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“Lady Balls” writer Allison Fradkin
Scriptly speaking, Allison Fradkin (she/her) has a ball creating satirically scintillating stories that (sur)pass the Bechdel Test and enlist their characters in a caricature of the idiocies and intricacies of insidious isms. Her 10-minute plays have been staged nationwide, and in Indiana her work has been presented by American Lives Theatre and Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette. This native Chicagoan steps up to the plate as Artistic Director of Mosaic Players, curating historical plays that champion social justice and human rights; while also going to bat as Dramatist for Special Gifts Theatre, adapting scripts to celebrate actors of all abilities. Allison’s auxiliary activities include vintage shopping, volunteering, and tending to her thespian tendencies.
“Companions” writer Rob Bola
Rob Bola is a Bloomington native, who’s old enough to remember The Fun Frolic, all-you-can-play Putt Putt, and when the College Mall was the coolest place on Earth. After graduating from Bloomington North and Indiana University, he was part of the local Indianapolis filmmaking scene in the early 2000s, writing the feature-length script for “Fake ID”, which found its way into Blockbuster stores nationwide (they went out of business some time later, although it’s uncertain if the two events are connected). He moved to Los Angeles and eventually became a producer of NBC / Bravo’s Emmy-nominated reality show “Million Dollar Listing”. He returned home to Bloomington last year (sans Emmy, sadly) and is now taking graduate courses at The Media School, reacquainting himself with the word “homework”. “Companions” is his first finished play, and he can’t wait to meet all the actors, writers, and directors who call Bloomington home. Maybe there’s a way to all hang out and make the College Mall the coolest place on Earth once again.
Writer Laura DeBrunner
Laura is excited to be a writer and performer for MCCT’s One Act Showcase “When Dreams Become Reality”. Laura has been involved in theatre since 2009 as a music director, choreographer, director, and actress. Some of her favorite roles include Miss Dinsmore (Singing in the Rain), Diana ( All’s Well That Ends Well), and Bombalurina ( Cats). She most recently was a Music Director for Stages’ production of Frozen Jr. and Director for MCCT’s Halloween Spooktacular. Thank you to the One Act Showcase Production Team for this opportunity to showcase new works to the Bloomington.
“Date Night” Writer Joseph Bardin
Joe is a playwright and essayist based in Arizona by way of Trenton, Washington DC and Tel Aviv. His plays explore going beyond traditional forms to find human connection. His work has been developed or produced by iTheatre Collaborative, Theatre Artists Studios, Space 55, Herberger Lunchtime Theater in Phoenix; Winding Road Theatre, Tucson; the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble, CA; and KMC Onstage, Kaiserslautern, Germany. Joe is the author of the essay collection, Outlier Heart (IFERS Press). His essays have appeared in literary magazines including Interim, Bull Journal, Louisville Review, Eclectica, and Image Journal, and been anthologized in the Transhumanism Handbook (Springer). (www.josephbardin.com).
“Nights from Now On” and “Bartelby & Bess” Writer Elisabeth Speckman
Elisabeth Giffin Speckman (she/her) received her MFA in Fiction from Butler University. Her plays have been produced both nationally and internationally, and are available through Next Stage Press, YouthPLAYS, and the New Play Exchange. Other work appears in Best Men’s Monologues 2021 (Smith & Kraus), Stage It! 2: 30 Ten Minute Plays, Contemporary 1 Minute Plays Volume 4, Midwestern Gothic, CHEAP POP, and Flash Fiction Magazine, among others. Her short screenplays and their films have been officially selected, nominated, and awarded at both national and international festivals. She has developed work with the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, 29th Street Playwrights Collective, The Bechdel Group, The Skeleton Rep(resents), The Barrow Group, Yale Writers’ Workshop, and more. She is a two-time Henley Rose Award finalist and a 2023 O’Neill NPC Finalist. She is the founder of Ensemble Children’s Theatre. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and two children. For more info, visit egspeckman.com.