Join the Coaster Theatre Playhouse and the Cannon Beach Library March 23 and 24 as they host Rob Urbinati, NYC-based playwright, for an illuminating weekend of events in celebration of his much-produced play, “Death by Design.”
Aspiring playwrights can attend a free event at the Cannon Beach Library, from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 23 when Urbinati will discuss the craft of playwriting, with a focus on coming up with ideas for plays, adapting for the stage from other sources, and getting started as a playwright by writing a 10-minute play. This event is open to anyone interested in theatre – artists and audiences alike.
Those attending the matinee of “Death by Design” at the Coaster Theatre at 3 p.m. March 24 can join a post-show talk with Urbinati and the play’s director, Deanna Duplechain who will discuss the play, its origins and current production. This is a reunion 25 years in the making for Urbinati and Duplechain, who met in New York City.
Urbinati wrote “Death by Design,” a hilarious mystery and a mash-up of Agatha Christie and Noel Coward. When the play found its way through the play Coaster Theatre’s selection team and landed on Duplechain’s lap for directorial consideration at the theatre, Duplechain said, “Hey, I know this guy.”
After a flurry of emails, Urbanati agreed to be in residence in Cannon Beach to complement the second weekend of “Death by Design” at the Coaster Theatre.
Rob Urbinati’s published plays include “Hazelwood Jr. High”; “Murder On West Moon Street”; “Mama’s Boy”; and “Jane Austen’s Lady Susan,” published by Samuel French/Concord, as well as “Cole Porter’s Nymph Errant,” published by Broadway Licensing; and “Miss Julie In Hollywood,” co-written with Mario Garza Jr., published by Next Stage Press. His plays have received over 300 productions world-wide.
His book, “Play Readings: A Complete Guide for Theatre Practitioners,” is published by Routledge Press.
Urbinati has directed for Classic Stage Company; Abingdon Theatre; Lincoln Center Directors Lab; Culture Project; Cherry Lane Theatre; York Theatre; Pearl Theatre Company; and Public Theater in New York City, as well as theatres and universities across the country. He is director of New Play Development at Queens Theatre and a member of the Dramatists Guild.
KMUN