Oliver Mayer

Oliver Mayer is a tenured professor of dramatic writing, associate dean of strategic initiatives and associate dean of faculty at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Mayer is a playwright,essayist, poet and librettist. The world premiere of his new play Ghost Waltz premieres at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) on May 4, commissioned by the Latino Theater Company Circle of Imaginistas. His new opera 3 Paderewskis, composed by Jenni Brandon, received its world premiere at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center in November 2019, as well as in Poznan, Poland and on the USC campus. Their new musical Amour Fou is currently in development. He is the author of well more than 30 plays, from his ground-breaking Blade to the Heat to its long-awaited sequel Members Only. New plays include Three Treasons, The Dragon Tree, and Letters from the Black Sea (commissioned by the Getty Villa). Other produced plays include Blood Match and Yerma in the Desert (opening in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2025), inspired by the plays of Federico Garcia Lorca; Fortune is a Woman, The Wallowa Project, Dias y Flores, Dark Matters, Conjunto, Young Valiant, Joy of the Desolate, The Sinner from Toledo, Laws of Sympathy and Ragged Time. Mayer also wrote the libretto for the opera America Tropical, composed by David Conte, and the book for Blue House with music and lyrics by Perla Batalla and David Batteau. He writes essays regularly for Zocalo Public Square, and has written a book of poetry entitled Body Languages. Published plays and play collections include The Hurt Business; Oliver Mayer's Early Works, Plus, Oliver Mayer Collected Plays, Dark Matters and Other Plays, Blood Match and Other Plays, Blade to the Heat, and, this May, Ghost Waltz. He also wrote the children’s books Big Dog on Campus Learns to be a Trojan, and its follow-ups Big Dog on Campus Goes to the Library and Big Dog on Campus Goes on Patrol.

On campus, he has received several university honors, including the USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching, Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award, and a Mellon Mentoring Award for mentoring undergraduates. His writing has received various awards, including The American Prize for new opera.

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• Associate Dean of Faculty
• Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives
• Professor, USC School of Dramatic Arts
• Director of MFA Dramatic Writing and Head of Undergraduate Playwriting at SDA

//Produced Works

MEMBERS ONLY

• LATC, Los Angeles, October - November 2018
• Read an excerpt from MEMBERS ONLY
• Staged reading at INTAR, NYC, July 2012

YERMA IN THE DESERT

• Urban Theatre Movement, Nov 2017
• Read the LA Times Review of Yerma In the Desert Entitled, Inspired by Lorca, an L.A. playwright sets off in search of 'Yerma in the Desert'
• Read The Advocate's article on Yerma in the Desert titled, The Secret to Fascism
• Read The Lesbian News Magazine's article on Yerma in the Desert
• Listen below to the USC's Bedrosian Center Podcast on Lorca in the Desert.   
  
  

BLOOD MATCH

• Urban Theatre Movement, 2017
• Watch the USC MFA Actors class of 2015 Spring Repertory promo
• USC MFA 3 REPERTORY, February 2015

FORTUNE IS A WOMAN

• Read an excerpt from FORTUNE IS A WOMAN
• USC MFA 3 REPERTORY, February 2012

DARK MATTERS

• Read an excerpt from DARK MATTERS
• LAByrinth Intensive, NYC, July 2012
• Staged Reading, October 17, 2011. The Rosemary Branch Theater.
• Winner of the Alfred P Sloan Initiative Award for Plays about Science

WALLOWA: THE VANISHING OF MAUDE LERAY

• Son of Semele Ensemble, April 2011

FILO AL FUEGO (BLADE TO THE HEAT)

• Read an excerpt from BLADE TO THE HEAT
• The Joseph Papp Public Theater - World Premiere, NYC (1994)
• The Mark Taper Forum - (Revised Version), Main Stage (1996)
• The Apple Tree - (Revised Version), Chicago(1997)
• Thick Description - (Revised Version), SF (1997);
• El Teatro Lirico - (Revised Version), Mexico City (100 performances) (1997)
• Prometeo Theater- Miami (2010)
  College Forum Article | Miami Hearld Article | Miami Hearld Review

 

THE WIGGLE ROOM

• Company of Angels - World Premiere, Los Angeles, CA (2010)
  Production Photos | KUSC Radio Interview

DIAS y FLORES

• Read an excerpt from DIAS y FLORES
• Company of Angels - World Premiere, Los Angeles, CA (2008)
  LA Times Article
• Kendall Theatre - Miami Dade College, Miami, FL (2013)

ROCIO! IN SPITE OF IT ALL

• The King King Nightclub - World Premiere, Hollywood, CA (2006)

JOY OF THE DESOLATE

• Read an excerpt from JOY OF THE DESOLATE
• The Apple Tree Theatre - World Premiere, Chicago, IL (2000)
• CalArts University, California (2003)

RAGGED TIME

• The Black Dahlia - World Premiere (2002)
• The Royal Court Theatre London - (Developed)
  

JOE LOUIS BLUES

• Los Angeles Theater Center - World Premiere, Los Angeles (1992)
  
• Thick Description - (Revised Version), San Francisco, CA (2000)
• Tiffany Theatres, Los Angeles, CA (2001)

CONJUNTO

• Teatro Vision - World Premiere, San Jose, CA (2003)
• Borderlands Theatre - (Revised Version), Tucson, AZ (2006)
• Playwrights Arena, Los Angeles, CA (2006)

YOUNG VALIANT

• INTAR - World Premiere, NY (2002)
• Casa 0101, Los Angeles, CA (2005)

THE LAWS OF SYMPATHY

• Playwrights Arena - World Premiere, Los Angeles, CA (2009)

//Works in Development

BOLD AS LOVE
THE RIGHTING MOMENT
THE CERVANTES INTERLUDES

//Short Plays

BANANAS AND PEACHFUZZ
OKI DOG
THE CHESS MACHINE

Books

//Published Works

BIG DOG ON CAMPUS GOES TO THE LIBRARY

• Preorder your copy

BIG DOG ON CAMPUS

• More info about the BIG DOG ON CAMPUS

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