ANDREW BISS

‘The Craft’ was announced the ‘Best of the Decade’ winner on September 6th, 2018 at the Minnesota Shorts Play Festival in Mankato, Minnesota, which restaged their best reviewed shows from the last nine years of producing the festival. The play also garnered best actress and best actor awards for its talented cast of Callie Sonnek and Zach Bolland. Hearty congratulations to all! Director Chad Brancamp, with Callie Sonnek and Zach Bolland.

‘The Craft’ has been selected for production by the Parish Players of Thetford Hill, Vermont, for their 11th Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival this February. Based at the Eclipse Grange Theatre , the Parish Players have been bringing the classics, musical comedy, contemporary drama, and original works to their community for over 50 years. Produced by Leah Romano & Duncan Nichols, this year’s festival will take place at the following dates and times: Thursday, February 9, 16 at 7:30pm | Friday - Saturday, February 10-11, 17-18 at 7:30pm | Sunday Matinées February 12, 19 at 3:00pm The Parish Players is an incorporated not-for-profit organization staffed and run entirely by group of admirable volunteers.

Monologues from ‘The Craft’ to be Published in New Anthology Two monologues from ‘The Craft’ are to be included in a new anthology from theatrical trade publisher Smith & Kraus, Inc. , entitled ‘222 More Comedy Monologues, 2 Minutes And Under,’ edited by John Capecci and Irene Ziegler. Publication expected early 2017. It’s been an astonishing 12 years since I had monologues from ‘Cuthbert's Last Stand’ and ‘Kitchen Sink Drama’ published in this forthcoming book’s predecessor, ‘ 222 Comedy Monologues 2 Minutes and Under, Volume 4 ,’ so I find it somewhat remarkable that after all these years we’re both still going strong. One of the things I like most about these collections is that they’re specifically focused on comedy monologues. Comedic writing is all too often made to take a backseat to its dramatic counterpart, and that’s both unfair and unfounded. It’s as if, in the process of making someone laugh, a work of comedy becomes viewed as something frivolous and triflin...

‘The Craft’ will be making its Philadelphia premiere next month when the University of Pennsylvania’s Theatre Arts Council will be producing the play as part of its annual One Acts Festival. A total of four plays will be staged during the event, which takes place on February 3rd and 4th, 2017. More details will be available on the Theatre Arts Council’s website in the coming days. While ‘The Craft’ has been produced in several different countries and many states across the U.S., this latest production will mark the play’s official hometown debut.

I’m happy to report that ‘The Craft’ swept the awards at this year’s Minnesota Shorts Festival, in Mankato MN this weekend. As well as the play taking the award for ‘Best of the Fest,’ actors Travis Carpenter and Noelle Lawton were voted Best Actor and Best Actress. And in helming ‘The Craft’ to the top spot, this also marks director Maggie Maes' fourth year in a row of directing the winning play. Congratulations and thanks to all three of them for their talent and hard work in putting together a show that the audience very clearly took to their hearts (and funny bones).

I’m pleased to report that The Merely Players Theatre Company of Mankato, MN has selected ‘The Craft’ to be part of its upcoming production Minnesota Shorts: A Festival of Short Plays. Performances take place on September 8th and 9th 2016. More information will be available on their website closer to production.

Today I received from Smith & Kraus Publishers a hot off the press copy of "The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2015," included in which is my play "The Craft." This year’s edition contains quite a number of plays that experiment with style, so "The Craft" is right at home, along with many other wonderful plays by talented playwrights, some of whom are well-known and established and others just beginning their playwriting careers. I’m very pleased and proud to have had another of my plays included in this long-running anthology series, and especially glad to see "The Craft" get some wider exposure, which I hope will lead to some additional productions. Not that the play has exactly been short of those to date – it’s close to being my most produced play (that distinction still being held by "Indigenous Peoples") – but it’s a lot of fun for both actors and audiences, so a few more would be warmly welcomed. It’s available now from the Smit...

Though it may have appeared as though time itself might actually expire before The Meta Plays would finally be released, in the metaphysical world, that seemingly endless wait for one of the most hotly anticipated works of fiction in the known (and unknown) universe actually took place in the mere blink of an eye. And so it has arrived, without great fanfare, without fuss, and without any grinding and tiresome ad campaign desperately trying to flog it to death to all and sundry. No, instead it quietly – some might say eerily – materialized one day in that vast expanse of literary agglomeration known as the Kindle Store . And that day, of course, was today…or, if you’re reading this in the future, quite some time ago. And what better way to ring in the holidays than with a collection of metaphysical short dramatic works hell-bent on tinkering with your jaded sense of reality. Imagine the look on little Timmy’s cherubic face as he wakes up on Christmas morning, delves into his v...

I’m very pleased to have had “The Craft” selected by Bellingham, Washington’s iDiOM Theater for its Best of Brass Monkey production, part of its upcoming Spring Rep show. This will be the Pacific Northwest premiere of the play, and I have a feeling that iDiOM Theater are going to do a terrific job with it. They are, after all, the Hardest Working Theater in the Known World! The show takes place from May 7 to May 30, with more details available on the company’s website .

I’m very pleased to report that “The Craft” will be performed in London next month as part of an evening of short plays produced by the artists collective Fractured Lines . Fractured Lines brings artists together, creating opportunities for experimentation and development, fusing live performance and film to heal the divide between creators and consumers of art. The group produces a bi-monthly evening of complementarily themed plays under the title “ Blaggards ”.      “The Craft” will be presented as part of Blaggards on the September 8 th at COG ARTSpace , a new studio theatre space on the border of Hackney and Islington showing the best in new theatre, stand-up, spoken word and more. If you can make it along, they’re located at 113 Southgate Rd , above the De Beauvoir Arms, London N1 3JS. I hope all involved have a great time rehearsing and performing in what is rapidly becoming my most produced short play to date!

I’m happy to report that “The Craft” has been selected for inclusion in the upcoming anthology The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2015, published by Smith & Kraus, Inc. , edited by Lawrence Harbison. The tentative date for publication: December, 2015. This will mark the sixth edition of this annual anthology that I’ve had a play of mine included in, and it really is an honor to have my work included alongside so many other great writers. In the meantime, the play is getting set to open at Studio Players in Lexington, Kentucky from August 8-10, so I hope all involved break a leg and have a lot of fun with it!

I’m very pleased to announce that “The Craft” has been selected by Lexington, Kentucky’s Studio Players for inclusion in its 2014 10-Minute Play Festival. Established in 1953, Studio Players are Kentucky’s oldest community-involved theatre, and I’m proud to have my play be a small part of their long history. The festival takes place from the 7th to the 10th of August, so if you’re in the area at that time do try to go along and see it. More details should be available on the company’s website closer to the opening.

The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel has given a Pink Banana Theatre Co.’s 2014 One-Act Festival “The Honeymoon is Over” a wonderfully glowing review, including some lovely kudos for “The Craft”: “Change can't come soon enough for the two characters mired in Andrew Biss' "The Craft" — the night's last and funniest piece — which features two actors (played by Jonathon Weisse and Amanda Eaton) enacting a love scene on stage, even though they actually hate each other. The disconnect between the roles they must play and their toxic interior monologues is the perfect nightcap for a collection in which we're continually reminded that in both theater and life, we play best when we passionately believe in the scripts we perform.” There’s still time to catch the show as it continues its run every day at 7:30pm until the final performance this Saturday, June 14th at the Next Act Theatre (Box office: 414-278-0765). In the meantime, I’ll just wish Jonathon ...

Tomorrow night (5/8/14), “The Craft” will make its Ohio area debut at Madlab’s Theatre Roulette, the longest-running annual short play festival in Columbus, now in its 15th year. If you’re in the area or know someone who is, I think this festival will be well worth a visit. You can also check out a sneak peek of the festival over at Broadway World.com . A full schedule of all show times and dates can be found on the company’s website here . In the meantime, I’d just like to say break a leg to Erin Prosser and Travis Horseman, who are taking on the rather challenging roles of the actors in “The Craft”. I’m sure they’ll do a fantastic job! Travis Horseman and Erin Prosser in "The Craft" at MadLab's Theatre Roulette 2014

I’m happy to announce that my short play "The Craft" has been selected by Pink Banana Theatre Co. for inclusion in their 2014 One-Act production this summer. The theme of the show is “The Honeymoon Is Over,” which is certainly true of the two actors plying their trade and faking affection for one another in "The Craft." The wonderfully named Pink Banana Theatre Co. is based in Milwaukee, WI and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to provide professional opportunities to emerging artists through productions and workshops. The production is scheduled to take place in June and I’ll have more details nearer the time. No word on casting yet, but there has been rumors of Adele Dazeem being considered for the female lead. One can only dream! And if you haven’t tried this fun little widget from Slate Magazine yet, give it a go.

We’re into a brand new year and I’m happy to announce an upcoming brand new production of my short play The Craft. MadLab Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, has selected the play for inclusion in its short play festival “Theatre Roulette,” which is the longest-running annual shorts festival in Columbus (now in its 15th year!). Production dates for Theatre Roulette are May 8-10, 15-17, & 22-24, with more information on the production available on the theatre’s website closer to the opening. And lastly, but certainly not leastly (?)...Happy New Year!

“The Craft” continues on its path to global domination with an upcoming production in Canada ( Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to be precise). The play is to be produced as part of a variety show opening the new season of Dartmouth Players . I hope all involved have a great time with the show and are able to get the theatre’s season off to a rollicking good start. I’ll have more news regarding “The Craft” coming soon. Stay tuned…

Yes, it's true, you can now view the Woy Woy Little Theatre's production of The Craft thanks to the deft filmmaking talents of Gavin Critchley, the show's stage director at the Woy Woy production and subsequent TheatreFest production. Not only do you get to experience Gavin's brilliantly put together film of the play, you also see what a truly excellent job he did at directing the play for the stage. As if that weren't enough, you also get to enjoy the amazing talents of Gerard Dunning and Helen Herridge as they navigate what is actually a very challenging piece of theatre to pull off. But pull it off they do, and in high style. I was so impressed by their performances and I can't thank them and Gavin enough for doing such a first-rate job with my play. I hope you enjoy watching the results of their hard work and incredible talent as much as I did. The production was filmed at the Peninsula Theatre, Woy Woy, NSW, Australia in May of this year.

"The Craft" hit the boards once again this past weekend at the Central Coast TheatreFest in NSW, Australia and was awarded best actress and best director honors in the process. My hat is off the incredibly talented team of Gerard Dunning, Helen Herridge and Gavin Crichley. The three of them once again brought my little play to life and were rewarded with another tremendous audience response to their hard work, talent and dedication. You did my play proud, guys, and I send you all my heartfelt thanks. I hope we get to repeat the pleasure at some future juncture. Hooroo for now!

Yes, "The Craft" continues its extraordinary Australian odyssey this weekend where it will be performed as a part of the 10th annual  Central Coast TheatreFest in Toukley, NSW. The play will be performed by the same team (actors Helen Herridge and Gerard Dunning, and director Gavin Crichley) that did such a terrific job with it at the Woy Woy Little Theatre earlier this year. Getting "The Craft" into TheatreFest proved to be not without its challenges, but the persistence, dedication and inventiveness shown by Gavin, Helen and Gerard in getting it on the bill without sacrificing the integrity of the play speaks volumes. Their determination to perform the play once more, despite some hurdles, shows me just how much they enjoyed working on the play, and which I must say I find quite humbling. Anyway, I hope they all break a leg this weekend, and more than anything I hope they have a rollicking good time. Also, I have to say I love the terrific graphic they...