Rachel Carnes (The Invention of Pickle Ball) received an Oregon Literary Fellowship, a Lighthouse Writers Advanced Dramatic Writing Fellowship, and an Oregon Arts Commission Career Opportunity Grant. Rachael’s had productions of her work across North America, the U.K., Middle East and Asia, with invitations to participate in the William Inge Theatre Festival, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Playwriting Intensive, the Midwestern Dramatists Center Conference, the Mid-America Theater Conference (twice), the American Association for Theatre in Higher Education New Play Development Series, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Ivoryton Playhouse Women Playwrights Initiative, the Cambridge U.K. WriteON Festival, the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival (twice) and the Great Plains Theatre Conference and more. Rachael’s work is seen in many literary journals. She lives with her family in Oregon. The Invention of Pickleball is inspired by a story she heard from her cousin in Kansas, so be careful what you tell playwrights.
John C. Davenport (Jack and Jorma (Yorma), Oblivious) is a career journalist and former stand-up comic who veered into playwriting, which he usually does while seated. He has had productions in 22 states, Canada, and Panama. His full-length plays have been produced in Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, and Bremerton, Wash. His work has been included in one-act festivals at (among other places) the Estrogenius Festival in New York; Acme Theater in Maynard, Massachusetts; Santa Paula (California) Theater Center; the Snowdance Festival in Racine, Wisconsin; Changing Scene Theatre Northwest in Tacoma, Washington; and Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, New York. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and Seattle Playwrights Circle and co-founder of Red Rover Theatre Company.
Jean Hardie (Salt Pie) has been active in theatre in Spokane and the surrounding region as an actress, director and teacher since moving here in 1981. Since submitting her first play to the Forum in 2018, she has had excellent luck in having her plays accepted and is so excited to see Salt Pie in performance. Thank you Hazel, Kim and Lily and the entire Playwrights Forum staff for providing such an excellent platform for new works. So much writing talent in our region!
Bryan Harnetaiux (Lily) has been the Playwright-in-Residence at Spokane Civic Theatre since 1982. Of the some 45 plays of his that have been produced, most premiered in the Studio Theatre space. Bryan’s first play, Caution: The Surgeon General Has Determined… came to life here in June, 1977. Thirteen of his plays have been published, and his short play, The Lemonade Stand, is also anthologized in More One Act Plays for Acting Students (Meriwether Publishing Ltd., 2003). Bryan’s work has been performed throughout the United States and other countries. His play National Pastime, published by Playscripts, Inc., about the breaking of the color line in major league baseball in 1947, has received many productions, including an Equity waiver production at Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena, California and an Equity production at (former) Stamford Theatre Works in Stamford, Connecticut. A number of Bryan’s short plays have been featured in festivals throughout the country. In July 2010, his short play Antipasto was selected for the 35th Annual Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. His short play Office Hours has been featured in six short play festivals, and Myra in three festivals. Lily is his most recent play, premiering in this festival. “In many ways, Sue Ann and I raised our children-Ben,Ryan and Trish- around Civic, and consider it a second home. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity it has provided to develop my work here.”
Paul Lewis (Damn Ye Jack Slade) is a Seattle-based playwright and composer whose work includes The Names (Theatre 33), Lost in the Hills, A Musical (Theatre 33); musical adaptations of two iconic children’s books, The Runaway Bunny and Caps for Sale, both of which premiered at Boston Children’s Theatre; The Crossing, A Musical, winner of a Seattle Times Footlights Award, and nominated by Seattle Theater Writers for outstanding musical composition (Theater Schmeater); Jill Trent Science Sleuth (Cayuga College); Oblivion (Driftwood)
Barbara Lindsay (Ask, Tell) My first full length play, Free, won the NY Drama League’s 1989 Playwrighting Competition and was given its premiere production in London in 1991. Since then there have been more than 400 national and international productions of my plays and monologues in 33 States, 13 countries, and on every continent except Antarctica. Full length play I-2195 won the Women in the Arts Award at UM St. Louis and was produced there in 2005. Short play Here To Serve You won the 2008 Goshen Peace Play Prize. In 2011 I was Playwright-in-Residence for New Voices for the Theater, a two-week playwriting intensive for teens produced annually by SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community) in VA. I am a fifth generation Californian living in Seattle, WA, married to an amazing man, and ridiculously happy.
Siena Lotrario (Broken) is so grateful and excited to be a part of the Playwrights’ Forum Festival. Recently, Siena has been seen onstage in Lewis and Clark’s production of Mean Girls and this past summer was a part of Spokane Civic Theatre Academy’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She is overjoyed to share this story and she cannot wait to see where her writing journey takes her.
Ross Peter Nelson (Master of the Revels) is the author of ten full-length plays and dozens of shorter works that have been performed in places as diverse as San Francisco, CA and Sydney Australia. He has also published short fiction and technical books. He co-founded Raven’s Feather Productions in Helena, MT where he recently directed What Happened While Hero Was Dead. Ross has taught Playwriting at the University of New Orleans and Dramaturgy at Carroll College. He holds an MFA from the UNO and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Joy Simmons (Until The End)(she/her) started writing plays in 2021. Her first full-length work, In Call, was workshopped at the Spokane Playwrights Laboratory in their inaugural season. Joy was previously the General Manager at Stage Left Theater and now works as the Program Assistant at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center at Gonzaga University. She has been an active member of varies other theater communities for over 18 years as an actor, director, designer, stage manager, and volunteer. Joy would like to thank Jamie Suter, Joshua Baig, and Mary Jo Rudolf for their incredible work bringing this play to life.