In the USC News

Nice little article about my path to playwriting in the USC News Magazine this month, written by Desa Philadelphia.

Check it out by clicking here!

Infinite Black Suitcase at University of Southern California - October 31 - November 3, 2013

Infinite Black Suitcase - Written by EM Lewis, directed by Robert Bailey.
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.  October 31 - November 3, 2013.

Infinite Black Suitcase

Written by EM Lewis
Directed by Robert Bailey

October 31 - November 3, 2013

McClintock Theater
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

An insightful and endearing examination of the lives of three Oregonian families as they attempt to deal with the trauma of death and dying as humanly and lovingly as possible.

Click here for more information and tickets.

"Drop-Off Day" in The Car Plays at the Radar Festival!

California to New Jersey in the click of a mouse!

So, my *other* world premiere play that's going up in June is DROP-OFF DAY, which will be part of Moving Arts' fun and fantastic returning production of The Car Plays.  Our company has been invited to stage a new set of car plays for this year's Radar Festival, an international celebration of contemporary theater.

What is a car play, you ask?  A car play is a ten-minute play, set in a car.  A real car.  Not a theater.  When you purchase your ticket, you request a certain Road or Avenue or Boulevard -- each of which has five cars in it.  During the course of an hour, ten audience members, in sets of two, will move from car to car, escorted by "car hops," until they have seen all five plays in their Street.  You might be seated in the back seat, or you might be in the front.  You might be watching an intimate front seat, post-date seduction or sit in on a car pool gone wrong or witness a carjacking from inches away.  Anything can happen in a car!

In my car, you will see Barbara (played by Porter Kelly) dropping off her daughter Soo-Min (played by Vyvy Nguyen) at USC.  It's drop-off day -- and this is the beginning of Soo-Min's first year of college.  She's moving into the dorm.  She's about to start her freshman year.  Everything is ahead of her.  But it's a little tough for both mom and daughter to say goodbye...

I used Skype to "sit in" on the first rehearsal with my actors and long time friend, colleague and director Michael Shutt last week.  What fun to hear the play out loud for the first time!  (Well, other than me saying it out loud to myself during the writing.)

I graduated from USC's Master of Professional Writing Program, then worked at the university for nine years -- so I witnessed a lot of real drop-off days.  I hope I do this one justice.

This is the fourth year that I've participated in The Car Plays.  I can't stop writing them, and luckily Moving Arts continues to produce them!  It is a truly amazing and intimate way to see a play.  Buy your ticket now.  As you might imagine -- seating is limited!