Dion Cook's 'Cutter' Selected for Annual Reading at Ballroom Marfa in Marfa, Texas

Cutter, a screenplay by Dion Cook, will receive a public reading on April 21 at Ballroom Marfa, the non-profit cultural organization in Marfa, Texas.

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The Reading, as the annual program is known, shines a spotlight on one of the winners of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual Nicholl Fellowship. A Filmmakers Selection Committee, consisting of director/screenwriter Robert Towne, actress Jeanne Tripplehorn and executive Robert Shapiro, chose Cook’s screenplay from among the 2011 Nicholl Fellowship winners.

The Reading will be directed by John S. Davies and produced by Carolyn Pfeiffer and Ballroom board member Nancy Sanders. Two performances of The Reading -- one matinee and one evening – will be held, each followed by a panel discussion with the screenwriter and others involved with the project.

“We are very excited at the prospect of staging such a powerful script. Dion Cook's brilliant drama illuminates a tragedy playing out not just in Africa, but here as well,” Pfeiffer and Sanders said.

“The Reading exemplifies Ballroom Marfa’s commitment to a multidisciplinary approach, which has facilitated artistic cross-pollination since our inception in 2003. The Reading continues our mission of presenting emerging artists in all forms and creates an opportunity to celebrate the screenwriter — who is often under recognized,” Ballroom Marfa executive director and co-founder Fairfax Dorn said.