Who is Ben Rovik?

This guy!  (that is, me.)

I’ve always liked writing fiction, even though I’ve focused on playwriting exclusively for going on ten years.  I also have a life-long love of fantasy and sci-fi.

So when an idea struck me for a fantasy novel a few months ago, I decided to jump on it (the idea).

A few short weeks later, after hours of writing and painstaking editing from my dedicated readers, I’m a published fiction author!  E-books are the bee’s knees as far as I’m concerned.  It’s incredibly easy for writers to format their material and upload it to Amazon’s Kindle Store, Smashwords.com, or any of the other online publishing venues out there.

I decided to use the pen name “Ben Rovik” for my fiction rather than collapse all my writing under the same “Kingsland” brand.  Basically, I felt that the marketing of each would be easier if they were kept distinct. People generally buy plays online because they’re looking for something to produce, not just read (though readers are certainly welcome!).  And people who come to my Amazon page for fiction probably want fiction, not plays.  So I’m testing out having two brands.  I’ll keep you posted as to how the experiment goes!

That said, I’m proud of my work in both my schizophrenic personae.  If you’d like to learn more about Mechanized Wizardry, my one (1) published book as Ben Rovik, you can peruse a free sample at Amazon or Smashwords.com THIS VERY INSTANT!

My Latest Collaboration

“What else do you do, Ben?”  Well, I’m glad you asked!

I’m an associate artist with the wonderful company InterAct Story Theatre.  InterAct has been bringing top-notch educational theater directly into schools all across Maryland and the DC region for more than 30 years now.  Just this very day, I finished up a year of touring with InterAct, acting and teaching theater workshops for students from Pre-K to 5th grade.  I liked it so much I’m already signed on for another year.

But what’s even more exciting is that I’m co-writing a new script for InterAct for the fall!  It’ll be my first time writing a show I’ll then be acting in, AND my first time co-writing a play of this length.  Ali Oliver-Krueger, InterAct’s General Director, has been great to work with on the script.  We’ll be workshopping it in-house next week, and developing it with several public readings in the course of the summer.

The show’s working title is Voytto Tech: A Sci-Fi Fable.  It’s nice and meaty, tackling topics like bullying, technological progress, and environmental issues.  AND it’ll be lively good fun for Kindergarteners!  Easy, right…?

Stay tuned here or on InterAct’s Blog for the latest about this fun new project.

Herculean News

This is a little premature, but I can’t wait any longer.

My Educational Theatre script The Twelve Daughters of Hercules has been picked up by Playscripts!  As of this posting, there’s no bio at that link, but you can see where Hercules will be as soon as they finish the final proofs and release the script this summer.  Hurrah!

Learn more about Hercules here; and, in a few months, head on over to Playscripts to check out a .pdf sample, buy a copy, or schedule a performance of this fast, funny show for teen actors.

Thanks again to the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, MD, for supporting the development of this script in the first place.  An even bigger thank you to Emily Davis and the IB theater kids at Richard Montgomery HS in Rockville, MD, for giving the script its first staged reading in 2010.

New Musical With ETC

Come check out a new family musical of The Bremen Town Musicians, with music by yours truly!

I can’t say enough good about Educational Theatre Company, an arts ed non-profit in Arlington, VA.  I’ve been a staff member and teaching artist with them for several years now, and every program I do with ETC is satisfying for kids and artists alike.

This Winter, I’ve been part of a team writing a new musical adaptation of The Bremen Town Musicians for 2nd-5th graders at Tuckahoe Elementary School.  Forty kids wrote their own script and lyrics, with some gentle steering from the artistic team:

Sarah Melinda– Director, Editor

Samantha Foti– Production Manager

Ben Kingsland– Composer, Music Director

William Hayes Cromartie– Lyricist

If you’re in the DC area, come to Tuckahoe on Thursday 4/7 or Friday 4/8 at 7 PM to see the kids shine!

A New Award-Winning One-Act

My new one-act Baklava XX won a “Best Writing” award last month!

On 3/11 and 3/12, I wrote and directed for the Bethesda Urban Partnership’s seventh annual Play-In-A-Day festival.  I was representing Olney Theatre Center along with fabulous actors David Frankenberger, Jr., Kevin Hasser, Drew Kopas, Ryan Mitchell and Madeleine Russell.

The challenge was to write, stage, and perform a ten-minute play with only 24 hours of prep time.  I was assigned to write a play on the theme of Mistaken Identity, featuring gold-colored cellophane as a prop and featuring the following line in the script twice: “I do not like green eggs and ham; I do not like them Sam I am.”

So, naturally, that adds up to a play about baklava, gender, and high-stakes culinary intrigue.  What else would you write about?

This makes three years running that I’ve won the “Best Writing”  award at this festival, which clearly means I’m in some kind of success rut.  Don’t worry; it’ll pass.

Check out the other shows that began as award-winning Play-In-A-Day scripts:  Crunch Time and Spin!

“The Deal” Video Preview

Thanks to the good folks at Xtranormal, here’s a dramatic rendition of the one-act The Deal.

Note: the play was written for human actors, not animated dog-bears with robot voices.  But you get the idea.

FREE monologues

The site is finally up and ready. The scripts are eager to be read and performed, and the little Paypal buttons are thrumming with pent-up commerce. The only missing ingredient was you, and now you’re here!

As a sincere “thank you” to all my early visitors, I’m putting out a sampler pack of monologues completely FREE! Check out the collection here, and take it home today with one click.

If you like what you read, feel free to:

• Pick up Mighty Monologues Volume One for two dozen more monologues, from silly to serious
• Download an e-script of any of my plays with one quick click
• Contact me about adding a Ben Kingsland play to your season
• Or just keep browsing!

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your visit!