“Blackwater, by J. Dakota Powell, told the story of a young girl who escapes the terrors of her life by imagining she is Beryl Markham, the first aviatrix in Africa, flying the mail and in the thrall of feckless soldier of fortune. The soldier of fortune would be played by the same actor who played the girl’s father. It was a stunning piece of theatrical imagination, both exhilarating and dizzying in its flight of fancy.

Director Amy Saltz and Dramaturg Phil Bosokowski outlined a way to explore the terrain. What prompted the fantasy and how did it relate to the young girl’s reality? And, who was this soldier of fortune?” ~ “The O’Neill” published by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center

Blackwater was one of 13 plays selected out of over 1200 for the National Playwrights Conference 1992 at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Photo on right: Playwright J Dakota Powell, Director Amy Saltz, Dramaturg Phil Bosokowski, and cast of Blackwater in table reading at the National Playwrights Conference

JUDE CICCOLELLA (“24”) & KELLY OVERBEY IN REHEARSAL

JUDE CICCOLELLA & KELLY OVERBEY

SELECTED PLAYWRIGHTS