PEN AWARD-WINNER
Cheryldee Huddleston
playwright
innovative instructor
Cheryldee Huddleston's play, Who Loves You, Jimmie Orrio? won the 2002 PEN USA Award for Drama and is published by Dramatic Publishing. Her play, Children of an Idol Moon was produced at the University of Georgia (photograph right), and her work has been produced off Broadway, at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, North Carolina, Virginia, Oregon, Atlanta, and Scotland. Her residencies include Hawthornden International Writers Retreat in Scotland, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The New Globe in London, Z Space Studio and Brava! Women in the Arts in San Francisco, and Wordbridge Playwrights Conference in Florida. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
She taught playwriting for six years at the University of Georgia and has received her MFA in Playwriting and Ph.D. in Theatre.
Cheryldee's background as a professional actor inspired her to adapt acting principles of the legendary Michael Chekhov, specifically that of the Psychological Gesture, in her own playwriting process, which has become an exciting tool of her playwriting instruction. This approach to the playwriting process is unique to Dr. Huddleston and combines with her years of instruction in all forms of dramatic writing--allowing her to work with writers in providing deep and intuitive analysis.
Playwright ...
A richly symbolic theatrical world with fresh characters, vivid dialogue, and a timeless theme ... the audience is invited to contemplate the archetypal power of the shadow ...
Who Loves You, Jimmie Orrio?
PEN USA Judges
Her characters leap off the page, her dialogue sparkles with humor and intelligence and her stories are as unsparing as they are transcendent ...
Jenny Laird-Playwright and Educator
Her plays percolate with beautifully lyrical images ...
Marzena Bukowska-Director and Actor
Instructor ...
Cheryldee helped me access very elusive, subconscious material for my play. During her class, the character I was most unsure about became alive on the page. It's really wonderful to be in a room with her and experience her unique style.
Ann Eisenberg-Writing and Editing Professional
Cheryldee came up with an intriguing, innovative idea for playwrights to use for generating characters and dialogue that I had previously only seen applied to actors: Chekhov's Psychological Gesture. I wish I could say I came up with it!
Valerie Fachman-Managing Director at
Performers Under Stress Theatre
Cheryldee is an intuitive, experienced and generous artist. Her love for plays and playwrighting imbues her teaching with a depth of passion and understanding that raises it above pedagogy into something more meaningful, useful and magical. She can take you places you might not be able to get to on your own.
Amy Moon-Writer/Editor/Content Strategist
Cheryldee is the bomb!
San Francisco Playwrights Foundation
Who Loves You, Jimmie Orrio?
