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Brenton Lengel

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Brenton Lengel
Brenton_Lengel_-_Portrait.jpg Brenton_Lengel_-_Portrait.jpg
Brenton Lengel, photographed 2008
Born(1983-05-09)May 9, 1983
Naples, Italy
💼 Occupation
🌐 WebsiteBrentonLengel.com

Brenton Christopher Lengel is an American playwright, screenwriter, and journalist noted for his anarchist political views and participation in the Occupy Wall Street protest movement.[1] He is best known for his play North to Maine, the first play ever written about the Appalachian Trail;[2] his international anarchist radio program Insurrection with Brenton Lengel;[3] and his collaboration with Rogue, lead singer of the American goth/electropop band The Crüxshadows.[4]

Early life and education[edit]

Lengel was born in Naples, Italy, the son of a flight surgeon serving in the US Navy. He spent his first two years living in Catania, Sicily, before the family returned to the United States,[5] settling in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky.[5] Lengel attended the University of Kentucky[2] where he studied with Kentucky Poet Laureate Gurney Norman and playwright Herman D. Farrell III, earning a bachelor's degree in Theatre.[3] He hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail over the course of five and a half months.[5][6][7] Lengel would later work this experience into his play North to Maine[6][8][9]

Writing career[edit]

After cutting his teeth as an artist in the East Village underground,[1] Lengel became the Playwright-In-Residence for State of Play Productions, Inc.,[10] which would go on to produce several of his major works.[11] He would also be produced by The American Theatre of Actors,[12] Fullstop Collective, The Manhattan Theatre Source, The Flea,[13] The New York International Fringe Festival,[12][14] and his own company Autonomous Collective.[15]

Lengel is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.[16] He cites cartoonist Bill Watterson as his most important creative influence.[5] He also draws inspiration from Arthur Miller,[17] Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon and J.R.R. Tolkien.[14] In August 2014, Lengel and Rogue announced their collaboration on a rock opera called Afterall, based in part on the mythology and music of The Crüxshadows, which received its first public reading at Dragon Con 2014.[4]

In late 2009, Lengel began writing profiles and performance art reviews of East Village artists for Examiner.com. He later devoted his column to arts and activism with a series called “Artists of Occupy Wall Street.” Beginning in 2013, Lengel was a frequent guest and Commentator on The Ed Tyll Show, carried on Talk Radio X and the Star Com Radio Network. In 2014 he was given his own radio show on the Star Com Radio Network, which was broadcast on 22 US stations and 132 international stations, including stations in England, Africa, China, and the Russian Federation.[3] Guest commentators included Andy Stepanian, George "Rithm" Martinez, Captain Ray Lewis, Caleb Maupin, John Knefel, Mickey Z.[18] and comedians Joey Gay, John Murdock, and Lee Camp.[1][3][19]

In 2014, he was the only journalist to secure an exclusive one-hour interview with Cecily McMillan while the activist was serving her sentence at Riker's Island Penitentiary.[1][19][20] Insurrection ran weekly for more than a year before Lengel put it on indefinite hiatus to focus on artistic pursuits.[21] Lengel was also a commentator on HuffPost Live.[22]

Activism[edit]

Lengel was heavily active in the Occupy Wall Street protest movement,[21] both before and after the eviction of Zuccotti Park. He marched in the Nov. 17th, 2011 "Day of Action,"[23] Occupy Congress,[21] and the 2012 Democratic National Convention.[24]

He is one of the last Yippies,[1] having run an Occupy-themed open mic in association with activist and comedian John Murdock at the Yippie Museum[21] from late 2011 until the space was foreclosed on in July 2013.[25] Lengel also lead the 2014 Marijuana March in NYC alongside George "Rithm" Martinez.[26]

On Sept. 17th, 2012, Lengel and Murdock were arrested by the NYPD during a satirical direct action.[27] The incident was photographed by independent journalist Jenna Pope.[1] Lengel and Murdock were charged with disorderly conduct and violating a masks ordinance. The case was later dismissed.[28]

Lengel describes himself as an anarchist,[29][30] a libertarian communist,[1] and a feminist,[31] Lengel is a staunch environmentalist, citing both his time on the Appalachian Trail[5][6] and his faith as a Nichiren Buddhist.

Awards and nominations[edit]

North to Maine won first runner-up in the 2010 James Rodgers playwriting competition and was solicited for the 2010-2011 Humana Festival of New American Plays reading cycle.[2] Two monologues from the show were selected to be published in "Best Men's Monologues of 2014" by Smith & Kraus.[32][33]

Lengel's first full-length play Trojan Men was selected as a semi-finalist for the 2009-2010 Eugene O'Neill National Playwright's competition.[2][10]

His play Snow White Zombie won the Estrogenius Festival's Audience Choice award in 2010 and was revived for a Best of Estro's anniversary production in 2015.[2][31] Said production resulted in Lengel being nominated for an NYIT award for best original short script.[34]

Lengel is also a NYS-certified wilderness guide. He was the official Keynote Speaker at the 2013 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference's Summer Meeting, where part of his play North to Maine was performed.[35]

Bibliography[edit]

Plays[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 An Interview with Brenton Lengel The Fifth Column. John Carico. March 22nd 2016. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The Appalachian Trail Hits NYC Stage this June May 29th 2013. Javier Folgar. Retrieved April 2nd 2016.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 New and Exciting Personality Joins Starcom Jan Stark. Archived Oct. 3rd 2013. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Christmas 2014- Light a Way (Back Home) December 14, 2014. Rogue. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Let Them Talk Manhattan News Network. Paul DeRienzo. June 12th 2013. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 "A Bard is Born" AT Journeys Magazine. Brenton Lengel. July–August 2010. pg 26 & 27
  7. "All The Trail's a Stage" The Leader. Madelyn Wigel. Fall 2013. pp. 8
  8. "Way Off Broadway" Outside Magazine. July 2013. pg 38
  9. "North To Maine" Full Script 6/10/13. Brenton Lengel. Retrieved April 2nd 2016.
  10. 10.0 10.1 About Us State of Play Productions, Inc. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Past Productions State of Play Productions, Inc. Retrieved April 3rd 2016
  12. 12.0 12.1 "NORTH TO MAINE: A JOURNEY ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL at ATA" June 24th, 2014. Paul Seibold. Retrieved April 2nd 2016.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Theatre is My First Love Ellen Joffred. #serials. March 20th 2015.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Snow White Zombie: Apocalypse Description. Indie Theatre Now. Oct. 4th 2012 Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  15. [www.autonomous-collective.org Autonomous Collective] Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 "Brenton C. Lengel" Membership Profile Dramatist's Guild of America, Retrieved April 4th 2016
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Intro to Playwriting The Narrative Breakdown. Episode 51. Kass Morgan. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  18. Lengel, Brenton. "BOOKS: 'Sh*t's F^&$ed Up and BullSh*t!' | Brenton Lengel". World News Trust. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  19. 19.0 19.1 Insurrection with Brenton Lengel Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  20. Exclusive Interview with Cecily McMillian KKRP 1610. Uploaded June 20th 2014. Ed Tyll. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Occupy The Airwaves Valley Free Radio. July 19, 2015. Tony Shannon. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  22. Urban Outfitters T-Shirt Features Murderer September 24th 2012. HuffPost Live. Mike Sachs.
  23. Occupy Wall Street notebook: Stories from the 'day of action' Star Ledger. Nov 18th 2011. Star Ledger Staff. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  24. Who's Marching in Charlotte? Mitch Weiss, Thurs Sept. 6th 2012 Associated Press, Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  25. Loan Dispute Threatens Counterculture New York Times. Sept 22nd 2013. Colin Moynihan. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  26. "New Yorkers Declare 'Victory' on Weed War" Metro NY, May 5th, 2014 pp. 6
  27. @BrentonLengel 9/17/12 @OrganizerX. Retrieved April 3rd 2013.
  28. "THE PEOPLE OF NYS vs BRENTON LENGEL" OMINBUS MOTION TO DISMISS. Jan 31st 2013. Y Andre Vital. Docket No. 2013NY00396
  29. Lennard, Natasha. "An occupier eyes Congress". Salon. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  30. Organizing towards Anarchy The Stream. March 17th 2014. Al Jazeera. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  31. 31.0 31.1 "EstroGenius Festival puts female playwrights, characters in spotlight". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  32. "Best Contemporary Monologues" Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. Lawrence Harbison. 2014. pp. 105 ISBN 978-1-4803-6961-0
  33. "Best Men's Monologues For the Stage" Smith & Kraus. Lawrence Harbison. 2014 pp. 86 & 87. ISBN 1-57525-887-0
  34. 2015 Nominee Announcements July 21st 2015. NYIT Awards. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  35. "Summer 2013 Meeting". New York - New Jersey Trail Conference. 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 Ten Minute Plays Brenton Lengel. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 Full Length Plays Brenton Lengel. Retrieved April 3rd 2016.
  38. artsyfartsyshow (2012-08-07). "This Week on The Artsy Fartsy Show: Fringe Live – August 7, 2012". Artsy Fartsy Show. Retrieved 2016-05-18.


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