Village Playwrights Announce Special Guests Through 7/11

The Village Playwright meet from 8 pm to 10 pm at the LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC. Everyone is welcome.

Joining the program on May 9 -- 30 mins., L. DeVaughn Nelson

Louis DeVaughn Nelson is a multidisciplinary artist and founder of Hokum Arts. He studied dance and playwriting at DeSales University and Drexel University. Nelson was named Best New Choreographer by Philadelphia City Paper and has been recognized internationally for his theatre, dance and video work that delves into cultural and movement research. Credits Include : The Peekaboo Revue, English Theatre Berlin, The Berlin Music Video Awards, Social Media Week, Tanzbad 4, CTM - Festival for Adventurous Music and Related Arts, CIANT Festival for Film and New Media, Dark Matter Productions NYC, Exquisite Corpse Company NYC, Dixon Place. More info at Facebook : Hokum Arts

30 minutes, Marguerite Masse, Peacock Sonata

Marguerite Masse is a former acting student of Stella Adler and New York University School of the Arts. She has worked Off and Off-Off Broadway as an actress with Milan Stitt and Olympia Dukakis. She is a freelance journalist and an advertising copywriter. Marguerite is a beginner playwright who has some published poetry with the International Library of Poetry.

60 mins., Merryn Johns, Things We Think We Want -- When a PG-rated actress mishandles her own coming out, the chaos that ensues transforms the lives of those around her.

Merryn Johns is a playwright, screenwriter, and the editor-in-chief of Curve magazine, America's best-known newsstand magazine for LGBTQ women. A proud New York City resident of 12 years, she is originally from Sydney, Australia and is a graduate of the National Institute for Dramatic Art and the University of New South Wales where she taught theater arts for 10 years.

May 23 -- 2 hours, Cayenne Douglass

Cayenne Douglass is a New York City based playwright. Plays include, The Architects of Time (Manhattan Repertory Theater and Village Playwrights) If You See Something...(ESPA Primary Stages, Detention Series and The Big Apple Theatre Festival) The Spare Change of Strange Angels (The Living Room Theater and The Driftwood Players) We All Begin Again (Midtown International Theatre Festival) Oh My - Goodness (New Perspectives Theatre) She's an alumni of The New Perspectives Theater Women's Work Lab and The Living Room Theatre Short Play Lab Incubator. She Attended CalArts School of Theater and graduated from Goddard College with a BA in Individualized studies.

June 13 -- Intensive Playwriting Showcase
June 27 -- Gay Pride Festival of jury selected 10 minute plays
Beginning in July the Village Playwrights will meet from 7 pm to 9 pm.

July 11 -- 2 hours, Alex Hermans, Consolas 12 pt -- Seven friends of a young playwright put together compilation of his works to showcase his talent to the rest of the world.

Alex Hermans is a 19 year old college student that attends Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. Raised in New York, and attended high school in Philidelphia, he is hoping to one day become a professional playwright that will bring about social change through the only way he knows how to: his art. His plays often deal in Mental health advocacy, social justice, and LGBT rights.

The Village Playwrights meet at 8 PM on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at the LGBT Center, 208 W. 13th Street. Participation is open to all Playwrights and Screenwriters. Beginners are encouraged and helped. "This is a place to speak from the heart. This is a place to find one's voice. This is a place to take risks." For information about attending a Village Playwrights' meeting, call 614-285-2515 or e-mail villageplaywrights@gmail.com.