Meet The team
Jeanne Drennan, Executive director
Jeanne has been involved with MTAP since its very first meetings back in 2011. She is a playwright, librettist, lyricist and songwriter, and recently added producer to the list, producing both MTAP's 2021 Abduction and 2022 Hot Metal Shorts. Her full-length plays Asparagus, Limoges, Medea at Athens, 12 Dogs, Waxworks, Atlas of Longing, and Get Out of Dodge have been produced or developed at theatres across the U.S., some tiny and unheated but also at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Get Out of Dodge was a winner of the AACT New Play Fest-2016 and was produced at the Venice Theater, Venice, FL, and subsequently published by Dramatic Publishing.
Her musical Dear Boy, with composer David Berlin, has had several public readings, including one of MTAP’s Incubator Readings. Her most current works include the full-length plays Left Luggage and Whiteface and the musical comedy Juiced!, for which she wrote book, music, and lyrics. Juiced! had an MTAP Incubator Reading in 2019 and continues in development. In progress is her new musical Flounder, a story of dark times in a watery world.
Jeanne worked with City Theatre’s Young Playwrights program as a dramaturg and frequent teaching artist since the program began in 1999 and in 2017 celebrated her 20th Young Playwrights Festival as a dramaturg helping middle and high school playwrights refine their work for production. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts has awarded her seven individual artist fellowships in playwriting. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and of the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. You can explore some of her plays on the New Play Exchange at this LINK.
Jeanne has been involved with MTAP since its very first meetings back in 2011. She is a playwright, librettist, lyricist and songwriter, and recently added producer to the list, producing both MTAP's 2021 Abduction and 2022 Hot Metal Shorts. Her full-length plays Asparagus, Limoges, Medea at Athens, 12 Dogs, Waxworks, Atlas of Longing, and Get Out of Dodge have been produced or developed at theatres across the U.S., some tiny and unheated but also at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Get Out of Dodge was a winner of the AACT New Play Fest-2016 and was produced at the Venice Theater, Venice, FL, and subsequently published by Dramatic Publishing.
Her musical Dear Boy, with composer David Berlin, has had several public readings, including one of MTAP’s Incubator Readings. Her most current works include the full-length plays Left Luggage and Whiteface and the musical comedy Juiced!, for which she wrote book, music, and lyrics. Juiced! had an MTAP Incubator Reading in 2019 and continues in development. In progress is her new musical Flounder, a story of dark times in a watery world.
Jeanne worked with City Theatre’s Young Playwrights program as a dramaturg and frequent teaching artist since the program began in 1999 and in 2017 celebrated her 20th Young Playwrights Festival as a dramaturg helping middle and high school playwrights refine their work for production. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts has awarded her seven individual artist fellowships in playwriting. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and of the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. You can explore some of her plays on the New Play Exchange at this LINK.
david michael King, managing Director
David Michael King is a songwriter and performer. He wrote music and lyrics for Take Me (book by Maureen McGranaghan), a short musical performed as part of the 2022 Hot Metal Shorts. He has had musical theater pieces performed in Hot Metal Musicals. David also wrote music and lyrics for the short musical, One Night (book by Zhiwei Ma).
His singer-songwriter tunes can be heard on Love and Other Punchlines and other recordings. His performances include opening for The Subdudes and playing with Pete Seeger. David has been a long-time member of Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh. He works as a music librarian at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. https://davidmichaelking.bandcamp.com
Dana leahy, Media DIRECTOR
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Dana Leahy is a writer and comedian living in Pittsburgh, PA. For over 20 years, she's made her living by creating content. Her credits include outlets like G4TV, EntertainmentTonight.com, FX.com, CBS Interactive, NBC.com, and SPIN Magazine. She also has extensive experience as a technical writer, covering everything from supercars to health care. As a performer, she's appeared on stage at Second City (LA), IO West (LA), the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (Austin, TX), and the Arcade Comedy Theater (Pittsburgh). Her plays have been produced at the Glitterbox Theater (Pittsburgh) and as part of the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival. Currently, she is working on several different theatrical projects, including turning her play “Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, God!” into a musical. |
