Latest News

SPRING 2024 FIRST READS FESTIVAL

March 2024 - The PlayGround Experiment presented the latest draft of David's horror play, the newly rechristened Unfamiliar: A Maidstone Tale, as part of its virtual Spring 2024 First Reads Festival on 3/16/2024. PGE also presented two other plays that day, from fellow PGE playwrights Jenny Crakes and Peter Pasco. Inspired by the positive response, David is already hard at work on the next draft.

Congratulations to the brilliant cast of The PlayGround Experiment's reading of Unfamiliar: A Maidstone Tale. (top row from the left) playwright David Ceci, Alexandra Bonesho as Anne; (middle row from the left) Ursula Anderman as Susan, Marina Barry doubling as Mother and Mrs. Rudek, and Caitlin Belforti as Nel; (bottom row) stage direction reader Jennifer Bradley!

'MAIDSTONE' SELECTED FOR DEVELOPMENT

January 2024 - Maidstone, David's horror play, is among three works that have been selected for the next step in development by The PlayGround Experiment (PGE). A panel of PGE members will read the 1st draft and provide feedback, and the 2nd draft will be completed within a month. The other two plays selected are Leaving Krestova by Jenny Crakes and El Exorcismo de Georgie Garcia by Peter Pasco. With 2nd drafts in hand, PGE will then cast and produce virtual table readings of all three plays, providing the playwrights with more invaluable feedback. This development process will be held intentionally and exclusively on Zoom, as the three playwrights are currently located in North Carolina (David), London (Jenny), and California (Peter). Many thanks to the PGE creative community for this wonderful opportunity! For more info, visit The PlayGround Experiment. https://www.theplaygroundexperiment.com/

2024 PLAY DATES - DAY & EVENING EDITIONS!

January 2024 - PGE Virtual Play Dates have doubled in size! David, who hosts Tuesdays at noon, has now been joined by the brilliant Orlando Rodriguez, who hosts Thursdays at 7 pm. See the PGE website for the registration link. These are free 1-hour accountability sessions with a great mix of talented and supportive writers. Join David or Orlando (or both) this week!

BACK TO SOUTHERN ITALY

November 2023 - With the next draft of The Fountain well underway, David had the opportunity to present three revised / new scenes at Volume 201 of The PlayGround Experiment (PGE), hosted by Artistic Director Mike Lesser. Many thanks to the gifted Alexandra Bonesho, John Racioppo, Jordan Auslander and Kirsten Hopkins for breathing life into these characters for PGE's virtual audience. Other playwrights who presented scenes were Philip Kaplan, Delvyn Case, Jose Pereyra, Laurel Lockhart and Peter Pasco. Hats off to one and all!

RAINDANCE NEW YORK

November 2023 - It's been over a year since David received a fateful email from Tim Lorge - playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and the enthusiastic manager of Raindance's New York hub. Tim was inviting him to serve on the advisory committee, and although he was new to the world of film, David jumped in with both feet and met some wonderful members of the indie film community along the way. The ensuing 12 months' work by a dedicated group of actors, directors, producers, and writers culminated in a well-received evening of indie short films on November 1 at the Majorie D. Deane Little Theater. Nearly two dozen shorts were selected and screened, covering all genres: narrative, comedy, animation, documentary, and thriller / horror. Raindance New York presented awards for best in each category, student filmmaker awards, and special recognition awards, too. Already looking forward to next year!

TABLE READING OF 'THE FOUNTAIN'

August 2023 - The next draft of The Fountain, David's romantic period drama set in southern Italy in the early 1900s, had a virtual table reading this month, featuring a talented and experienced cast. Many thanks to these gracious artists, all of whom were familiar with their respective roles from previous scene readings over the past few years: Alexandra Bonesho, Chris Rothbauer, Jordan Auslander, and Kirsten Hopkins. Thanks, too, to Al Monaco, for reading stage directions. What's next? The next rewrite, of course!

RAISING THE STAKES

July 2023 - The development of David's new horror play, Maidstone, continued this summer at Volume 193, the flagship program of The PlayGround Experiment (PGE). Four impressive actors participated in the reading (L to R): Ursula Anderman, Marie Eléna O'Brien, Kristina Auten and Christine Redhead. The audience was also treated to works in progress by five more PGE playwrights (Al Monaco, Darpan Joshi, Kendra Augustin, Neil Klein and Orlando Rodriguez). Many thanks to the entire PGE community for providing such a welcoming and encouraging home for theater artists!

'MAIDSTONE' CONTINUES...

April 2023 - The next three scenes from Maidstone, David's new horror play-in-process, were featured in front of a live audience at The PGE's Volume 187. The reading featured four wonderful actors (L to R): Veronica Dang, Rheanna Atendido, Monica Rey and Larissa Adamczyk. Other playwrights who presented that night included Darpan Joshi, Erin Moughon, Al Monaco, Orlando Rodriguez, and Diana Cherkas. Thanks again to Mike Lesser and the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side Y!

a new horror play

February 2023 - Two scenes from Maidstone, David's new horror play-in-process, were featured during The PGE's virtual Volume 182. The reading featured the incredibly talented (clockwise from upper right) Kristina Auten, Priyanka Krishnan, Larissa Adamczyk and Starina Johnson - who truly brought their characters to life (so to speak). David's two scenes, along with five excerpts from five other playwrights (Talia Pura, Nilsa Reyna, Peter Pasco, Lou Johnson, and Jenny Krakes) were live-streamed on the PGE's YouTube channel and are now archived. Check it out, and remember to 'Like' and 'Subscribe.'

JOIN DAVID ON TUESDAYS AT NOON

January 2023 - David is now the regular host of The PGE's weekly virtual Play Dates every Tuesday at noon (Eastern). You can register at The PGE website and join this 1-hour accountability session to work on your writing - or any other task you've been putting off. This is a great way to get something done in an encouraging and supportive environment. Make plans to join David this week!

2022 TSR Salon Series

December 2022 - The Skeleton Rep selected Sundown, David's post-pandemic dystopian sci-fi action-adventure, for inclusion in their 2022 Salon Series of readings. The performance was live-streamed on TSR's YouTube channel on 12/3/2022 and is now archived for future viewing, along with TSR's other Salon Series readings and productions. Remember to 'Like' and 'Subscribe.'

Kudos to the wonderful cast of The Skeleton Rep's reading of Sundown (clockwise from upper left): Anuj Parikh, John Racioppo, Stevie Kallos, Ariel Estrada, Laurel Andersen, Ryan Lynch, Aaron Banes, Deijah Faulkner, Gael Schaefer, and Annell Moya. And thanks again to TSR's Core Team - Ria T. DiLullo, Emily Claire Schmitt, Callie Considine, and Daniel Scarantino!

PGE Volumes in-person again

March 2022 - The PlayGround Experiment (PGE) began offering monthly in-person readings again, this time in their new home at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater inside the West Side YMCA in Manhattan. Huzzah!