APin3 THE PREMIER FILM CHALLENGE EVENT IN NEW JERSEY

ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY, USA, October 9, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Tom Cavanaugh (Edison Resident) & AJ Ciccotelli (Toms River Resident) are accomplished New Jersey Playwrights that met while working on their Masters in Playwriting at The Actors Studio Drama School under the guidance of Romulus Linney.

Best friends ever since, both playwrights decided to take the APin3 Film Making Challenge sponsored by the Asbury Park Arts Council. On August 7th they were given a list of requirements that had to be in the script and film, including the line "ASBURY PARK IS MUSIC TO MY EARS!" Cavanaugh used that to build the script, while Ciccotelli helmed the project as director! Ciccotelli brought Cavanaugh, a multi-divergent, local NJ, NJ-talented cast that inspired Cavanaugh to write the script. Cavanaugh put on the producer hat while Ciccotelli went to work behind the camera and computer, where Ciccotelli also edited the film! The team created a three-minute film that was completed and submitted by August 27th. Cavanaugh & Ciccotelli’s film, MUSIC IN THE AIR, is one of 11 Finalists that will screen in Asbury Park on October 22nd.

Cavanaugh & Ciccotelli are no strangers to the film festival landscape; both have world-premiered short films in festivals from Los Angeles to New York, including Cavanaugh’s THE SHIFT at the 2007 Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park. In 2017, Cavanaugh’s POKER NIGHT that he wrote and produced, won Best Comedy Short Film at the Culver City Festival in California. Ciccotelli’s feature RIPPLES OF WATER is currently on Tubi, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. His shorts THE DANCE, I.W.SK., 5:25 to 5:45 (or something like that), and The Devil’s Playground won multiple best short film awards and recognitions in Germany, England, Canada and all over the U.S.A.

This is a first time collaboration in film for these two playwrights!

Tom Cavanaugh received his M.F.A. in playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School, NY in 2000. Tom's full-length play, BEHOLD, was a 2010 finalist in the New American Playwrights Program at Utah Shakespearean Festival and won a 2011 Pickering Award for Excellence in Playwriting. ADAM & YOSHI was a finalist in the McKinney Repertory Play Competition Texas, a finalist in the 2013 New American Playwrights Program Utah Shakespearean Festival, and won the 2012 Make the House Roar Prize at the Lionheart Theater, Georgia. 2014, INLAND EMPRESS, Tom’s full-length play, World Premiered, at The Lounge Theatre, Los Angeles. 2017 MISTER PICMAN premiered at the Short & Sweet Play Festival, Hollywood, CA, & Theatre of Note’s Alternative Acts in Los Angeles. THE FIELD a short play by Cavanaugh, premiered at The CTI Theatre Festival in Independence, MO. In 2018, the Theatre of Action in Los Angeles Plays About Immigration listed Tom’s short play, COYOTE. Tom won the Artists & Playwright Festival at The Know Theatre in Binghamton, NY in 2018 with his short play, ROCKS ON THE PLAYA. Tom was a member of the 2019 & 2022 National Playwrights Symposium at Cape May Stages in New Jersey and has been a member of the Dramatist Guild of America since 1998.

A.J. Ciccotelli received his M.F.A. in playwrighting from the Actors Studio Drama School, NYC, in 2000, his M.A. in directing at Roosevelt University in Chicago in 2016, and his M.F.A in screenwriting from the David Lynch School of Cinematic Arts in 2020. He was born in Bangkok, Thailand, raised in Queens, NYC, and for the past twenty years, a New Jersey resident. He won numerous awards for his plays and directing. His feature Ripples of Water won the audience award for Best Feature Film at the qFlix Philadelphia Film Festival, a silver award at the Philadelphia International Film Festival and Market, and was nominated for Best Feature at Block Island Film Festival. His shorts The Dance, I.W.S.K., and The Devil’s Playground each won best short film at Block Island. His short film 5:25 to 5:45 (or something like that) won best-animated film at the Iowa Motion Picture Association. His screenplay Tic-Tac-Toe won the grand jury prize for best of the festival for the Show Low Film Festival in Arizona. His screenplays Tic-Tac-Toe, The Dead Movie Star, and the Boys and Fab & Ren each won best screenplay at the Round Reel

Tom Cavanaugh
Paris Avenue Productions
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