The Playwriting Collective's Writers Groups
The 2017 Writer's Group
Jeffrey James Keyes
Jeffrey James Keyes is a playwright, producer, and author. His recent collaboration with author James Patterson, Killer Chef, (Hachette Book Group and Little, Brown and Company) landed him on The New York Times Best Seller list in November 2016. An active participant in New York City’s theater scene, Jeffrey has presented plays at The SoHo Playhouse, The Samuel French Festival, 59E59, and The Ensemble Studio Theatre as well as at The Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles, The Prologue Theatre in Chicago, and The Old Vic Theatre in London. Television projects include Revealing for the Sundance Channel and MTV's True Life. Jeffrey has two short films in development and wrote the pilot of a new web series launching in 2017. Additionally, he serves as a staff contributor for magazines Metrosource and Passport and websites ManAboutWorld, Queerty, and GayCities. Jeffrey graduated with a BA degree in Theatre and Visual Arts from Fordham University College at Lincoln Center, and received his MFA degree in Playwriting from Columbia University School of the Arts.
John Carhart
As an actor he began his acting career in the 90’s, John appeared Off-Broadway working with John Glines and on screen with John Waters in “Hairspray”, "Guiding Light” and the cult horror classic “There’s Nothing Out There”. He then segued into working as a TV/Digital Producer and Film Editor creating and co-hosting “Daily Shot with Ali Wentworth” for Yahoo!. After more than a decade, John returns to his first love, having recently graduated from the 2-year acting conservatory at William Esper Studio. He recently guest-starred on the new sitcom “Nightcap” for the POP Network.
Kate Garfield
Kate Garfield is a writer, director, and performer from Detroit. She has worked with Stable Cable Lab Co, The Buran Theatre, Instaminiseries, and Squeaky Bicycle. In 2017 she will release her first album as a member of Cheap Riches (a collaboration with Michael Hanf and Michelle Micca). She developed and stars in Kate + Date (Martian Media, 2017). She's a graduate of the University of Michigan. KateGarfield.com
Wi-Moto Nyoka
WI-MOTO NYOKA is a performer and transmedia artist. Awards and honors include: Tanzhaus NRW Interdisciplinary Works artist in residence 2011, Puffin Foundation grant recipient 2012, the Brick’s Comic Book Theater Festival 2014 selected librettist, Indie Boots Theater Festival Finalist & Audience Award Honorable Mention 2015, A.R.T/New York Creative Space Grant recipient 2016. She holds a BFA in music theater from the University of the Arts and is currently attending the Brooklyn College MFA program for Performance & Interactive Media Arts.
Alex Rubin
Alex Rubin is a New York-based writer for stage, TV, and film. Alex's plays and songs have been produced in readings and concerts at The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Theater for the New City, Primary Stages, The Steinhardt School at NYU, Temple University, Hofstra University, 54 Below, The Davenport Theater, Peter Schneider Productions, Wide Eyed Productions, The Rep Group, Little Black Dress INK, Acadia University, Lama Theater Co.’s Fest of the Best, Samuel French OOB Festival, and more. She is the recipient of the Francis Ford Coppola Award, a SPACE on Ryder Resident, a National Winter Playwrights Retreat resident, a finalist for the 2015 Davenport Songwriting Competition, a semi-finalist for The O’Neill Summer Conference, a semi-finalist for Red Women’s Theatre Award, a finalist for ESPA Drills, a finalist for Sanguine Theatre Co.’s Project Playwright, the 2013/14 Big Vision Empty Wallet Playwriting Fellow, and the winner of The 85th Annual Writers Digest Award in Playwriting. www.AlexRubinWrites.com
Katie Fabel
Katie is a cross between a clown, a provocateur, a loudmouth, a wallflower, a flower fairy, a willful termagant, a sibling to all, an anarchist, a passifist, an empath, a fighter for all manner of 'underdogs', a voice for the underheard, a diva, Mary Poppins, Mae West, Bugs Bunny, a poet, a wiseass, a free spirit, a force of nature, a silly silly person, a seriously old soul, an intuitive/psychic, an earth mama, a city slicker, a genius, a humble pie, a japanese bowl, an english rose, a cheeky monkey, a scalleywag, a divine goddess & a mother-to-be. She has been acting professionally for over 25 years, (started young, i'm not that old, but age is beautiful & irrelevant so whatevs). Included in this work are original cast London West End credits, Tours, Edinburgh Fringe stints, seasons with English National Opera, Several Off Broadway plays with Irish Repertory Theatre, Cherry Lane &The Mint, oodles of regional theatre credits with The Shakespeare Theatre, The Pioneer, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Cincinnati Playhouse, Penguin Rep, Palm Beach Dramaworks, & The Old Globe, numerous readings for Actors Studio, Mind The Gap, Cherry Lane & more, multiple voice overs, indie films, live sketch & sketch videos, pilots, improv, motion capture video games, tv hosting & stand up/musical comedy. She has written a lot of comedic & contentious songs. She sings well & plays guitar like an enthusiastic amateur.
She has yet to blog but is considering it. She doesnt like garlic, chilli, or things that smell bad. She loves punctuation but doesn't understand grammar. She is sensitive to light & opposes darkness. She sees the best in people & knows way too much about everyone - a curse that she intends to turn into a blessing for many.
The 2016 Writer's Group
Pauline Pechin
Pauline Pechin is an actor and playwright. Fine China is her first full-length play. Her 10-minute play The Screws was included as part of The Shelter Theater Company's evening of Western- themed plays. Before she discovered theater, Pauline worked as a freelance journalist/blogger. Her work has appeared in the Village Voice, New York Magazine and NY Press. Pauline was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas and moved to New York City in the summer of 2005. She currently lives in Queens. Pauline is developing a web series for her next project. Outside theater, she also enjoys stand-up comedy and beatboxing.
Amelia Workman
Amelia Workman studied Shakespeare in London and Commedia del Arte in Avignon and has a BA in theater from Fordham University. She has performed new devised work in over a dozen countries including at the Festival de Autumn in Paris, Vivid Live Festival at the Sydney Opera House (at the behest of Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson) and the Hebbel in Berlin (selected). She has worked on new texts for Lincoln Center, Soho Rep, Ars Nova, EST, Playwrights Horizons, New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, and NYTW.
Marcy Lovitch
Marci Lovitch was born in New York City and raised in Ocean Township, New Jersey. She began acting as a child. Some of her favorite performances include Bonnie in Anything Goes, Polly in The Boyfriend, and Isabel in Pirates of Penzance. She attended Temple University where she received a B.A. in Journalism, with a concentration on magazine writing and editing. As a writer, she coproduced, wrote, and acted in her one-woman show, Dirty Laundry (Womankind Festival, FringeNYC, Women Speak Festival, Walnut Street Studio Theater). She has studied playwriting/screenwriting at NYU, HB Studios, and with Academy Award nominated Muriel Balash.