[ This Just In! ]

For Immediate Release
Date: June 18, 2001

SVT Co-Artistic Director Wins Honors

AUSTIN, TX--Dan Dietz, co-Artistic Director of Salvage Vanguard Theater, will be one of three participants in this year's PlayLabs, at The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis MN, July 8 -22. In addition, Dietz' play Dirigible will be produced by Circle X in Los Angeles in the Fall and the playwright has been nominated for the Cherry Lane Alternative Mentorship Program.

PlayLabs is an annual script development retreat hosted by The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. The Center hosts the playwright and his chosen director (in this case Jason Neulander) and brings local actors and other artists into the development process to help the playwright complete the script. Dan Dietz will be developing the script of his new play Tilt Angel at PlayLabs in July.

Tilt Angel is a "deadpan tennessee fairy tale" about a family coming to terms with the death of their mother. Salvage Vanguard Theater will produce the world premiere of the play in October and November 2001 at the Off Center (2211-A Hidalgo Street) in Austin, Texas.

Says Dietz: "It's really an honor to be part of such an nationally-esteemed writing workshop as PlayLabs. I mean, to see my name in a group that has included Sherry Kramer, Naomi Iizuka, and Lee Blessing--what a thrill! Plus hey, someone's giving me a 2-week vacation to write. What more could I ask for?"

What more, indeed!

Dietz award-winning play Dirigible will receive a production in Los Angeles this Fall at Circle X. Dirigible won the 1999 Austin Critics' Table Award for Outstanding New Play. Dietz says: "I can't wait to see Dirigible produced by a completely new group of artists, and in such a major city! Circle X is such a talented company, too. They've really made a name for themselves in L.A. for their daring, high-quality work, and it's awesome to be working with them."

Dietz' recent accomplishments don't stop there. He has been nominated by Megan Monaghan at The Playwrights' Center for the prestigious Cherry Lane Alternative Mentorship Program. The Program, which is awarded to five writers annually, teams up an up-and-coming writer with a suitable mentor for a year and culminates with a production of the writer's play at Cherry Lane. Monaghan is enthusiastic about the award, saying: "I sent them Tilt Angel along with my hearty recommendation."

Dietz is excited about the possibilities: "It was such an honor to be nominated for this program. To even just have a shot at working for a year with a writer on the level of Craig Lucas or Alfred Uhry is like a dream come true!"

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