Leviathan Lab Writer-in-Residence Kristine M. Reyes chosen as 2014-15 Dramatist Guild Fellow

Written By Ariel Estrada

Congratulations to Leviathan Writer-in-Residence Kristine M. Reyes for her induction as a 2014-2015 Fellow with The Dramatists Guild of America.

The Dramatists Guild of America Fellows program's mission is to enhance the sense of community among developing American dramatists by offering a year-long workshop designed to augment their training with practical experience and career information resources.

As the national association of playwrights, composers and lyricists, and the only organization devoted solely to the interests of artists writing for the theater (and with over 7,000 members), the Guild and its Council created the Fellows Program to nurture the next generation of American dramatists. Their program is unique, not only in the kinds of opportunities it offers, but also because it brings together both playwrights and musical theater writers to discuss their work and common goals. Previous Dramatists Guild Fellows include Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Pulitzer Prize finalist), Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Dogfight, A Christmas Story, Tony nominees for Best Score), Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Academy Award nominee, Frozen), Neil Bartram (The Story of My Life), Deborah Zoe Laufer (End Days, ATCA Steinberg Award), and Amanda Yesnowitz (upcoming Somewhere in Time, Portland Center Stage).

Ariel Estrada
Actor | Producer | Graphic Designer | Grant Writer Ariel is an actor, singer, producer, and Executive Director of Leviathan Lab, a creative studio for Asian American performing artists. Under Leviathan Lab, he has produced acting and writing salons, cabarets, fundraising events, staged readings, showcase productions, and short films – including a critically acclaimed 2011 production of TWELFTH NIGHT, starring Obie-award winning actor Jojo Gonzalez, and directed by Nelson T. Eusebio III (Assistant Director under Daniel Sullivan, The Public/NYSF 2011; Lincoln Center Directors Lab), with music by Jason Ma (Broadway: MISS SAIGON, THE SLY FOX, SHOGUN THE MUSICAL). In 2012, Ariel served as Executive Producer for Leviathan Lab’s multiple-award winning short film TWO WEEKS (Featured Film, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Shorts Showcase; Winner, 2013 Film Festival Flix Short Film Competition; Winner, Best Ensemble, 2013 Asians on Film Festival; Award of Merit: Asian American, Best Shorts Competition (December 2013); and Official Selection, 20th Annual Filipino American Cine Festival, (December 2013). As Executive Director, Ariel has secured two consecutive grants (2012, 2013) from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for his work with Leviathan Lab, as well as for the international award-winning men’s barbershop chorus Voices of Gotham (2013) and for Empire City Men’s Chorus (2013). Ariel served as both a performer and Executive Producer of Leviathan Lab's first LMCC-supported project, MIGRATION NATION, which took ten new short plays inspired by the experiences of Filipina overseas contract workers, and assembled them into a three day, site-specific, immersive theatre event at the Tribeca brownstone/artists collective Space on White. For Leviathan's second LMCC-supported project in 2013, Ariel served as Executive Producer, Assistant Teaching Artist, and Performer for their Chinatown Kids' Playbuilding Project (JOURNEY TO THE WORLD OF PLAYWRITING), which took plays created through a 10-week workshop with the 5th grade students of P.S. 124, and produced them using the adult professional actors and directors of Leviathan Lab. Leviathan was also a 2011 resident artist at Space on White, and was recently selected for the 2013 Artists-in Residence program at University Settlement. As an actor and singer, Ariel has performed on television, film, commercials, industrials, new media, and on, Off, and Off-Off Broadway. You can visit his IMDB page here. Ariel is also an accomplished, Fortune 500 level graphic designer. To view his design portfolio, please visit arielestradadesign.com.
www.arielestrada.com
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Leviathan Lab Teaching Artists Lydia Gaston and Claro de los Reyes at 2014 CAATA National Asian American Theater Conference & Festival

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Leviathan Lab Alum Karen Lee and Jessica Anne Cox in Robert Kuang's THE PIANO