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David's writing career has been profoundly impacted by the nurturing creative communities he has had the good fortune to join, starting with Primary Stages' Einhorn School for the Performing Arts (ESPA), and followed shortly thereafter by The PlayGround Experiment (PGE).
In 2026, PGE invited David to present a staged reading of his full-length supernatural horror play Unfamiliar, A Maidstone Tale as part of their PG Exploration Festival in NYC. He got together in 2025 with the supportive forces of Emerging Artists Theatre and presented a reading of Act I of Arsinoë IV during their Spark Theatre Festival in NYC. In 2024, he worked with the creative teams of both The Players Theatre and The Secret Theatre while staging productions of Unfamiliar, a short play derived from the full-length. During 2022, The Skeleton Rep(resents) provided an extremely supportive and collaborative environment in which to develop the next iteration of Sundown (now titled The Enemy Unseen). Other communities of note are the Dramatists Guild Institute, the Roundabout TheatreLab, the Seattle Playwrights Salon (first public reading of Fur Pajamas - music by John Allman), the Playwrights' Center, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). He is most grateful for the generosity of spirit that he has been shown and for the continuing support and encouragement of all of his theater mentors and colleagues.
Unfamiliar, A Maidstone Tale cast & crew after curtain. Standing: David, Ciera Eis (Director), Eva Gozé (MS. LOPEZ / S.D.), Maya Rosewood (MOTHER / MRS. RUDEK). Seated: Kelsea Baker (ANNE), Shayna Rives (SUSAN), Akaina Ghosh (NEL), and David Michael Kirby (Photographer). (The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre, April 2026)
David at tech for Unfamiliar, A Maidstone Tale with Ciera Eis (Director) and cast onstage. (The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre, April 2026)
Photo: David Michael Kirby.
Post-reading group shot of the playwright and the cast of Arsinoë IV: Sydney Cusic (Arsinoë), Rudaba Nasir (Cleopatra), Diana Cherkas* (Intro & S.D.), Brad Makarowski* (Ptolemy XII & Roman Commander), David (Playwright & Director), Jayson Kerr* (Ganymedes) and George Pappas* (Roman Envoy & Egyptian Guard). (The Chain Theatre, Sept 2025)
Arsinoë IV post-reading talkback (The Chain Theatre, Sept 2025)
PGE members just before the curtain at Arsinoë IV (Tim, David, Amanda, Mike and Manny - but missing Matt!) (The Chain Theatre, Sept 2025)
Arsinoë IV post-reading celebration at The Tailor Public House with Marilyn, Angie and Ted (Sept 2025).
The playwright and cast of Unfamiliar (The Players Theater, Oct 2024)
The playwright with two of his friends, Johanna and Andy, after a performance of Unfamiliar at The Players Theatre (Oct 2024).
John Allman (music) with the Fur Pajamas staged reading cast at the Black Box Theatre at the Seattle Center Armory (Oct 2024)
John Allman (music) and David Ceci (book & lyrics) at the Fur Pajamas post-reading celebration in Seattle (Oct 2024)
David Ceci (playwright & producer), Sònia Victoria Werner (Nel), Ursula Anderman* (Anne) & Marina Barry (director) of Unfamiliar at The Secret Theatre. Photo: sarahmjack.com (July 2024)
Unfamiliar post-opening celebratory dinner at Donovan's Pub (July 2024)
PGE's introduction of the table reading of Unfamiliar: A Maidstone Tale (March 2024)
The Skeleton Rep Salon Series staged reading of Sundown (Dec 2022)
PGE Holiday Party (Dec 2021)
PGE Drop and Give Me 10 #8 (June 2019)
David with Danielle Clare & Jordan Auslander (2019)
Seattle Playwrights Salon (SPS) audience talkback after staged reading of Fur Pajamas with composer John Allman (July 2019)
SPS Fur Pajamas rehearsal with Valerie Reid (SM) & Harry Turpin (Dir.) (July 2019)
ESPA playwriting class with Suzanne Bradbeer (2018)
ESPA playwriting class with Leah Nanako Winkler (2016)
An early scene reading from Fur Pajamas took place at ESPA on June 6, 2018. Without John Allman, there was no music, but scenes were read by actors... and Nigel's story was well underway.
ESPA libretto writing class with Kait Kerrigan (2020)
Table reading of Sarah Kohl's Good For Something (2019)
NYMF songwriting workshop (2018)
NYMF feedback from Kirsten Childs with Elliot Lee (2018)
PGE Happy Hour (Oct 2019)
ESPA Detention production of The Devil You Know (Feb 2016)
If you are a writer or composer and are interested in any of these organizations, David would be happy to discuss them with you and help you connect with them. Go to Contact and drop him a line.
SPS was apparently another casualty of COVID-19.
Although NYMF is no longer with us, many of the talented creatives who were an integral part of David's experience at NYMF are still actively making theatre.
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