William Missouri Downs

William Missouri Downs is an American comedy writer, playwright, screenwriter, stage director, and author

William Missouri Downs started as an actor earning an MFA in acting from the University of Illinois, but a bout with viral encephalitis left him with a slight stammer and ended his acting career. So he gave up acting, moved to New York and lived in a transient hotel on the corner of 77th and Broadway. There he studied playwriting at the Circle Rep Theatre under Lanford Wilson and Milan Stitt. Early in his career, he became a writer because he wasn't good at anything else. He was fired by the big band singer Peggy Lee (“Is that all there is”) for being a rotten spotlight runner and fired from the Carlyle Hotel in New York for being a bad waiter.

He then moved to Los Angeles and lived at 10733 Ohio in a bungalow once owned by the writer John O'Hara while he earned an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. While a student at UCLA film school, he won numerous screenwriting awards, including the Jack Nicholson prize.

In Hollywood, he started as a script secretary on NBC's Moonlighting (Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd). He studied sitcom writing at theWarner Brothers Sitcom Writing Workshop. He was a staff writer on NBC's My Two Dads (Paul Reiser). He also wrote episodes for the NBC shows Amen (Sherman Hemsley) (He wrote the 100th episode of this show that starred Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (Will Smith). In addition, he sold a movie to Ron Howard's Imagine Films and optioned another to Filmways. Recently he worked with Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) developing a TV pilot that was optioned by Hollywood producer Meryl Poster.

His plays include The Exit Interview (Premiere at the Orlando Shakespeare) winner of a rolling premiere from NNPN (National New Play Network), published by Samuel French.Women Playing Hamlet (Premiere Unicorn Theatre, MO), winner of a rolling premiere from NNPN, published by Playscripts.Mad Gravity, a finalist at the Eugene O'Neill, winner of the Reva Shiner Comedy Award (Premiere Bloomington Playwrights Project), published by Playscripts.Cockeyed winner of The Greenhouse Festival Of New Plays, published by Samuel French. Seagulls In A Cherry Tree, winner of the Larry Corse Prize For Playwriting, published by Heuer Publishing. Mr. Perfect published by Playscripts. Headset, A view from the light booth published by Heuer Publishing, Kosher Lutherans published by Samuel French, Dead White Males published by Playscripts. How To Steal A Picasso a finalist at the Eugene O'Neill. His other plays include Innocent Thoughts published by Next Stage Press, A Doll House (adaptation) published by Next Stage Press. Kabuki Medea, winner of the Bay Area Critics Award for Best Production in San Francisco, Kabuki Faust, Forgiving John Lennon and Fascism The Musical.

He has had over 250 productions of his plays. Including productions at The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, The InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, The San Diego Rep, The Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Salt Lake City Acting Company, the Actors Theatre of Charlotte, the Jewish Theatre of Toronto, The Bloomington Playwright's Project, the Detroit Rep and the New York City Fringe Festival.

His plays have been produced in Spain (Fuera de órbita), Canada, South Africa ( Durban Performing Arts Center) , Russia (Хороший парень - The Serov Theatre Drama After Chekhov, Serov), Singapore (The Hexis Theatre), Switzerland (Franklin University, Lugano,), Austria (stadt Theater walfischgasse, Vienna), Israel (The International Theatre Festival), India (Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Bangalore), and South Korea (피카소를 훔치는 법 & 실제 게임 at Theatre in Daehangno & Daehakro Theatre,Seoul).

Bill has an extensive publication record including articles,plays, and books. He has co-authored four books, including Naked Playwriting (Silman/James), Playwriting: From Formula To Form (Harcourt Brace), Screenplay: Writing The Picture (Silman/James), and The Art of Theatre (Wadsworth/Cenage). The Art of Theatre is now in its 4th edition and has been used by tens of thousands of college student in the US. Screenplay: Writing the Picture(Silman/James), is in its 3rd edition and was published in Warsaw, Poland, Jak Napisac Scenariusz Filmowy .

He lives in a log cabin near the Shambhala2350 meters up in the Rockies of Colorado.

Downs has won two rolling premieres from the National New Play Network National New Play Network. and twice been a finalist at the Eugene O'Neill. He also won the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild Julie Harris Award

• Kosher Lutherans published by samuel french
• Women Playing Hamlet published by playscripts
• Mr. Perfect published by playscripts
• Mad Gravity published by playscripts
• Cockeyed - published by samuel french
• Forgiving John Lennon
• Dead White Males - published by playscripts
• The Exit Interview - published by samuel french
• Headsets - a View from the Light Booth - published by heuer publishing
• Seagulls in a Cherry Tree - published by Heuer Publishing heuer publishing
• Innocent Thoughts - published by next stage press
• Fascism the Musical
• Life on my Knees
• How to Steal a Picasso
• Angry Psycho Princesses (the musical)
• You Can't Say That!
• How To Survive Your Family At Christmas

• Downs, William Missouri; Wright, Lou Anne; Ramsey, Erik (2011). THE ART OF THEATRE. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0-15-506325-9.
• NAKED PLAYWRITING Downs, William Missouri; Russin, Robin U. (28 January 2005). Naked Playwriting: The Art, the Craft, and the Life Laid Bare. Silman-James Press. ISBN 1-879505-76-2.
• SCREENPLAY: Writing the Picture Russin, Robin U.; Downs, William Missouri (July 2003). Screenplay: Writing the Picture. Silman-James Press. ISBN 1-879505-70-3.
• Jak napisać scenariusz filmowy*Russin, Robin U.; Downs, William Missouri (14 September 2005). Jak napisać scenariusz filmowy (in Polish). Wojciech Marzec. ISBN 83-922604-0-6.
• PLAYWRITING: From Formula to Form Downs, William Missouri; Wright, Lou Anne (14 August 1997). PLAYWRITING: From Formula to Form. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-15-503861-3.

• Contemporary Monologues For Twentysomethings, Applause Books, (2018)
• Contemporary Scenes For Twentysomethings, Applause Books, (2017)
• 222 Comedy Monologues, published by Playscripts Inc., (2016)
• The Best Women's Stage Monologues of 2016, Published by Smith And Kraus, 2011
• Exceptional Monologues, Published by Samuel French, New York, (2009)
• Books On Tape, Published by North West Theatre Review, Oregon State University, (2008)
• Actor's Choice Monologue, Published by Playscripts, New York