About Nameless Playwrights Group

In 2010, eight Northwest playwrights, all beyond the age of 60, banded together to form "Nameless Playwrights," a new playwrights group dedicated to creating original plays for all ages. Shortly after its formation, Nameless Playwrights (NP) joined in a fiscal partnership with Bump in the Road Theatre, sharing many of the same goals.

Collectively their lives span more than half a millennium. All have had their plays produced across the country and the world; all have been honored with prizes and awards. Whether their plays are controversial or cantankerous, charming or just plain silly, their mission remains the same: To create lively and timely stories for the stage.

NP meets monthly to share current works in progress, including full readings of 10-minute plays, as well as scenes from one-act and full-length plays. Members serve as the actors and openly critique each other's work. Between meetings, group members keep in touch and work together to help develop their plays.

"We're making a name for ourselves," said Ellen West, playwright and a founding member of the group. "Creativity is ageless."

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Nameless Playwrights' Charter Members

John A. Donnelly specializes in plays that take wry looks at male/female relationships—both comic and serious aspects. He has had fifty-two readings or productions in fifteen states (and the United Kingdom) of thirty one-act plays and collaborative full-length plays.

Gretchen O'Halloran's characters are strange, sinister, angelic, and diabolical in nature—with a comic twist. Her plays have had readings or productions from coast to coast, including New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, and Ashland.

Sue Parman is an anthropologist, poet, playwright, and fiction writer who recently moved to Oregon. Three of her plays were performed in California: "The Red Tide" at the Stages Theatre in Fullerton, "North of Sixty-Three Degrees" at the Nicholas Theatre in Costa Mesa, and "The House of Ravens" at the Forum Theatre in Laguna Beach.

Rich Rubin's plays have been performed from coast to coast, including theaters in New York, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. Internationally, his work has been staged in Berlin, Singapore and the United Kingdom. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and Portland's Nameless Playwrights.

Mark Saunders, a playwright, screenwriter, and cartoonist, writes short plays befitting his attention span. His plays have appeared in theatres across America, from Portland to New York City, as well as several stops in-between. He once owned a Yugo. For more about Mark, visit his website at www.msaunderswriter.com.

Molly B. Tinsley, a former professor of English at the United States Naval Academy, is an established author of fiction, nonfiction, and drama. Her plays have been read or staged nationwide, from Seattle, to Houston, New York City, and Washington, DC.

Ellen West was in an "Our Gang" comedy at the age of five, which stage-struck her forever. Not until she retired to Oregon in 1990 was she able to devote herself to playwriting. So far she has won two first prizes and has had over thirty productions of her work. For more about Ellen, visit her website at www.ellenwestplaywright.com.

Dalene Young's plays have been produced in New York and Los Angeles. She was the artistic director of New Playwrights Foundation in Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to producing new works. Though she became a television and screenwriter, she continued her life in the theater.

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