Michael Wells-Oakes
Michael Wells-Oakes plays include A COLD DECEMBER, GRACE, I KEEP THINKING ABOUT FREEDOM, CHRISTMAS, THE COLLEGE HOOP SCANDAL OF 1962, TAKE ME HOME, KURT’S WIFE, and DRIVER’S ED. His plays written collaboratively with his wife, Jennifer Wells, include INTO A POINT (NPC finalist), MIGRATIONS, FURNACE PARK IS CLOSING DOWN, DION’S JOY GARDEN, CITY ON FIRE, THE DRAGONFLY, BAH HUMBUG, and LBJ SINGS. They have been produced at The Luna Stage, West Beth Theater Center, The Puzzle Theater, Cubiculo Theater, The Triangle (SC), Harold Clurman Theater, Bernie Wohl Theater, White Fire Theater, The Public Theatre, Barrow Street Theater, The Ko Festival, Manhattan Class Company Theater, and The 29th Street New Work Series.
He also written screenplays including METAMORPHIZED, NUNS AND WAR and MIRACULOUS TURNAROUND (NYFA Grant for Screenwriting.)
He and his wife founded and ran the NYC Drama Workshop, a theater program for teenagers sponsored by Greenwich Village Youth Council. They wrote and produced 14 plays for teens to perform for teenage audiences. Two NYC Drama Workshop plays, REMEMBER ME ALWAYS and GREENFIELD BLOOMS, are published by Samuel French and performed throughout the US and Canada.
Currently, he is working with composer Max Balton on a musical, BREATH TO BREATH, that tells the story of a 14-year-old girl mourning for her mother who died on 9/11, Subway Girl, and every person now living in New York City.
Michael is a Resident Playwright at The 29th Street Playwright’s Collective, a MacDowell Fellow, a founding member of The Playwright’s Group, and he received the DeWitt Wallace Reader’s Digest Writer of Distinction Award.
“I learn so much being a part of The 29th Street Playwrights Collective. I am so appreciative for the 29ers' support and generous encouragement. I love writing for the theater. I love picking up a pencil, often with nothing in my mind, but a trust that if I just put words on paper something will result. I am gratefully amazed that my trust is often rewarded. I love that people see my plays--and love watching other writer’s plays. I feel lucky to pursue a life in the theater.”
Michael Wells-Oakes, November 2017
He also written screenplays including METAMORPHIZED, NUNS AND WAR and MIRACULOUS TURNAROUND (NYFA Grant for Screenwriting.)
He and his wife founded and ran the NYC Drama Workshop, a theater program for teenagers sponsored by Greenwich Village Youth Council. They wrote and produced 14 plays for teens to perform for teenage audiences. Two NYC Drama Workshop plays, REMEMBER ME ALWAYS and GREENFIELD BLOOMS, are published by Samuel French and performed throughout the US and Canada.
Currently, he is working with composer Max Balton on a musical, BREATH TO BREATH, that tells the story of a 14-year-old girl mourning for her mother who died on 9/11, Subway Girl, and every person now living in New York City.
Michael is a Resident Playwright at The 29th Street Playwright’s Collective, a MacDowell Fellow, a founding member of The Playwright’s Group, and he received the DeWitt Wallace Reader’s Digest Writer of Distinction Award.
“I learn so much being a part of The 29th Street Playwrights Collective. I am so appreciative for the 29ers' support and generous encouragement. I love writing for the theater. I love picking up a pencil, often with nothing in my mind, but a trust that if I just put words on paper something will result. I am gratefully amazed that my trust is often rewarded. I love that people see my plays--and love watching other writer’s plays. I feel lucky to pursue a life in the theater.”
Michael Wells-Oakes, November 2017
