*denotes film/video
The Suffragist
Premieres June 2020
Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center
Cedar Falls, IA
A new musical with Book & Lyrics by Cavan Hallman and music by Nancy Hill Cobb. Iconic leaders Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucy Burns, Anna Howard Shaw and others struggle to justify the means for their ultimate goal: winning the franchise for women. This battle of ideas and leadership is painted in intimate human moments, and with musical spectacle, bringing to life the parades, rallies and protests these revolutionary activists used to advance their cause.
The Woods of Old Bohemia
June 2018
National Czech & Slovak Museum
Cedar Rapids, IA
A collaboration between the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Playtime Poppy Children’s Theatre, this commissioned piece weaves together the characters and stories of four classic fairy tales, including: Long, Broad, and Sharp Eyes; Brunswick and the Lion; Little Otik; and the 12 Months.
Tales From the Writers’ Room – X Marks the Spot
February 2018
SPT Theatre
Cedar Rapids, IA
Contributing writer for a sketch comedy show in SPT Theatre’s 10th Anniversary Season.
Drop the Mic
June 2018
The Sanctuary
Iowa City, IA
December 2017
Matthew 25
Cedar Rapids, IA
June 2017
Indian Creek Nature Center
Cedar Rapids, IA
Featured reader, sharing prose from “The Farcical Tragedy of the World Famous Dante Patterson,” and dramatic material from “Night Launch.”
Pictures of Marilyn
October – November 2016
National WWII Museum
New Orleans, LA
In 1954 Marilyn Monroe was one of the biggest stars in the world, but she still struggled to take complete control of her life and career. This musical tracks Hollywood’s most iconic beauty from her days as a WWII factory worker up to the triumphant establishment of Marilyn Monroe Productions. She overcomes the influences of lovers Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, the controlling grip of the studios, and her own anxieties to achieve her dream of true independence.
“Pictures of Marilyn will forever stay etched into the memories of local theater lovers.” – Crescent City Jewish News
Band Together
November 2016
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Orpheum Theater
New Orleans, LA
An educational performance with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, “Band Together” combined classic vaudevillian slapstick, performed with Sammich the Tramp, and the history of symphonic music in New Orleans.
(The Positively True and Factual Events
of the Real Live Girl Who Would
Come to Be Known as)
Sleeping Beauty
September – November 2016
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
Available for licensing through Heartland Plays
This irreverent and interactive take on the classic “Sleeping Beauty” tale emphasizes the Princess’ agency — as much agency as a person can have while asleep for one hundred years. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
Not Easily Forgotten
July 2016
The Roundy
Cork, Ireland
November 2015
Razor’s Edge Festival
New Orleans, LA
March 2013
The CRY HAVOC Company
New York, NY
March 2012
Roy Arias Cabaret
New York, NY
April 2011
Red Rhino
Brooklyn, NY
May 2010
The Part Time Gallery
Chicago, IL
Directed by Will Clark
Is it possible to be a straight white dude without being a complete jerk? What does it mean to be a man?
Not Easily Forgotten uses moments of bold theatricality — a live pain-threshold test, the inner monologue of an operatic bird, the recreation of a pirate wedding — to leapfrog around autobiographical tales on subjects ranging from sex to gender to race and religion, all in an attempt to find a personal definition for 21st century masculinity.
He Hated It
March 2016
Southern Rep Theatre
New Orleans, LA
Directed by Jessica Podewell
Three writers desperately try to convince a publisher to buy their novel about an astronaut who speaks in poetry and a flatulent monkey. Presented as part of Southern Rep’s 6 x 6, a writing development program run by New Orleans’ regional theater.
In Space, Everyone
Can Hear You Scream
January 2016
You Don’t Know the Half of It
Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre
New Orleans, LA
Is there life on Mars? There will definitely be death if one of these astronauts doesn’t shut up. Presented as part of You Don’t Know the Half of It, a comic theatrical experiment combining professional actors who know only their lines with improvisors who are given no preparation.
Steak and Eggs (with Toast)
December 2015
The CRY HAVOC Company
New York, NY
Bitter over the loss of his sister, a man and his adopted nephew hash out their Christmas plans in a diner. Included in the Havoc for the Holidays 2015 collection, and recorded as part of The CRY HAVOC Company’s podcast.
*Here Come Santa Claus
November 2015
Airtight Cinema
Adapted with Danny Caporaletti
Directed by Danny Caporaletti
His fiancee has the hots for Santa, and he’s prepared to take extreme measures in order to talk it out with St. Nick.
An adaptation of my solo piece, “On Cupid,” available on YouTube, and screened at The Byrd Theatre in Richmond, VA, the Weihnachtsfilmfestival in Berlin, Germany, and others.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
September – November 2015
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2009
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
An update on the classic story by Hans Christian Andersen, this highly interactive production focuses on the dangers of vanity, and the power of telling the truth. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
*4 – 5 am
April 2015
Joint Feature Project
TIMECODE: NOLA
New Orleans, LA
Produced by TJ Federico
Directed by Bron Moyi
A short film about about a pedicab driver who picks up one last fare, a shoeless woman who’s had a rough night out on the town. Winner of the Grand Prize for the 2015 Joint Feature Project. Watch it now on Vimeo.
On the Air 2
April – May 2015
National WWII Museum
New Orleans, LA
Directed by Victoria Reed
WWII is almost over, but a more local crisis has besieged the set of WSDC radio in New Orleans. Two stars of their weekly Hit Parade-style show have eloped and there’s no one left to sing the songs of the day. In steps a Coca-Cola repairman and his son, a performer in the Army’s Special Services unit, to lead the charge in integrating black music with other standards of the 1940’s.
The Descendent Velocity
of Annie and Jack
March 2015
The Elm Theatre – One Act Festival
New Orleans, LA
Directed by Amy Holtcamp
Consider the notion, as set forth in the film Speed, that “relationships based on intense situations never work.” Also, consider a world where Speed 2 never happened: isn’t a better world?
The One
January 2015
You Don’t Know the Half of It
Cafe Istanbul
New Orleans, LA
A short play about two fanatics trying to agree on a savior. Presented as part of You Don’t Know the Half of It, a comic theatrical experiment combining professional actors who know only their lines with improvisors who are given no preparation.
On Cupid
December 2014
The Naughty List
The Elm Theatre
New Orleans, LA
His fiancee has the hots for Santa, and he’s prepared to take extreme measures in order to talk it out with St. Nick.
Aladdin
September – November 2014
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2008
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2002
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
Aladdin goes on a wild journey to try and secure the love of a princess, only to find out that what he needed all along was the friend right beside him. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
Cake
December 2013
The CRY HAVOC Company
New York, NY
A rotund law student, his meathead brother, and a low-fat, low-carb Christmas. Included in the Havoc for the Holidays 2013 collection, and recorded as part of The CRY HAVOC Company’s podcast.
Cinderella
September – November 2013
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2007
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2001
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
This highly interactive update of the classic “Cinderella” tale teaches empathy and perseverance. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
*Next Time
June 2013
NYC 48 Hour Film Festival
Produced by BS & B Media
Directed by Jason Bruffy
An ambiguous fortune cookie, an angry fiancee, and a woman who doesn’t know she’s been missing for years. Presented as part of the NYC 48 Hour Film Festival. Watch it now on Vimeo.
Voices of Freedom
February 2013
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
Co-written with Mark West
The story of the fight to end slavery, told through the songs and speeches of famous abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. This play, written especially for Black History Month, toured the American South in February of 2013.
Froehliche Weinachten
December 2012
The CRY HAVOC Company
New York, NY
As a very special Christmas present, instead of being given a role to play an intense “Method actor” is given a person. Included in the Havoc for the Holidays 2012 collection, and recorded as part of The CRY HAVOC Company’s podcast.
Beauty and the Beast
September – November 2012
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2006
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2000
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
Students and teachers become part of the story in this highly interactive version of a classic tale that teaches lessons about pride, compassion, and inner beauty. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
Counting the Days
December 2011
The CRY HAVOC Company
New York, NY
In a detention camp at Christmas, a prisoner and an interrogator bond over baseball and a few Cokes. Included in the Havoc for the Holidays 2012 collection, and recorded as part of The CRY HAVOC Company’s podcast.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
September – November 2018
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2011
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2005
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
Students get to be part of the story in this interactive version of Mark Twain’s classic juvenile novel. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
Graphomania
March 2011
Plasticene
Chicago, IL
Directed by Dexter Bullard
Contributing writer for the final performance by Chicago’s groundbreaking physical theatre company, Plasticene.
Habitual
December 2010
The CRY HAVOC Company
New York, NY
An ex-con on parole picks the absolute worst time to reunite with his straight-laced brother. Included in the Havoc for the Holidays 2010 collection.
Robin Hood
September – November 2017
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2010
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
September – November 2004
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
Is it just to steal from the rich and give to the poor? Students get swept up in the interactive fun while exploring lessons of generosity and honesty alongside Robin and his band of Merry Men. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
Sincerity
August 2010
Left Hip Productions
New York, NY
His love for a woman who murdered her husband leads to a more intimate experience than he could have ever expected. Presented as part of “From the Hip,” a 24-Hour Festival.
Ghost Light
May 2010
Great American Artistic Consortium – Workshop
Directed by Marissa McKown
April 2010
ABroad Stage Company – Workshop
New York, NY
Directed by Dina Epshtyn
Stevenson comes home one day to find a theater company rehearsing in his apartment. First they take control of his home, and then they take control of his life, in this play that explores the intersections of theater and religion.
Surrender
October 2009
Strawdog Theatre
Director’s Showcase
Chicago, IL
Directed by Marissa McKown
Two Japanese soldiers debate over whether or not to perform seppuku. Presented as part of Strawdog’s Director’s Showcase.
Hunky Dory
August 2009 – Expanded script
Strawdog Theatre
Chicago, IL
Directed by Marissa McKown
October 2005
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, IL
Directed by Marissa McKown
Inspired by the David Bowie album of the same name, Hunky Dory is a psychedelic B-movie interstellar political romance starring Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Major Tom, a robot that speaks in poetry, and God herself.
Regular Girls
March 2009
Strawdog Theatre
Director’s Showcase
Chicago, IL
Directed by Marissa McKown
Some girls get to have all the fun. And sometimes those girls are boys. Presented as part of Strawdog’s Director’s Showcase.
Whiskey Sisters
January 2009
Left Hip Productions
New York, NY
Moonshining Pa is saving a single shotgun shell for the man who killed their Ma, and three sisters will get a surprise when they find out who’s really guilty.
*Pardon Me
January 2008
Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Festival
Los Angeles, CA
Directed by Daric Gates
A seven-minute short that juxtaposes the attempted sea escape of a former Nixon hatchet-man against the absurd hedonism of the burgeoning glam scene in the summer of 1974.
*MAN / KIND
December 2007
Picardy Third Productions
Los Angeles, CA
It’s like Cheech & Chong meets Deliverance.
Lifelong friends reunite for a hunting trip that goes very wrong in the world’s first ever absurdist-drama-buddy flick-action-stoner-comedy. Two friends. Two seasons. One adventure. MAN / KIND.
Available for purchase or rental on Amazon.com.
Break-Room Deluxe
August 2007
The Artistic Home
Chicago, IL
School is weird. Teachers are weirder. Presented as part of the “Cut to the Chase” festival.
The Un-Authorized Musical Biography
of George Takei
February 2005
Donny’s Skybox at Second City – Workshop
Chicago, IL
Music by Mike Przygoda
Directed by Marissa McKown
Created before his reinvention as a social media star, this original musical follows the existential crisis of a former television actor, “George Takei,” who, after forty years of celebrity can’t even get someone to pronounce his name right.
The Word
November 2004
The Magpies
Chicago, IL
An autobiographical solo performance presented as a curtain-raiser for the play White Suit Science.
Science Now!
October – November 2004
KAPOOT Clown Theater
National Touring Company
Two clowns, a professor and assistant, lead schools in a comic exploration of classic science experiments.
Clowns Around the World
September – November 2004
KAPOOT Clown Theater
National Touring Company
Two clowns take their fantastical “car” around the globe to teach students about international cultures and customs.
The Thing’s the Thing
September 2004
The Artistic Home
Chicago, IL
“I love… things.” Presented as part of the “Cut to the Chase” festival.
HAVOC!
September 2004
Columbia College Chicago – workshop
Devised with and directed by Marissa McKown
One candidate is running on a platform of being incredibly small; her opponent, a punch-drunk boxer, is a professional loser. Which one will win, and will it even matter if the President doesn’t take her hand off the red button?
Feathers Fall in Spring
August 2004
Fillet of Solo Festival
Live Bait Theater
Chicago, IL
A solo performance presented as part of the Fillet of Solo Festival.
“(Hallman) skillfully manipulates ambiguity to render confusion tantalizing.” – Chicago Reader
Aesop’s Fables
September – November 2003
Windy City Players
National Touring Company
A collection of Aesop’s most famous tales are combined in a newscast format in this highly interactive play for young audiences. For the Windy City Players, multiple companies present a total of 1,000 performances each fall, for an estimated audience of over 200, 000 students.
Prufrock
September 2003
RhinoFest
Chicago, IL
Directed by Wendi Weber
January 2003
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, IL
Directed by Wendi Weber
This adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s masterwork follows a feckless quester, alienated and disoriented by a life measured out in coffee spoons. It also draws inspiration from disparate literary sources such as Mamet’s Edmond, Medea, and The Odyssey.
“Eliot, who certainly treasured many artists he didn’t get around to mentioning in the poem, would have appreciated this literary carnival.” – Chicago Reader
I Forgot the Title
of This Solo Performance
August 2003
Fillet of Solo Festival
Live Bait Theater
Chicago, IL
A solo performance presented as part of the Fillet of Solo Festival.