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Lucinda McDermott Piro

Jane Doe, Associate Professor of Theatre
Lucinda McDermott Piro, Visiting Instructor, Theatre History & Acting
Curriculum Vitae

School of Performing Arts
305 Henderson Hall
lucinp8@vt.edu

LUCINDAMCDERMOTT.COM
FACEBOOK.COM/LUCINDATHEATREARTS/

 Lucinda McDermott Piro (she/her) is an actor, intimacy choreographer, playwright, director, and teaching artist. She is a Teaching Artist with the Virginia Commission of the Arts and Wolf Trap Foundation bringing Arts Integration and Devised Theatre into classrooms throughout Virginia. As a Touring Artist with the VCA, she performs her self-written solo actor play “O’Keeffe!”, nationally and internationally. "O’Keeffe!” premiered Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in 1992. Lucinda extensively re-wrote the play in 2021, and recently performed in the Provincetown Theatre’s solo show festival alongside Dael Orlandersmith and Bill Bowers, and at the Mattutuck Museum alongside an O’Keeffe exhibition in Waterbury, CT.

She is an Equity actor who continues to work Off-Broadway, Off-off B’way, regionally, in independent films and commercials, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Combining her skills as director, acting coach, and playwright, she has developed an effective structure for facilitating devised work which was honed doing outreach with InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, and as Managing Director of Theatre Arts at Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

Her work as an Intimacy Choreographer has primarily been in Richmond, VA where she recently worked on Buried Child at Firehouse Theatre; Which Way to the Stage, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quick, Airswimming at Richmond Triangle Players, and Born with Teeth for Richmond Shakespeare.

As a produced and published playwright, she specializes in creative non-fiction, with many commissioned plays for organizations such as Birmingham Childrens Theatre, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Washing & Lee University, Hampton History Museum, Gibbes Museum of Art, and others. She delights in helping fellow artists bring their creative moments to life.

She has been on faculty at Radford Univ., Hampton Univ., UVA, VCU, Old Dominion, and taught acting for non-majors at Tech years ago and absolutely loved it.

  • Playwriting, especially of solo actor plays and creative non-fiction
  • Devising of new works
  • Intimacy Directing
  • Acting
  • New play developement

  • MFA in Playwriting, University of Virginia
  • BFA in Performance, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Studied acting in NYC at HB Studios and extensively at the Michael Moriarty Studio
  • Currently working on completing certification as a Mental Health Coordinator for the Arts with the Association for Mental Health Coordinators 

  • Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwright winner, Barter Theatre, Feeding On Mulberry Leaves
  • Appalachia Festival of Plays and Playwright Finalist, Barter Theatre, Rumpus Room,
  • Applause 50/50 winner, International Centre for Women Playwrights; O’Keeffe! at WaterTower Theatre, Addison
  • Flournoy Playwright for the Washington & Lee Flournoy Playwrights Festival, Feeding On Mulberry Leaves and Rumpus Room
  • The Martha Hill Newell Playwright's Fund recipient, for Rumpus Room
  • Southern Appalachian Festival of Plays winner, Mars Hill College for Feeding On Mulberry Leaves.
  • Research Grant from the Office of Graduate Studies, UVA for travel to New York and California to do primary research for Shatter the Vessel.
  • UVA’s The Delauney Prize in Playwriting for Feeding On Mulberry Leaves.
  • UVA’s The Delauney Prize in Playwriting for Shatter the Vessel.

Published Plays

  • McDermott, L. (2023). O’Keeffe!. Revised. New York: Playscripts.
  • McDermott, L. (2008). O’Keeffe! In E. Detrick (Ed.), Actor's choice: monologues for women (p.100) New York: Playscripts.
  • McDermott, L. (2008). Feeding on mulberry leaves. In E. Detrick (Ed.), Actor's choice: monologues for men (p. 35)
  • New York: Playscripts.
  • McDermott, L. (2008). Feeding on mulberry leaves. In E. Detrick (Ed.), Actor's choice: monologues for teens (p.18) New York: Playscripts.
  • McDermott, L. (2006). Feeding on mulberry leaves. New York: Playscripts.
  • McDermott, L. (2006). O’Keeffe!. New York: Playscripts. 
  • McDermott, L. (2007).Mama, from Center for Sacred Story Web site: http://www.centerforsacredstory.com/story.php?id=58&ref=contributorlist.php%3Fj%3Dn&refname=Contributor List
  • McDermott, L. (2007). Betting on serenity, from Center for Sacred Story Web site:http://www.centerforsacredstory.com/story.php?id=57&ref=contributorlist.php%3Fj%3Dn&refname=Contributor%20List
  • McDermott, L. (2005). Bricks. In K. Brown (Ed.), Classroom scenes and monologues: Monologues short scenes audition pieces (pp.86-90). Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing.
  • McDermott, L. (2005). The information booth. In K. Brown (Ed.), Classroom scenes and monologues: Monologues short scenes audition pieces (pp.187-188). Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing.

Published books 

  • McDermott, L., & Levinson, D.W. (1997). Honey, that’s life!, New York: Estate of D.W. Levinson.

Journal Articles 

  • McDermott, L (2021) , Promise, from Prompt: A Journal of Theatre, Theory, Practice and Teaching Web site: https://www.promptjournal.org/promise
  • McDermott, L.(2002, summer) Real to reel: profile on VCU alumni Brad Greenquist. Shafer Street Connections. 

Book Chapters

  • McDermott, L. (2011). Afterward. In Douglas O. Cumming's The Lexington letters: two centuries of water under the bridge. (p. 289) Buena Vista, Va: Mariner Publishing.

2019
Videotaped Interview with Birmingham Children’s Theatre while playwright of Thumbelita, https://www.birmingham365.org/event/bct-presents-thumbelita/

2017
Moderated post-show discussion, Kinky Boots National Tour, Altria Theatre, Richmond, VA.

Antoinette Brennan and Jamar Jones. “Road to Redemption: Reflections on the creation and impact of “Journey to Redemption”. Insights Newsletter; International Museum Theatre Alliance 28 Nov 17

Bonnie Newman Davis. “Creating Possibilities.” Richmond Magazine 5 Feb 17

Panel Discussion, “Valentine’s Community Conversation on Arts & Education”. Valentine Museum at Robinson Theater, Richmond, VA

Talk and Presentation, “What is Arts Integration?”. Weinstein Center, JCC, Richmond, VA

University of Richmond, Joan Oates Institute. Workshop in Arts Integration, “Devised Theatre: Connecting Content Theatrically”

Moderated post show chat backs for audiences for; Journey to Redemption, Secrets of the Midwives, What Holds the Future, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA

2014
Travis Williams, “Musicians Play for Local Food Pantry.” The Roanoke Times 4 Jul 2014

Yvonne Pesquera, “Taos theater hosts play about Georgia O'Keeffe.”The Taos News 5 Sept 14

2010
Moderated Town Hall meeting for artists and non-profit organizations. Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg, VA.

2006
Panel facilitator for The Dramatist Guild of America, “One Person Show Format”, New York, NY

Alan Kim, “Local Artists Start Multi-arts Camp.” The Roanoke Times 5 Jul 2006

2000
Michael Hemphill, “O’Keeffe! Revealing an Artist’s Inner Life”, 22 Jan 2000

1995
Danny Sinopoli, “A Winning Portrait of the Artist.” The Royal Gazette, Bermuda 16 Jan 1995

1993
Jerry Talmer, “Georgia’s On Her Mind.” New York Post 19 Feb 1993

1992
Roy Proctor, “Actress brings O’Keeffe to Life with Force, Passion to Spare.” 27 Jan 1992

  • Producer of New Play Festivals
  • Facilitation of Devised Work
  • Playwriting all levels
  • Acting; all levels, Breath Awareness, Audition Technique, Improv, mask work
  • Introduction to theatre

  • Lead writing workshop and Performed self-written solo actor play “O’Keeffe!” at the San Miguel Writer’s Conference in San Miguel Allende, Mexico
  • Performed “O’Keeffe!” in Bermuda at the Daylesford Theatre at the invitation of the Masterworks Foundation of Bermuda, in conjunction with their Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit, “The Bermuda Respite.”