“Intriguing Staging with All the Right Cues”

Sarah Lawrence Riehm

7:00pm: Interview with Sarah Lawrence Riehm, Richardson playwright; moderated by David Fisher, Asst. Director for the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs

7:45pm: screening of the movie BIRDMAN 2014 (1hr 59min, R) starring Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, and Edward Norton.

Riehm, a Richardson resident who goes by Sarah Lawrence professionally, was recently dubbed a “gifted second-wind playwright” by the National Winter Playwrights Retreat, has a variety of theater projects in the works. Duende: Recuerdos de Flamenco, a full-length drama about the ancient Spanish art form, recently placed as a top-five finalist in the Julie Harris/Neil Simon Competition. It was selected in September, 2016, by the Good to Go Festival organization for a residency in Vermont and now advances to New York for a workshop at the Prospect Theater in the spring of 2017. Bibo and Bertie was named a Winner in the 2016 Writer’s Digest Competition and was chosen by the National Winter Playwriting Residency in January of 2017 for further development. Bibo and Bertie, a drama about the last year of Albert Einstein’s life, is scheduled for a premier production at Stageworks in Tampa, Florida during the 2017-18 season. She is also working with two Dallas-based composers on Yellow Rose, a Big-Ass Texas Musical about the life of Emily West. 

Her most recently produced play was All Ye Who Enter Here which ran in 2014 at the historic off-Broadway Soho Playhouse in New York. Her first play,  Liberty, was the recipient of the Southern Playwrights’Award.  As such, it was awarded a full production at the Kennedy Center. Liberty was just announced (March, 2017) as a semifinalist in the Book Pipeline Competition, a national search for plays suited to adaptation to the screen. 

Lawrence wrote six plays in the 1990s and enjoyed some early success. Two years ago, she embarked on an MFA program, Writing for Stage and Screen, at the New Hampshire Institute of Arts, graduating in 2016.

In her spare time, she enjoys being a performing church musician and plays the pipe organ, piano and harp. She and her husband Chuck are also the proud owners of Marcus Café in Richardson, Texas.

AIR Time is a guest artist interview series featuring North Texas artists and creative thinkers. AIR defines artist very broadly. Past artist interviews have included Kevin Carr and Jamie Fulton of Community Beer Company; Erin Hannigan, principal oboist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; the Paul Taylor Dance Company; voiceover artist and actor, Alan Ackles; and Tony Award-nominated sound designer, Tim O’Heir. Interviews are audio recorded and available as podcasts through iTunes.

Following the interview (7:00-7:45pm), guests are invited to stay for the movie. Admission is FREE, but when reserving a seat online you must purchase a $5 food voucher which can then be used at the event. 

All AIR Time events are held at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Richardson, 100 S. Central Expressway, Richardson, TX  75080.

AIR (Arts Incubator of Richardson) is a 501c3 that is living its Mission and Vision while seeking funding to secure a space. AIR is a center for creativity, innovation and collaboration. 

This project funded in part by Erik L. Wyse of WealthStar Advisors, and the City of Richardson through the City of Richardson Cultural Arts Commission. Special underwriting for this AIR Time provided by Atlas Wealth Advisors.