MYLA LICHTMAN-FIELDS’ BIO
Myla attended The Juilliard School of Drama. Myla [aka Myla Sonderling] worked as an Equity actress in New York off-off Broadway in Stanley Nelson’s play THE POETRY READING. She appeared in musicals at The Goodspeed Opera House, Lake Placid Playhouse (summer stock), Club Bene Dinner Theatre, and toured in The Guber, Gross, Guilford musical by Gary William Friedman and Arnold Horwitt LAUGH A LITTLE, CRY A LITTLE starring Jan Peerce.
A B.A. in Theatre from UCSD, an M.A. in Theatre from SDSU, and a Ph.D. in Communications/Drama with a Minor in Film from USC, comprise Myla’s academic background.
THE HOUSE THAT SKOOTER BUILT was Myla’s first produced television script written for the CBS Emmy-award winning children’s series DUSTY’S TREEHOUSE.
Myla was hired to work as a Staff Writer at Universal Studios, where she wrote 4 episodes of modern DRACULA starring Michael Nouri that was part of Ken Johnson’s Cliffhangers television series. Additionally, Myla’s Universal credits include two movies-of-the-week [THE CURSE OF DRACULA and THE LOVES OF DRACULA] and an NBC Special.
At USC, Myla directed and played a lead role in three performances of a staged reading of her Appalachian musical (with music by Barbara Rottman) THADIUS STEED.
The summer following completion of her doctorate, Myla traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, where she visited Villa Diodati, stayed at Hotel Angleterre and wrote the first draft of her Mary Shelley screenplay/stageplay THE SCANDALMAKERS.
Then, in Fall 1979, Myla directed a staged reading of THADIUS STEED at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, featuring Rod Loomis, Kim Conrad, Sandra Lamont, and Edith Fields, among others.
Myla married Dr. Donald B. Fields and moved to Montreal, Canada where Don was completing his residency in oncology. There, Myla was commissioned to write THE GOLDEN SIREN, a treatment for a film adaptation of a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, transporting the original story to Canada’s Yukon during the gold rush.
When Myla and Don returned to the states and lived in Palos Verdes, Myla taught through UCLA’s Professional Writing Program for 5 years (part of that time at The Norris Theatre). She worked on projects with some of her students: MIDWESTERN SKIES and FAREWELL TO THE LAST DRIVE-IN with Jackie De Shannon; screenplay for A CUBAN STORY with Marcia Del Mar; and, she wrote the book/lyrics for QUENTIN (a musical based on Quentin Crisp’s A Naked Civil Servant) with music by Arthur Hamilton facilitated by Sherwin Goldstein.
As a founding member of The Norris Theatre’s management board, Myla produced the week-long Opening Festival and The New Play Discovery Series that featured the work of 22 writers in 3 years.
When her family (now having 2 sons) moved to Irvine, California, Myla continued teaching through UCI’s Professional Writing Program. She returned to P.V. for staged readings in The Norris Theatre’s New Play Discovery Series of her plays MIDWESTERN SKIES and directed her African mytho-drama WAGADU. Patricia Higgins directed a fully staged Equity waiver production of SATAN AMONGST US by PV’s St. Peter’s Players, featuring Carole Ketay and Rosina Pinchot, among others.
Edith M. Schwartz’s READERS THEATRE OF O.C. toured 4 of Myla’s plays in multiple venue tours: FELIX & FANNY, ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE, SPIRITS OF THE OLD MANSE, and SERENADE.
ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE received two productions directed by Anne Relph in Westcliffe, CO at Crystal Mountain Playhouse/Jones Theater.
Anthony Barnao directed a well-received limited run of THE WETBACK at The Lex Theater in Hollywood. The production traveled to Irvine High School where Act I was presented 3 times during the day for students and a sold-out performance of the full play was performed that same night. Aftershow panel discussions included Irvine’s Mayor Larry Agran and Cesar Chavez’s daughter Christine Chavez, representing the UFW.
FELIX & FANNY, SATAN AMONGST US, and THE PEACEMAKERS (2nd Place) received recognition in the Fireside Stage & Screen Contests. And, as a result, THE PEACEMAKERS was presented at The O’Neill Playwriting Conference Center in CT.
FELIX & FANNY was fully produced by The Huntington Beach Playhouse in a limited run directed by Terri Miller-Schmidt and featuring Lisa Layne Griffiths and Ryan Lee. It was then produced by California Artists Radio Theatre before 2 live audiences at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill and featured Michael York and Samantha Eggar with John Harlan, produced/directed by Peggy Webber. The recording of the CART performance aired on NPR and continues to air on Sirius XM radio and is downloadable on-line. The play was part of Judy Arnold’s UJ Celebrity New Play Series at The Gindi Auditorium directed by Myla and featuring Jan Deveraux, Steve Vinovich, and Caroline Mignini.
Myla has been blessed by special mentors over the course of her writing career: Craig Noel, founder of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, read and critiqued more than a dozen of Myla’s plays and facilitated readings in various locales and sponsored readings of THE STONE OF KILHARA (with Katherine McGrath, Jonathan McMurtry, Henry Jordon, and Ayla Yarkut) and THE PEACEMAKERS (with Dakin Matthews, Joel Anderson, and James Brown) at The Old Globe Theatre.
Norman Corwin was Myla’s USC graduate seminar teacher in dramatic writing and became a life-long friend and mentor. He attended the Lex Theatre production of THE WETBACK ( Myla began work on the play in Norman’s seminar) directed by Anthony Barnao. Norman continued to provide Myla with invaluable feedback on her work and Myla honored him on his 100th birthday with THE GOLDEN YEARS OF NORMAN CORWIN presented in Genesis Studios [Myla’s home black box studio].
Recent mentors who have helped Myla’s work include: Apollo Dukakis, who facilitated a reading of VS. ROBERT SCHUMANN (aka COUNTERPARTS) at the Antaeus Company Theatre in NOHO (featuring Nike Doukas, Apollo Dukakis, and Michael Salazar directed by Jessica Kubzansky). Apollo directed and performed in readings of LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN in Genesis Studios, at The Road Theatre Company in NOHO, and in NYC with his sister Olympia Dukakis playing the lead role of Sara. Apollo has been an invaluable sounding board for this playwright. And, it was a thrill to have Apollo’s superb play REMEMBERING OLYMPIA launched in Genesis Studios prior to its national bookings at North Coast Rep, 10 Chimneys, ACT, among other venues.
Shai Beaulet is another dear friend and treasured mentor for this playwright’s work. A fine playwright/screenwriter herself, Shai’s much-needed feedback has always been spot on and constructive. After reading the first draft, Shai made the playwright put Brigid into BRIGID OF KILDARE. It is in no small part thanks to her that the play became the 2nd work of the playwright’s to be produced by California Artists Radio Theatre featuring a star-studded cast that included Samantha Eggar, Monte Markham, Diane Mercer, Elizabeth Dennehy, James Lancaster, Annie Gagen, Richard Herd, Amelia White, John O’Callaghan, Joe Flood, Tom Williams, and H.M. Wynant. The production was directed/adapted by Peggy Webber, featured original music by Jay Munns, and was performed before a live audience at the Garland Little Theatre where it was recorded for CD and radio.
The Carducci String Quartet commissioned Myla in 2021 to develop FELIX & FANNY IN CONCERT and performed the multi-media concertized version of the play in 2022 at London’s Barbican Centre’s Milton Court Concert Hall directed by Myla and featuring The Carducci String Quartet along with Lucy Phelps as Fanny and Luke Thallon as Felix. A second performance occurred in the York Concert Series in 2023 at Sir Jack Lyons Theatre featuring The Carducci Quartet, Abigail Weinstock as Fanny and Luke Thallon as Felix where it received a standing ovation (not a usual UK occurrence!).
Once Emma Denton, cellist of The Carducci Quartet, read FELIX & FANNY, resulting from a purchase she made through Abe Books, Myla realized how important Going Global through Lulu.com publications could be for the sharing of her work. By the end of the COVID lockdown, Myla had 16 of her plays published through Lulu.com.
Creating Genesis Studios’ black box theatre marked an important fulfillment of Myla’s dream. Not only have many of Myla’s own plays been read and developed using the space, but several of her former students and professional writer-friends have made use of the space to facilitate the development of their works. Myla has created documentary films [ i.e., THE WORLD THROUGH HER HANDS, a documentary about sculptor Shirley H. Lichtman] and other film projects in Genesis Studios. Lighting designer Chris Rynne originally helped to design and equip the magical studio space.
Steve Cuden interviewed Myla for his superb Storybeat podcast series in 2022.
Myla continues to create new works: CLARA & JOHANNES IN CONCERT (using the multi-media format pioneered in FELIX & FANNY IN CONCERT), and LADY GREGORY’S BATTLE (about Lady Augusta Gregory, Irish folklorist and founder of the Abbey Theatre) are two of her latest projects.
In 2024 two plays co-written with Jackie DeShannon, MIDWESTERN SKIES and FAREWELL TO THE LAST DRIVE-IN, became available through Lulu Books and have gone global online. Both plays received excellent pre-release reviews in New York Weekly Times by Eileen Shapiro and in Chicago News Journal by Morissa Schwartz.
Myla’s son Aaron is a composer/playwright with wonderful new projects. Aaron has used Genesis Studios to record tracks from his musicals with local singers. Myla’s son Joshua assists Myla in the technical creations for her work—JPEGs, website design and updates, MP3s, program designs, etc. Myla’s husband Don is a valued sounding board and supporter of her work.
CONTACT: MylaProds@aol.com