Oliver Mayer

Oliver Mayer was born in Hollywood, California and grew up in Studio City. As a teenager, before discovering writing, he was a boxer. He is a graduate of Cornell and Columbia Universities, and attended Worcester College, Oxford. For eight formative years, Oliver was on the artistic staff of the Mark Taper Forum, where he and Oskar Eustis created The Mentor Playwrights Project, and where he worked on The New Works Festival, bringing life to such plays as Angels in America, The Waiting Room, The Kentucky Cycle, and his own Blade to the Heat. Since leaving the Taper, he has written full-time and has taught writing at UC Riverside, Art Center College of Design, and (since 2003) the University of Southern California. He is married to actress Marlene Forte.

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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