Stories for the stage and screen.
In any story, it’s the characters who compel me above plot or theme. That’s probably why I am so drawn to playwriting. I relish the opportunity to construct stories inspired by people I meet or observe, to see those stories take new shape when inhabited by actors, and to watch them transform yet again with each unique audience.
My plays have been produced by Mudlark Theatre, Piven Theatre, The Side Project, The Fine Print, Working Women’s History Project, Acorn Theater, Step Up Productions, 20% Theatre, Donny’s Skybox at The Second City, and elsewhere. They have been developed at Wordsmyth Theatre, The Last Frontier Theatre Conference, The Ruckus, Aston Rep, and Something Marvelous.
My work has received honors and awards from the Illinois Arts Council, Heartland Theatre, Women in Theatre, International Centre for Women Playwrights, and others. I’ve been invited to residencies at The Ragdale Foundation, Playa, and Hawthornden Castle.
In addition to private workshops, I’ve taught playwriting at Carthage College, The Second City Training Center, Chicago Voice Center, and Chicago Dramatists.
“Scooby Doo camp meets Wes Anderson irony”
—Hell’s Half-Mile Film Festival
“Dark and murky, with a streak of visceral humor that compounds it visceral effect.”
—Time Out Chicago
“The 1970s setting lent a remote, almost nostalgic feel which highlights by contrast the universality of the play’s themes.”
—Around the Town Chicago
“Cozzola has a fundamental understanding of how people talk to one another and how certain kinds of talk lead to other kinds of talk.”
—Chicago Stage Review