Ken is very excited to expand his theatrical skill set and see his first two plays hit the stage. He credits his ability to move into to this realm of theater to his experiences as an actor/reader (not writer ) at the Frank Silvera Writer's Workshop, where he frequently heard the phrases "Plays are never written, they're re-written" and "If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage". In his 30+ years at ATA Ken worked very closely and learned from many of the accomplished playwrights who have unfortunately passed on, James Crafford, Steve Silver, Irving Greenfield, Irving A. Leitner, Wesley St. John. There are many still active playwrights, who he is still learning from, such as Lynn Navarra, Frank Cossa, Anne L. Thompson-Scretching, Meny Beriro, Joseph P. Krawczyk, Robert Liebowitz, Shirley Beth Newbery, Amy Losi, Michael Green, Phil Paradis, Andrea J. Fulton, Coni Koepfinger, Stephen Miller, Michael Bordwell, and of course the ever prolific James Jennings. There is a need to thank a very dear friend for providing the inspiration for The Next Audition, Irene Antoniazzi. A big thank you is necessary for Laurie Rae Waugh for her direction of Hang Up Your Cleats, and for the entire cast for helping to bring my words to life. He would be remiss if he didn’t express his gratitude to longtime friends Valerie O’Hara and Thomas J. Kane for accepting the challenge of performing a new work by a new and untested playwright. Finally, the woman who has supported and encouraged all of this craziness for over 30 years, thank you to my beautiful and brilliant wife Phyliss, I love you.

Laurie has been working as a theatre artist in New York since 1980 and as a director since 2001. Laurie has received The ATA Award for Best Dramatic Director for Mirrors (2016), as well as the ATA Best Director Award, Drama for A Spanish Harlem Story (2015) and a Jean Dalrymple Best Director Award for Code Name Daniel (2010) from American Theatre of Actors. Laurie was nominated for Outstanding Director (Short Subjects) for ELLEN and TROY and ELOISE from The Midtown International Theatre Festival. Laurie’s most recent ATA credits include MY MOTHER’S BOOKIE and BILLY, AFTER THE WAKE, THE BARE TRUTH, and BANNED IN BISBEE. Laurie has worked with Ripple Effect Artists, Legacy Stage Ensemble, EndTime Productions; TSI/Playtime Series; and VertaMirandance. Thanks go out to Ken Coughlin for this wonderful script, and my very talented cast for all their hard work and dedication. Thanks also to my family and friends for your love and support.

James is the founder of ATA and has produced the works of over 990 new Playwrights. As a Writer he's a recipient of the John Dos Pasos Creative Writing Award. As a director, he won the T.O.R award for Best Director, for the off-Broadway play The Holy Junkie by John Quinn. He also won the "Jean Dalrymple" Award for the Best Director of the play Blood Money, starring Dan Lauria, and he directed Celeste Holm on Broadway in Salute to Clinton. In addition, he directed Harvey Keitel in The Funeral at the Actors Studio, and in his own play, My Father's House. He is a member of the Actors Studio Director/ Playwright Unit and worked with Elia Kazan, Lee Strasberg and Harold Clurman.

ATC is helmed by Jessica Jennings and was created to help theaters and artists with growth and development. ATC has created marketing and ticket platforms for nearly 50 shows in NYC; has helmed the Archive Project for the ATA; has helped secure grant awards for clients. ATC is your go-to for connections in NYC indie theatre scene, Audition Coaching, Stage Direction, Production Management, Dramaturgy, Budgets and Grant Writing. [email protected]

JMGC is creating visibility for independent theater, film, music, and literature has been the battle-cry of this boutique promotion and production firm for more than 20 years. Through a diverse internal multi-media platform, this communications organization is able to supply guaranteed coverage to hundreds of emerging artists and their productions while growing its external network of promotional sites and groups as well as producing events for the purpose of promotion and marketing to industry and generalized audiences. JMGC has clients on and off-Broadway, in film and television, across the country and around the world. [email protected]