Meeting tomorrow, NPA reading Monday & Lee Blessing is coming!

Don't forget, we're having our Seattle regional meeting tomorrow at 11 am at the Seattle Center House. And also, readings of new works at the Rep next Monday night, December 8th (see below):

Northwest Playwrights Alliance & Seattle Rep
present our 5th annual Literary Salon featuring

Jim Lynch (author of The Highest Tide) reading from his new, soon-to-be published novel.
Poems by Alaska's best: Arlitia Jones
1 glorious poem by Karen Kunkel
short plays by
Sean Walbeck - dir. Deane Shellman
Jody Peterson - dir. Mark Kuntz
Schatzie Schaefers - dir. Tammis Doyle
Dan Erickson - dir. John Longenbaugh

Monday Dec. 8 @ 7 p.m. - Seattle Repertory Theater's
Poncho Theater
115 Mercer - please use main entrance

FREE ADMISSION

And if you haven't seen or heard about this already, you may want to look into booking your slot for the LEE BLESSING workshop next year. (And if you don't know who Lee Blessing is, shame on you--one of the best playwrights working today and teaches the MFA program at Rutgers).

Lee Blessing Playwriting Workshop

When: Aug. 9 - Sunday 2-5 p.m.
Where: Seattle Rep - Poncho Theater
Workshop Limit: 25 (and yes, people are already signing up)
Cost: $75

Do I really need to sign up so early? To guarantee your spot, Yes.
Will NPA still exist in August? Yes, we promise

Contact: Bryan Willis - willis@olynet.com

Next Meeting Saturday December 6th at 11 am

The next Seattle regional meeting will be on Saturday, December 6th from 11 am to 12 pm on the 4th floor of the Seattle Center House, room C.

We will have some coffee and light snacks and a loose agenda.

The purpose of this meeting will be to mingle/chat/commiserate as well as update you on some recent developments of the Guild and talk about future events for 2009.

I do hope that most of you will be able to attend and if there is anything you would like to discuss, please let me know and we can put it on the agenda.

See you soon!

Dennis

7 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT world premiere at BCC

Tickets are going fast...Only five shows and only 60 seats (it's a small house).

Info below.


Bellevue College Theatre Arts/Drama
Presents

7 Minutes to Midnight
World Premiere

Conceived and directed by Dennis Schebetta developed with the actors
Stop Gap Theatre
Nov. 14, 15, 21, 22 - 8:00 pm
Nov. 20 - 7:00 pm
$10 Students, $12 General
Buy Tickets early at Brown Paper Tickets


Please join a panel of BCC scientists, and the artists for a discussion following the Thurs. Nov. 20 performance.

Are you ready for that great atomic power? On July 16, 1945, the Trinity test in New Mexico awakens the Greek God Kronos (otherwise known as Saturn). After killing his father and devouring his own children, he was banished to the underworld by his son Zeus and is just waiting for the end of the world which will set him free. The dawning of the atomic age means the time draws nigh. Using text, movement and music, this ensemble-based play weaves together several stories from 1945 to now, showing Oppenheimer and other members of The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists as they try to warn the military and others about the impending cold war and the arms race. It examines the "nuclear" family of the 1950s, the fear of the 1980s, and how millions grew up under the shadow of a mushroom cloud. The clock is ticking for us all. Kronos is waiting, certain of mankind's destruction. What are you waiting for?

For more information about The Bulletin and The Doomsday Clock, check out the website: www.thebulletin.org.

Bellevue College is located at:

3000 Landerholm Circle SE
Bellevue, WA 98007

Arlene Hutton Reading at the Rep and Workshop this Sunday!

Northwest Playwrights Alliance & Seattle Rep present a reading of
Gulf View Drive
by Arlene Hutton
directed by Braden Abraham

Monday Nov. 10 @ 7 p.m. - Seattle Repertory Theater's
Poncho Theater
115 Mercer - please use main entrance

FREE ADMISSION-------------------------------

AND...HURRY SIGN UP NOW!!!

for

Playwriting Workshop with Arlene Hutton
When: Nov 9 - Sunday 2-5 p.m Where: Live Girls! Theater 2220 NW Market Street Ballard . Workshop limit: 25
Cost: $40 Contact: Bryan Willis - willis@olynet.com

Arlene is best known for The Nibroc Trilogy, which includes Last Train to Nibroc (Drama League Best Play nomination, See Rock City (MacLean Foundation Award) and Gulf View Drive. Arlene's updated version of NPA's Nov. reading, Gulf View Drive, will be published by Dramatists Play Service in 2009. She is a four-time Heideman Award finalist and three-time Samuel French Short Play winner. Residencies include New Harmony Project, Australian National Playwrights conference, MacDowell Colony, VCCA and Yaddo. Recently the Tennessee Williams Fellow in Playwriting at Sewanee, a position she also held in 2005, Hutton was on the faculty of this summer's Sewanee Writers' Conference. Last Train to Nibroc just finished a highly successful run at the Orange Tree Theatre in London.

If you were turned away from Ki Gottberg's incredible workshop; if you thought about attending Braden Abraham's superb "Directing New Plays" workshop but waited too long; if you were disappointed because you procrastinated and couldn't get into the life-changing experience of studying with Steven Dietz, then e-mail willis@olynet.com to reserve your spot in Arlene's playwriting workshop tonight.

We still have a few spots available.

LOVE PERSON at Live Girls Theater in Ballard, opens Oct 24th to Nov 22

Northwest Premiere!

Love Person
by Aditi Brennan Kapil

Directed by Joy Brooke Fairfield and Dawn Stoyanoff

Oct 24 – Nov 22

Friday and Saturday Nights at 8pm * Sat afternoons at 4pm

Special Monday PWYC show Nov 17th at 8pm

All Shows at Live Girls! theater in Ballard 2220 NW Market Lower Level

Tickets prices for 8pm Shows- $15 General * $12 Student/Senior
Saturday 4pm shows- HAPPY HOUR All tickets $7 (and $1 PBR at the bar)
Under 18 $5 with ID to any performance
Advance tickets at-
http://www.brownpapertickets.com

Can you ever truly express love through language?
Can words in any language bridge the gap between two people?

Northwest Drama Conference/NPA playwriting contest

NWDC & NPA announce a new play competition for students of NWDC affiliated Colleges and Universities.

Unpublished short plays (ten minute or one act) written by students.

All plays will be read by the professional playwrights who are members of the Northwest Playwrights Alliance.

The winning play will be given a reading at the NWDC/KCACTF regional festival at the University of Idaho in February 2009 and one presented as a reading NPA at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in Seattle.

The play must connect to the theme: "The West" in the geography of the world, mind or spirit

NPA has the option to publish the winning play

A $100 prize plus $400 towards travel to Seattle WA, if the playwright can attend the reading, will be awarded the winning playwright.

Deadline for all play submissions is December 5.

Plays to be submitted to :

Northwest Drama Conference
NWDC/NPA Playwriting
Tammi Doyle
Bellevue Community College
3000 Landerholm Circle SE
Bellevue, WA 98007

ACT ONE: SIX SUNDAYS at ACT

ACT ONE: Six Sundays
An Actors' Equity Association
Members' Project Code presentation

Four one-act plays by Seattle playwrights & DG Members

PC Panic (world premiere) by Charles Waxberg, directed by Paul O'Connell
Duty, Honor, Profit (world premiere) by Dave Tucker, directed by Charles Waxberg
Canyon's Edge (new revision) by Babs Lindsay. directed by Charles Waxberg
Ibsen's Note (world premiere) by Charles Waxberg, directed by Paul O'Connell

Sundays October 5-November 9, 2008 at 2:00 pm

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre
Buster's Special Event's Room
Kreielsheimer Place, 700 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101

Admission Pay-what-you-can

Reservations 206-332-7908

Visit http://www.theatre912.com for added evening performances

Featuring
PC Panic
Aaron Heinzen, Laura Kenny*, Christine Mosere*, Thomas Ohrstrom

Duty, Honor, Profit
Kitty Barkley, Dan Borgen, Colleen Carey, Ryan Fields, Ray Irvin, Lee Morris, Michael Oaks

Canyon's Edge
Ruth McRee*, Kate Szyperski*, Steve Treacy*

Ibsen's Note
Terry Edward Moore*, Rachel Pate*, Macall Gordon

*member Actors' Equity Association

Live Girls! Submission Update

Shortly after the Dramatist magazine came out, a friendly playwright sent this email to Meghan Arnette of Live Girls!

Greetings, Live Girls!

Do you have any idea how many playwrights are gnashing our teeth
right now, having just read Dennis Schebetta's column devoted to you
in The Dramatist--and then having gone to your Web page and
discovered that the deadline for submitting scripts passed two weeks
ago?

Meghan knew she would get some interested female playwrights responding but due to the magazine's delay in shipping in some areas, it didn't leave a lot of time to check out their website and send some stuff in.

So Meghan wants everyone to know that she has extended the deadline to October 12th for Guild members who read about the company in the magazine.

If you haven't sent her a script (or heck, seen one of their shows), then I urge you do to so!

What are you waiting for?

Eclectic Theater Presents "THE LITTLE DEATH" by Guild member Rosemary Poole-Carter

The Little Death


Eclectic Theater Company will present the West Coast Premiere of Author/Playwright Rosemary Poole-Carter's The Little Death to kick off their 2008-2009 Season.

The Little Death is a dark Southern gothic drama set in 1880's New Orleans. Playing October 10-November 1 at Odd Duck Studio, 1214 10th Ave. Seattle at 7:30pm Thursday-Saturday and at 2pm on Sundays. There is a Saturday matinee on November 1 at 2pm. Directed by L. Nicol Cabe and featuring Lorrie Fargo, Rik Deskin, Jeremy Thompson and Chiara Motley.

For more info and for tickets go to www.eclectictheatercompany.org.

Rosemary Poole-Carter will be in town for the Opening Weekend and will be signing her latest novel, WOMEN OF MAGDELENE at Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry Street, Seattle,on Saturday, October 11 at Noon. Actor Rik Deskin will be along to present a dramatic reading from the novel. Later that day at 2pm, Mrs. Carter will be at Ballard Library, 5614 22th Avenue NW, Seattle to discuss her novel and present a scene from The Little Death with some of the cast. On Sunday, October 12, after the Sunday Matinee of The Little Death, ETC will present a post-show discussion with the playwright, director and cast.

Eclectic Theater Company was founded in 2000. Dedicated to presenting an eclectic mix of original, contemporary and classic works for the stage and independent screen, ETC strives to produce professional, high-quality theatre in Seattle and the region.

THE WAR PARTY Opens at Seattle Public Theatre

Before you go out to Vote in November, go out and see this exciting world premiere of Seattle playwright Vince Delaney (Kuwait and The Robeson Tapes) and directed by Rita Giomi. It opens Friday night September 26th and runs until October 19th.

On the night of her failed reelection bid, an ambitious female senator is confronted by a shrewd young aide. Right in time to coincide with the countdown to the national election, Vince Delaney (Writer 1272, Kuwait) offers SPT the West Coast Premiere of his biting political drama. Do we ask women who run for office to be something more than human?

Also, there will be special panels/talk-backs immediately following the Sunday matinee performances on September 28th and October 5th with Vince Delaney with Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark and University of Washington (UW) professor Dr. Lance Bennett.

For more info and to buy tickets,, check out Seattle Public Theater website .

Driftwood Players "FIRST DRAFT" program

Driftwood Playwers in Edmonds is now developing plays with actors and looking for playwrights to be involved.

For more info, check out their webiste here.

They will be having a staged reading of the play "Single Mother, Abe Lincoln" by Angela Ziska this Wednesday the 17th at 7pm at the Wade James Theatre at 950 Main Street, Edmonds, WA.

It's FREE so come check it out!

Flower City Theatre Co. Submission

Flower City Theatre Co.
Rochester, New York

Flower City Theatre Co. seeks short plays (5-8 min, standard format) for
winter production.. No fee. Previous production
fine. Irreverent, staid, edgy, solemn - we'll read
it all. No sketches please. Small honorarium for
playwrights. May submit up to 2 scripts.

email submissions to: flowercitytheatre@yahoo.com


Submission deadline: October 31, 2008.

Ecodrama Playwrights Festival & Symposium

Earth Matters On Stage:
>
>
> Ecodrama Playwrights Festival & Symposium
>
>
> May 21~ 31, 2009 ~ University of Oregon
>
>
> CALL FOR SCRIPTS
>
> First place Award: $2,000 and workshop production
> Second place Award: $500 and workshop production
> Honorable mentions: public staged reading
>
> The mission of this Festival is to call forth and
> foster new dramatic works that respond to the
> ecological crisis, and that explore new
> possibilities of being in relationship with the
> more-than-human world. The Festival is ten days of
> readings, workshop performance/s, and discussions of
> the scripts that are finalists in the Playwrights'
> Contest. Some readings and workshops will be
> followed by facilitated talk-backs with the
> playwrights. In addition, a symposium of speakers,
> panels and discussions will advance scholarship in
> the area of arts and ecology, and help foster
> development of new works.
>
> Play Contest: At the core of the Festival is a
> playwright's competition carrying a cash award and
> workshop production. The Guidelines attached
> describe the kinds of new plays that may be
> submitted. Plays will be accepted from February
> through October 2008. The winning plays will be
> chosen by a panel of distinguished theatre artists
> from the USA andCanada, including:
>
>
> * Martha Lavey, Artistic Director, Steppenwolf
> Theatre Co., Chicago
> * Timothy Bond, Artistic Dir. Syracuse Stage; former
> Assoc. Artistic Dir. Oregon Shakespeare; faculty
> Syracuse University, NY.
> * Olga Sanchez, Artistic Director, Teatro Milagro,
> Portland
> * Diane Glancy, Playwright, Native Voices Award,
> faculty Macallister College
> * Jose Cruz González, Playwright, Cornerstone
> Theatre; founder Hispanic Playwrights Project;
> faculty Cal State LA
> * David Diamond, Headlines Theater Co, Vancouver BC
> * Marie Clements, playwright, founder Urban Ink, BC
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Guidelines for Playwrights
>
>
> What kind of theatre comes to mind when you read the
> term "ecodrama"? Political plays that advocate for
> environmentalism, or educational theatre about
> recycling? While these examples would fit, please
> let your imagination soar beyond them.
>
> Ecodrama stages the reciprocal connection between
> humans and the more-than-human world. It
> encompasses not only works that take environmental
> issues as their topic, hoping to raise consciousness
> or press for change, but also work that explores the
> relation of a "sense of place" to identity and
> community.
>
> Help us create an inclusive ecodrama that
> illuminates the complex connection between people
> and place, an ecodrama that makes us all more aware
> of our ecological identities as a people and
> communities; ecodrama that brings focus to an
> ecological concerns of a particular place, or that
> takes writer and audience to a deeper exploration of
> issue that may not be easily resolved.
>
> While many plays might be open to an ecological
> interpretation, others might be called "ecodrama,"
> Examples are diverse in form and topic: Ibsen's An
> Enemy of the People, in which the town's waters have
> become polluted and a lone whistle blower clashes
> with powerful vested interests; Schenkkan's The
> Kentucky Cycle, the epic tale of a land and its
> people - Indigenous, European, African - over seven
> generations; August Wilson's Two Trains Running that
> bears witness to the loss of inner city
> sustainability; Moraga's Heroes and Saints, about
> the embodied impact of industrial agriculture; Marie
> Clements' Burning Vision, which documents the impact
> of Canadian uranium mining on first nations
> communities and land; Giljour's Alligator Tales, a
> one-woman play by a Louisiana Cajun native about her
> relationship to her neighbors, the weather, the oil
> rigs off the coast and the alligators on her porch;
> Norman's Secret Garden that consoles a child's
> grief; Albee's The Goat, or who is Sylvia, that
> confounds human species taboos; or Murray Schaffer's
> Patria Project, in which the landscape becomes a
> player.
>
> When we leave the theater are things around us more
> alive, do we listen better, have a deeper or more
> complex sense of our own ecological identity?
>
>
>
> We need your voice, so does the theatre, so does our
> world. Imagine! Write! Submit!
>
> The Ecodrama Festival encourages submissions of
> full-length plays (30min. minimum, no max.) in
> English that do one or more of the following:
>
>
> * Put an ecological issue or environmental
> event/crisis at the center of the dramatic action or
> theme of the play.
> * Explore issues of environmental justice.
> * Interpret "community" to include our ecological
> community, and/or give voice or "character" to the
> land, or elements of the land.
> * Theatrically explore the connection between people
> and place, human and non-human, and/or between
> culture and nature.
> * Grow out of the playwright's personal relationship
> to the land and the ecology of a specific place.
> * Theatrically examine the reciprocal relationship
> between human, animal and plant communities.
> * Offer an imagined world where the characters'
> society is one that is more in harmony with
> principles

Live Girls! Theater in Seattle looking for plays by women

Live Girls! theater in Seattle Washington is seeking plays by women for our 2009 season.

All submissions must be submitted by Sept 15th, 2008 to be considered for 2009.


WE ARE SEEKING:

* 10-minute plays for our annual festival of shorts, Quickies (Plays submitted for Quickies may have had previous productions but new works are encouraged).

* Un-produced plays seeking development for The Bakery Plays submitted for the The Bakery series will receive a public reading. We are interested in both one-act and full-length plays and will accept proposals for plays currently in development.

* Additionally, if you are submitting one of the above and you also have a full-length, completed script that you would like us to consider for full production, you may send a short synopsis for our perusal. If it seems like it might fit our season, will request the full script. Please note that we only produce two full-length scripts a year and make an effort to prioritize local playwrights, so opportunities for full production are limited.



THE FINE PRINT!

* Please send all submissions to submissions@livegirlstheater.org

* In the body of your email please introduce yourself! We are always excited about meeting new playwrights! You may also include: your bio as a playwright or resume, and any previous production history for plays submitted

* Playwrights may submit up to 3 plays total, or 2 plays and one synopsis

* Plays submitted should be sent as attachments in MS Word or PDF format

* Keep in mind we are a small theater taking the risk to produce new works; and probably can't accommodate large casts or long lists of tech requirements.

* If you are submitting a proposal for The Bakery, please include another writing sample of your work along with your proposal.

* All submissions will receive a reply within 3 months of the date submitted

Looking forward to reading your work!

For more info, contact: Joy Brooke Fairfield, Literary Manager

NPA Reading Monday August 11

Northwest Playwrights Alliance
& the Broadway Center present readings of

Last Call - by Lia Romeo - dir. by Brian Tyrrell

Three Kings - by James Venhaus - dir. by Tim Hoban

The Tale of Johnny Elgam vs. the Newport Kid, by Aaron Shay, dir. by Dayo Anderson

Matchmaker - by Cathy Sampson, dir. by Mike Tilton

Lefty by Bryan Willis - dir. by Kenta Toyomura


Monday August 11 @ 7 p.m. - Broadway Center Rehearsal Studio - 915 Broadway - Tacoma

FREE ADMISSION

******************************************************************************************

NPA is moving to Seattle Rep Sept. 8.

The NPA reading series will move to Seattle Rep next month, Sept. 8, in the Poncho Theater. Look for upcoming readings of new plays by

Y York - Steven Dietz - Ki Gottberg - Elizabeth Heffron - S.P. Miskowski - Elena Hartwell - Sol Olmstead - Beth Peterson - Dan Erickson - Lou Clark - Bryan Willis - Dano Madden - C. Rosalind Bell - Randall Colburn - Schatzie Schaeffers - Sean Walbeck - Aaron Shay - Jody Peterson - Lenore Bensinger - Scot Augustson - poems by Graham Isaac and Arlitia Jones.

Dog Days of Summer

Hello all,

It's been awhile seen I've posted on this site, so am going to update a few things...

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

NPA Reading Monday June 9th

This Monday night please join me in Tacoma for a reading of my newest full-length play THE ALBATROSS, presented by the Northwest Playwrights Alliance. It will be directed by Darian Lindle and features the acting talent of Erin Kraft, Chris Bell and Malcolm Womack.

Plus, there is wine for a small suggested donation and a cheerful discussion of the play afterwards.

http://www.northwestplaywrights.org/upcomingevents.html

WHEN? 7 pm

WHERE? Theater on the Square rehearsal hall, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.
905 BROADWAY
TACOMA, WA 98402

What is this new play THE ALBATROSS?

Here’s the synopsis:

David is an award-winning poet and teacher at a small private university. He has a great academic job and a golfing buddy in his colleague Mark, a recent divorcee. But underneath his polished lectures about “life as an artist”, he hides a secret pain, the suicide of his wife five years ago, a pain which is numbed through alcohol. He is violently shaken out of this numbness by Sofia, one of his eccentric students. A reactionary response to one of her poems begins a chain of events that will eventually cause David to drown under the watery weight of the past. He becomes a mentor to Sofia, recognizing her amazing talent yet also wary of it. There’s something else about her that he won’t talk about it, can’t talk about, and it’s this denial that will eventually cause his downfall.

In short:

It’s the anti-Oleanna.

Hope to see some of you there!

NEA and New Play Development

So this is really interesting and I was completely unaware of it and found out about through the TPS online message board.

The NEA New Play Development Program (NPDP) is a new leadership initiative created by the National Endowment for the Arts and managed by Arena Stage. The program will support the process and production of new American plays. This is the first round of the new program, through which a total of seven projects will be selected, developed, and documented over the course of the next two and half years. The Program is open to nonprofit, professional theaters or a consortium of theaters who apply in collaboration with a playwright. The Program Director is David Dower, Associate Artistic Director at Arena Stage. The Program Coordinator is Arena Stage’s Vijay Mathew. You can reach them at npdpinfo@arenastage.org, or by calling 202.554.9066 x1215.

In June of 2007 the National Endowment for the Arts issued a request for proposals looking for a “Cooperator” for a new Leadership Initiative for New Play Development. The goal of the New Play Development Program is:

"To advance the American nonprofit theater’s ability to provide meaningful support for new work. This program will provide support to theater institutions for the development of new plays of substantial merit. …This initiative will also identify, organize, and disseminate widely in the theater field information on effective collaborative models for the sustained development of outstanding new American plays."

Arena Stage was selected to partner with the NEA on the New Play Development Project as a result of a national competition.

In this establishing language of the NPDP, you can see that there are three primary areas of focus for this program:

Providing financial support for the playwrights and institutions developing outstanding new American plays;

Advancing the field’s ability to provide meaningful support of the development process for new work, and;

Disseminating information on effective models for developing outstanding new American plays.

The selection process for the seven plays supported in this round will be highly competitive and the successful applicants will be those that most directly address the Review Criteria which grow out of these goals.

For questions or more information, e-mail npdpinfo@arenastage.org.

You can read more about it on the blog.

"You should have a contract..."

I get a lot of great questions from members in the area and most of the times the questions are related around several different areas of playwrights rights. Sometimes I can give a quick answer and other times I need to pass it along or ask our Business Affairs Department about specific issues.

Just fyi, I email David Faux in Business Affairs quite a bit (hey, it's my membership fees put to good use)

Most of the time I have the same response to a lot of email questions:

"You should have a contract."

That's just one of our rights.

And if the producer doesn't supply one (which is a little disconcerting considering you'd think they would want to protect their own interests), then you should email the Dramatists Guild and ask them for the free contracts (free for members). They will help you with your specific questions about the contract. Depending on the production, you may need something that's only two pages, or you may need something longer.

But there is no reason that you can't get the conversation going about contracts, which is really about expectations of each party.

Are you expecting to be at rehearsals? Are you expecting the director isn't going to make cuts without your permission? Or get yourself and maybe your significant other a comp for opening night? Do you want to make sure that every time they list the title of the play they also list your name (y'know, so people don't think the play wrote itself)?

If it's in the contract, you know what you've agreed to.

If not, then what's the guarentee that you're getting it?

Recently, a small theater company (which just happens to be on Stone Way in Seattle...hint, hint...) was not offering comps for any of the artists involved in a play festival, thereby forcing the playwright to pay to see their own show. After a heads up from one of the Guild member playwrights and a quick email from the Guild, they changed their policy. But this should be clear in a contract.

As I said in the Town Hall meeting--"Just because there is no money involved in the production (ie you, does not mean you shouldn't have a contract".

Of course, you also have to ask, why can't there be some money invovled?

For this Double Shot festival this weekend, I had to provide the contract (and I'm pretty sure out of the 16 playwrights involved, I might've been singular in that). I've already talked with NPA about the fact that if they want to support playwrights then they should have a standard contract in place. Hopefully next year we'll see that happen.

But I know this is a common problem in the regional areas, especially this one.

Don't leave it up to the Producers. Make sure both you and your Producer know what is expected.

It's important that as playwrights who want our craft to live and thrive and not be abused, we should know our rights.

So here's a refresher (from the DG website):

IN PROCESS AND PRODUCTION:

1. ARTISTIC INTEGRITY. No one can make changes, alterations, and/or omissions in your script, including the text, title and stage directions without your consent. This is called “script approval”.

2. APPROVAL OF PRODUCTION ELEMENTS. You have the right to approve the cast, director and designers (and, for a musical, the choreographer, orchestrator, arranger, and musical director, as well), including all their replacements. This is called “artistic approval.”

3. RIGHT TO BE PRESENT. You always have the right to attend casting, rehearsals, previews and performances.

COMPENSATION

4. ROYALTIES. You are generally entitled to receive a royalty. While it is possible that the amount an author receives may be minimal for a school production, some compensation should always be paid if any other artistic collaborator in the production is being paid, or if any admission is being charged. You can always call our business office to discuss an appropriate royalty for your production.

5. BILLING CREDIT. Every dramatist should receive billing credit on all publicity, programs and advertising distributed or authorized by the school. We consider billing to be a form of compensation and the failure to provide the proper billing should be understood as a breach of the your rights unless the failure is cured as soon as possible.

OWNERSHIP

6. OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Authors own the copyright of their dramatic work. Authors generally do not assign their copyrights, nor do they ever engage in “work-for-hire.” Another way of saying this: When you write a play or musical, that dramatic property belongs only to you. When a school, producer or theatre wants to a mount a production of your play, you – in effect – license (or lease) your dramatic property to them.

7. OWNERSHIP OF INCIDENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS. You own all approved revisions and contributions to the script made by other collaborators in the production, including actors, directors and dramaturgs. You do not owe anyone any money for these contributions unless you have entered into a written agreement providing for such payment.

If a school uses dramaturgs, are not obligated to make use of any ideas the dramaturg might have. Even when the input of a dramaturg or director is helpful to the playwright, dramaturgs and directors are still employees of the school, not the author, and they are paid for their work by the school. Neither dramaturgs nor directors (nor any other collaborators) may be considered a co-author of a play, unless (i) they’ve collaborated with you from the play’s inception, (ii) they’ve made a copyrightable contribution to the play, and (iii) you have agreed in writing that they are a co-author.

8. SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS. You own not only your script, but the right to market and sell it in all different media (television, radio, film, internet) in any commercial market in the world. Despite any artists’ contribution to your script, you are not obligated to share any portion of monies made in future productions of that work – in other words, no one can ask you for a percentage of future profits unless your original production is a professional (i.e., Actors’ Equity) premiere (including full sets, costumes and lighting that runs no less than 21 consecutive paid public performances for which you received all the entitlements mentioned above.

9. FUTURE OPTIONS. Rather than granting your school the right to share in future proceeds, you may choose to grant a non-exclusive option to present another university production within no more than 1 year of the close of the initial production. No option should be assignable without your prior written consent.

10. AUTHOR’S CONTRACT: The only way to ensure that you get the benefit of the rights list above is for there to be a written contract with the producer, even if the producer is an educational institution. The Guild’s Department of Business Affairs offers a model “school production contract” and is available to review any contracts offered to you, and to advise you as to how the contracts compare to industry standards.

C'mon out for the Double Shot Theater Festival

Hey everybody,

Before the barbeques on Monday, come on down to Tacoma this Friday and Saturday night for the Double Shot Theater Festival, a 24 hour play extravaganza!

No, the plays aren't 24 hours long, they're only 10 minutes, but we produce them in 24 hours, that's how it works...

Presented by NW Playwrights Alliance and the U. of Puget Sound.

Details below:


Double Shot Theater Festival!

WHEN: May 23 & 24, 7pm and 9pm

WHERE: Norton Clapp Theatre, Jones Hall. U. of Puget Sound Campus. Tacoma.

COST: $10 General, $8 Student (all proceeds benefit NPA new play
reading series!)

Tickets available at the door.

THE ALBATROSS Reading Monday May 19 in Portland

Next Monday night please join me in Portland at the Portland Theatre Works as they present a reading of my newest full-length play THE ALBATROSS.


By the way, that is what an albatross looks like (Photo courtesy of National Geographic, of course!)


If you’re in the area, check it out. It starts at 7 pm in the Theatre Noir at Theatre! Theatre! The reading should last about an hour and half and there will be a brief discussion with me afterwards. As this is the first public reading of this play (in fact, the first reading ever) I am going to be very curious as to everyone’s thoughts and opinions.

What is this new play THE ALBATROSS?

Here’s the synopsis:

David is an award-winning poet and teacher at a small private university. He has a great academic job and a golfing buddy in his colleague Mark, a recent divorcee. But underneath his polished lectures about “life as an artist”, he hides a secret pain, the suicide of his wife five years ago, a pain which is numbed through alcohol. He is violently shaken out of this numbness by Sofia, one of his eccentric students. A reactionary response to one of her poems begins a chain of events that will eventually cause David to drown under the watery weight of the past. He becomes a mentor to Sofia, recognizing her amazing talent yet also wary of it. There’s something else about her that he won’t talk about it, can’t talk about, and it’s this denial that will eventually cause his downfall.

In short:

It’s the anti-Oleanna.

Hope to see some of you there!

OPEN BOX: Open Mic for playwrights (this Saturday)

Got a ten-minute play? Got a scene from a full-length? Bring it down to the Rendezvous in Belltown, but get there early. Slots fill up fast.

Don't got a play to read? Just come down and have a beer and watch the magic of instant playmaking.

OPEN MIC: hosted by Becky Hellyer

Saturday May 17 at 4:30PM


Rendezvous' Jewelbox Theater (2nd Ave in Belltown between Bell and Battery)



If you are a playwright, simply bring enough copies of your 10 minute

script or excerpt to read, and seasoned actors will perform the

hell out of your script.

Thank You!

Big thank you to all who came out to the events this past weekend at Seattle University. Also, big thanks to NPA, Seattle U., Ki Gottberg, Bryan Willis, and of course, Steven Dietz.

I've got some photos that I will post and stay tuned to the DG website for the uploaded video of the "In Conversation With...Steven Deitz".

Keep writin'!

Drinks Friday Night

Just a reminder to please come out to the events lined up for this weekend at Seattle University.

We’ve got workshops and forums and Ki Gottberg’s world premiere of HAIRY BABY. And don’t forget the Town Hall Meeting at 6:00 pm in the Lee Theater on Monday night, followed by the Forum on Playwriting at 7:30.

Also, please come out for a drink on Friday night, May 9th, from 6 – 8 pm. We’ll be chillin’ at Barca in Capitol Hill. It’s only a few short blocks from Seattle University at 1510 11th Avenue and they’ve got happy hour going till 7 pm.

No reservations needed and no pressure. Let’s hang out in the main room (closer to the bar the better). Just come by and say hi.

For more info, check their site: http://www.barcaseattle.com/

Hope to see you all there!

Cheers,
Dennis

Town Hall Mtg Monday May 12 @ 6 pm (Lee Theater)

For those of you who might've missed the email I sent:
Hello everyone,

I hope you're all having a great Spring so far!

I have important news about the upcoming Town Hall Meeting. As you know, Gary Garrison will be visiting for the weekend of May 10-12 for the Playwriting Forum being held at Seattle University. I know some of you are already signed up for the Dietz workshop on Saturday and I hope that some others are planning on attending the workshop led by Gary on Sunday afternoon or the "In Conversation With...Steven Dietz" later that day. Then please stick around to see the world premiere of Ki Gottberg's play THE HAIRY BABY.

Most importantly, we hope to see many of you for the Town Hall Meeting, which will be at 6:00 pm on Monday, May 12th in the Lee Theater, just before the 7:30 Forum. (The Lee Center for the Arts is located on the Seattle University campus at 12th and Marion St in Capital Hill. For tickets and information, call 206.296.2244) This is your chance to meet with Gary and talk with him about the current status of the Guild, the changes in store of us, and anything else on your mind.

My apologies go out to the Portland members but due to space issues, the Town Hall had to be done on Monday night. I know that will prevent many of you from being able to attend. But we do hope you will be able to make it up for the Sunday events, especially if you can meet Gary and talk with him then. (I know we've been promising you a Regional Rep and the possibility of doing a Town Hall in Portland later this year is certainly not out of the question. By the way, I will be visiting the Portland area next month for a reading of my play THE ALBATROSS at Portland Theatreworks as part of their FreshWorks series. The reading is scheduled for Monday, May 19th, so hopefully I can meet some of you when I come down.)

Also, I'd like us to mingle and have some fun by extending an offer for Friday night, May 9th, between 6 and 8 pm to come out and get a drink. If I haven't met you, its about time I did. Come on out and play. Celebrate your first draft completed or kvetch about that fifteenth rewrite. Or just tell me what you're working on. I'll have more information on which bar in a bit but it will be in Capitol Hill, most likely not too far from Seattle University.

Thanks and hope to see you all at the Town Hall Meeting on Monday, May 12th at 6 pm, if not earlier. It's going to be an exciting weekend!

Cheers,

Dennis

Oh, and please feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested--most of these events are FREE and open to all!

---------------------------

Here's the full agenda:
Agenda for the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. and Northwest Playwrights Playwriting Forum hosted by Seattle University

Saturday May 10th
2:00-5:00pm Playwriting Workshop with Steven Dietz Vachon Room, Fine Arts Bldg 208
Acclaimed American playwright Steven Dietz (Lonely Planet, God’s Country) will lead a three-hour writing workshop for playwrights. Attendance requires advance payment of $75; send check payable to “NPA” to Bryan Willis, P.O. Box 1088,McCleary, WA 98557. SOLD OUT!

7:30pm The Hairy Baby Lee Center for the Arts


Sunday May 11th

11:00am-2:00pm Essential Truths of Playwriting (in Craft and Career) Lee Center for the Arts
Gary Garrison, Executive Director of Creative Affairs for Dramatists Guild of America leads a workshop exploring the rights of dramatists in any creative collaboration as well as the fundamental truths of dramatic writing any dramatist must embrace while refining their craft. FREE and open to the public, no ticket required.

3:30pm Treats with Dietz (coffee, tea & sweets) Lee Center for the Arts

4:00-6:00pm A Conversation with Steven Dietz Lee Center for the Arts
Sheila Daniels, Associate Director and Literary Manager for Intiman, leads a candid interview with Steven Dietz followed by audience Q & A. FREE and open to the public, no ticket required.

7:30pm The Hairy Baby Lee Center for the Arts

Monday May 12th

6:00 pm Dramatists Guild of America Town Hall Meeting, Lee Center for the Arts
Gary Garrison, Executive Director of Creative Affairs for Dramatists Guild of America will lead a discussion and meeting on the changes and status of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. including a Q&A. Open to members and non-members. Please come learn about the oldest advocacy organization in the nation devoted to the rights of dramatists and librettists. FREE and open to the public, no ticket required.
7:30pm Forum for Northwest Playwrights & Directors Lee Center for the Arts
Gary Garrison joins local artists for a panel discussion, asking where have we been, where are we going, and how can we make it better? Panelists include Ki Gottberg (playwright, Seattle University), Elena Hartwell (playwright, NorthwestPlaywrights Alliance, Iron Pig Productions), Elizabeth Heffron (playwright), Glenn Hergenhahn (playwright, A.D., iDiOM Theatre), John Kazanjian (director, New City Theatre), John Longenbaugh (playwright, critic, director), Jerry Manning (director, Casting Director, Seattle Repertory Theatre), Allison Narver (former Empty Space Artistic Director), and Geoff Proehl (director and professor, University of Puget Sound). Moderated by Charlotte Tiencken (Managing Director, Book-It). FREE Admission and open to the public, no ticket required.

Seattle University
Fine Arts Department
Lee Center for the Arts
Media Contact: Steve Galatro
galatros@seattleu.edu
206.296.5360

RELATED INFO:
NW Playwrights Alliance
The Northwest Playwrights Alliance (formerly known as the New Plays Workshop) provides the performing arts community with the opportunity to listen to and/or participate in the readings of new plays. Under the guidance of actor/director Brian Tyrrell and playwright Bryan Willis, the Northwest Playwrights Alliance provides an outlet for playwrights and actors to present informed readings of new plays.
NPA also publishes an annual anthology of short plays, NorthNorthwest, co-sponsors the annual Double Shot Festival of overnight plays with the University of Puget Sound, as well as an annual tour to England (co-sponsored by the Kennedy
Center) featuring short plays by Northwest playwrights. Last Feb/March NPA sponsored the Festival of Northwest Plays (with The Broadway Center and UPS), in Tacoma at Theater on the Square. The festival featured three fully-produced, royalty-paying, full-length plays and over 30 ten-minute plays. NPA will celebrate its 4 1/2 year anniversary this fall bymoving its monthly reading series to Seattle Rep.

Dramatist Guild of America
The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. is the advocacy organization of professional playwrights and theatrical composers and lyricists in the United States. The mission of the Guild is to focus and articulate the common interests of all dramatic writers. This mission includes not only the representation of those interests which arise directly in connection with theatrical production, but also those broader concerns which affect directly or indirectly the role of the theatre in society. In the effort to extend into other parts of the country, and to unite members from state to state, the Guild visits Seattle as part of its exciting new program, “DG on the Road”.
For more information about the Guild events in your area, please contact Dennis Schebetta, Regional Representative at dschebetta@dramatistsguild.com.

Seattle University Fine Arts Department
The Playwrights’ Summit exemplifies the department’s commitment to connecting a liberal arts education with the vibrant cultural and artistic resources of Seattle; the interdisciplinary learning environment encourages collaboration as part of a diverse community of students and faculty.
The Fine Arts Department provides students with excellent training and experience in the arts that is deepened and focused by Seattle University’s rich Jesuit core education; opens meaningful connections between our students and the Seattle arts community; and nurtures our students’ growth as independent, self-reliant arts professionals.

The Hairy Baby
An adventure yarn and comic fable, The Hairy Baby spins the tale of Claire and Michael. When a somewhat mysteriouschild emerges in their young marriage, everything they both hold dear is called into question, including their love for each other. Traveling individually through fantastical realms peopled with clowns, artists and other strange types, the couple seeks the truth of their love. Highly theatrical and full of surprises, The Hairy Baby will enchant the most weary of hearts with her shenanigans.

World Premiere Production May 8-18, 2008
Thursdays and Fridays @ 7:30pm
Saturdays @ 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Sunday 5/11 @ 7:30pm, Sunday 5/18 @ 2:30pm
Tickets are $6 for students or $10 for general admission.
Jeanne and Marie Rhoady Lee, Jr. Center for the Arts
The Lee Center for the Arts is located on the Seattle University campus at 12th and Marion St in Capital Hill. For tickets and information, call 206.296.2244.

A Letter to Someone Who Thinks Making Script Changes Without Permission is Okay

Dear Someone Who Thinks Making Script Changes Without Permission is Okay,

In regards to your email that "it's okay to make changes in a script as long as you don't get caught". Or as you said, "Do it a Re-bar where they can't get you."

To make changes in a script without the playwright's permission is not just unethical and immoral but it is also ILLEGAL.

Period.

It's part of the contract that producers sign when they pay for the rights.

This is not quibbling over semantics or points of view. And while many out there bend and/or break the rules, it does not justify the action.

For instance, there are also many theater companies who don't even bother to pay royalties and/or even ask permission to perform the play. Is that permissible, as well? As long as they don't get caught?

By the way, doing a new play without telling the playwright or licensing company is also illegal and unethical, as well.

Should plays be cut? Probably. Anything "can" be cut, and might be better served for it. But that decision is always the writer's, not some director or producer who is leasing the rights.

That's not to say the production team couldn't have asked for permission to make changes--that happens all the time. And licensing companies and/or the playwright can be pretty accommodating to production needs. (We're not all protective Samuel Beckett tyrants.)

And I know you know there's a difference between Shakespeare that's beyond just the legal aspect of he's dead and his work is in the public domain. Any smart and professional director knows that the playwright is not some control mad tyrant but a valuable resource and respected collaborator. I know many a respected director of classics who would kill for the chance to whisper to Shakespeare in a rehearsal room, "But what the hell is he talking about with this whole 'To be or not to be speech...'"

Playwrights don't write their plays for money. Any money we get is nice but when we do receive any royalties its a pretty paltry sum. If we want money we have to cross over to write TV/film where production companies own the copyright and can change whatever they want. We write for theater because it is more poetic, immediate, more demanding, and ultimately more collaborative than other mediums. So please let's not take artistic participation and control away or you'll find more playwrights jumping ship to other mediums where they can actually feed their kids when others bastardize their work.

My question to you is why do you think it is acceptable for companies to treat another artist with such disrespect for their work? Why would you take away not only their legal right, but also cut them out of the artistic conversation? It's possible that suggesting a cut to a playwright might make them realize that the play is better for it and the change becomes a permanent aspect of the script. In that sense, you might be helping the playwright by asking for permission to make cuts.

So, again, I ask, why wouldn't you want work with the playwright?

Because making selfish choices under the wire hoping not to get caught is making selfish theater. And last I checked, theater was about community and collaboration.

But most importantly, it's the difference between professionals and amateurs. It is not about control. It's not about payment. It is about respect for the work and your fellow artists.

Regards,

A playwright

Upcoming Town Hall Information

Okay, everybody, as you've all seen on the Drama Guild newsletters, our first Northwest Town Hall is coming up next month. In conjunction with Seattle University and the Northwest Playwrights Alliance, below is the schedule of events.

We're still working on the exact date and time of the Town Hall Meeting so stay tuned for that!

Hope to see as many of you there as possible!

All events will be held Seattle University's Lee Theater (former venue for the Empty Space) or Vachon Room.

Seattle University
Fine Arts Building
901 12th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122-1090




SAT. May 10

Steven Dietz Playwriting Workshop

2-5 p.m.

Vachon Room



SAT May 10

Performance: The Hairy Baby by Ki Gottberg

Lee Theatre

2:30 pm - $6/$10



SAT May 10

Performance: The Hairy Baby by Ki Gottberg

Lee Theatre

7:30 pm - $6/$10



SUN May 11
Essential Truths of Playwriting (in Craft and Career)

11 am -2 pm

Gary Garrison, Executive Director of Creative Affairs, DG. This workshop will explore the rights of dramatists in any creative collaboration as well as the fundamental truths of dramatic writing any dramatist must embrace while refining their craft. Fine Arts Building, Vachon Room. Free event.


SUN May 11

A Conversation With Steven Dietz

4 p.m.

Interview & Q&A led by Sheila Daniels (Assoc. director and Literary Manager at Intiman). Vachon Room. Free event.



SUN May 11

6:30 p.m.

Reception for Steven Dietz in the theater lobby



SUN May 11

Performance: The Hairy Baby by Ki Gottberg

Lee Theatre

7:30 pm - $6/$10



MONDAY May 12
A Forum for Northwest Playwrights

Lee Theater

7:30 p.m

Gary Garrison (Dramatists Guild), Ki Gottberg (playwright, Seattle University), Elena Hartwell (playwright, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, Iron Pig Productions), Elizabeth Heffron (playwright), Glenn Hergenhahn (playwright, A.D., iDiOM Theatre), John Kazanjian (New City Theatre), Charlotte Tiencken (Book-It), John Longenbaugh (playwright, critic, director), Jerry Manning (director, Casting Director, Seattle Rep) and Allison Narver (former Empty Space Artistic Director). Where have we been, where are we going, how can we make it better? Free Event.

Out of the Country & the NPA Reading Mon 3/10

Hey folks,

I'll be out of the country touring through India until March 21st. Don't miss the NPA reading next month, details below!

Cheers,
Dennis

Northwest Playwrights Alliance
& the Broadway Center
present a reading of

Play, by Dan Erickson, directed by Mary Ann Valentine
The Chore, by Nick Stokes, directed by Tim Hoban
Books on Tape, by William Missouri Down, directed by Jac Royce
The Home Front, by John Allis directed by Anders Bolang
The Trip, by Richard Bliss, directed by Mays Salamah

Monday March 10 - 7 p.m. - Broadway Center Rehearsal Studio - 915 Broadway - Tacoma
FREE ADMISSION

About the Playwrights
William Missouri Downs has authored 20 full-length plays, 4 books and written for such NBC sitcoms as Fresh Prince Of Bel Air and My Two Dads. He has had nearly 100 productions of his plays from New York to Singapore and from Israel to South Africa, including LORT theatres like the Kennedy Center and the Berkeley Rep. Bill holds an MFA in acting from the University of Illinois and an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA.

Nick Stokes is a playwright and author of fiction. His plays include Whiteout (Richard Hugo House, Hugo Writers Fund, directed by Skye Moody); Surviving the Hobgoblins (Charles Wright Academy, directed by Mike Moffitt); and The Martyred (finalist James W. Rodgers Playwriting Competition). He lives in Tacoma with his wife, son, and soon-to-be baby.

John Allis is currently attending Fairhaven College at Western Washington University. This year he will graduate with a Concentration in Drama, Social Theory, and the Language Arts. After graduation John plans to pursue theatre internships in Literary Management, and ultimately to continue his formal education, to enroll in graduate school, and to study Dramatic Writing.

Dan Erickson's full-length play, "Convention," was recently invited to the Kennedy Center/ACTF regional finals. Last year Dan was awarded first and second place in the KC/ACTF regional ten-minute play contest for "Play" and "Snippy," which was just produced in the NPA Festival of Northwest Plays, and also produced with our Japanese AIE program. "Snippy" will make its UK premiere later this month with NPA' British Arts Tour. Dan is currenly in L.A. having lunch with weasels.

FINAL DRAFT DISCOUNT & TEMPLATES

This just in...

Now that Final Draft (the leading software company for script writing) will include the DG Format for Plays and Musicals, we are pleased to announce that our friends at Final Draft have graciously awarded our members a substantial discount for the software.

On the market cost: $229

Discounted cost to Dramatist Guild Members: $109
That’s a $120 savings, folks!

DG Members are being afforded the full-functional, downloadable educational version of the software.

For DG members to order at a discounted price they may go to:

https://www.finaldraft.com/specials/specials-orderprod.php

and enter the code: dramaguild8

Once you’ve downloaded your version of Final Draft, you can visit the company’s template library to add the DG Formats directly into your software by visiting: http://finaldraft.com/support/software/templates/

Can they do that?

Just got back from Laramie a few days ago. If you've never attended a regional festival for KCACTF, or any festival/conference like ATHE or MATC or SETC or...whatever, it's a thrilling experience. For one, you get to hang out with a whole bunch of theater folks, making conversations over beer or coffee, making friends, meeting old friends, but also the chance to attend classes, forums and panels. I met a lot of great playwrights, both students and faculty, and also met some folks from the "real world", like Kate Snodgrass at Boston Playwrights.

This is why we need an annual conference for The Dramatists Guild of America (and we're working on it! Really!)

I had been invited there by the Northwest Drama Conference (NWDC) as an invited playwright and representative of the Guild. I was there to teach a Monologue and a “Business of Playwriting” workshop. Here's the blurb for the latter:


“Can They Do That? The Business of Playwriting”
Playwriting is a business. Once your play is selected by a theater or university for production, you need to know much more than how to craft a scene. Do you know what a director can and can’t do with your script? Do you know the difference between a dramaturg and a co-writer? This class answers those questions and more We’ll cover the Dramatists Bill of Rights (or what should be in any contract) as well as discuss other production aspects including copyright, casting, rehearsals, billing, subsidiary rights, and compensation. We will also introduce you to the oldest organization advocating for your rights, The Dramatists Guild of America.

I was surprised to see The Business workshop overflowing—kids were sitting on the floor. As I went through my notes and talked about the Bill of Rights, I at first thought, “I’m not a lawyer and don’t know all that much…” then quickly realized, “Holy crap, these students are being taught absolutely NOTHING about new play development ins and outs”. They still thought playwrights could be banned from rehearsals and that the directors had the right to change stage directions without asking the playwright. This was a bit eye opening to me, especially since there was even a faculty member in the audience asking me questions.

I prefaced the class that though I was talking about contracts primarily, what we're really talking about is relationships. We're talking about how to work together in a way to make the show a success. Because the producers, directors, actors--we all want to put up a brilliant show. But sometimes we all have different ways of getting there and different needs. And its about opening the conversation so that there aren't misunderstandings later. It's not about being the Playwright Police, but about being included in the production process.

Afterwards a student said to me, "Man, I didn't know ANY of that stuff." And I replied, "How would you?" When I first started writing plays in college, I knew nothing about marketing, copywright, contracts, and other business stuff. I just wanted to see my play put up. I joined the Guild in NYC only after some really bad experiences and getting contracts in my face and me not knowing what industry standards were. I had no idea of the amount of things I didn't know.

And I think most of us are in that category.

I plan to present this workshop here in this region to our members as one of our free seminars. Likely that will be in April, but will keep you all posted.

So if this is something that you're interested in and want to see, let me know. Shoot me an email or give me a call.

Festival of Northwest Plays

Festival of Northwest Plays
co-sponsored by NPA and the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts & Univ. of Puget Sound
Discounted Festival Passes Available Now!

Four new full-length plays
three evenings of ten-minute plays

Including works by
C. Rosalind Bell, Brent Hartinger, Ki Gottberg, John Longenbaugh, Gregory Hischak, Kamarie Chapman, Paul Mullin, Bryan Willis, Beth Amsbary, Phillip Atlakson, Sol Olmstead, Eva Suter, Glenn Hergenhahn, Dan Erickson, Jon Haller, Sean Walbeck, Bryan Willis, C.P. Stancich, Emily Freece, Michael Gaiuranos, Lindsey Newman, Gregory Youtz, Adam Quesnell, Terri Clark, Jon Haller, Dano Madden....

Buy your pass now and
See Every show for only $50!

Where: Theater on the Square, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, Tacoma
When: Feb. 22 - March 2, 2008
Tix: Reserve you pass with a $50 check payable to "Northwest Playwrights Alliance."
Group Rates available.

Mail orders to:
Bryan Willis
NPA
P.O. Box 1088
McCleary, WA 98557
for more information contact willis@olynet.com

KC/ACTF Regional Festival Next Week

Just FYI for all, I will be attending the KC/ACTF Regional Festival in Laramie, WY next week, hosted by the University of Wyoming.

So if you don't hear from me for a little while, that's where I'm at.

If you're going to be at the festival for some reason, please let me know and maybe we can get together and chat.

Congrats to Sean Walbeck

Sean's got two premieres at the Bellinghamster One-Act Theatre Festival 3!

ROVER'S GOT ISSUES, how Mission Control handles a newly self-aware Mars Explorer and EXIT, CHASED BY A BEAR, a bear-human collision in Montana told in iambic pentameter are both produced by ANBAHAR's Black Market Theatre and directed by Shawn Fuller.

Also, the BOAT3 Festival is Whatcom County's only fringe-style festival, with 11 companies producing 16 works.

Festival dates are February 25-March 8, 2008.

Single tickets $4; passes for everything $10.

Questions? www.bellinghamtheatreguild.com

NPA Call for Scripts for NorthNorthwest

NPA and the WWU Theater Arts Dept. are collecting submissions for the third edition of "NorthNorthwest," an anthology of ten-minute plays. Many of these plays are later included in the NPA/WWU/KCACTF touring program. These scripts are also being integrated into the curricula of several colleges and universities.

Deadline: Scripts must be received by March 15, 2008

Previously produced: OK! You don't have to lie this time about that "workshop" production you had in Nebraska.

Multiple Submissions: Fine, but don't get too whacky

Script length: 1-10 pages

Cost: Cost? This is NPA, what do you mean "cost"?

Format: please send hard copies to:

Bryan Willis, NorthNorhtwest WWU Theater Dept. 516 High Street, M.S. 9108
Bellingham, WA 98225.

Please include an SASE if you wish to have your script returned.

E-mail submissions are even better: NorthNW@hotmail.com

Notification: June '08.

Questions: please contact Sam Abraham: sambraham@hotmail.com

The Waiting Game

So you’ve waited six months to hear from the theater and no response.

What do you do?

a) Write a hateful email saying how disrespectful they are and hope someone drops a piano on their mom
b) Write a nice email reminding them about the script they requested and asking where it might be in the process
c) Call up the theater and start yelling at whoever answers the phone

Okay, so the obvious answer is b.

And actually, maybe that isn’t so obvious (as someone who’s worked in a literary office, I’ve actually had hate mail addressed to me…you haven’t lived till you’ve been personally lambasted by a frustrated playwright…).

NEVER ever send any emails or call anybody with any kind of emotional response, like anger (crying isn’t good either—just makes you seem unstable).

A DG member recently asked me a great question about handling response times from theaters. He’d recently been requested to send some scripts out to some big places and was wondering, among a host of other things, if it would be appropriate to contact the Literary Manager or Associate about the play at the end of the response time (which is typically anywhere from 4 to 8 months).

My response is that it’s perfectly reasonable to contact the name of that person on that letter or email.

I had actually said, you can call them.

Now, some Lit. Mgrs probably may not prefer that. They’d rather deal with you only via email. Sure. But if they’ve requested the script from you, they’ve obviously shown an interest and I think it’s only fair, professional and business-like that someone can tell you what the status is of your play. So call them and see if even an intern can spare five minutes to let you know if its been read or what.

But remember, BE NICE.

Everyone in a the literary office is overworked and underpaid and they do want to find a brilliant script that’s right for their theater. It just may not be yours at that place in time. So respect that.

And also, they may love your script but it just doesn't fit. So they'll ask to see what else you have...if they do, congratulations! Like I said, they're overworked and no one will ask to add more to their reading pile unless they really mean it.

What you want to do is establish a relationship with the Literary office. And like all relationships, they take time.

So be patient.

For more about submissions, go to this great link at Playwrights Center.

NW Regional Meeting 2-1-08 Minutes

THE DRAMATISTS GUILD OF AMERICA
Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting
Saturday, February 2nd
Seattle Center House, 4th Floor, Room I
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

MEETING MINUTES
Administered by Dennis Schebetta, Regional Representative


The meeting began with introductions by myself and all the other members present (see attendees list at end). It was clear that we all have various backgrounds and levels of experience, showing the inclusive nature of the Guild.

Guild Updates• Portland Regional Rep—unfortunately, we have no rep for the Portland area but we are working on it.
o This delved into a quick discussion of the fact that the Regional Representative is such a new role—a year ago only Dan Berkowitz was in L.A. and now we have them in almost every major city. The job duties are still being defined and the Regional Reps are even now still learning how to efficiently utilize each other as resources.

• Friday Night Footlights—This was an open discussion on the plan for monthly staged readings and to get further input from members on questions about it.
o Sean, Duane and John all commented on seeing readings at various other venues and wondered about how much of an audience there would be.
o Karen asked for what purpose? My answer was that it could be used however the dramatist deems—as a showcase for a finished work, a development reading, an early draft reading, for a full-length play, a series of short plays, etc.
o La’Chris asked a wonderful question about publicity and getting the word out. Does the Guild have funding in place for any marketing? At this point, I don’t know what our funding parameters are for the region. I know we have some funds available but not sure how anything has been earmarked and I suspected that it may vary region by region.
o Duane also mentioned how difficult it is to get people to readings—they are much more likely to come to productions. But the question remained, was it because the readings had a ticket price? Will we have the same outcome for free readings? My other point was that it’s the hope that these readings will somehow lead to productions, not more readings.

• Points discussed about Friday Night Footlights:
o The readings will be FREE. Free for DG members to participate (though they will have to self-produce it) and free for all audience members.
o Because the readings are free, and because the playwrights aren’t getting paid, neither are the directors and actors.
o It was suggested that the two playwrights could join forces for utilizing actors and/or directors for the one evening (one evening being two slots)
o It would be beneficial to have a list of actors/directors who are interested
 Possibility of using UW students or working with Freehold in order that the readings could be educational as well as promotional (teaching actors/directors how to work on new works)
o What would be beneficial is to have a venue that could be part of a partnership with another group or theater (Theater Schmeater, LiveGirls, Next Stage, etc.?). This would be great if we could always have it at the same space.
 Duane mentioned that perhaps ACT might be a possibility, as well.

Town Hall Meeting• Drama Guild/NPA/Seattle U. Playwriting Forum will be May 11th and 12th. Gary Garrison, Ralph Sevush and David Faux will be visiting Seattle.
• The forum and the Town Hall meeting will be free
• There will be an “In Conversation With…Steven Dietz”. This is also free.
• There will be workshops with Dietz and Braden Abraham (directing a new play). These will cost $75.
• Bryan Willis of the NPA is still finalizing the agenda and once we know more details, we’ll let you know. Unfortunately, he could not make this meeting to answer questions.
• At the end of the meeting, someone suggested a social function before the forum and the Town Hall, which is an excellent idea. I would love to see if we can find a bar somewhere on Friday night for some kind of “cocktail reception”, an informal way of meeting each other and meeting Gary, Ralph & David (depending on when they fly into town).

Goals for the region• Discuss regional meetings—we had skipped over this and briefly touched on it at the end of the meeting
• Education—I stressed the importance of the shift the Guild is making, in its language in the Bill of Rights, but also as it targets educational institutions like universities and high schools. This launched a discussion of directors and actors ignorant on how to work on new works.
o This is a vital part of some of the changes happening in the Guild. I, myself, will actually present on the Guild and the Bill of Rights later this month at the regional Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival.
o Many of us traded a few war stories about director/playwright collaborations gone wrong.
o John asked an excellent question, though, of “how do you get directors and actors to come to a workshop, even if its free, that talks about the Bill of Rights, basically saying, this is what you can’t do with the play…?” To which, I replied, “well, obviously, that’s not how we talk about it, because its not about that…They can talk to us about changes and talk to us about what’s going on…We need to ensure we’re part of the conversation. We need to make sure directors know how to collaborate with living playwrights.”
o Literary Manager Forum—only briefly talked about this. No details or date has been set.
o “Business of Playwriting”—this was tied into our conversation about working with directors and actors.
o Self-Producing Workshop.
 John, La’Chris and Sean have all self-produced and had opened the idea of mentoring other playwrights in order to teach them how to put up their own show.

• TPS at Bumbershoot.
o Sean asked about what that was, what it meant and I said I was going to talk to someone about the submission process of this for 2008 or 2009. Would it be beneficial to create a showcase of DG member works? Short comedies? Samples of work?
o John had produced in it before and said it’s a festival so there’s almost always a guaranteed crowd. Comedies work best.
o The space they use is the big one at Center House.
• Sean asked another great question; “How does a regional playwright get an agent if they are all in NYC or L.A.” This opened up a discussion about agents here in Seattle (there are none) and/or also getting your work in the door of larger institutions. Is it possible to get a NY agent to visit the region?
o I had mentioned that some DG members have taken advantage of the free space in the Loewe room in NYC, rehearsing a show out of that town and bringing it in to NYC as a showcase, and not sure how that might work in reverse.
o I offered that the DG National Meeting/Conference is in the works for next year and perhaps this could be something to think about for that? If there is a way to bring agents and literary managers to that meeting?
• Steve mentioned the idea he had brought up at the last meeting regarding having a website with a list of plays and synopsis and/or play samples (similar to Playwrights Center or New Dramatists).
o Perhaps this is something we might even be able to do with TPS?
o Later someone mentioned that we might even be able to do an online script library (possibly even work with Rain City Projects).

• John mentioned that there are two things that many playwriting organizations talk about but never do:
o 1) A social event. This could be meet for drinks at a bar or something along those lines. It is important to meet each other in friendly, relaxed surroundings, not just in meetings, readings, etc.
 This is where Sean gave the idea that an excellent opportunity to meet would be prior to the Town Hall Meeting in May.
o 2) A group that meets possibly bi-weekly to read scripts-in-progress or new scripts. This is relatively an easy thing to do, but is rarely done. Can the DG do something like that? Each playwright could have 20 pages each (or 30 minutes) and we could do 6 or 9 playwrights per session?
 Steve mentioned that they have a writer’s group in Pt. Townsend but many others did not have anything like this.


Conclusion/Remarks:

The meeting concluded with a strong sense of agreement about the types of programs we’d like to see in this area. Many members at this meeting echoed what has been said by others at the first meeting. Several of the challenges we face are simply challenges that all dramatists are facing in every region. However, the fact that the Dramatists Guild has been around for so long and is not a “start-up” liable to fold for lack of money or resources is assuring to most. The challenge, as I stated, is that even though we can trust the sustainability of the Dramatists Guild, the programs we establish in this area must be equally sustainable.

As I said at the beginning of the meeting, change is gradual, but it is happening. The Dramatist magazine is far different than it was a year ago. Members have noticed and appreciate that. In addition, all the members were enthusiastic about the new layout and categorization of the Resource Directory.

Being the second regional meeting of the Dramatists Guild, I was pleased with the level of attendance and engaging discussions, but would love to see and meet more of our members. Several had prior commitments, but it is my hope that we’ll be able to show our numbers at the Town Hall in May. That will serve as our next regional meeting, with a meeting to follow in July or August.


Attendees
Ramon Esquivel
La’Chris Jordan
Karen Kantor
Duane Kelly
John Longenbaugh
Kevin O’Morrison
Louisa Rose
Dennis Schebetta
Steve Treacy
Dave Tucker
Sean Walbeck

Don't Miss THUGS! by DG member Dave Tucker

Support your local playwright!

1/25-2/10.

The Knutzen Family Theatre of Federal Way presents THUGS: A Musical Mafiasco, music by Kim Douglass and Dave Tucker, lyrics and book by Dave Tucker (NW member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc).

It’s 1929, and two thugs banished from Chicago 's gangland community find work in the lazy town of Shady Groves as bodyguards for a man and a woman, both disguised as the late Anthony Sartori. Added to this are two feuding crime lords, their lovesick children, and an effeminate hit man, resulting in a whirlwind of mistaken identity. This farcical look at organized crime is laughter you cannot refuse!

3200 SW Dash Point Road, Federal Way, WA 98003. $16.

www.kftevents.com

Next Meeting Feb. 2nd @ 1:00 pm

Just a reminder that our next Regional Meeting is scheduled for February 2nd at 1 pm at the Seattle Center House, 4th floor, Room B.

(Please note we are on the 4th floor of the Center House. Allow for some extra time for parking and a very slow elevator...)

We'll talk about a few upcoming things like the Playwriting Forum in May, Friday Night Footlights, and other issues.

Hope to see you there!

Reading of Winter Bird

If you can make it to Bremerton...

Reading of Port Townsend playwright (and Dramatists Guild member) Stephen Delos Treacy's WINTER BIRD this Saturday, January 19th at 7 pm.

The Changing Scene Theatre Northwest
5889 State Highway #303 NE,
just north of the Outback Steak House, behind the Oroweat Bakery in East Bremerton.
www.changingscenenorthwest.org

Opening this weekend! VESTA

~VESTA~
by Bryan Harnetiaux

Megan Cole, who created the role of 'Dr. Vivian Bearing'
in the very first production of WIT, portrays the central character,
the smart and strong-willed Vesta.

[Run time: 80 mins.]

Please consider coming down and supporting us.
(We rely on donations to get our investment back on this worthy project.)

Reservations: 206.261.5064

ALSO FEATURING:

Cynthia Whalen
Terry Edward Moore
Anders Bolang
Brian Ibsen
Bob De Dea
Brittni Reinertsen

14/48 Festival January 4,5 & 11, 12th

What is 14/48: The Worlds Quickest Theater Festival?

January 4, 5 & January 11, 12-Friday and Saturday nights. Two shows nightly: 8:00pm and 10:30pm. See you all there!!

14/48: The Worlds Quickest Theater Festival is fourteen plays conceived, written, designed, scored, rehearsed, and performed in forty-eight hours.

14/48 debuted November 1997 in Seattle to praise from audiences, performers, and critics. The combination of deadline, talent, speed, nerves, and genius inspiration served to strip away the creative inhibitions from more traditional theater, proving that, contrary to popular opinion, sometimes the first idea is the best.

14/48 takes 7 writers, 7 directors and about 28 actors on Thursday, July 12. They all have pencil, paper and an instruction to complete this sentence: "Theatre would be a lot better if there were 7 plays about ________."

The scraps of paper are put into a hat and a theme is chosen at random. The 7 writers get character parameters (2 men and 1 woman, or 2 women and 1 man); they are sent home to each write a 10 minute play about the theme. Everybody else drinks beer.

Friday, January 4 at 8:30am: Writers show up with scripts in envelopes numbered 1 through 7. Directors pick envelopes at random and read the scripts they have blindly chosen. Everybody drinks coffee.

9:00am: Actors show up or wake up. Actors' and actresses' names are in two separate hats. Directors blindly select actors depending on the script's character parameters. Casts are sent to rehearsal rooms.

10:30am: Writers go home and catch up on sleep. The band shows up. They create a theme song for the evening and create sound designs as needed for each script. Everyone keeps rehearsing.

Throughout the day are lunch, band rehearsal, costume and prop runs. That's right. A band. The 14/48 band. The greatest band of all time. Bow before them.

3:30 - 6:00pm: Tech rehearsal. Each play gets 20 minutes of tech rehearsal. A run thru? Those are for wimps and perfectionists.

8:00pm: The shows are performed in front of a live and paying audience. The audience receives pencil, paper and an instruction to complete this sentence: "Theatre would be a lot better if there were 7 plays about ________."

At the end of the show, the new themes are in the hat and one is randomly chosen. The seven writers go home and each writes a new 10-minute play with new character parameters. Everybody else gets ready for the 10:30pm show and wishes for a beer.

12:00am Saturday morning: Everybody has a beer and then goes home to do it all over again in 9 hours.

9:00am Saturday, January 5: The process restarts with the same talented bunch of folks and 7 brand new plays.

12:00am Sunday morning, January 6: Everybody drinks a lot of beer. Trash talking begins between the first and second week groups.

Go to www.1448fest.com and get your tickets for January 4, 5, 11 & 12 because this mother sells out every night.