes 1999, and Janet Milstein's Audition Arsenal series of books (all by Smith & Kraus). Throw of the Moon (written with husband Ben Sahl) and American Eyes can be found in Plays and Playwrights 2001 .

JONATHAN YUKICH (American Midget) Jonathan Yukich's plays have been seen in Canada , Australia , and England , as well as in several U.S. cities ranging from Anchorage , Alaska to Buffalo , New York .  His awards include the 2000 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition , the 2002 Wichita State University National Playwriting Award, and the Kennedy Center 's 2003 Paula Vogel Award for Playwriting. Two of his one-acts are published with Playscripts, Inc. His work is also included in The Best Women's Stage Monologues of 2003 , published by Smith & Kraus. Mr. Yukich lives in Brooklyn and teaches English at a two-year college in Manhattan .