PLAY LABS: Growth for Fresh Plays
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While live production is paused, Phase Eight is proud to support the development of new works and contemporary voices for the American stage. We will be petitioning direction and casting as well as hosting invited readings of three plays by local authors this summer. Please note that all titles are working titles:
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TALENT & TEAMS
in chronological and alphabetical order
UNBOUNDED: a play inspired by Frederick Douglass
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THEO CANTY (playwright) started his artistic career as a musician. He attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts where he studied Vocal Performance. In 2006, Theo won the Grady-Rayam Negro Spiritual competition for young African American classical vocalist. Theo studied classical music at Stetson University under the direction of Dr. Stephen Hg and vocal jazz at Berklee College of Music under Allison Wedding. Upon returning to Jacksonville in 2015, Theo began his acting career. He received rave reviews for his work as Jimmy Early in the musical Dreamgirls. He has also been cast in works by local playwright James Webb and most recently was cast as Victor in Smokey Joe’s Café. Theo has shared the stage with performers such as "Three Mo' Tenors" and Nikki Giovanni.
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MURDER CAPITAL: 1890s-1980s in Jacksonville
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Murder Capital: Eight Stories, 1890s-1980s (Summer 2020) is Tim Gilmore’s 20th book. His other books include Repossessions: Mass Shooting in Baymeadows, The Devil in the Baptist Church: Bob Gray’s Unholy Trinity, In Search of Eartha White: Storehouse for the People, The Mad Atlas of Virginia King, and Stalking Ottis Toole: A Southern Gothic. Gilmore’s dramatic adaptations of Stalking Ottis Toole and Repossessions were staged by Florida State College at Jacksonville's DRAMAworks. Gilmore is the writer and creator of jaxpsychogeo.com, a project that explores place and catalogues the Southern Gothic, telling more than 500 stories of strange and historic locations in and around Jacksonville, Florida. He’s the founder of JaxbyJax, a literary arts festival built on the theme of “Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville.” Gilmore’s writing has appeared in numerous national and Florida publications. Gilmore teaches Literature and Writing at Florida State College at Jacksonville, where he was awarded a 2018 Distinguished Faculty Award. The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville named Gilmore the 2018 Literary Artist of the Year. Also in 2018, Gilmore served on the Jacksonville City Council’s Civil Rights History Task Force. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida.
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KELBY SIDDONS (playwright/adaptor) studied playwrighting under Laura Schellhardt at Northwestern University. Her original plays have been performed in New York City (Manhattan Theatre Club), Milwaukee (Rep), Houston (Express), Chicago (Purple Crayon Players), Gainesville (Y-Not Theater), and Jacksonville (Players by the Sea; ABET / Actors' Collective; Episcopal School of Jacksonville). She currently serves as an Associate Artistic Director for Phase Eight Theater. More credits at kelbysiddons.com.
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BRIAN NIECE (Director) is a multidisciplinary creative hailing from Nashville, TN where he served as the founding Artistic Director of People’s Branch Theatre. He’s participated in hundreds of productions in professional theatre as an actor, director, writer, designer, and producer. Over the years he has also been an author, pastor, teacher, speaker, non-profit administrator, and entrepreneur. He holds degrees in Theatre Arts & English Literature (BA), Theology (MA), and is a PhD Candidate in Humanities. Brian and his wife, Heather, share life with their three unpredictable kids. Keep up with all of Brian’s projects at brianniece.com.
LAS FRONTERAS: a Story of Border Crossings in North America
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ADAM GROFF (playwright) is a creator living in Jacksonville, Florida. He has an MFA in Playwriting and Screenwriting from Florida State University and a BA in Creative Writing from FSU as well. He is the winner of the Kennedy Center Theatre Festival for his 10-minute play, Nancies; a published short story writer; a Nicholl Fellowship Semi-Finalist; a finalist for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab; and winner of the 2017 Austin Film Festival Scripted Digital Series Competition for his web series, The Range. Adam spends the majority of his days writing screenplays, stage plays, and short fiction. This is Adam's third time working with Phase 8 Theater Company – his previous productions were 2017's LIVE GIRLS and 2018's MASS.
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MATT MERCURIO (Director) spent most of his formative years in Jacksonville, Florida. Coming from a hard working immigrant family, meant a strong emphasis was placed on Matt's education and an unrelenting insistence of a more traditional career path. Having spent a portion of his childhood aspiring to be a professional wrestler, and the rest of it dreaming to be an actor, Matt always possessed an inherent theatricality and the playful spirit required to chase his inevitable artistic ambitions.
Matt first studied acting at Florida State College's Theatre Performance program on a full-time performance talent scholarship and at the BFA Acting program at the University of Florida's School of Theatre and Dance, where Matt was a proud member of the hip-hop theatre troupe, Signs of Life, as a performer, writer, director, and producer. His training also includes a full scholarship as an Acting Apprentice and company member at the Tony Award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he studied comedy with The Upright Citizens Brigade as well as stand-up with comedian Lewis Black. Full credits and training at actormattmercurio.com. |