Mike Wamser OU MFA '01

Mike Wamser OU MFA '01
nytheatre.com review David Fuller ·

October 17, 2007

"You should go. You will laugh, you will smile constantly, and you will consistently wonder at how in heck they are able to pull off Shakespeare's complete comedy with just four actors... All four ensemble members are equally wonderful in their multiple roles... these are skilled comedians...I was happy to have discovered this performance space and this company, and left with a broad smile, yes maybe even a silly grin, for what I had just experienced. Bravos to all involved!"

Full text:
www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/come5814.htm

Chantal Bilodeau

Chantal reports:

I've been living in New York for the last five years and I've become a core member of the Lark Play Development Center. In February, my play PLEASURE & PAIN was produced at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. A few months later, in May, it was produced again in a Spanish translation in Mexico City and I am now in the process of translating it into French. Other than that, I'm working on a new musical about fairies with lyricist Mindi Dickstein and composer Lisa DeSpain and I'm translating a play from French-Canadian playwright Catherine Léger into English. At the end of November, I will be a guest at the International Translation Seminar of the CEAD in Montreal. And if the funding comes through, I will be working on all kinds of interesting projects next year, which I will have to report on in my next entry.

Eric Coble's The Giver at DePaul

Eric Coble's adaptation of Louis Lowry's The Giver will be performed at DePaul University in Chicago. Details are here.

Congratulations Eric!

Melissa Gawlowski @ Lincoln Center

More info from Melissa:

Recently started working at Lincoln Center Institute. I have health insurance now! I'm the Education Assistant for Teaching Artists and Strategic Alliances. Yep. I help hire/assign TAs, which is an opportunity for peeps-- they hire actors, directors, and playwrights, as well as musicians, dancers, and visual artists.

When I left my old job at Premiere Stages in Jersey, I was placed on the Advisory Board (I was formerly the lit manager). They do all new works, so that's a good connection for playwrights who live in the northeast. I'm probably also going to be a panelist for their selection this year, so there's that. And, I am proud to say, I got paying gigs for Four OU alums in my two years there! Hope to keep that goin'.

Last thing: I'm lit manager for City Attic Theatre, an off-off-Broadway company, and we periodically do a call for plays, which can come from anywhere. Last year Justin Boyd was selected as a Finalist in our playwriting competition, and he received a staged reading.

Ryan Crowder looking for material from OU Alums

Ryan Crowder here (07 MFA acting). I’m enjoying all the news from OU Nation, and it got me to thinking… I’m in Austin, TX with a team opening a new professional theatre. There’s a Fringe Festival coming up this winter, and I’d love to produce something written by one of our fellow alums.

As far as actors go, we’ve got three male 20-somethings already. Finding a fourth or a woman wouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but if I can avoid an all out audition process, that’d help our schedule. The Fringe’s website is http://www.fronterafest.org/site/index.html. You’ll see there’s a place for short plays (25 min and down), as well as full length. I’d love to chat w/ anyone who’s interested. ryan.crowder.mail@gmail.com

Justin Boyd - Playwright

Justin reports:

Kathy and I live in Brooklyn, and we see fellow OU playwrights Chantal Bilodeau and Melissa Gawlowski fairly often. I’ve been keeping busy with writing and applying/submitting for EVERYTHING. Most recently, my play, Copy Man, was produced in August in Columbia, SC by Trustus Theater. It was a short run, but the play was well-received. In other playwriting news, I’m a 2007-2008 Dramatists Guild Fellow, which is a bi-weekly writers workshop, plus mentoring by, and occasional sessions with, theater bigwigs.

I’m also doing some theater journalism. I co-edit the Theater section of the Brooklyn Rail(www.brooklynrail.org). We cover mainly downtown and outer-borough artists and productions, a lot of stuff you don’t see in the Times or even the Village Voice. I’ve got an article in our October issue on Jason Grote’s excellent new play 1001, which is having its NYC premiere this month. I’m also an Affiliated Writer this year with American Theater magazine, which is a year-long association through which I’ll write three feature-length stories. My first – a profile of the director Anne Kauffman – was published in the October issue.

OU Emmy

Christopher De Paola is now... an EMMY AWARD NOMINATED ACTOR!!!

The good news was delivered yesterday. Judged by the New York chapter, I was nominated for my role on WCIU-TV's show "Green Screen Adventures." The official name of the category is:

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE ON CAMERA: PROGRAMMING - PERFORMER

The Emmy Award winners will be announced at a ceremony here in Chicago in November.

Collin Worster - MFA Acting

Collin Worster goes by the name of Collin Frendz in the band Victor Bravo. Here's what they have to say about themselves:

Victor Bravo is made up by two guys from Maine who escaped out of the cold badlands for the relative warmth and laid-back ease of New York City. They burst out on the crest of tense, loud, fast garage-punk rock that people compare to the Ramones and Iggy Pop. Born in the same town, in the same hospital, in the same week, at times their performances make it seem like they're reading each other's minds.

Dan pounds the drums in a unique and sometimes terrifying way – broken sticks, cymbals, heads, shells, stands, bloodied hands, and other musicians standing aghast are the norm. Collin fires up blazing, dense, distorted guitar work and sings his guts out until people are shaking. Together, their songs are klaxon-blast warnings about everything that looms up to destroy you when you're not alert: parents, partners, politicos, and all the various forces of darkness.

The guys of Victor Bravo have been performing shows around New York City since 2006, when they released their DIY 4-song EP called Shut Out The Sky. Reviewers have given the disc strong praise, comparing their sound not only to the Ramones and Iggy Pop, but also Mudhoney, Husker Du, and the Dead Kennedys. The band themselves find other inspiration from acts
like Superchunk, Nirvana, L7, and Hole.

Victor Bravo is currently booking shows in New York City and around the U.S. Northeast. Shut Out The Sky is available from iTunes, CD Baby, and direct from the band's website at VictorBravo.com.

www.victorbravo.com
www.myspace.com/victorbravo

--
Collin Frendz, Vocals/Guitar
VICTOR BRAVO
"Making Anthems for Wreckage"
collin@victorbravo.com

UPCOMING SHOW!
Sat Oct 13th @ The Charleston, Williamsburg Brooklyn

Michael A. Bachmann

Writer / Actor / Producer

Recently Mike's short film Neighborhood Watch was commissioned by Will
Ferrell's team to premiere with the launch of their website
FunnyOrDie.com. Mike is an active member of The Exploding Pajamas, a
sketch comedy group that performs live in Los Angeles and produces
film, television and commercial projects worldwide. In 2007 Mike
became part of the Untitled Wessler Project with Charlie Wessler and
the Farrelly Brothers. In addition to working on a new animated
television program set to launch in 2008, Mike is currently working
with Reveille Entertainment to develop a feature film based a current
hit MTV reality show. Mike's feature film SUPERTEMP was recently
optioned by Haymaker Entertainment.

Prior to relocating to Los Angeles from New York in late 2006, where
he was a partner at the equity research firm Sturza's Institutional
Research and hedgefund, Ursus Capital, Mike managed to juggle multiple
careers. He served as comedy writer and advisor on Nick@Nite's hidden
camera half-hour program Hi-Jinks and has appeared in several
television commercials for companies like Campbell's, EBay and Pepsi
as well as hit television programs like Hope and Faith, The Gilmore
Girls and Las Vegas. In his varied 15 year career in entertainment,
Mike has helped write, produce, and promote several projects with
production companies that include Banyan, Grainey Pix, TVBoy, and WOLO
Entertainment including a music video for rap sensation A.M.M.O., The
Nigga you love to Hate, the short film, Prairie Dogs, and the award
winning documentary, Freedom's Fury with executive producers Lucy Liu
and Quentin Tarantino.

Mike is managed by H2F Entertainment in Hollywood.

He currently resides in Studio City, CA with his wife and two small children.

Find out the latest info at http://www.AtTheMike.com

AC NY Chi-Town

Aaron Carter's one act Raw Material opens on September 23rd in Chicago. At the same time, Iowa Akhbar is being read at the KNF Series in New York.

The KNF reading is chock full of OU alums including director Carolina Conte and actor Erinn Ruth.

Dave Carrico and Meredith Neal.

Dave Carrico reports:

Here's an update on me and Meredith Neal.

We just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We're living in Brooklyn. I'm starting a new job Monday at Pace University, as an adjunct Professor of Theatre, and Technical Director for the Department of Theatre.

Meredith is a freelance costume designer, currently doing Costumes and Props for a production of Camino Real that Sarah Michelson, another OU alum is directing for the 2nd Annual Tennesee Williams Festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She had a small show in NYC's 365, and recently did Costumes for a new play, Leni, with Collaborative Play as part of FringeNYC. Her website is www.meredithneal.net.

We have three cats, Roux, Lola and Meatwad. If you're in NYC, give us a holler!

Qui Invades Chicago

OU Alum Qui Nguyen is invading Chicago. Check out his productions coming up here.

Christopher De Paola

Christopher De Paola reports:

For the past nine months, I've been working for Weigel Broadcasting (WCIU-TV) here in Chicago. I'm a head-writer and actor on the children's show "Green Screen Adventures." We take children's stories (grades 1-4) and adapt them for television. The show has been airing once a week for the last 6 months. But the powers that be have decided to amp it up. Original episodes begin airing weekday mornings, 5 days a week on September 17th. Channel 23 for all you Chicago folks!! Weigel Broadcasting is the only television station in Chicago creating original children's programming.

I was recently commissioned by Scott Foresman Publishing to write two short plays for a west coast reading/literature text book slated for publication next year.

I am also co-founder, with Aaron Carter, of Instant Theatre at Chicago Dramatists. Instant Theatre started on a trial basis at Chicago Dramatists this past summer. And lucky for us, Chicago Dramatists has signed us on as a permanent monthly fixture in their schedule. Aaron and I both organize and host the event every month. Check out our blog for details...
http://instanttheatre.blogspot.com/

As for my acting, I was in last season's production of "Cynical Weathers" at Victory Gardens Theater. Was in "Autobiography" by Sean Graney for Collaboraction's Annual Sketchbook Festival in June. I begin rehearsals next month for "Eye of the Storm"- an adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." I'll be playing the lead role of Trinculo. The show runs November 1 thru December 6 at the Vittum Theater.

Laura Jacqmin

Laura Jacqmin reports:

I was commissioned by Collaboraction to write the final piece in a modern take on the Herman Hesse novel, Siddhartha. The resulting play (made up of shorter vignettes by Sean Graney, Stephen Cone, Emily Schwartz, myself and J. Nicole Brooks and directed by Joel Moorman), The Siddhartha Project: A Down-Home, Apocalyptic Avalanche of Beauty, will play at Lumen (839 W. Fulton) in Chicago, Sept. 29-Oct. 14. See collaboraction.org for more details.

Julie Dahlinger

Julie Dahlinger reports:

"The Ville" ...Not your Mother's Soap Opera

A live-action serial theatre piece with a team of 8 writers and 20 actors working to produce new episodes each month. Info and Promo at:
www.myspace.com/barebonedtheatre

Mary's Attic
5400 N Clark St.
Mondays at 8pm

I recently closed "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" at Actor's Workshop, and a ten-minute 365 play called, "Mythical Murderess" with Stage Left.

Jeni Mahoney

Jeni Mahoney reports:

I've got a play running right now in Denver: "The Feast of the Flying Cow... and Other Stories of War." The theater company (And Toto Too) just posted a My Space page for it at: http://www.myspace.com/andtototootheatrecompany I'm also teaching playwriting at Playwrights Horizons Theater School which is a part of the BFA Theater Program at NYU's Tisch School for the Arts.

I'm Artistic Director (and founder) of the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference in McCall, Idaho. We're based on the model of the O'Neill Playwrights Conference (I was there as a playwright in 97) - We've developed more than 50 plays in the past 7 years and worked with some great writers on some truly terrific plays -- and we've brought a number of Bob Cats out there inc.: Roger Truesdell (Director), Ed Baker (Actor, Production Manager), Danette Baker (Actress, Director), Greg Paul (Actor, Director).

Victory Gardens has a new Literary Manager

Aaron Carter has been hired as the Literary Manager for Victory Gardens. Here's a link to the Playbill article.

Law & Order: Jacquelyn Reingold

Jacquelyn reports:

I am happily catching murderers in convoluted ways writing for Law & Order Criminal Intent. My next episode will air November 8th on the USA channel. In July I was at the JAW Festival at Portland Cetner Stage doing a workshop of "A Story About a Girl," which I started way back when at OU. It was great to meet fellow alum, fabulous actor, Rob Riley there.

Aaron Burns Up Nashville

An excerpt from my play Panther Burn will be read at the Shades of Black Festival on on September 13 at 6 p.m. at the Darkhorse Theater, 4610 Charlotte Ave. Nashville, TN.

Panther Burn was nominated for a Black Theater Alliance Award in Chicago. The awards banquet is October 8th. Fancy dress and everything.

Melissa Gawlowski amps Madness

This Thursday, [September 13th] I've got a show called Metis in Tribeca at a theatre called The Tank (279 Church St. at 9 p.m., for any New Yorkers reading the bloggage). It's an experimental interaction between six playwrights and six improvisational musicians. Essentially an amped-up Madness. I assigned each playwright (Qui Nguyen is one of 'em) to riff on a section of The Odyssey, and we're going to cast each other and rehearse for an hour or so, then meet up with the musicians/vocalists/sound artists and see what happens. I think it might be pretty cool. Or crazy bad. Interesting nonetheless, I hope. There's a website: www.TheMetis.org. Also www.myspace.com/MetisExperiment.