Playwright

My first two plays, TUCUMCARI and SUMMERFEET were featured in the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s Plays in Progress series, 2001 & 2003. As playwright in residence during those two summers, I had the thrill of working with excellent directors and a stellar cast to stage readings of my plays.

TUCUMCARI was directed by Bruce Sevy. Bruce understood the passion and grit of the play, which takes place during the Dust Bowl Era along Route 66. TUCUMCARI is a story of the western spirit; a young horse woman is torn between the loyalties of her husband, her family’s legacy, and her heart.

SUMMERFEET, directed by the late Davey Marlin-Jones, is a small town coming of age tale set during the summer of 1968. Davey was as generous a director as one could hope for.

My third play, GOOD PILGRIM, has seen two staged readings in Los Angeles – at the Fountain Theatre and The Road Theatre Company. I directed both readings with the superb talents of Chris Butler and Lisa Pelikan.

TUCUMCARI has had three beautiful productions in Los Angeles. The first was in 2002, starring Alysia Reiner. My daughter, Hallie, was 14 years old at the time and loved coming to see the play. When I was asked to direct the play in 2014, she insisted on auditioning. I told her I didn’t think this was her role, but she wowed us in the audition. I had the indescribable joy of directing my play with my own daughter blowing the roof off the role every night. Art doesn’t get any better than that. 

TUCUMCARI

Written and Directed by Riley Steiner

Whitmore-Lindley Theatre

North Hollywood, CA

2014

starring Hallie Cooper, Noah Holcomb, Ric Maddox, Ty Fanning

Review from NOHO Arts District-

Written with depth, light and rich humanity, this play still manages to weave a tapestry of passion, suffering and humor that covers every set of eyes in the theatre.

Steiner’s direction stands on its own . The blocking, movement and motivation each character displays only add to the sumptuous language that tells the tale of “Tucumari” and its three ghostlike or near tragic occupants. All in all, “Tucumcari” is a small masterpiece. Written so that you can taste the dust on stage and feel the tornado on your cheeks, it not only boasts a stellar cast, but a message of love lost, found and lost again that any theatre goer can identify with.

TUCUMCARI

Directed by Doug Traer

Theatre 40

Beverly Hills, CA

2010

Starring Cierra Parrack, Robert W. Evans, Logan Fahey

TUCUMCARI

Directed by Jud Meyer

The Matrix Theatre

Hollywood, CA

Original Production, 2002

Starring Alysia Reiner, Frank Clem, Brandt Reiter