ROOTED IN TRADITION
CREATING FRESH WORKS
Welcome to my site.
ROOTED IN TRADITION
CREATING FRESH WORKS
ROOTED IN TRADITION
CREATING FRESH WORKS
ROOTED IN TRADITION
CREATING FRESH WORKS
WALTER THINNES is an emerging playwright whose thirty plus plays have received more than 130 productions, readings, or awards in 26 states, and around the world, including The Kennedy Center, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Conference, and several Off-Off-Off-Broadway Theaters. He is currently located in Central Florida and you can find some of his scripts at www.newplayexchange.org.
He is the recipient of the Colonial Players’ Promising Playwright Award, Annapolis, MD; Theatre Oxford L.W. Thomas Award, Oxford MS; Appalachian New Play Festival Judge’s Choice Award, Athens, OH; winner of the Centre-Stage New Play Festival in Greenville, SC; and most recently the winner of the Appalachian Playwriting Festival by the Parkway Playhouse in Burnsville, NC.
While I refer to my current look as 'deranged prospector come in from the hills,' of course the most frequent inquiry I get is whether or not I am Santa Claus. I tell the young 'un that, no, but I am Santa's nephew. After a quick exchange about whether the tyke has an uncle of their own, they get the concept. I explain that while the gift thing is a family enterprise we all pitch in to help with, Santa does all the deliveries and makes all the decisions. While I can put in a good word for them (they have been good, haven't they?) it is their parents who are in direct contact with the big man and that they had better be good, just in case. The parents are always grateful for the encounter. There you have the Legend of Walter Claus!
I am looking forward to the premiere production of the winner of the 2024 Appalachian Playwriting Festival at the Parkway Playhouse in Burnsville, North Carolina - my script BLOODLETTING IN THESE HILLS.
Performance will take place on August 1-3 and 8-10. I and the cast and crew will be giving a talkback after the performance on August 3. I am excited to see the production staged and hope you have the chance to join me in this lovely mountain theater. Tickets at:
I've had a brief discussion for some of the special effects in the script with director Elizabeth DeVault and fight choreographer Mike Yow. Sounds like they are putting together a great production and I look forward to seeing their work. Below you can see a countdown until opening night. Come and see it !
The Parkway Playhouse in Burnsville, North Carolina will perform my play August 1-10, 2025. (Image is from the winning reading at the Appalachian Playwriting Festival in September 2024). This will be the third subscription offering of their 2025 summer season.
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July 1913 marked the end of the Paint Creek Mine Wars. This event was a confrontation between striking coal miners and coal operators in Kanawha County, West Virginia, centered on the area enclosed by two streams, Paint Creek and Cabin Creek. The strike began in April 1912, when coal operators on Paint Creek rejected the demand of their unionized workers for a wage increase. As the strike spread to nearby Cabin Creek and other nonunion mining sections, the dispute focused increasingly on the larger issue of unionization.
Parkway Playhouse’s upcoming production of Bloodletting in These Hills is about one family caught in this dispute. The play was the winner of their 2024 Appalachian Playwriting Festival. This annual festival features staged readings of plays written by Appalachian Playwrights or plays that feature Appalachian Culture in some way. The theater is thrilled to be producing this script as a part of their Mainstage Season this August.
“As a history buff, I have long been fascinated by the coal mining union wars of the twentieth century.” Says the playwright of this play, Walter Thinnes. “While working as an actor in West Virginia many years ago, I took a side trip on a day off to explore the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek region nearby. Speaking with locals to learn more, I was directed to a book by a gentleman who had been a lawyer and later Attorney General for West Virginia at that time. I was fortunate to locate him and spend time chatting with him at the ripe old age of 103. He even autographed my copy of his book, which inspired me to turn my interest into a script. Over the years, this project has evolved significantly into the work you will see in this show.”
Bloodletting in These Hills is showing at Parkway Playhouse August 1st at 7:30pm; August 2nd at 7:30pm; August 3rd at 2:30pm; August 8th at 7:30pm; August 9th at 7:30pm; and August 10th at 2:30pm. A talkback with playwright Walter Thinnes will take place immediately following the August 3rd performance. August 9th will be a Pay-What-You-Can performance. Whether you can pay $2 or $20, Parkway Playhouse believes that everyone deserves a night out at the theatre.
This show is directed by Elizabeth DeVault and features Raiter Montgomery, Jason Phillips, Mary Weisgerber, Karen Covington-Yow, and Mike Yow. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.parkwayplayhouse.com/tickets or by calling 828-682-4285.
Parkway Playhouse is a professional theater company located at 202 Green Mountain Drive, Burnsville, North Carolina 28714. The oldest continually operating summer theater in North Carolina, they are celebrating their 78th season this year. Parkway Playhouse offers something for everyone, including shows, classes, community events, and more! To find out more about Parkway Playhouse, please visit their website at www.parkwayplayhouse.com, or check out their Facebook or Instagram pages.
Way back in June 2022 I attended a production of my short play HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEONARD at the Seventeenth Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival by Theatre Odyssey in Sarasota, Florida. It was directed by Amanda Schlachter and featuring Jenny Aldrich Walker and Julee Breehne. It is one of my most produced scripts and I have seen a number of the productions. At the time there was chatter that some scripts would be selected to be included in a future anthology of their favorite scripts. I was thrilled to have my script was selected and it has recently been published with 31 others. You can get in a Kindle version ($9.95), hardcover ($24.95) or paperback ($19.95). Purchase information is available in the sidebar to the right...
Well, of course you can. You can also purchase it directly from Theatre Odyssey on their website and often in the lobby during their performances. But for most of us it is simply easier to just log into Amazon. Press the button below to jump to the page.
My most recent script is a one-act play titled FATHER IS BACK IN TOWN. It is a one-act play for three actors. It was just awarded First Prize in the Drury University One-Act Play Contest for 2025. It comes with a small cash prize, bragging rights and a possible production in a future season. I was actually a winner in a previous version of the contest and traveled to see a production of my one-act play "Big Payday" in October 2015 at their campus in Springfield, Missouri. They did a terrific job with that production and I am confident they will do the same if they decide to mount this script.
Coming Soon: I will be publishing past product reviews and new, exciting merchandise evaluations in a special motorcycle section of this website. Under construction, watch for the announcement.
My full-length script POP TARTS AND RAMEN received a developmental reading with feedback by the members of the Theatre Club of Beacon College (featuring instructor Autumn Welt and students Ben Silva, Adonis Tomer, Charlie Ige, and Uma Lazoff) of Leesburg, FL. It was a great success and will impact future iterations of the script.
My recent script FATHER IS BACK IN TOWN was selected as the First Prize Winner in the One-Act Play Contest by Drury University in Springfield Missouri. It come with a cash prize and possible production by the theater department in a future season!
My full-length script POP TARTS AND RAMEN received a online reading as part of the Plays in Progress Virtual Reading Series by the Whiskey Theatre Factory from Orlando, FL in April 23, 2025. The excellent reading and subsequent feedback has sent me back to editing the script.
My short play HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEONARD will be published in the Theater Odyssey Festival Plays Volume Five book in Sarasota, FL. I will share details when available.
My full-length play BLOODLETTING IN THESE HILLS was the winner of the Appalachian Playwriting Festival in 2024. It will receive a fully mounted production as the third play of the 2025 Season of the Parkway Playhouse in Burnsville, NC. Performance dates are August 1-3 and 8-10, 2025. More details to follow as they become available.
My short play SPY BIRDS was shortlisted for the Sydney Theatre Festival in New South Wales, Australia.
My full-length play BLOODLETTING IN THESE HILLS was the declared the winner of the Appalachian Playwriting Festival in 2024. There were two public readings directed by Erika Tyner and featuring the exceptional talents of Addison Amos, Tom Harrison, Austin Dakota Whitehead, Lilly Bartleson, Olivia Woodford, and Alan Steele.
My new short play LEAVE ME A MESSAGE was featured by THE PULP STAGE in Portland, Oregon on April 1, 2024 in a live internet reading. It was part of their Pulp Factor Showcase and was directed by Jonathan Hernandez and read by Artistic Director John Marks, Colleen Socha and Katie Mortemore. The reading is now on Apple Podcasts, Audible and Spotify. Search for 'The Pulp Podcast' and 'Leave Me a Message.'
THEATER MAKERS LABS of Middletown CT produced my short play HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEONARD as part of their Crappy Valentines Festival on February 17, 2024 at Keeney Memorial Cultural Center in Wethersfield, CT.
The Rover Dramawerks theatre in Plano, TX selected my short play "myspacefacebook.com" as a semi-finalist for their 2024 comedy performance.
My short play HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEONARD was selected as a Semi-Finalist for the 2024 Off Broad Street Short Play Festival in Augusta GA.
My short play HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEONARD has received quite a number of productions recently.
REBOUND PRODUCTIONS performed the play as a part of their New Writing Showcase on July 26, 2023 featuring Clarisse Encontre and Christina Raise at the HEN & CHICKENS THEATRE, LONDON, UK .
It was presented in the Seventeenth Annual Ten Minute Play Festival at the ODYSSEY THEATRE in SARASOTA FLORIDA in June 2022. It was directed by Amanda Schlachter and featured Jenny Aldrich Walker and Julee Breehne.
BARRINGTON STAGE in PITTSTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS presented a streaming production of it as part of their Tenth Annual 10x10 Festival in March 2021.
It was also selected as a Semi-Finalist in the OFF BROAD STREET SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL in AUGUSTA GA
My full length play THE RELUCTANT PROPHET received an excellent staged reading as part of the Talkback Tuesday Series at the Polaris North Theatre Co-operative in NEW YORK, NEW YORK on May 23, 2023. It was both well received and provided valuable feedback that further developed the script. It featured John L. Payne, Meliora Dockery, Francis Parkman, Leslie Lynn Meeker, Jen Nolan and Sophie Larin.
My short play CELEBRITY DIVORCE was performed by the PLAYWRIGHTS ROUND TABLE OF ORLANDO, FLORIDA as part of their LAUNCH Festival in March, 2022. It was directed by Dev Zebra, and featured Russell R. Trahan, Anthony Marando and Kaley Redfield. It was also a finalist in the Short+Sweet Play Festival in the Dubai, United Emirates as well as their Festival in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
My short play 2020 - A PERFECT YEAR FOR MAGICAL THINKING received a streamed production in the Old Library Theatre's 10th Annual One Act Play Festival in FAIR LAWN, NEW JERSEY on February 2021. It was also performed by STAGE DOOR PRODUCTIONS as part of their 14th Annual One Act Festival in Fredericksburg VA in January 2022. It was selected and recorded by student Lanee Stiver for Senior Directing Credit at JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY in SILOAM SPRINGS, ARKANSAS in April 2022.
My short play AT THE DINER WITH DAD (licensed by ART AGE Publications - Senior Theater Resources) was performed in GAINESVILLE FLORIDA in February 2021.
Walter Thinnes, Playwright
you can also check out my (silly) blog at - www.walterthinnes.blog
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