William Missouri Downs Explained

William Missouri Downs is an American comedy writer, playwright, screenwriter, stage director, and author.

Life and career

William Missouri Downs started as an actor earning an MFA in acting from the University of Illinois, but a bout with viral encephalitis left him with a slight stammer and ended his acting career.[1] So he moved to New York[2] and studied playwriting at the Circle Rep Theatre under Lanford Wilson and Milan Stitt.

He then moved to Los Angeles[3] and earned an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA.[4] While a student at UCLA film school, he won numerous screenwriting awards, including the Jack Nicholson prize.[5]

In Hollywood, he worked as a script secretary on NBC's Moonlighting and studied sitcom writing at the Warner Brothers Sitcom Writing Workshop. He was a staff writer on NBC's My Two Dads, with writing credits on four episodes, under the pen name Bill Streib. As Streib, he was also credited with writing one episode each for the NBC shows Amen and Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. In addition, he sold a movie to Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment and optioned another to Filmways. He worked with Jim Parsons to develop a TV pilot that was optioned by Hollywood producer Meryl Poster.

Downs has written numerous plays, several of which have won awards. These include: The Exit Interview[6] (which premiered at the Orlando Shakespeare), winner of a rolling premiere from the National New Play Network (NNPN);[7] Women Playing Hamlet[8] (which premiered at the Unicorn Theatre in Missouri), winner of a rolling premiere from NNPN;[9] Mad Gravity, a finalist for Eugene O'Neill Award and winner of the Reva Shiner Comedy Award,[10] premiering at the Bloomington Playwrights Project;[11] Cockeyed[7] winner of The Greenhouse Festival of New Plays; and Seagulls in a Cherry Tree,[12] winner of the Larry Corse Prize for Playwriting.

There have been over 250 productions of his plays, including productions at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre,[13] the InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia,[14] the San Diego Rep,[15] the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Salt Lake City Acting Company, the Actors Theatre of Charlotte,[16] the Jewish Theatre of Toronto,[17] the Bloomington Playwright's Project, the Detroit Rep, and the New York City Fringe Festival.[18]

His plays have been produced in Spain (Fuera de órbita),[19] Canada, South Africa (Durban Performing Arts Center), Russia (Хороший парень - The Serov Theatre Drama After Chekhov,[20] Serov), Singapore (The Hexis Theatre), Switzerland (Franklin University, Lugano,), Austria (stadt Theater walfischgasse, Vienna), Israel (The International Theatre Festival), India (Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Bangalore), and South Korea (피카소를 훔치는 법 & 실제 게임 at Theatre in Daehangno & Daehakro Theatre, Seoul).

Downs has an extensive publication record including articles, plays, and books.[21] He has co-authored four books, including Naked Playwriting[22] (Silman/James), Playwriting: From Formula to Form[23] (Harcourt Brace), Screenplay: Writing the Picture[24] (Silman/James), and The Art of Theatre[25] (Wadsworth/Cengage). The Art of Theatre has gone through multiple editions and has been adopted as a college textbook in the US.

Awards

Downs has won two rolling premieres from the National New Play Network[26] and has twice been a finalist at the Eugene O'Neill.[27] [28] He also won the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild Julie Harris Award.[29]

Plays

Books

Monologues and short plays

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A life in theater is not for the weak of heart, says playwright William Missouri Downs.
  2. Web site: William Downs: 'not your typical professor'. Branding Iron. 2015-11-20. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  3. Web site: Los Angeles Department of City Planning.
  4. Web site: The Stage: Interview: William Missouri Downs. Crossett. Laura. 2013-01-31. Little Village. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  5. Web site: Scholarships and Fellowships. UCLA School of TFT. 2020-04-26.
  6. Web site: The Exit Interview. Concord Theatricals. 11 March 2023.
  7. Web site: Cockeyed. Concord Theatricals. en. 2020-04-26.
  8. http://nnpn.org/about/news/unicorn-theatre-launches-nnpn-rolling-world-premiere-0f-women-playing-hamlet-on-march-4th Women Playing Hamlet
  9. Web site: Women Playing Hamlet by William Missouri Downs Playscripts Inc.. www.playscripts.com. 2020-04-26.
  10. Web site: Reva Shiner Comedy Award. Bloomington Playwrights Project. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  11. Web site: Mad Gravity by William Missouri Downs Playscripts Inc.. www.playscripts.com. 2020-04-26.
  12. Web site: Search for plays by title and author name. www.hitplays.com. 2020-04-26.
  13. Web site: 'The Exit Interview' makes world premiere at Shakespeare Theater. Writer. Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel Arts. OrlandoSentinel.com. 26 September 2012 . en-US. 2020-04-26.
  14. Web site: World Premieres. InterAct Theatre Company. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  15. Web site: San Diego Repertory Theatre Production History. www.sdrep.org. 2020-04-26.
  16. Web site: The Exit Interview is theater and pop culture on Prozac Performing Arts Creative Loafing Charlotte. clclt.com. 2020-04-26.
  17. Web site: Teatron to stage Kosher Lutherans. thecjnadmin. 2010-10-28. The Canadian Jewish News. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  18. Web site: From the Fringe - Smith College Office of Alumnae Relations Smith College Office of Alumnae Relations. alumnae.smith.edu. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  19. Web site: Fuera de Órbita, de William Missouri Downs. fueradeorbita. es. 2020-04-26.
  20. http://teatrserov.ru/affiche Serov Theatre
  21. Web site: William Missouri Downs: books, biography, latest update. Amazon.com. 11 March 2023.
  22. Web site: Naked Playwriting. Silman-James Press, Inc.. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  23. Book: 0155038613. Playwriting from Formula to Form: A Guide to Writing a Play. Downs. William Missouri. Wright. Lou Anne. 1998. Harcout Brace College Publishers .
  24. Web site: Screenplay, 2nd Edition. Silman-James Press, Inc.. en-US. 2020-04-26.
  25. Web site: Search. www.cengage.com. en. 2020-04-26.
  26. Web site: About - National New Play Network. www.nnpn.org. 15 October 2018.
  27. Web site: Mad Gravity by William Missouri Downs - 2013 National Playwrights Conference Finalists. sites.google.com. 15 October 2018.
  28. Web site: Playwrights - National New Play Network. nnpn.org. 15 October 2018.
  29. Web site: Beverly Hills Theatre Guild - Present Winners . 2017-03-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170326051649/http://www.beverlyhillstheatreguild.com/present_winners.html . 2017-03-26 . dead .
  30. Web site: Samuel French, Inc. The House of Plays & Musical Plays for over 175 Years . 2012-07-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110910202603/http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/8432 . 2011-09-10 . dead .
  31. Web site: Samuel French, Inc. The House of Plays & Musical Plays for over 175 Years . 2012-07-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120130072151/http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/8419 . 2012-01-30 . dead .
  32. Web site: Detroit Events - Things to Do in Detroit This Weekend - Visit Detroit. 15 October 2018.
  33. News: national new play network selects william missouri downs. Denver Post. October 4, 2011. john. moore.
  34. Web site: Heuer Publishing - HEADSETS. www.hitplays.com. 11 March 2023.
  35. Web site: Heuer Publishing - SEAGULLS IN A CHERRY TREE. www.hitplays.com. 11 March 2023.
  36. http://www.shop.nextstagepress.net/product.sc?productid=59&categoryid=-1
  37. http://www.fascismthemusical.com Fascism the Musical
  38. Web site: William Missouri Downs New Play Exchange. newplayexchange.org. 2020-04-26.
  39. Web site: You Can't Say That. 2020-01-13. The Phoenix Theatre Company. en. 2020-04-26.
  40. Web site: HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR FAMILY AT CHRISTMAS Opens at No Strings Theatre Company Friday. BWW News Desk. BroadwayWorld.com. en. 2020-04-26.
  41. Web site: The Literary Northwest Series. 2011-08-12. College of Liberal Arts. en. 2020-04-26.
  42. Book: 978-1575257815. The Best Women's Stage Monologues and Scenes, 2011. Harbison. Lawrence. 2012. Smith & Kraus Book .
  43. Book: 978-1495065446. Contemporary Scenes for Twentysomethings. Bashline. Jessica. 2018. Hal Leonard LLC .
  44. Book: 978-1495064852. Contemporary Monologues for Twentysomethings. Bashline. Jessica. 2018. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books .

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