2018 Lab
The third annual MITTEN Lab residency took place from September 9-16, 2018 in Bear Lake, MI. The 2018 artists, selected through the Lab’s first ever submission process, were Michigan and Chicago-based playwright Eric Grant, New York-based playwright Liz Morgan, and the New York-based musical theatre writing team of Kit Yan and Melissa Li.
We showcased a free presentation of works-in-progress featuring plays and musicals by the 2018 artists-in-residence on Saturday, September 15th at Interlochen's Harvey Theater. Presented in partnership with Parallel 45 Theatre and Interlochen Center for the Arts, this public event featured Parallel 45 company actors alongside Interlochen Arts Academy students.
2018 MITTEN LAB ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE BIOS
Born and raised in Michigan, ERIC GRANT has been writing stories for stage and screen since he was eight years old. He is a two-time recipient of the coveted Hopwood Award for Drama from the University of Michigan, where his play, Paris at Dawn, was given a full production by the famed Basement Arts student group. After graduating, Grant interned at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where his latest play, Bleecker Street, received its first professional staged reading. This past August, that same play received a workshop production at The Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice in New York. Eric recently moved to Chicago where he co-wrote Shalom!, a sketch comedy show that garnered a sold-out run at The Second City’s De Maat Theatre. You can read more of Eric’s work in The Best Men’s Stage Monologues 2016 (Smith & Kraus) and Five-Minute Plays (Applause Books). www.eric-grant.net
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LIZ MORGAN is a playwright, poet and performer. Her written work has appeared in the The Huffington Post, the Long Island City One Act Festival Anthology and the Medium publication, Athena Talks. She has previously developed projects with Fresh Ground Pepper, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Fire This Time Festival, The Lark, Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, Judson Arts, Liberation Theatre Company, Amios, Rising Circle Theatre Collective, JACK, NY Madness, POTPOURRI! World Women Works Series, Rites and Reason Theatre, Manhattan Rep and National Black Theatre where she was named a finalist for the I AM SOUL Playwrights’ Residency. Other honors include the Torchbearer for Black Theatre Award, Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship (Semi-Finalist) and the New Works Lab at Stratford (Semi-Finalist). Her acting credits range from Hollywood film to new stage work. Liz holds both a B.A. in Theatre Arts and M.F.A. in Acting from Brown University where she was the recipient of the Davis Wickham Prize for Excellence in Playwriting as well as a graduate teaching fellow. www.LizMorganOnline.com
MELISSA LI is a composer, performer and writer. She is a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award and a Queer|Art|Mentorship fellow. Musicals include Surviving The Nian (The Theater Offensive, IRNE Award for Best New Play 2007), 99% Stone (The Theater Offensive), and Interstate (New York Musical Festival). Her works have received support from the National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, Dixon Place, terraNOVA Collective, The Village Theater, and Musical Theater Factory, among others. Upcoming: First Draft: Raise Your Voice Story Summit at 5th Avenue Theatre and a forthcoming commission for Keen Company.
KIT YAN (Playwright/Poet/Performer/Lyricist) is an award-winning Yellow American New York based artist, born in Enping, China, and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Kit’s work has been produced by the American Repertory Theater, the Smithsonian, Musical Theater Factory, the New York Musical Festival, and Dixon Place, with forthcoming residencies at the Mitten Lab and 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle fall 2018. They have been a Civilians resident, WP/Public Theater translab fellow, and Village Theater resident. Kit’s award-winning musical Interstate written with Melissa Li recently had a sold out and extended run at the 2018 New York Musical Festival (NYMF).