Listen to Grace is the name of my new play which officially begins rehearsals in less than a week.  The production will be performed on April 16 & 17 and has a cast of 12, many of whom I have not worked with before.   Listen to Grace takes that old hymn “Amazing Grace” and wraps a play around redemption and what it means to be forgiven.  I will have more details in the coming weeks as I get into the rehearsal process.

The Kairos Prizes in Screenwriting recently announced their semi-finalists. Look whose name appeared on their list:

Karen Aaker of Colton, CA for SOMETHING IN RETURN & THE SURRENDER
Diana Anderson of Flint, TX for THE ZEALOT
Kristin Barnett, Marc Burger & Freddie McGee of Tyrone, GA for CHOICES
Peter Bishai & André Pieterse of Stellenbosch, South Africa for A MILLION COLOURS
Christopher Buonopane of Irvine, CA for HOME FROM THE CIVIL WAR
Jeff Carlton of Ontario, CANADA for GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Nick Chamberlain of Wiggins, CO for JUDAS OF KERIOTH
Romeo Ciolfi of Ontario, CANADA for A WALK IN THE PARK
Deana Costner of Orlando, FL for HOME PLACE
Charles Coulter of Fairfax, VA for GOD'S PLAN FOR JOHN
Ryan Creason & William Creed of Corvallis, OR for COMES THE END
Shawn Dalton of San Ramon, CA for NOTES FROM HEAVEN
Justin Eade of Neslon, New Zealand for BLUE WATER METAL
Jenni Gold & Samuel W. Reed of Los Angeles, CA for LUCKY
Aaron Greer & Fran Kaplan of Milwaukee, WI & Chicago, IL for FRUIT OF THE TREE
Randall Hahn of Miami, FL for GIDEON
David Nicholas Hartmann of Mason, OH for A DOLPHIN IN OUR LAKE
Juan P. Hernandez of Peoria, IL for LORENZO DE CARMELO
Matthew Hill & Landon Johnson of Upland, CA for UNDER THE APPLE TREE
Duane Kellogg, Jr. of Bridgeport, CT for A WRETCH LIKE ME
Doug Knutson of Idaho Falls, ID for STRANDED
Katherine T. Koonce of Coral Springs, FL for A GENTLE WHISPER
Beverly Kuhn-Moyer of Lincoln University, PA for HIGHER POWERBALL
Candace Lee & Darina Voloshina of Palo Alto, CA for HENRY
Bruce Li of Fort Worth, TX for LE MORTE D'ARTHUR
Matt Lofgren & George Andre Tittle of Alameda, CA for ‘STRONOMER
Debbie Lollie of Upland, CA for BETHLEHEM: THE INNKEEPER'S STORY
Sharon Lurie of Antioch, TN for THE GREEN CLOUD
Nina May of McLean, VA for SOUND OF A NEW BEGINNING
Cynthia McClendon of Winter Park, FL for FAMILY
Kim Nowlin of San Angelo, TX for RETURN TO PROVIDENCE
Scott A. Peterson of Champlin, MN for THE CURRENT
Kevin A. Powers of Box Springs, GA for SKYLINE
Jayme Provost of Lititz, PA for FREE WILL FALLING
Bryan David Ready of Honolulu, HI for HOLEY CHILDHOOD
Drew Repp of Los Angeles, CA for THERE ALWAYS IS
Marcia Chandler Rhea & Margaret Ford Rogers of Johns Island, SC
for THE CAROLINA STORYTELLER
James Rogers of Saint Davids, PA for FROM THE DARKNESS
A.D. Smith III of Memphis, TN for THE ASSIGNED
Tessa Elizabeth Sturgill of Lynchburg, VA for BEAUTIFUL DISASTER
James Thomas of Los Angeles, CA for OVERFLOW
Marcus Webb of Stamford, CT for THE PRODIGAL
Barbara West of Baltimore, MD for LORD OF THE PRIMITIVE SHORES
Rusty Whitener of Pulaski, VA for ALLAH'S FIRE AND FINISHING WELL
Lisa England Williams of Endwell, NY for THE BELL RINGERS

So what does this mean?  I am one of 45 semi-finalists and the list is cut down to top 12 come the first week of February.  To say the least, I let out a big yell once I received the email from Kairos that my screenplay made the first cut.  I now wait and hope for the best as judges read through the above list of scripts.