Aniello Fontano is an award winning playwright, screenwriter, and educator originally from Little Italy, Chicago. After receiving his BA in Directing and Design from the University of Illinois at Chicago, he earned his MFA in Dramatic Writing at New Mexico's flagship university, UNM, on teaching and graduate assistantships in Dramatic Writing and Women’s Studies. Most recently, he was awarded the Clifford Odets Ensemble Play commission by the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. His commissioned play, “i’m sorry for your trouble” received its world premiere December 8th, 2023 at the Marilyn Monroe Theater in New York. Beyond his work as a writer, he is a Board Member of Prop Theater in Chicago, once Associate Board Events Chairman and now volunteer with BUILD Chicago (a nationally respected gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organization based on Chicago’s West Side), an Art Department Lead Person in IATSE Chicago Local 476, a Writers Room Assistant in IATSE Los Angeles Local 871, a member of the Dramatists Guild, and a member of SAG-AFTRA. He continues to be mentored by director Jude Weng (Only Murders in the Building, The Good Place, Twisted Metal).
Plays
The hottest day of summer is interrupted when a community leader is rushed to the hospital. As Red rights for his life, the neighborhood bands together to hunt down his wannabe executioner. Through belly laughs, cold beer, and blunt smoke, the truth about the shooting at "Red's Deli" bleeds out. Relationships are tested, lies are told, questions are answered, confessions are made — and before sundown, the neighborhood loses a piece of its heart forever.
Windy's Cycle - Play 3
Joe is dead. Really dead. The kind of dead that makes a friend drink brown liquor, sing Boyz II Men, curse cancer, and hate crabs (both kinds). So tonight, four hours after her funeral, Joe’s childhood friends are gathering at their neighborhood bar. As they fight to drown the pain in booze, laughter, and friendship — a violent banging at the door and an unexpected guest will challenge them to confront gut-wrenching truths.
Windy's Cycle - Play 2
On a muggy night in one of the last real Chicago neighborhoods, a group of lifelong friends gather at a liquor stained dive for a birthday celebration. Bottom-shelf booze and drug induced memories spark debates about God, family, addiction, and George Michael. The night takes a devastating turn when this roast session for the ages reveals an unexpected confession that will change their lives forever — if they remember it tomorrow.
Windy's Cycle - Play 1