Chris Stezin Named First Draft's 2014 Playwright-in-Residence

First Draft, a theatrical organization devoted to the development of new plays alongside audiences, announced today that local playwright Chris Stezin has been selected as its Playwright-in-Residence for 2014.

As Playwright-in-Residence, Stezin's work will be highlighted by the First Draft Reading Series throughout the year. His newest play, "The Amateur - A Screenplay for the Stage" will debut on Tuesday, January 14th at the Arts Club of Washington followed by a reading on Tuesday, February 11th at Theatre on the Run in Virginia. Stezin is First Draft's fourth Playwright-in-Residence, a position established to promote playwrights living and working in the DC metropolitan area.

"The Amateur - A Screenplay for the Stage" is a comedy about dangerous but delicious error. Jack Oakes, your typical middle manager, is only trying to drop an envelope in the FedEx box when he meets Judie. Judie is anything but typical. A seasoned and sexy professional criminal, she soon has to join forces with Jack, a rank amateur, to take on a common enemy.

"I believe the DC metro area is the nation's hotspot for playwrights and vibrant playwriting," said First Draft's Artistic Director, Leslie A. Kobylinski. "We are delighted to have Chris as our ambassador to the Washington community and audiences throughout the region."

Stezin is a writer and actor who lives in Northern Virginia. His plays have been produced at Charter Theater - where he served as Associate Artistic Director for ten years - and other local theaters. He has received commissions from the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, the University of Minnesota and the Guthrie Theater and has twice been nominated for the Helen Hayes/Charles MacArthur Award for outstanding new play in Washington, D.C. Previous new plays produced in the First Draft reading series include: "Mack, Beth", and "everything lives in a cloud". The Washington Post has called his work "compelling", "engrossing" and "ridiculously funny." Stezin has appeared onstage at Charter, Ford's Theater, Keegan Theatre (where he is an artistic associate), Olney Theatre, the Folger, Theater J, Washington Stage Guild, Washington Shakespeare Company, American Century, and a number of other D.C. area theaters. He is head of the writing department at WILL Interactive (Potomac, MD), where many of his screenplays have been produced.

First Draft is supported in part by Arlington County through the Arlington Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Commission for the Arts. First Draft is also supported by the warmth and generosity of The Share Fund and the Drama Committee of the Arts Club of Washington and FABUM.

First Draft's mission is to develop audiences alongside new plays, support artists living in and around the DC community and partner with theaters looking to produce new work. For more information, visit First Draft online at www.firstdraft.org.

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