Tisch School’s New Writers Showcase Fills Beverly Hills Friars Club

By Richard Pierce

Three hundred television insiders and Tisch School of the Arts alumni filled the Friars of Beverly Hills on March 13 for the first “NYU New Writers Showcase” ever produced in Los Angeles. The evening introduced five emerging/produced playwrights—Gina Gold, Susan Johnston, Aurorae Khoo, Eric Loo and Avery O. Williams—who have recently crossed over to the television industry.

In addition, the evening featured the West Coast premiere of a new short film written by Pulitzer Prize-winner and Tisch alumnus Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, Quills) and directed by alumnus Oz Scott. The evening was hosted by Victor Williams, an alumnus of the Graduate Acting Program now starring in the sitcom King of Queens. Boston Legal executive producer/director and Tisch parent, Bill D’Elia, was honored for his generosity in mentoring Tisch graduates. D’Elia also directed one of the night’s featured plays, McHating It, which was written by Johnston.

The one-night showcase was a co-production of the Tisch School of the Arts, the Friars of Beverly Hills, the NYU Writers Lab West, and the Tisch Grad Collective.