Songs of Love and Madness staged reading flyer.
Professor of English Mark Tjarks, Ph.D., has recently received recognition for his screenwriting and playwriting work. His feature screenplay, No Re-entry, was selected as a finalist in the Chicago Script Awards, out of more than 700 submissions from around the world.
In addition, a new musical play written and composed by Tjarks, Songs of Love and Madness, has been selected for a one-night, public staged reading at Theatre for the New City in New York City’s East Village. The staged reading will take place in June 2026 at the theatre, which has a long history of developing new works that have gone on to receive Obie Awards, Tony Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. The play will be directed by award-winning director Nick Hrutkay, whose credits include plays at the Kennedy Center, Theatre Row, and the Brick.
Tjarks teaches scriptwriting, film, and literature. He has had five plays staged in Manhattan, including The Unsalable Thing, which won first place in the William Faulkner Competition’s Best Play Contest, and Houseless in Paradise, a Poʻokela Award winner for Best Overall Play and a Festival Best Bet at the New York International Fringe Festival.
Professor Tjarks will teach Scriptwriting and Film Theory in Fall 2026.
