Worst Shoplifter Ever or Best?

I'm at BP gas station purchasing some drinks when I turn around and see this old guy stooped over in the aisles. He's raking his hands over a display of candy bars until his fingers grasp one or two and he shoves them in the inside of his coat pocket. Clumsy and fumbling, he does this routine a few more times. The clerks -who are 3 ft away- seem to take special care to look away but I'm staring directly at the guy, fascinated by this strange game that's playing out.

Perhaps the gawking made the old man uncomfortable because then he said loudly to the clerks 'good evening, sirs!' while tucking the items deeper into his pockets. I open my mouth to say something but then I stop...what am I going to say?  Three clerks clearly see this.

I slowly walk behind the old man and he puts a few items on the counter and pays for them (but not the candy bars in his jacket). I pause for a moment and look at the clerks and then the old man. All appears to be right with everyone here, except for me.

I left thinking of all the scenarios...maybe he was an uncle who has fallen on hard times and they let him shoplift out of charity or family shame. Maybe he was mentally ill and they figured it was better to just let him grab a few things. Maybe there are just agreements made in this world that are not for me to understand. 

Tale of the Angel and Devil (Reinterpreted)

An angel and the devil approach a poor farmer who only has one cow and offer him a choice. The angel says he will give the farmer one new cow, but if he does so he will gift two cows to his neighbor. The devil says he will kill the farmer's only cow, but in return he will kill two cows of his neighbor. The angel and farmer ask him to make a decision. The farmer thinks for a moment, turns to the devil and says 'do I get to eat the cow after you kill it?'

Some time passes and the angel and devil come back to the same impoverished farmer who has now is without his beloved cow. The angel says he will transform the farmer into a handsome man but in exchange his neighbor will be twice as good looking. The devil says that the farmer can pick something on his body to destroy and he will do twice the amount of punishment to his neighbor. The farmer turns to the devil and says 'take out my eye.'

Some time passes and the angel and devil come back to the same poor, half-blind farmer. The angel and devil offer him one final deal....to be continued....

(still figuring out the ending)

- trying to work through reinterpreting an old Slavic tale....

Oscar Wilde: Charity, Hypocrisy, and Society

The majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism – are forced, indeed, so to spoil them. They find themselves surrounded by hideous poverty, by hideous ugliness, by hideous starvation. It is inevitable that they should be strongly moved by all this.  The emotions of man are stirred more quickly than man’s intelligence; and, as I pointed out some time ago in an article on the function of criticism, it is much more easy to have sympathy with suffering than it is to have sympathy with thought. Accordingly, with admirable, though misdirected intentions, they very seriously and very sentimentally set themselves to the task of remedying the evils that they see. But their remedies do not cure the disease: they merely prolong it. Indeed, their remedies are part of the disease. They try to solve the problem of poverty, for instance, by keeping the poor alive; or, in the case of a very advanced school, by amusing the poor.

But this is not a solution: it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible. And the altruistic virtues have really prevented the carrying out of this aim. Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realised by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it, so, in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good; and at last we have had the spectacle of men who have really studied the problem and know the life – educated men who live in the East End – coming forward and imploring the community to restrain its altruistic impulses of charity, benevolence, and the like. They do so on the ground that such charity degrades and demoralises. They are perfectly right. Charity creates a multitude of sins.

It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institution of private property. It is both immoral and unfair.

- Oscar Wilde's "The Soul of a Man Under Socialism"

Slavery in 21st Century America

I attended a Girl Be Heard (http://girlbeheard.org/) event last night for a performance about Human Trafficking. Apparently the 3 major international rackets are 1) arms 2) drugs 3) human enslavement. The enslavement/trafficking is the fastest growing cartel out of the 3, with $32 billion a year to criminal gangs.

Human trafficking/slavery is very big in America. Domestic workers are lured here, have their passports taken away, and then forced to work for free (slavery). Kids are kidnapped and shipped around on planes as sex slaves in the open. This happens in every major airport, train stations, and bus stops cause most adults can't put the clues together, the kids can't speak English or are drugged out of their mind, or the kidnapped victim is too scared to say anything cause they're traveling with their perpetrator.

One of the event speakers was a girl from NYC who was kidnapped by her elementary school janitor, sold to a pimp, and forced into sex work in East New York. She escaped after several years and told the story of being in a house with other children in NYC.  200,000 children are trafficked in the US every year and used as slaves. That is a low-ball estimate. The real numbers are probably a lot higher.

Ads for 'nanny' or 'domestic worker' companies in America fill the grocery store bulletin boards in other countries. Promises of easy money that young adults can send back home to their parents makes desperate people sign up and fly blindly into a new country with only one contact. These boys, girls, and women disappear from the radar and fall into a underworld that feeds America's desire for free work and prostitution.

But the 'nanny' scam is just one of the many ways human trafficking has spread throughout America and other affluent nations. There are outright cases of parents selling their kids to traffickers as well as children being kidnapped, tortured, raped, and drugged into a delusional state of complete submission.

I spoke to one of the heads of the organizations in attendance after the performance. Deborah Sigmund runs Innocents at Risk, a not-for-profit focused on making people aware. She said Innocents has been trying to train airline stewardesses to spot the warning signs of a child or young person being trafficked on planes.

Innocents at Risk is at innocentsatrisk.org.

They list the warning signs and simple things everyone can do to help. 

A Baby Boomer and a Generation Y'er Talk about Theatre

After a patron in a Broadway matinee performance found out I'm a playwright, he asked me how come all the new playwrights only write plays about whacked out families, with the obligatory gay son, and revealed secret? He asked/commented about how boring it was. I was very proud of myself, didn't go on a tirade, didn't scream 'it's cause of mofos like you!!' Instead I sighed a bit under my breath. Do I really want to get into this right now? Sure, why not.

In response to his question I said most young writers have a whole menu of plays, but the powers that be -responding to a atrophied, rich, less-adventurous, less-diverse audience- tend to pick from that menu the stories that are comfortable and don't disturb the shrinking gray economics of for-profit theatre.

The patron nodded and asked what I just finished and I told him: a docudrama with song/poetry/testimonials about the Killing Fields of Cambodia, and a dark comedy about a group of homeless people being evicted from their tent city. He nodded, the lights went down, and we proceeded to watch a play about a dysfunctional family, a gay son who died of AIDS, and his lover. When it was all over, he turned to me and said 'that was so moving.'

They say the cream rises to the top but the spigot for new work is squarely at the bottom of the keg. The cream ends up being the last thing left in the tank along with the dregs. Ironic that the 2 things left over are the very best and the very worst. Everything becomes a race to the middle. That's not to say that writers shouldn't tell stories about dysfunctional families. In fact some of the best new plays I've seen this year are about crazed, cracked-out families. And this is probably the true for every year in theatre since the beginning of its creation.

But I left the theatre laughing and thinking about it. Our conversation was nice but it felt like we were talking around what we really wanted to say. In my head I was having a side conversation, translating our statements into its ruder subtext that went like this:

HIM: What the hell is wrong with you kids? I hate your stories and your lack of imagination? Who taught you this, huh?

ME: You, all right!! I learned it by watching you!!! You're the problem.

HIM: Yeah, maybe I am. But I still hate it.

ME: I do too.

HIM: Fine.

ME: OK!

AFTER PLAY SUBTEXT

HIM: Wow, I really liked that play about the very thing I said I was tired of!

ME: You really are the problem!

HIM: I know but this play was penned by an older playwright talking about a more-conventionally dysfunctional family.

ME: So you're saying you like dysfunctional family dramas but only if they are conventional and don't actually explore more explicit, younger themes?!?

HIM: PRETTY MUCH!

ME: So it's okay for your generation to do the same thing that our generation -who has learned from you- is doing?

HIM: Yes, I'm a baby boomer. I completely contradict myself! What's wrong with these kids today...oh...

ME: What? Did you just have a piercing moment of self-realization? Did you see that the contradiction at the heart of your initial statement is the same subtle hypocrisy that plays itself out in every aspect of our society by dismissing and degrading young people following in the wake of an incredibly narcissistic, wasteful, and drugged up generations known as the baby boomers? Did you just have that moment?

HIM: No, I just realized I want Thai food.

GET WHAT YOU WANT: March 2014

GET WHAT YOU WANT is a monthly list of fellowship, contests, and residencies for playwrights around the country. This is the March 2014 edition.

1.

Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship

Deadline: April 1st

The Carl Djerassi Fellowship in Playwriting was established by scientist and author Carl Djerassi to encourage beginning-to-mid-career playwrights whose work is not only performed, but also has intrinsic literary value. To realize Dr. Djerassi's vision, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Program in Creative Writing annually awards a fellowship to a playwright whose plays can be read and discussed as works on the page as well as performed on the stage. Playwrights whose works have been published as well as performed are especially of interest. Past Djerassi fellows include Dan O'Brien, Michael Weller, Len Jenkin, Sarah Gubbins, Martín Zimmerman, and Elaine Romero.

Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing  has an April 1st deadline for its $27,000 Carl Djerassi Fellowship in Playwriting.

Applicants to the Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship must have completed or be scheduled to complete an MFA or PhD in Creative Writing or Playwriting by August 15, 2014. For details regarding the responsibilities and privileges of our fellows, please see the main fellowships page. All applications must be postmarked by April 1, 2014 and should indicate "Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship" clearly on the envelope. There is no application form or entry fee, though applications must include the following materials:

• A single cover sheet listing your name, address, phone number, email address and the title of your writing sample.
• A resume or curriculum vitae.
• Two letters of recommendation.
• A single writing sample (i.e. one published play or one unpublished manuscript). Your name must not appear anywhere on your manuscript.
• A self-addressed stamped envelope for our decision.

Please note that the application materials required for this fellowship differ from those required from the fiction, poetry, and HEAF fellowships. Djerassi Playwriting applications are accepted by mail only. Send your completed application to:

     Sean Bishop, Coordinator

     Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing

     Djerassi Playwriting Fellowship

     Department of English

     600 N Park St, 6195A H.C. White Hall

     University of Wisconsin-Madison

     Madison, WI 53706

The Djerassi Playwriting Fellow will be chosen by June 1, 2014 and announced on the fellows page. If you have questions not answered in the FAQ below, please contact Sean Bishop, the Graduate & Institute Programs Coordinator, at institutemail@english.wisc.edu.

2.

THE ARCH AND BRUCE BROWN FOUNDATION

Deadline: June 30th

The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation will accept submissions for its 2014 Playwriting Competition between March 1 and June 30, 2014. Electronic submissions must be received by midnight on June 30, and mailed manuscripts must be postmarked by the deadline.

All works submitted (full–length dramas, comedies, musicals) must be original and in English. All works must present lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender life in a positive manner and be based on, or directly inspired by, a historical person, culture, work of art or event.

There is no entry fee. Prizes are as follows: First Prize, $3,000; Second Prize, $1,500; Honorable Mentions, $500. Prizewinners will be announced before the end of the year.

For complete submission guidelines, visit the foundation’s website: aabbfoundation.org, or write to Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, P.O. Box 26124, Brooklyn, NY 11202.

Production Grants

The foundation also offers grants to production companies to offset expenses in producing theatrical works (plays, musicals, operas, choral works, orchestral works with text) and film or video. All works must be based on, or inspired by, history and present LGBT life in a positive manner.

Proposals may be submitted throughout the year. For complete details and proposal submission guidelines, visit the foundation’s website: aabbfoundation.org, or write to Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, P.O. Box 26124, Brooklyn, NY 11202.

Check out guidelines:

http://aabbfoundation.org/comp-guidelines

3.

Stage Left Theatre Playwright Residency (in Chicago)

Deadline: April 15th

Zev Valancy, the Literary Manager of Stage Left Theatre in Chicago, is looking to develop and produce plays that raise debate on social and political issues. As part of the "develop" portion of that mission, the Playwrights Residency has been created. We will be accepting applications through April 15th.

Downstage Left residencies are designed to help playwrights take a project from the conceptual stage all the way to a production-ready script. Playwrights work closely with one of our ensemble directors and members of the literary team to design a process tailored for the particular needs of their project. We are now accepting applications for Season 32 residencies. Please download the application form below, which also provides detailed instructions. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2014. Email questions and submissions to scripts@stagelefttheatre.com  Playwrights from anywhere in the country are eligible, but we're unable to help with transportation expenses.

More information and the application are available here at our website:

http://www.stagelefttheatre.com/participate/playwright-residencies/

Any other questions can be addressed to me at scripts@stagelefttheatre.com.

Please do not contact me here, as this is my personal address.

4.

Don & Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

Deadline: April 10th

Screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing fictional work for film or television are eligible for this fellowship. Entry scripts must be the original work of one writer, or the collaborative work of two writers, and must be written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible. Up to five $30,000 fellowships are awarded each year to promising new screenwriters. From the program’s inception in 1986 through 2010, over $3 million have been awarded to 126 writers.

The online application must be completed and script uploaded by April 10th. All entrants will receive notification of their status by e-mail sent no later than August 1 of each year. Quarterfinalist letters are e-mailed by August 1;fellowship recipients are announced in October.  For application materials and information, visit http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/index.html

5.

BRIC House Fireworks

Deadline: March 14th

(We encourage all applicants to attend an informational meeting and tour of BRIC’s facilities, to be held at BRIC House on March 4, 2014 at 6pm.)

The BRIC House Fireworks Residency is designed to bring together artists of different disciplines who share a vision, and provide them with technical and financial resources to facilitate the collaborative development of creative projects that cross or erase artistic boundaries. Two projects to be presented in 2014 and 2015 will receive commissions of $15,000 and $30,000, respectively.

With the opening of BRIC Arts | Media House in fall 2013, a new kind of cultural space has been formed.  Located in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, BRIC House features a spacious Gallery and Project Room; the Ballroom, a flexible performance space; the Artist Studio, a rehearsal and work space; and state-of-the-art television studio and video production facilities. In addition to being an exciting new venue that has attracted a large, diverse audience, BRIC House is an innovative cultural laboratory for artists working in varied disciplines.

The BRIC House Fireworks Residency is designed to bring together artists of different disciplines who share a vision, and provide them with technical and financial resources to facilitate the collaborative development of creative projects that cross or erase artistic boundaries.

We seek cross disciplinary projects in an early stage of development by artist teams that involve at least two of the three disciplines pursued by BRIC—contemporary art, media, and performing arts.  

We will select two projects in spring 2014: smaller scale $15,000 project over 8-9 month period and a larger $30,000 project over 15 months.

BRIC Fireworks: http://bricartsmedia.org/contemporary-art/artist-opportunities/bric-house-fireworks-residency-2014

6.

BAX Artist Residency

Deadline: April 14th

The residency best suits an artist in the process of discovery, transition and/or is in a transformative stage of development. It is essential that the AIR be self-directed and be willing to engage in a dialogue with BAX. While there are many services BAX is able to provide, no residency can meet all the needs of an artist. Hence, BAX will do its best to direct and advise artists in the search for additional support and services throughout this residency. Artists are chosen through application, work sample and interview. We support choreographers, playwrights and performance artists. Much of the work crosses genres and disciplines. The residency supports research and conception, readings, showings and workshops, rehearsals and production. There are six participating artists each season who receive up to two years of uninterrupted artistic, technical and administrative support as well as 250 hours of rehearsal space. They are also provided with a $2,000 yearly stipend, and the use of BAX as a fiscal conduit for fundraising purposes. Artists may apply for additional funding using this designation.

The year runs from July 1 – June 30. Artists are encouraged to attend each other’s rehearsals. In November they host each other’s Open Studio showings to the public and lead post showing conversations. In January they show work in progress or excerpts in a shared evening roster and during the spring present fully developed work. These performances are fully produced which means they are of no cost to the artists who are provided with a fee, lighting/sound designers and board operators, both front and back of house staff, all publicity and marketing and outreach support to develop new audiences. In monthly meetings they share the success and challenges. BAX is a place for artists to engage in “real talk” as opposed to “getting the gig”, to speak honestly about their struggles and by doing so achieve artistic maturity. When artists attend one another rehearsals regularly there is context to speak aloud in actionable language in front of an audience. Once the work has been produced BAX often assists resident artists to seek a broader audience to establish relationships with other producers and funders.

BAX has provided an artistic home for new theatrical ideas and experimental artists whose themes or ways of working might not have found an alternative home base. Some of the individuals and groups who have benefited from residencies at BAX include: Faye Driscoll, Levi Gonzalez, Nami Yamamoto, luciana achugar, Dan Fishback, Young Jean Lee and Catharine Dill. To become more familiar with our programming you can also visit us at www.bax.org.

Selected artists will have the opportunity to establish an artistic home. This home includes:

• Building a dynamic relationship with both the Executive Director and the Marketing /Communications Director that includes work/livelihood issues, goal setting, accessing resources, to name a few.
• Being a participatory member of a peer group
• Technical support for presenting and long-range planning for your projects at BAX and beyond.
• The residency includes 250 hours of free rehearsal space in any of our four studios
• Stipend of $2000
• Please note that due to audience development considerations we request that the work you develop not be presented elsewhere in the NYC area for two months before or after your BAX performances. Exceptions to this can only be made in consultation with the Executive Director. Artist cannot apply if they currently have (or will have concurrently) other residencies in NYC. Work developed may not have a commitment to premiere in another venue during the residency period.
• An opportunity to apply for a second year of residency

Questions should be directed to artistservices@bax.org (subject: AIR LOI).

TO APPLY: http://artistservices.bax.org/residencies/air-application-and-guidelines/

Information for 2014/2015 application

2014-15 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE (AIR) proposals will be considered in DANCE and EXPERIMENTAL THEATER/PERFORMANCE. Up to three awards will be made for the July 2014-June 2015 residency period.

We are asking artists to submit a LETTER OF INTENT to be selected to submit a full proposal.

Questions should be directed to artistservices@bax.org (subject: AIR LOI).

7.

Portland Stage Little Festival of the Unexpected

Deadline: ongoing

Little Festival of the Unexpected is an annual event dedicated to public readings of new works. Three to five playwrights are in residence each year at the festival as they continue to develop their scripts with input from actors, directors and audience members.

DETAILS

Each playwright in residence receives a stipend as well as housing during the festival. Limited support for travel is also available.

Past Little Festival of the Unexpected scripts have a successful track record of full productions both here at Portland Stage and at other professional theaters around the country. Almost Maine, which was developed at the 2003 Little Festival, went on to become the most commercially successful mainstage production in PSC history. Many other Little Festival works have gone on to productions elsewhere, including successful Off-Broadway runs and television filming for PBS’ American Playhouse.

Little Festival of the Unexpected Submissions Submissions for the upcoming Little Festival of the Unexpected are accepted year-round on a rolling basis. All submissions received after January 1 will be considered for the following year’s festival. Only one submission is accepted per playwright.

Plays are eligible for development at The Little Festival of the Unexpected only if they have not previously been professionally produced or workshopped with Equity actors. This restriction includes Actors Equity showcase and waiver productions. Plays that have had readings or non-AEA productions are still eligible.

Literary agents may submit complete scripts at any time.

Playwrights may submit 10-page dialogue samples for consideration. Dialogue samples must be accompanied by a synopsis, production history and character breakdown.

Submit by mail to:

Portland Stage Company

Attn: Literary Manager

PO Box 1458

Portland, ME 04104

8.

Endstation Initiative

Deadline: March 14th

The Sweet Briar College campus is an ideal setting for a writer seeking an opportunity to focus on their craft. The campus’ beauty, facilities, and serenity are inspiring and create an extremely productive writing environment. Add to this a company of actors and you have the perfect location for a playwright’s intensive.

Endstation’s Playwrights Initiative brings three playwrights to the Sweet Briar College campus during Endstation’s summer season to write, workshop, and develop new plays. This program promotes the work of the next generation of playwright by providing a laboratory for young playwrights to write and rework their plays in a supportive atmosphere, and with access to other theatre artists.

Check out the Endstation Playwrights Initiative Tumblr: http://playwrightsbrstf.tumblr.com/

Check out Endstation Initiative:http://endstationtheatre.org/playwrights/

Endstation Theatre’s Playwrights Initiative asks that you not only send work best representative of your talents, voice, and aesthetic but work that is the most recent. We learn most from you as a candidate when we are reviewing work that is exciting you currently, moving your work in new directions, and could benefit most from the time spent at Sweet Briar. This work, alongside a concise background of your career and training, is all that is required to submit for the coming year.

To submit your work, contact Michael Stablein, Jr. at playwrights@endstationtheatre.org. Submissions are due March 14, 2014.

9.

Franklin Furnace Fund

Deadline April

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Franklin Furnace Fund 2014-2015, supported by Jerome Foundation, The Lambent Foundation, The SHS Foundation, and the NYC Department of  Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

The Franklin Furnace Fund awards grants annually to emerging artists to

enable them to produce major performance art works in New York. Grants

range between $2,000 and $10,000 based on the peer review panel allocation

of funding received by Franklin Furnace.

Franklin Furnace has no curator; each year a new panel of artists reviews all

proposals. We believe this peer panel system allows all kinds of artists from all

over the world an equal shot at presenting their work. Every year the panel

changes, as do the definitions of "emerging artist" and "performance art." So if

at first you don't succeed, please try again.

Artists from all areas of the world are encouraged to apply; however, artists

selected by the panel are expected to present their work in New York. Full-time

students are ineligible.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION

Please apply to the Franklin Furnace Fund 2014-2015 using our online form.

Once you sign up for an account you may log in to apply to the Franklin

Furnace Fund. Your information can be saved so that it may be completed in

multiple sessions before you submit it. Please remember to click on the Submit

Application button when you have completed your application. You will receive

a confirmation email when your application has been successfully submitted.

If you have any technical problems with the online application form, please

contact support@fluidreview.com and the software application providers can

help address your question. For other questions, please contact Jenny Korns at

proposals[at]franklinfurnace.org.

The Microsoft Excel form is still available but please only use it if the online

form gives you difficulty. If you can’t use the online form, then download the

Excel Application and email it to proposals@franklinfurnace.org after it has

been completed. Write "Proposal 14-15" in the subject line.

APPLICATION COMPONENTS

1- Contact Information, Required

Please provide the contact information requested. Please also let us know if

your email address or home address changes during the course of this process

so we can keep in touch with you.

2 – Proposal Information, Required

Brief Proposal (required)

A 100-word summary proposal. The summary is a critical component of your

application; it is the first piece of information that the selection panel reviews

and it is a definitive factor in their deliberations. Therefore, be sure that the

summary is clear, concise and only 100 words long.

Long Description (optional)

A full description of the proposed work. Please limit to 1000 words. You may

also mail in a more detailed description of your proposed work. For more

information about sending in a detailed description, please see section 5 –

Mailing Options.

Budget (optional)

Specify planned expenses. If you have other funding sources for your project

please indicate this in your budget. Please limit to 200 words.

Website (optional)

A website may be used as a supplement to other application material.

3 – Video, Required

You may submit up to two ten-minute videos. Please make sure each one

illuminates your proposal by either being video of your proposed project as a

work in progress (“Proposed Work”) or a past project that gives an idea of the

kind of work you do (“Support Material”). You may submit a description and a

cue time for each video from where the panel should start watching. You may

either submit your videos through our online form, or mail them in on a disc to

be played on a DVD player or as digital files. Video submitted online must be

300 MB or under.

Video will be projected on a standard definition projector so when you

compress them please make sure their appearance is of relatively good quality.

For good instructions on how to do this, it's highly recommended that you

check out this website: http://vimeo.com/help/compression. If after following

these instructions, your file is still too big for the online form then try lowering

the data rate. Also, the dimensions for HD video should be no bigger than

1280x720. Since our projector only projects Standard Definition there should

be no loss in quality from using this dimension.

The above paragraph describes the preferred format of video we'd like to

receive, but if you are unable to meet these guidelines for any reason at all,

then we are open to whatever you have: slides, videotapes, audio CDs, etc. If

you have any questions about this please feel free to contact the Program

Coordinator, Jenny Korns at proposals[at]franklinfurnace.org.

4- Images, Optional

You may submit up to ten images with descriptions. These can be uploaded

through the online form or mailed in on a disc. Images submitted through the

online form must be 500 KB or under in size.

5- Mailing Options, Required

Application Return (required)

Please select one of the following options for returning your application

materials after the selection process:

a. SASE: Please submit a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) large

enough to return all of your materials. Use postage stamps. Do not use meter

strip postage for your SASE as they expire the same day they are issued. If

you apply from another country, do not use international stamps. Instead,

please include international vouchers for the postage required.

b. Pick-Up: After receiving a notification letter, please schedule a suitable time

with us to pick up your application materials. After October 1, 2014, all

application materials will become the property of Franklin Furnace.

c. Do not return. You may choose not to have your materials returned.

Although the greatest care is taken in handling your application, we are not

responsible for accidental loss or damage to your material. We cannot return

your application materials unless you provide a SASE with sufficient postage.

Supplementary Materials (optional)

You may also submit your resume, a description list for your images and video,

and up to 2 reviews of previous work/press. The video and images may be

submitted through the online form, but all the other items (press and resume)

Please write your name on every object you mail in! This should be the

same name used on the application. Please don't put sticker labels on

your discs as this may jam the computer.

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Due to space limitations, please try to submit your application materials in one

9” x 12” or smaller envelope. Send your application to:

2014-2015 Proposals  

Franklin Furnace Archive Inc.

80 Arts – The James E. Davis Arts Building  

80 Hanson Place #301 Brooklyn, NY 11217-1506

You may deliver your application in person by leaving it at the lobby desk at 80

Hanson Place, Brooklyn from 8am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. If you prefer to

give it to us directly at our office please call first to make sure that someone will

be available to receive it.

10.

P73 Fellowship/Interstate 73/ P73 Yale Summer Residency

Deadline: May 1st

More Information and Application Materials can be found at http://www.page73.org/programs/programs-application/

Page 73 Productions hosts three play development programs annually:

The P73 Playwriting Fellowship provides a year of comprehensive support to one early-career playwright who has received neither wide public recognition nor substantial production opportunities in New York City. Through this program, Page 73 provides artistic and financial resources to this writer as he or she develops one or more new plays of his or her choosing. The P73 Playwriting Fellow receives an award of $10,000 and development support up to $10,000.

The P73 Fellowship is best suited to writers who have concrete and reasonable goals that can be achieved with the resources provided by Page 73. These goals may include, but are not limited to, specific artistic objectives that relate to the development of one or more new plays and assistance in building relationships within the New York City theater community.Please note that funds from the P73 Playwriting Fellowship do not cover full-scale productions. The fellowship does, however, incorporate at least one public presentation – ideally a semi-staged workshop – of at least one play by the Fellow. Page 73 also supports the writer by helping the Fellow identify collaborators, such as directors, designers, actors, and dramaturgs, for Fellowship projects.

The Fellow is associated with Page 73 for the calendar year, from January 1 to December 31. After being selected, he or she works with Page 73’s staff to develop a plan for the year and establish a timeline for the development work to be done on the new play or plays. The Fellow is also invited to participate in the Page 73 Summer Residency at Yale and Interstate 73 (described below) during the year of the fellowship, if he or she so chooses.

The Fellow does not need to be a resident of New York City but must be prepared to travel to New York during the fellowship year in order to fully engage in the opportunities that the fellowship provides.Past Fellows areKirsten Greenidge,Quiara Alegría Hudes,Jason Grote, Krista Knight, Tommy Smith,Heidi Schreck, Eliza Clark,Janine Nabers,Max Posner, and Caroline V. McGraw.The 2014 Fellow isClare Barron.

Anyone who wishes to be considered for the fellowship must submit materials through this application process.

Interstate 73 is Page 73’s writing group. Consisting of six to eight playwrights and led by Page 73’s staff, Interstate 73 meets twice monthly at Page 73's office in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Meetings take place on weeknight evenings. Participants bring in pages that are read aloud by the group and discussed. Each participating playwright is also given an opportunity for a reading of a completed work, which can be a public or private reading, depending on the playwright’s interests and needs. Each reading is carefully crafted in order to make it as useful as possible for the playwright.

Interstate 73 begins each year in January and meetings run through December; sessions are typically suspended in July and August. Participants must be residents of New York City or the surrounding area (and therefore able to attend meetings regularly without inconvenience). Candidates for this program should not be involved in a similar year-long writing group program concurrently with Interstate 73. Attendance to all sessions of the group is extremely important.Please do not ask to be considered for this program if you expect to be out of the New York City area or otherwise unable to attend group meetings for a month or more during the period of the program . Page 73 selects participants from individuals who approach us through this application process as well as from individuals who have become known to the company through other means (professional recommendation, attendance at their work, etc.).

The Page 73 Summer Residency at Yale is a week-long residency program which takes place on the Yale Campus each July. During this program, Page 73 works with three or four playwrights on the development of new plays. There are two development opportunities associated with this program: 1) Playwrights at an early stage in the writing of their chosen play may use the week as an individual retreat, culminating in a private cold reading of their pages for residency members; 2) Playwrights with more fully developed scripts may work with a director and actors throughout the week to rehearse a reading of the play to be presented at the end of the week to residency members. Actors are selected from Yale School of Drama students as well as the professional acting community. Playwrights also have access to research materials on the Yale campus during the week.

This is Page 73’s most private developmental program and is an ideal place for playwrights to explore material prior to exposure to the New York professional or theatergoing communities. Participants must be able to travel to New Haven for a week. Page 73 provides local transportation, housing, some meals, and a stipend for the week, as well as development support for the selected projects.

Participants in this program are selected in the spring of each year. Page 73 selects participants from individuals who approach us through this application process as well as from individuals who have become know to the company through other means (professional recommendation, attendance at their work, etc.).

11.

Dramatists Guild Fellowship/ DG Musical Fellowship

Deadline: May 5th

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications for the program commencing in Fall, 2014 must be received by the Guild no later than 5:30pm on May 5, 2014. Please read all of instructions carefully.

**IMPORTANT CHANGES: This year, we will be accepting electronic submissions ONLY. E-mail all submissions to fellows@dramatistsguild.com.

We are also expanding eligibility to include writers who have had one or more professional productions.**

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applicants will be eligible for the program with any of the following qualifications: 1) Participation in a graduate program in theatrical writing within the last five years; or 2) Participation in an organized theatrical workshop within the last ten years; or 3) Comparable experience, such as one or more professional productions, and a recommendation by a theater professional or theater educator; or 4) Pertinent, documented practical experience. All applicants must be residents of New York or the surrounding metropolitan area for the time of their fellowship. Applicants must also be prepared to meet on alternate Monday evenings of every month, and to make themselves available, if possible, to participate in observerships, assistantships, etc. when those opportunities arise.

DRAMATISTS GUILD PLAYWRITING FELLOWS:

Please submit a cover letter answering the following: “Describe an experience in which somebody’s input on your work as a writer affected or inspired you”; a resume containing pertinent contact information for you; 20 pages of a script you have written. Please name submission as follows: LastNamePlayTitle (for example: NottageRuined.pdf. The document(s) must be e-mailed as a PDF.

DRAMATISTS GUILD MUSICAL THEATER FELLOWS:

If you are applying as a Musical Theater Fellow and you write both music and lyrics, you may apply alone as a “self-contained” writer. Members of collaborative teams must apply together. Collaborative teams with composer and lyricist should also consider applying with their librettist partner, or, at the very least, make their librettist partner available whenever that project is being discussed. Unfortunately, we cannot accept people who write only lyrics or only music or only libretti without a writing partner, as we cannot pair collaborators. The cover letter and materials submitted should make it clear whether you and your collaborator(s) are applying as a team or whether you are applying as a self-contained writer.

Please submit a cover letter; a resume containing pertinent contact information for you; mp3 files of four (4) songs with lyric sheets; a brief description of each song as to its plot placement, a brief synopsis of the musical, and the complete libretto, if one exists. Musical submissions need not be elaborately produced; piano and voice is sufficient. Please note that we can only accept music in the mp3 format. PLEASE E-MAIL EACH SONG SEPARATELY and name them as follows: LastNameMusicalTitleSong# (for example: FlahertyRagtime#1.mp3) The other documents must be e-mailed as a PDF.

12.

Princess Grace

Deadline: March 31st

We encourage emerging playwrights to apply at the beginning of their careers so that through the New Dramatists Fellowship, they can develop their work as well as benefit from being a part of a unique, diverse, dynamic community of professional playwrights. An applicant’s status as an emerging playwright is evaluated during the adjudication process.

One playwright will be selected to receive:

• A grant in the amount of $7,500

• A one-season (September – June) artistic residency at New Dramatists, Inc. in New York City  (For playwrights living outside of the New York metro area, your on-site residency can be adapted according to your schedule with reimbursement provided for transportation costs to/from New York)

• Inclusion of your script in New Dramatists’ library

• Advocacy for the recipient and their script to New York and National theatre communities for the duration of the fellowship

• Mentorship from a New Dramatists resident playwright for the duration of the fellowship

• Opportunity for winning play to be licensed and published by Samuel French, Inc.

Guidelines:

·       All candidates must be United States citizens or have permanent resident status.

·         

Eligible playwrights must not have had any professional full-length productions other than those using the showcase code or in an off-off-Broadway theater with 99 or fewer seats. (If your show used a higher contract tier than the showcase code, you are not eligible to apply. If your show received a festival production in a theater with more than 99 seats and did not use an Equity contract, you are eligible to apply.) Development opportunities such as readings and workshops are admissible.

·       

You must submit one unpublished, full-length play (A full-length play is a single play that constitutes a full evening of theater. For example, a 90-minute intermissionless play is a full-length play.)

• There is no restriction on subject matter

• Story, language, and characters must be original; no adaptations.

• May not have received a professional production as defined above

Applicants apply through a module on New Dramatist website

Applications will be accepted March 1-March 31 6PM EST

Applicants are also encouraged to submit a letter of recommendation from a theater professional (director, dramaturg, etc.) addressing how the applicant has demonstrated his/her excellence in the field; promise as an outstanding young artist; and why he/she is deserving of a Princess Grace Award.

- See more at: http://www.pgfusa.com/grants-program/grants-program/grant-applications/playwriting#sthash.ewQujqNW.dpuf

13.

The 9th Biennial Festival of Ten-Minute Plays

Deadline: April 1st

CALL FOR SCRIPTS

The Department of Theatre and Music Studies at The College at Brockport - State University of New York is pleased to announce its 9th Biennial Festival of Ten-Minute Plays.

Go to: http://www.brockport.edu/theatre/Fest2015ad.html

• All submissions are online. (Click on Button Below to Submit Plays)
• Each submission must have a cover sheet – (Click here for cover sheet form; copy file, fill out and attach with submission)
• Each script must have a running time of seven to fourteen minutes
• Only original scripts allowed
• Maximum of two scripts per playwright
• No musicals
• Previously produced plays, for which admission was charged, are not accepted
• Plays written by the College at Brockport Department of Theatre and Music Studies faculty and staff (full and part time) are not accepted
• Entries will be acknowledged by email
• Scripts must be submitted by April 1st 2014 midnight EST
• The top ten scripts will be produced in fully realized productions as part of the College at Brockport Festival of Ten IX in February 2015
• Awards will be given to the top three selected plays
• Finalists will be notified by December 1st  2014
• Please follow the Dramatist Guild format for plays or the suggested script format available here (Click here for script format sheet)
• Complete Festival of Ten VII Policies and Procedures as Established by The College at Brockport - Department of Theatre (Click Here to Download)

14.

Madlab Season

Deadline: April 1st

Send us your full length plays.  Long one-acts, two-acts, three-acts if you think you have what it takes! We can take it, and...well...we want it.  These will be considered for our regular theatre season (not for THEATRE ROULETTE, I repeat...not for THEATRE ROULETTE).  Bring it on, playwrights.  We want you!  We need some length.

GENERAL INFORMATION

To maximize your chance of selection, please read all the guidelines carefully before submitting.

All submissions should be send to andy@madlab.net

Please put “MADLAB 2014 SEASON” in the subject line.  If you do not have email, please call 614.221.5418 to set up different arrangements.

Submissions must arrive no later than April 1st, 2014.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Though we are up for anything, ideally, scripts should be long one-acts (70-90 minutes) or two-act plays (100-120 minutes). If you have something else longer, please feel free to send it on.

You may submit multiple scripts.

Script submissions WILL NOT be returned to the applicant; MadLab will destroy all evidence of your creative instincts upon a funeral pyre at an undisclosed location in order to protect both the innocent and the guilty.  Ashes will NOT be returned to you unless you purchase a commemorative urn from MadLab at the bargain basement price of $999.95.

Due to our environmentally conscious president, you must email your script to us.  If emailing is absolutely impossible for you, please call us at 614.221.5418 so we can make alternate arrangements.

Please send your script attached as a Microsoft Word document or PDF format.  Scripts should be emailed to andy@madlab.net.  Please put “MADLAB 2015 SEASON”  in the subject line.  If “MADLAB 2015 SEASON” is not in your subject line, your submission may not be received.  All submissions will receive a reply email to ensure that your submission was received.

MadLab pays a royalty of $200 + 10% of our box office for any playwright that is gracious enough to allow us to produce his/her work.  We know this will not be anywhere near worth the time and effort you put into writing your play, but we are happy that every little bit helps.

15.

Francesca Primus Prize

Deadline: April 1st

The Francesca Primus Prize is an annual $10,000 award honoring outstanding contributions to the American theater by an emerging female playwright, one who has not yet achieved national prominence.

WEBSITE: http://americantheatrecritics.org/primus-prize/

The Francesca Primus Prize is an annual $10,000 award honoring outstanding contributions to the American theater by an emerging female playwright, one who has not yet achieved national prominence.

Administered by the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), the prize is made possible through the generosity of Francesca Ronnie Primus the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, which honors the writer, critic, performer, dramaturg and cherished ATCA member who died at 42 of lung cancer in 1992.

The Primus Prize operates on an open submission basis—an applicant may submit herself or be nominated by another individual or organization. Members of ATCA are eligible to nominate or provide letters of recommendation.

To qualify for consideration in 2014, a playwright must have had a fully staged, professional production of her script within the calendar year 2013. The committee will also consider a body of work going back several years.

A submission must be in the form of a portfolio of no more than 20 single-sided pages. It should include a letter recommending the candidate, a synopsis of her body of work, and supporting materials sufficient to familiarize the committee with her achievement, possibly including reviews and/or a statement of the artists philosophy. In addition (beyond those 20 pages), playwrights should also submit the produced playscript. If more than one play was produced in 2013, only one may be submitted, but excerpts from or reviews of others might be part of the portfolio. Portfolios (including scripts) will not be returned.

(NOTE that in some previous years, theater artists other than playwrights were invited to apply. For 2014, only playwrights will be considered, although other theater work might be described as part of the applicant’s body of work.)

The 2014 application deadline is April 1.

The winner will be announced at a national ATCA conference, and the check mailed soon thereafter. The recipient will then be invited to a subsequent ATCA conference (expenses paid) for a small ceremony in recognition.

To apply, send six copies of an applicants entire portfolio—script included—along with a processing fee of $25 (checks made payable to ATCA) to ATCA, c/o Barry Gaines, 12809 Northern Sky NE, Albuquerque NM 87111-8089 (505-856-2101; bjgaines@unm.edu .

Send inquiries to Barry Gaines; to Primus Prize chair Barbara Bannon, Salt Lake City, bbannon@xmission.com; or to ATCA chair Jonathan Abarbanel, Chicago, jonnyatca@earthlink.net.