ROBERT
FORD
Ford is a playwright, novelist, and musician, and artistic director of TheatreSquared (T2) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he lives with his wife, actor, director, and T2 co-founder Amy Herzberg. T2 is tangible proof that a theatre specializing in new and newish work can grow and thrive far from established theatre centers. As one of the country’s few playwright-ADs, Bob has facilitated production of more than 85 plays and musicals and facilitated the development of over 60 new works. T2’s 2021/22 season was bookended by two world premieres, Designing Women by L. Bloodworth Thomason and Flex by Arkansas-based Candrice Jones. Bob himself has written more than 20 plays and adaptations. Highlights include Fault (T2), The Spiritualist (T2, New Harmony Project, Stages Rep), The Fall of the House (T2, Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Look Away (T2, forthcoming at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre), Girl Band in the Men’s Room (Hollywood Fringe—Best Theatre Award), and ‘Twas the Night (T2, published by Playscripts). His play My Father’s War (T2) has appeared in the UK, Italy, and Germany. His adaptations of It’s a Wonderful Life, Great Expectations, and two of A Christmas Carol (with Amy Herzberg) each premiered at T2. His novel, The Student Conductor, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick and a “Hidden Gem” on NPR’s Morning Edition.
His writing has garnered a handful of distinctions, including a Stanley Drama Award for Tierra del Fuego. He holds a Master of Music degree from Yale and MFAs in acting from Rutgers and playwriting & screenwriting from the Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas at Austin.
NEW PLAYS BY
ROBERT FORD
LOOK AWAY
It's a mean hot September in Wilson, Arkansas. 1933. Matty and Alonzo are young black men accused of a crime they didn't commit, and now there's a lynch mob on their heels. Running through the dark fields, they slip into the kitchen of white boss Roy Wilson, whose name means power in these parts, hoping to plead their case. Bottled up for the long night awaiting Mr. Wilson's morning verdict, they find they're not alone. Based on true events.
MY FATHER’S WAR
The true story of Pfc. Art Herzberg, a Jewish kid from Chicago’s North Side who landed at Normandy on D-Day and fought through to the Battle of the Bulge. Herzberg survives one near-death experience after another—not to mention anti-Semitism in his own ranks—through luck, chutzpah, and sheer comic timing. Seventy-five years later, Art’s daughter Amy heads to France to chase down the one story that still haunts him. She finds herself stepping into her own 19-year-old dad’s combat boots, facing the deepest truths of her father’s war. A theatrical journey that’s funny, harrowing, and deeply moving.
