George Sapio
PO Box 403, Spencer, NY 14883 ~ (607) 351-3765 - [email protected]
Playwright • Director • Dramaturg • Teacher (ESL, History, English) • Photographer
• Playwright-in-residence (2013-14) Ithaca Actors Workshop Theatre Company, Ithaca, NY
• Artistic Director: Ithaca Fringe festival (Projected April 2014)
• Host/Producer: Onstage/Offstage: bi-weekly radio show about live theatre;
88.1 WRFI Ithaca Community Radio; www.onstageoffstage.org
PLAYS
Fault Lines
Headstrong Better Than Nothing Rectifying Oversight
Putt-Putt
Oatmeal and a Cigarette
Fall Creek Studios, Ithaca NY. March 2013
Staged reading, Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. November, 2011
Selected for 2009 Last Frontier Theatre Conference, June 2009
Workshop production. Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. May 2000
Workshop, staged reading; May 2010
Wolf’s Mouth Theatre Collective. 10-Minute Playfest, Ithaca, NY. March 2009.
Finalist, Lakeshore Players 10-Minute Play Contest, White Bear Lake, MN
Selected for 2008 Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK
Critics’ Pick, 2008 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Cincinnati, OH
Selected for 2008 New York International Fringe Festival, New York, NY
Selected for 2008 Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK
Workshop performance. Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. July 2007
And They Lived Happily Ever After (Commissioned) New Playwright Festival. Kitchen Theatre. May 2006
Kynges Games Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. November 2005
The Seasons Must Change 48-Hour Play Marathon (10-min.), Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. Sept.2005
Ghosts Winner 2001 Mildred and Albert Panowski Playwriting Award
Finalist 2002 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence
PUBLICATIONS
Mixie’s Monologue
2011 Best Stage Monologues and Scenes for Women, Smith & Kraus, Inc.
DRAMATURGY
Promise/Inshallah (M. Stephens) Three-act play development. May 2009
Tracks in the Snow (N. McGowan) Winner 2008 Panowski Playwriting Award. Marquette, MI. July 2008
Tell-Tale (Rebecca Gorman)
Winner 2006 Panowski Playwriting Award. Marquette, MI. July 2006
DIRECTING (SELECTED)
Lulu (Frank Wedekind)
Barton Hall, Cornell University. May 2010
Roulette Orange (B. Howell)
Wolf’s Mouth Theatre Collective 10-Minute Playfest, Ithaca, March 2009
Oatmeal and a Cigarette (Sapio) Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. July 2007
M21/Bellevue (George Holets)
Wonderland Play Festival, New York, NY. June 2007
Rules of the House (Dano Madden) Kitchen Theatre 48-Hour Play Marathon, Ithaca, NY. February 2007
Get Off (T. Paul McCabe)
Also sound design. New Playwright Festival. Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY.
May 2006
Kynges Games (Sapio)
Director/producer. Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. November 2005
The Tempest (William Shakespeare)Black Umbrella Theatre Company, Ithaca, NY. November 2004
24 Hours (Oliver Hailey) Brobdingnagian Players, Ithaca, NY. June, August 2004
Macbeth (William Shakespeare) Black Umbrella Theatre Company, Ithaca, NY. Fall 2003
Roulette (Douglas Hill) Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. May 2002
Gasping (Ben Elton) Firehouse Theatre, Ithaca, NY. June 2001
PRODUCER
Wolf’s Mouth 10-Minute Playfest Annual festival of world premiere short plays. (2008-2011).
Community School of Music and Art, Ithaca, NY.
5th Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Cincinnati, OH. June 2008
Oatmeal and a Cigarette (Sapio)
Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. July 2007
Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. November 2005
Kynges Games (Sapio)
Brobdingnagian Players, Ithaca, NY. June, August 2004
24 Hours (Oliver Hailey) Death/Taxes: A Night of Kushner Brobdingnagian Players, Ithaca, NY. June, May 2003
Kitchen Theatre, Ithaca, NY. May 2002
Roulette (Douglas Hill) Grants
Recipient NYSCA grant for play development and community engagement, 2009
Recipient New Tourism Initiatives Grant/Strategic Tourism Planning Board for Ithaca Fringe Festival, 2012
REVIEWS/ARTICLES
Wolf’s Mouth Theatre Company (2012)
http://www.ithaca.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_4bf2ed5e-01cc-11e2-8b34-001a4bcf887a.html
http://www.tompkinshosting.com/tompkinsweekly/TompkinsWeekly120917.pdf
American Buffalo (actor)
Ithaca Times: http://www.ithaca.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_e45ec302-67e4-59d5-8e91-97fb872c4108.html
Oatmeal and a Cigarette (playwright)
Ithaca Journal: http://www.ithaca.com/news/local_news/article_c6ecfb27-7ca6-54aa-bfd7-4b8ed5ca7553.html
Cincinnati Conveyor: http://www.theconveyor.com/node/358
Cincinnati CityBeat: http://blogs.citybeat.com/fringe08/
Ghosts (playwright)
http://www.mmnow.com/mm_archive_folder/01/0111/arts.html
ACTING (selected)
Twelfth Night (W. Shakespeare)
American Buffalo (David Mamet)
Twelfth Night (W. Shakespeare)
The Trial (R. Lampert) The Unoccupied Zone (C. Crane) Beef Junkies (J. Dorf)
Jacks or Better Book of Days (L. Wilson)
Reverse Transcription (T. Kushner) East Coast Ode (T. Kushner)
Equus (Sir P. Shaffer) The White Rose (L. Groag-Hellman) When Words Fail (D. Dannenfelser) Arabian Nights (D. Ives)
Words, Words, Words (D. Ives)
Coyote on a Fence (B. Graham) Pullman Car Hiawatha (T. Wilder) Love’s Fire (Various authors)
Dealer’s Choice (P. Marber)
Malvolio
Teach
Malvolio
Bureaucrat/various Magistrate/Renaud Cowboy Texas Earl Hautflote Various Dysart
Mahler Various Translator
Milton Samuel Fried Watchman/Gabriel Various roles
Frankie Ithaca Shakespeare Company, February 2012
Theare Incognita. October-November 2009
Black Umbrella Theatre Company, July 2005
Kitchen Theatre Company. September 2004
Film. June 2004
Brobdingnagian Players. January 2004
Ithaca College student film. January 2004
Ilium Festival. August 2003
Brobdingnagian Players. May 2003
Brobdingnagian Players. May 2003
Bad Dog! Productions. January 2003
Off the Walnut Players. October 2002
Ilium Festival. August-September 2002
GrassRoots Festival. July 2002
GrassRoots Festival. July 2002
Firehouse Theatre. October 2001
Icarus Theatre Ensemble. September 2001
Firehouse Theatre. February 2001
Firehouse Theatre. November 2000
TECHNICAL
Wolf’s Mouth Theatre Company
Get Off (T. Paul McCabe)
The Drunken City (Adam Bock)
Death and the Maiden (A. Dorfman)
Icarus (Edwin Sanchez) Wings (Arthur Kopit)
Gasping (Ben Elton)
Teaching Experience
Intro to Theatre
Stage Directing
Beginning Playwriting
Writing the Ten-Minute Play
The Play is Done! Now What?
Substitute Teacher
10th Grade Global Studies
ESL Tutor
Creative Writing
Education
Sound/set/lighting design. Annual 10-Minute Play Festival. 2008-present.
Sound design. New Playwright Festival. Kitchen Theatre. May 2006
Slide show photographer. Kitchen Theatre
Sound designer. Risley Theatre
Sound designer. Ilium Festival. August 2003
Stage manager. Ilium Festival. August 2002
Sound/lighting/set design. Firehouse Theatre. June 2001
Finger Lakes Residential Center, Lansing, NY/MacCormick Secure Residential Center, Brooktondale, NY. Spring-Fall 2013. Teaching basic acting
and playwriting to incarcerated boys ages 13-18. Goal is to encourage an interest in theatre and writing by enabling students to write their own stories (both
autobiographical and creative) for eventual in-house readings and performances.
Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, NY. Spring 2012/13.
Adjunct. 15 week course concentrating on script analysis/practical exercises
designed to familiarize students with bringing a script to life on stage. Students
will prepare and present a thorough analysis of a short one-act, a prompt book,
and a play directed for public showcase. Advisor TC3 Drama Club.
Lifelong Center, Court St., Ithaca, NY. Fall 2007. Eight-session course
focusing on the basics of playwriting, including Aristotle’s Poetics, dramatic
structure and elements, and theory.
Lifelong Center, Court St., Ithaca, NY. Summer 2006. Eight-session
course focusing on the intricacies of writing a short play, with reference to
condensing focus, keeping the story limited, but with meaningful content,
dramatic structure and theory.
Goddard College, Plainfield, VT, Fall 2006. How to proceed after creating the play’s draft in order to get criticism about furthering the play.
Spencer-Van Etten Jr. and Sr. High, Candor High, Newfield High, and
Ithaca High Schools, New York, 1996 - 2000. Subjects included English, History, Special Education, Technology, Math.
Student Teacher, Spencer-Van Etten High School, Spencer, NY, Fall
1995
Literacy Volunteers, Ithaca, New York. 1994 - 1996; Taught foreign
students how to successfully deal with important everyday situations, concentrating on correct grammar, syntax, and pronunciation.
Experimental College, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1992
TEFL/TESOL Certification, TEFL International, New York Center. September 2010.
120-hour TEFL training program; planned curriculum, chapters, and lessons; prepared extra-activity material; taught interactive communicative EFL classes to adults; evaluated peer performance; selected course
books; studied methodology and English grammar
Goddard College, Plainfield, VT. January 2007.
M.F.A. in Creative Writing/Playwriting. Thesis: And They Lived Happily Ever After, full-length play. Critical work: “Moralism or Politics? Finding One Within the Other in Tom Stoppard works”
SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY. January 1995.
B.A. Secondary Education/History; English Minor. Dean’s list every semester; GPA: 3.5.
Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY. 1998.
Directing, Arno Selco, instructor; Stagecraft, John Bracewell, instructor
Professional Experience
The Ithaca Journal, 123 West State St., Ithaca, NY 14850
Customer Quality Service Team. May 1996 - December 2007
Duties include graphic design, ad conception, ad production; daily management and coordination of newspaper layout; photo scanning and quality management; ad traffic control.
Bad Dog! Studios, P.O. Box 6840, Ithaca, NY 14851
Owner/Operator. January 1998 - December 2006
Photography, web site design, graphic design. Photography work: head shots, public events, setups, magazine
cover shots, and photo essays. Designed original web sites for Harvest Deli and Hangar Theatre.
People, Time-Life Inc., 1271 6th Ave., New York, NY 10022
Special Projects/Production Director. June 1992 - January 1994
Page layout, copy editing, graphic design, picture selection, and final proofing; produced annual special issues,
including Private Lives, a hardcover bound book, and annual “Best and Worst” editions of the magazine.
Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time-Life Inc.
Graphic Artist/Editorial Production. October 1990 - May 1992
Designed and produced layouts and graphic elements for features and departments. Responsible for entire
chain of production from conception to transmission to press house.
Sports Illustrated, Time-Life Inc.
Page Coder. February 1990 - October 1990
Formatting, graphic design, coding (spec’ing), proofreading, typesetting, quality control, and transmission of
finished pages. Worked closely with editors, researchers, and artists.
Newsweek, 444 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022
Senior Editorial Assistant. May 1981 - September 1990
Extensive work with Atex system; word processing, design, spec’ing, and typesetting of editorial and special
issue pages. Was also executive assistant to the production manager of Newsweek’s supplemental issues.
BookS
Workshopping the New Play; textbook about the dramatic workshop process for new and inexperienced playwrights. Currently under publisher’s consideration
Collateral Damage: photographs by George Sapio, text by George Sapio and Maura Stephens; on the Iraqi
people, from a trip to pre-invasion Iraq in January - February 2003.
Conference activity
Workshopping the New Play
Starting a Playwrights’ Group
Workshop/presentation. 2010 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, June 2010;
Finger Lakes Literary Festival, May 2010
Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK. July 2008
PERSONAL
Speak some French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic. Private pilot; scuba diver; rock climber; racquet sports player;
bridge player; coach and referee for Ithaca SufferJets (women’s flat track roller derby)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Dramatists Guild.............................................2001- present
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs................2006 - 2009
Richard III Society..........................................2003 - 2008
Doollee.com....................................................Listed playwright
Wolf’s Mouth Theatre Collective...................Founder, 2007 - present
Brobdingnagian Players .................................Founding member, 2002-2006
Icarus Theatre Company ................................Founding member, 2001-2004
Mental Health Players.....................................Binghamton, NY. 2001-2006