2017 PLAYWRIGHT IN RESIDENCE: PAT RYAN

Pat Ryan is a native Minnesotan and has traveled extensively to study the arts of education, theater and writing. He was granted a Fellowship at NYU, received a Fulbright Scholarship to explore Indonesian culture, and was a recipient of a scholarship from the Korea Society where he studied drama. Pat is a retired high school and university English and Speech Communications teacher and has directed many plays. His published works include The Baseball Diet Book, Renaissance Festivals of North America,over 20 literary magazine articles, and over 30 non-fiction children’s books. His plays The Auction, Dark, and Three Men On a Roof Swearing A Lot have been produced. Passionate about writing, Pat networks and promotes his students and colleagues as often as he can. His mentors in his creative life have been Ron Olauson and Gary Parker. Pat organized a staged reading of good thunder, blue earth by Susan Chambers and performed his new work, The Humor of Pat Ryan and Parkinson's.

2016 Playwright in Residence: Tom Barna

Read a sample of the new play, Inherent Within Us, written by Tom Barna during his residency at Twin Rivers.

Playwright and lyricist, Tom David Barna - Author of twenty-three full length plays and twenty-four short plays, 13-part radio drama (co-author), one screenplay and recipient of more than twenty-six regional non-equity and or festival productions and/or staged readings and published author of five books for children (Cantata Publishing available on Amazon.com). His work has twice been selected and showcased at the Last Frontier Theatre National Conference (2013, 2015).  A military veteran, his most recent play, The Bunker , debuted at The Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis on July 31, 2015.  For more information, visit www.Minnesoaplaywright.weebly.com.