McMath is an author, award-winning playwright and historian, and the Managing Director of Run Rabbit Run Productions, Inc. Her original dramatic and comic plays, operas, historic fiction novels and documentaries have received critical acclaim alongside her work as a director and producer. She holds a BA in History from The College of William and Mary and a Masters in Arts Administration from Shenandoah Conservatory.
FICTION / NON-FICTION AUTHOR
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MUSICAL BOOK WRITER / OPERA LIBRETTEST
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PLAYWRIGHT
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THEATRE MANAGER / PRODUCER / DIRECTOR
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DOCUMENTARY & HISTORY PROGRAM WRITER / PRODUCER
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McMATH REVIEWS / AWARDS
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AUTHOR
McMath's historic fiction novels are known for their strong female characters, creative plots and humor, and fascinating historic detail. Her non-fiction works include the true story of Lida and Lizzie Dutton and Sarah Steer: Three Women Journalists of the Civil War (The Waterford Foundation), the co-written Legacy of Lincoln (part of The Complete Idiot's Guide series), and her piece on freed slave Zilpha Davis which won the Loudoun County Black History Award (Essence of a People II). |
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McMath’s freelance articles have appeared in The Washington Post Loudoun Extra, Loudoun Magazine, The Piedmont Virginian, Loudoun Times-Mirror, Middleburg Life, Loudoun Art Magazine and Leesburg Lifestyle Magazine, and
her StoryRoot Blog explores everything from history and writing to theatre and love (See below).
her StoryRoot Blog explores everything from history and writing to theatre and love (See below).
ARMS AND THE HIGHLANDER, McMath's adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's ARMS AND THE MAN
PLAYWRIGHT and LIBRETTIST
McMath has won acclaim for many of her original works: NORTON: A Civil War Opera (concept and libretto by McMath, music composed by David E. Chåvez), Case 22, which premiered at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, All for the Union - most recently performed at the 2019 Capital Fringe Festival. Her 10-minute play, Sticks and Stones, took First Prize in the Source Theatre Competition, and another, Blind Date, was a finalist in The Oxford 10-Minute Play Competition.
She wrote the script adaptations for the critically acclaimed musicals Once Upon A Christmas Carol and A Musical Little Women (Music by composer Diane El-Shafey and Accompanist Carma Jones), and the original script for a comic musical/opera that weaves together opera and Broadway songs: Romance from Broadway to Lincoln.
Her stage adaptations include Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve (based on Twain's Adam and Eve Diaries), and Arms and the Highlander (a Colonial American adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man).
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"Meredith Bean McMath flourishes at a time when only one in five U.S. plays have a female playwright." - Diane Helentjaris, Survival Secrets of a Southern Woman Playwright
"Conversing with Meredith Bean McMath is like flying on a magic carpet over the performance stages of beautiful theaters throughout the world… Creativity abounds." - Nancy Wyatt of My Persuasive Presentations on Run Rabbit Run Theatre |
THEATRE DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER
Since the 1998 founding of her company, Run Rabbit Run Productions Inc., McMath has sought to produce professional level entertainment. As a result, "McMath, an award-winning historian and prize-winning playwright… has garnered a reputation for producing high-quality theater in the area." - Ann Keisman, Loudoun Times-Mirror.
Loudoun Lyric Opera's THE MERRY WIDOW, directed by M. B. McMath
August 7, 2021 - McMath speaks at Leesburg, Virginia’s Dodona Manor (the George C. Marshall International Center)
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DOCUMENTARY & HISTORY PROGRAM PRODUCER As an historian, writer, director and co-producer of history documentaries and public programs, McMath's works have appeared on the History Channel's History Showcase, and her programs have been commissioned by museums and preservation organizations which include The National Museum of American History, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, The Waterford Foundation, the Lincoln Preservation Foundation, and the George C. Marshall International Center. |
McMath’s most recent program: a talk on General George C. Marshall’s wife, Katherine, during her days as a professional Shakespearean actor in England. Produced in August at the Marshall’s former home in Leesburg, Virginia, McMath was assisted by actor Victoria Sova who performed Shakespearean monologues Katherine once presented on the English stage (Location: Dodona Manor, Leesburg, Virginia. Photo courtesy of the George C. Marshall International Center).
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The images above are from the documentary SOUTHERN COURAGE, CIVIL WAR WOMEN OF LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA. Written and directed by McMath and filmed by Joni Lynn Crane, SOUTHERN COURAGE is a collection of first person stories from all sides of the conflict taken directly from diaries, letters and other documents.
LEARN HOW & WHY THE FILM WAS MADE *** SEE THE 45-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY (YouTube)
LEARN HOW & WHY THE FILM WAS MADE *** SEE THE 45-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY (YouTube)
NON-PROFIT SERVICE
McMath has also served as Marketing Director for arts and history organizations such as The Loudoun Lyric Opera Company, The Round Hill Arts Center, The Loudoun Museum and Arts for All - Loudoun (formerly Very Special Arts), and her Board of Director service includes multiple museums, nonprofit arts organizations and theatre companies.
McMATH'S ORIGINAL STAGE WORKS AND ADAPTATIONS
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ARTICLES BY McMATH
ARTICLES ABOUT McMATH
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HONORS & AWARDS HISTORIAN
PLAYWRIGHT & THEATRE DIRECTOR
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EDUCATION
MS Arts Management, Shenandoah University, 2011
Concentration: Arts Marketing, Recipient 2011 Arts Administration Graduate Student Award
Thesis: “Relationship between Successes and Failures of the Federal Theatre Project and its management by Director Hallie Flanagan”
BA History, The College of William and Mary, 1979
Member Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Secondary Teaching Certificate (High School) in Social Studies
MS Arts Management, Shenandoah University, 2011
Concentration: Arts Marketing, Recipient 2011 Arts Administration Graduate Student Award
Thesis: “Relationship between Successes and Failures of the Federal Theatre Project and its management by Director Hallie Flanagan”
BA History, The College of William and Mary, 1979
Member Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Secondary Teaching Certificate (High School) in Social Studies
MEREDITH McMATH'S STORYROOT BLOG
