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L.E. McCullough

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L.E. McCullough, Ph.D. is an award-winning poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, musician, composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer and author of fiction and non-fiction. www.EducationalClassroomPlays.com and www.lemccullough.com

Dr. McCullough is the author of more than 176 plays on history, folklore and current events published in 31 books of original stage monologues, children’s plays and stories by Smith & Kraus, EduPress and Regina Press including Ice Babies in Oz; Plays of America for Young Actors; Plays of America for Children; Plays of the Songs of Christmas; Plays of the Wild West, Vols. 1 & 2; Plays from Fairy Tales; Plays from Mythology; Plays of People at Work; Plays of Exploration and Discovery; Stories of the Songs of Christmas; Anyone Can Produce Plays with Kids; “Now I Get It!”, Curriculum Plays Vol. 1 & 2; 111 1-Minute Monologues for Teens; 111 1-Minute Monologues for Pre-Teens; Plays of Ancient Israel; Plays of Israel Reborn; Wild & Wacky Monologues for Kids.

He is the co-author with Claude McNeal of American Cabaret and the New Theatre of Conscience and co-author with Lisa Bansavage of 111 Shakespeare Monologues for Teens and "Break a Leg!":  A Treasury of Theatre Traditions and Superstitions; co-author with Lisa Bansavage and Jill Swanson of Great Shakespeare Scenes for Teens; co-author with Lisa Bansavage and Dan Jacoby of Software Solutions for Successful Actors.

Dr. McCullough’s plays are performed in the U.S., Canada, Africa, China, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus and Europe — in schools, churches, synagogues, community centers, festivals, museums, historical societies and theatre venues of all kind. His recent playwriting commissions include works on 1920s jazz bandleader Charlie Davis, World War  II journalist Ernie Pyle (Indiana Historical Society), Col. Eli Lilly, founder of Eli Lilly Company (Nineteenth Star Productions), Ben Franklin (Historic Philadelphia, Inc.), Galileo (1st Run Productions), President Grover Cleveland (Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association), Sister Frances Ward (Carlow University), Mother Catherine McAuley (Georgian Court Univerity) and the U.S. Constitution (National Constitution Center).

Dr. McCullough has received 48 awards in 32 literary competitions including first prize in the 1992 Arts Council of Indianapolis’ Literary Competition, 1992 Dorothy Daniels Writing Contest, 1993 University of West Florida Chapbook Competition and 1993 White Rabbit Poetry Contest, second place in the 1992 All-Canada Maplecon Science Fiction Writing Contest, a top ten finish in the 1992 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, two 1993 Pushcart Nominations, the Arts Indiana Penrod Writers Arts Writing Award in 1991 and 1992, a Fellowship Residency at the 1995 Shenandoah International Playwrights Retreat, inclusion in the 1994 Karamu House Festival of New Plays and 1994 Mill Mountain New Play Festival and both the Award of Excellence and Award of Distinction in the 1992 and 1993 national WORDART Poets Competitions.

His stage play on legendary blues pianist Leroy Carr, Blues for Miss Buttercup, debuted in New York City in June, 1995 and won the Urban Stages Emerging Playwrights Award and two Bistro Awards.

As a journalist Dr. McCullough has written over 1,200 newspaper and magazine articles on music, theatre, arts and lifestyle topics for a diverse array of publications including Billboard, Vista, Living Blues, Singout, Texas Highways, La Prensa, New Groves Dictionary of Music in the U.S. and ethnic and daily metropolitan papers in Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, New York and Indiana.

In the field of creative writing, 182 of his poems and short stories have been published in 92 North American literary journals including Commonweal, Berkeley Poetry Review, Hawaii Review, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Whetstone, New Mexico Humanities Review and Nassau Review, and he has received several research and performance grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Indiana Arts Commission. In 1993 his art photography won first prize in the New Ways National Photo Contest sponsored by Yamaha Corporation of America.

He holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh and has recorded with numerous Irish, French, Cajun, Latin, blues, jazz, country, bluegrass and rock ensembles on 53 albums for Angel/EMI, Sony Classical, RCA, Warner Brothers, Log Cabin, Kicking Mule, Rounder, Bluezette and other independent labels. Formerly the Assistant Director of the Indiana University School of Music at Indianapolis and the Administrative Director of the Humanities Theatre Group at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Dr. McCullough is the author of six music and music business instruction books (The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tutor, The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tunebook, Favorite Irish Session Tunes, The AMIC Music Industry Guide, St. Patrick Was a Cajun, Whistle Around the World) and the instructional video Learn to Play Irish Tinwhistle.

He has composed filmscores for three PBS specials produced by WQED-TV (Alone Together, A Place Just Right, John Kane) and three Celtic Ballets co-composed with T.H. Gillespie (Connlaoi’s Tale: The Woman Who Danced On Waves, The Healing Cup: Guinevere Seeks the Grail, Skin Walkers:  The Incredible Voyage of Mal the Lotus Eater).

He has performed on the music tracks of the Ken Burns PBS television series The West, Lewis and Clark, The Dust Bowl, The Roosevelts, Benjamin Franklin, Not for Ourselves Alone:  The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and the Warner Brothers film Michael Collins starring Julia Roberts and Liam Neeson.