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
Friday, August 8, 2008
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.
& 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!
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!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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!
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!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, May 23, 2008
"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.
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.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
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.
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.
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