Eric Coble is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is a member of the Playwrights' Unit of the Cleveland Play House.

Eric Coble
Born
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Playwright, screenwriter
Notable workThe Velocity of Autumn (2011)
Bright Ideas
Websitehttp://ericcoble.com

Eric Coble was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and raised on the Navajo and Ute reservations in New Mexico and Colorado.[1] Before turning to playwriting, he received his BA in English from Fort Lewis College in Colorado, and his MFA in acting from Ohio University.

Career

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Coble's play, The Velocity of Autumn premiered on Broadway on April 1, 2014 (previews), officially on April 21, 2014, at the Booth Theatre, starring Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella, directed by Molly Smith. The play was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Estelle Parsons received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.[2] The play had its debut at the Boise Contemporary Theatre before moving to Arena Stage, Washington, D.C., in 2013.[3][4]

The Spanish version, La velocidad del otoño, premiered at the Teatro Bellas Artes in Madrid in December 2016. It starred Lola Herrera and Juanjo Artero and was directed by Magüi Mira.[5]

His play Bright Ideas opened Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Class Company, directed by John Rando, and has since been published by Dramatists Play Service, with dozens of productions across the U.S.[1] His stage adaptation of Lois Lowry's The Giver (published by Dramatic Publishing) has had over 300 productions on three continents. Other work includes Natural Selection (published by Playscripts), For Better (published by Samuel French), The Dead Guy (published by DPS), Virtual Devotion, Cinderella Confidential, and Pecos Bill and the Ghost Stampede (all published by Dramatic Publishing).

His plays have been produced in 50 states of the U.S., and on six continents including productions at The Kennedy Center, Manhattan Class Company, Actors Studio, Playwrights Horizons, The Denver Center Theatre Company, Arena Stage, The Edinburgh and New York Fringe Festivals, South Coast Repertory, Laguna Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cleveland Public Thaeatre, Indiana Repertory, Coterie Theatre, Asolo Rep, Curious Theatre, Geva Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Dobama Theatre, Stages Repertory, Great Lakes Theater, Coterie Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theatre, Habima Theatre (Israel), Pentacion Productions (Spain), Teatr Polski (Poland), Orange Row (Mexico)and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival.[1]

Awards include an Emmy nomination, the Steinberg New Play Award, two American Alliance for Theatre and Education Distinguished Play Awards for Best Adaptation, the AATE Award for Distinguished Play (2022), the AT&T Onstage Award, National Theatre Conference Playwriting Award, an NEA Playwright in Residence Grant, two TCG Extended Collaboration Grants, Aristophanes Award for Best Off-Broadway Comedy, First Place in the Southwest Festival of New Plays, Heideman Finalist for Actors Theatre Louisville, three Best of the CATCO Shorts Festival Awards, the Cleveland Arts Prize, two Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Creative Workforce Fellowships, and four Ohio Arts Individual Excellence Awards.[1]

Selected works

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Caption text
YEAR TITLE PREMIERE PUBLICATION
1993 Ordering Lunch Playwrights Horizons Summerfest, NY
1994 Isolated Incidents Cleveland Public Theatre, OH
1994 Tristan And Isolde Aegean Theatre Co., NY
1996 Sound-Biting Dobama Theatre, OH
1996 In A Grove: Four Japanese Ghost Stories Cleveland Play House, OH Published by Playscripts
1997 Nightfall With Edgar Allan Poe Cleveland Play House, OH Published by Playscripts
1998 The Emperor's New Clothes Cleveland Play House, OH Published by Dramatic Publishing
1998 Virtual Devotion Dobama Theatre, OH Published by Dramatic Publishing
1998 Myth-Adventures: Five Greek Classics Cleveland Play House, OH published by Dramatic Publishing
1998 Under The Flesh: The Final Descent of Edgar Allan Poe Cleveland Playhouse, OH
1999 truth: The Testimonial Of Sojourner Truth Dobama Theatre, OH published by Playscripts
1999 The Servant Of Two Masters Cleveland Playhouse, OH
1999 Gold In The Bones: Three Tales Of Haunted New England Cleveland Play House, OH published by Playscripts
1999 Pinocchio 3.5 Cleveland Play House, OH published by Playscripts
2000 The Way You Look Tonight Great Lakes Theater Festival, OH
2000 Lake Of Panthers Cleveland Play House, OH
2000 Tales Of The Southern Frontier Eckard Theatre Company, FL
2001 Bright Ideas Cleveland Play House, OH published by Dramatists Play Service
2001 Strange Intelligence Imagination Stage, Washington DC
2001 Pecos Bill And The Ghost Stampede Cleveland Play House, OH published by Dramatic Publishing
2001 Straight On 'Til Morning Great Lakes Theater Festival, OH
2002 Baggage Unattended Contemporary American Theatre Company, OH
2002 From Here: A Century Of Voices From Ohio Wallpaper Project Ohio state-wide tour
2002 T.I.D.Y. Beck Center For The Arts, OH
2003 Sacagawea Oregon Children's Theatre, OR published by Playscripts
2003 Cinderella Confidential Cleveland Play House, OH published by Dramatic Publishing
2004 Remote Contemporary American Theatre Company, OH
2004 The Machine Stops (by E.M. Forster) Hiram College, OH
2004 Vote? Eckard Theatre Company, FL published by Dramatic Publishing
2005 Uncle Sam's Satiric Spectacular Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, KY published by Playscripts
2005 Ten Minutes From Cleveland Dobama Theatre, OH
2005 The Dead Guy Curious Theatre, CO published by Dramatists Play Service
2005 The Giver (based on the novel by Lois Lowry) Oregon Children's Theatre, OR published by Dramatic Publishing
2006 Natural Selection Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, KY published by Playscripts
2006 Waiting For The Matinee Cleveland Play House, OH published by Dramatists Play Service
2006 For Better National New Play Network rolling world-premier: Curious Theatre, CO; New Theatre, FL; Southern Rep Theatre, LA published by Samuel French
2006 Luis (based on the story by Richard Selzer) Verb Ballets, OH
2006 Haunted Contemporary American Theatre Company, OH
2006 Let Freedom Ring Ensemble Theatre, OH
2007 Zap! Florida Repertory Theatre, FL
2007 Terror In The Tower (comic book) published by Akron Public Schools
2008 The Cleveland Plays, Part 1: Migration (co-written with Eric Scmhiedl and Nina Domingue) Dobama Theatre, OH
2008 Ask Gilby (television) Akron Public Schools syndication
2009 Southern Rapture Actors Theatre of Charlotte, NC
2009 Unbeatable (music and lyrics by Todd Schroeder and Kevin Fisher) Phoenix Theatre, AZ
2009 H.R. Dobama Theatre, OH published by Random House
2009 Ten More Minutes From Cleveland Dobama Theatre, OH
2009 Huck Finn (based on the novel by Mark Twain) Cleveland Play House, OH published by Dramatists Play Service
2010 Panto Pinocchio Stages Repertory Theatre, TX
2010 The White Coat, The Body, and others Cleveland Clinic, OH
2011 A Girl's Guide To Coffee Actors' Summit, OH
2011 My Barking Dog Cleveland Public Theatre, OH published by Dramatists Play Service
2011 The Velocity Of Autumn Boise Contemporary Theater, ID published by Dramatists Play Service
2011 Side Effects May Include... (co-written with Marc Jaffe Cleveland Public Theatre, OH
2011 Downhill published by Dramatic Publishing
2012 The Storm In The Barn (based on the graphic novel by Matt Phelan) Oregon Children's Theatre, OR published by Dramatic Publishing
2012 Stranded On Earth Boise Contemporary Theater, ID
2012 Gathering Blue (based on the book by Lois Lowry Oregon Children's Theatre, OR published by Dramatic Publishing
2012 Alma Mater Ohio University, OH
2012 A Carol For Cleveland (based on the story by Les Roberts) Cleveland Play House, OH
2013 Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (based on the book by John Gray) U.S. Tour
2013 The Reason Why Geva Theatre, NY
2014 Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars (based on the graphic novels by Tony Lee and Dan Boultwood) First Stage, WI published by Dramatic Publishing
2014 Fairfield Cleveland Play House, OH
2015 Jedi Training: Challenge Of The Temple Disney Theme Parks
2015 Flour and Brimstone Cleveland Public Theatre, OH
2015 CPH RAW Cleveland Play House, OH
2015 Just Do It The Every 28 Hours Plays, Ferguson, MO published in "A Race Anthology: Dispatches and Artifacts From A Segregated City
2016 Margin of Error (or, The Unassailable Wisdom Of The Mouse And The Scorpion) Boise Contemporary Theater, ID
2016 These Mortal Hosts Cleveland Play House, OH
2016 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Cleveland) Cleveland Public Theatre, OH
2017 Swagger Palm Beach Dramaworks, FL published by Dramatic Publishing
2017 The Talk (co-written with Darius Stubbs) Cleveland Public Theatre/Station Hope, OH
2017 Ghosts In The Machine First Stage, WI published by Dramatic Publishing
2017 The Family Claxon Cleveland Public Theatre, OH
2018 The Girl Who Swallowed A Cactus Rolling world premiere: Childsplay Theatre, AZ; Metro Theatre Company, MO published by Dramatic Publishing
2018 Refugee (based on the book by Alan Gratz) Florida Repertory Theatre, FL
2019 Feed (based on the book by M.T. Anderson) Cleveland Play House, OH
2019 Live To Tell Palm Beach Dramaworks, FL
2019 Tovic Tomte And The Trolls Talespinner Children's Theatre, OH
2020 Wait For It Covid One-Minute Play Festival, NY
2021 Bulletproof Backpack Florida Repertory Theatre, FL published by Dramatic Publishing
2021 That Which Can Be Held Cleveland Museum Of Art, OH
2021 Big Changes (co-written with Kira Hopgood) Published by Dramatic Publishing
2022 The Hatbox Williamston Theatre, MI

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Cleveland Arts Prize 2007
  2. ^ Purcell, Carey. "'Velocity of Autumn', Starring 2014 Tony Nominee Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella, Closes on Broadway May 4" Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 4, 2014
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2012-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Purcell, Carey. "'The Velocity of Autumn', Starring Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella, Will Play Broadway's Booth Theatre Archived 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, December 12, 2013
  5. ^ "'La velocidad del otoño', de Eric Coble - Pentación Espectáculos".
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