A good review!

I directed a short piece in The Drilling Company's show, Hero, and our little unit got a really nice mention on nytheatre.com:

Excerpt from a review of Hero
by Martin Denton · April 12, 2008

Two of my new short plays, Astro Girl (a short musical) and Justice Team will be read by The Drilling Company on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 PM. 78th Street Theatre Lab. The music for Astro Girl was written by Sal Clemente with assistance from Peter Montgomery and Doug Crawford.

My thanks to the acting talents of Dennis Gagomiros, Jane Guyer, Karla Hendrick, Erin Mallon, Dave Marantz, and Lisa Peart for making the reading come alive.

I'm published!

Not the first time and hopefully not the last, but I have a short play in a book that was released this month called 2006: The Best Ten-Minute Plays for 2 Actors. The book includes my short play, The Proposal (which also happens to be the opening scene of a new full-length play called, The Acquisition).

Copies of the book may be had at Barnes and Noble's website: 2006: The Best Ten-Minute Plays for 2 Actors.

That's a production photo from my play on the cover featuring actors, Stephanie Cozart and Josh Foldy. The director of that production was Carol Halstead. The photo is by Fred Marco.

My big "production" for October is a Haunted House on October 26th, which is part of a fund raiser for my daughter's school, PS 87.

See pictures from the make-up test we did for Zombie Tours at the Drilling Company website.

My new play, Even, will be read in Hudson Warehouse's Fall Reading Series. It will be read Monday, September 10th at 7:30 PM at Where Eagles Dare at 347 West 36th Street, 1st Floor, NYC. Free. reservations call: (212) 877-0099.

August, 2007

I'm playing the Porter and a few other roles (a witch!) in Hudson Warehouse's outdoor production of MacBeth Thursdays - Sundays in August (2007) at 6:30 PM at the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument in Riverside Park (89th Street and Riverside, NYC).

The Drilling Company will also be presenting a semi-staged reading of my new full-length Regency Era play, The Acquisition, directed by Will Pomerantz at 78th Street Theatre Lab (2nd Floor) on Monday May 14th, 2007 at 8 PM as part of their "Discovery Series." 78th Street Theatre Lab is located at 236 West 78th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam.
Best subway is the train to 79th Street Station. No reservations necessary, though you can call me at (646) 245-4507, and I'll put you on the list. This is a free event, though we'll ask for a donation of $8 or anything one can give.r

Michael Criscuolo · June 16, 2006

"The most successful works here are the simplest. Brian Dykstra's Bells and Whistles and Stephen Bittrich's The Proposal couldn't be more different story-wise, but both have clear points of view. In the former, Dykstra skewers covert doubletalk as several government agencies try to one-up each other in breaking an enemy code; in the latter, a marriage proposal is extended to a Jane Austen-type heroine who must choose between pragmatic comfort and societal ruin. Both writers have a definite take on the evening's theme-Dykstra posits that national security is handled by ego-driven idiots, while Bittrich puts his protagonist's stability squarely in her own hands-and both plays are done well by their respective directors and casts.

Directors Laura Strausfeld and Carol Halstead do good work with Bells and Whistles and The Proposal, respectively. Halstead also turns in a humorous performance in the former play, while Stephanie Cozart and Josh Foldy shine in the latter piece. And, actors Don Carter, Hamilton Clancy, Bill Green, and David Marantz all give excellent performances in several of the plays."

The Proposal will be published in Spring, 2007 by Smith and Kraus.