Author Biographies

Sean Engard is an accomplished actor, director, poet, and playwright. He received his AA in Theatre Arts from Orange Coast College, his BA in Theatre Education from Cal State Fullerton, and is an MFA candidate in the Playwright's Lab at Hollins University. He is also a graduate of the South Coast Repertory: Professional Conservatory. Sean has published two books (a book of poetry entitled Socially Inept and Timeless Theater: Monologue and Play Book) and has had two full length plays produced (Air Born and Nobody Loves a Telemarketer) along with numerous one acts and monologues. Sean is a member of the DGA (Dramatist's Guild of America) and the OCPA (Orange County Playwrights Alliance). He is a founding member of SWAG (Script Writing Artisans Group), the stand-up/sketch/improv troupe known as ComedyKaze, and the newly formed Monkey Wrench Collective theatre company in Fullerton. Sean was named the Daily Pilot's Man of the Year in Theatre for 2007.


Gene Fiskin A New Yorker by birth and inclination, Gene Fiskin now resides in Southern California and vaguely remembers when the sky and oceans were blue  In the world of advertising he created campaigns and materials for more than 200 major corporations. He has written over 30 plays, an equal number of short stories, half a dozen screenplays and two failed novels.  Gene has also appeared on television and in numerous plays and corporate videos. He is somewhat older than dirt and couldn’t care less.


Lisa Kirazian A graduate of Stanford University, Lisa Kirazian is a writer with nearly twenty scripts and numerous articles and fictional works to her credit. Seven of her plays: Not What the Doctor Ordered, The Glorious Bride, The Visitor, The Way You Look Tonight, Armenian Voices, The Blackstone Sessions, Six Views and Soul Fire -- have been produced across California and elsewhere. She has written several screenplays, including Cassatt and Degas, winner of the Telluride Indiefest. Her articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts Magazine, San Diego Union Tribune, and several other publications. Current work includes a commission for Playwrights Project slated for production in January 2011. Lisa is on the board of the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, Playwrights Project and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She lives in San Diego with her husband Steve and two daughters, Ani and Mari.


David R. Schwingle is a poet, playwright, and would-be actor living, teaching, and performing “acts of theatre” in South Carolina. A native of Upstate New York, David moved South to pursue a B.A. and M.A. in Performance Studies. He currently teaches acting and playwriting on the collegiate level, finding time to act and write plays for South Carolina’s small but burgeoning theatre community. His one-act, My Brother’s Keeper, was published in 2005. His two most-recent works, Some Fell Among Thorns and A Roof of Slate were given staged readings in South Carolina in April, 2010. He is currently an MFA candidate in Playwriting at Hollins University (Roanoke, VA).


Royal Shiree A graduate of West Virginia State University (formerly West Virginia State College), Royal Shirée earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with cognates in Theatre, Media Production, and Journalism. She is currently an MFA playwrighting candidate at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. An “edutainer” and filmmaker, her social commentaries are interpreted and performed as “Narrative Speak”, “Performance Poetry”, “Rhythmic Poetry/Storytelling” and creative storytelling. Her highly acclaimed one-woman show, IDENTITY Crisis, debuted at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and marked a social milestone in historical Farmville, Virginia. Royal Shirée has been a commissioned writer and performer for The Legacy Museum of African-American History, the Juneteenth Coalition and Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest July celebration. She is the Education Facilitator for the historical Avoca Museum in Altavista, Virginia, wherein she presents to elementary school children reflections of various characters, periods, events, and lifestyles of people throughout American history via her creative storytelling. She is the author and director/co-director of two documentaries, The Caregiver: Disturbing Images of Your Future, which is catalogued in the library at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), where she is a Fellow.