Bill Robens

{{short description|American dramatist}}

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| birth_place = United States

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| othername = William Robens

| occupation = Playwright, writer, actor, composer, guitarist

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Bill Robens is a Los Angeles–based playwright, screenwriter and actor, whose written works include The Poseidon Adventure: the Musical (co-written with Genemichael Barrera), The Towering Inferno: the Musical (co-written with Steve Marca), a comedy variety show, A Fish Without His Flippers and A Mulholland Christmas Carol, which earned Bill an L.A. Weekly Theatre Award for Best Adaptation.

Career

Bill Robens began writing for the theatre shortly after becoming a member of Theatre of NOTE, a Los Angeles theatre company specializing in new plays. His first satirical piece, The Poseidon Adventure: the Musical (co-written with Genemichael Barrera), was independently produced, drawing large crowds and excellent reviews.[http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4379370-1.html THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE: The Musical! review by Wenzel Jones, Back Stage West] Robens then wrote a holiday play, A Mulholland Christmas Carol, which was performed at Theatre of NOTE with great success during the Christmas season of 2002, ultimately becoming an annual holiday event.[http://www.eyespyla.com/www/thebuzz.nsf/13e09194ecb68d7088256e33004f0674/c24c46963b3f3d9588257228007b053f!OpenDocument Eyespyla.com]{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Towering Inferno: the Musical (co-written with Steve Marca), and the comedy variety show A Fish Without His Flippers soon followed.

Bill Robens' critically acclaimed gumshoe satire Kill Me Deadly played to packed houses for the entirety of its thrice-extended 2009 inaugural run at Theatre of NOTE.[https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940576.html?categoryid=33&cs=1 Variety]{{cite web|url=http://www.latheatrereview.com/2009/07/02/kill-me-deadly-at-theatre-of-note/ |title=Kill Me, Deadly at Theatre of NOTE | LA Theatre Review |accessdate=2010-04-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713185142/http://www.latheatrereview.com/2009/07/02/kill-me-deadly-at-theatre-of-note/ |archivedate=2011-07-13 }}[http://www.backstage.com/bso/reviews-la-theatre/kill-me-deadly-1003990363.story Backstage.com][http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/07/review-kill-me-deadly-at-theatre-of-note.html Los Angeles Times]

In 2009, Bill Roben's first feature film as a writer, Scream of the Bikini, directed by long-time collaborator Kiff Scholl, began playing the festival circuit.{{cite web |url=http://www.roguecinema.com/article-1886--0-0.html |title=Scream of the Bikini (2009) - by Duane L. Martin - Rogue Cinema |accessdate=2010-04-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220124900/http://www.roguecinema.com/article-1886--0-0.html |archivedate=2010-02-20 }}

In 2015, he adapted Kill Me, Deadly into a feature film of the same name.{{cite web|last=Scheck|first=Frank|title='Kill Me, Deadly': Film Review|date=5 April 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kill-me-deadly-film-review-880848|accessdate=8 August 2017}}

References

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