Wednesday, July 2, 2014

GET WHAT YOU WANT: July 2014



1.
New Dramatists
Deadline: July 29th


2014 Admissions Procedural Changes:
-The admissions window opens on July 1 at 10am (EST) and closes on July 29 at 5pm. -Upload a stand-alone Title Page for each play with your full name and contact information.
-We strongly encourage you to submit your materials as PDFs.We will also accept the following formats: .txt, .doc, .docx, .rtf.
-Please do not put any identifying information in the script. Identifying information includes: your name, contact information, theatres that have workshopped or produced your plays, your agent, special thanks, actors/production crew involved, etc.
-Every script page must be numbered.
-Every script page must include the play’s title.
-Submit a one page Letter of Intent responding to the following question: New Dramatists was founded on the premise that writers are each other’s greatest resource. If granted a New Dramatists residency, what do you see as the benefits of developing your work in the company of other playwrights?
-To begin your application, click on the “Begin Application” button below. (If you applied last year, you will need to create a new admissions applicant account.) You will be asked to create a username and enter your email address. Once you have clicked “Submit,” you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in. From this point forward, you will be guided through a simple process collecting all of your admissions materials in seven easy steps:
-You may save your application at any point and return to it later before submitting. Once the application window closes on July 29 at 5pm (EST) you may not alter your application in any way.


2.
Leslie Scalapin Prize
Deadline: July 4th


FOR INNOVATIVE WOMEN PERFORMANCE WRITERS
In memory of Leslie Scalapino, her extraordinary body of work, and her commitment to the community of experimental writing and performance.


The Leslie Scalapino Award recognizes the importance of exploratory approaches and an innovative spirit in writing for performance. Our first cycle's winner was Joyelle McSweeney, with her work Dead Youth, or The Leaks. Last cycle we received 400 submissions and a wonderful range of work. In this second cycle, we are refining the award in the following ways: expansion of the prize; and being more specific about the kind of work we wish to encourage in Leslie's spirit.


The Prize:
The winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize, print publication of the winning text by Litmus Press, a staged reading of the piece this fall at the The New Ohio Theatre in New York, by Fiona Templeton's company The Relationship; and a full production of the work in the following year. The award will now be biennial.


The Call:
Please read carefully as the guidelines have changed.
We are looking for a full-length work for live performance by a woman writer with an inquiring approach to language and content. The poetic practice of Leslie Scalapino was interdisciplinary, including photography, plays, performance, and collaboration with dance and music. We would like to honor this aspect of her work in the award.


While the principal focus for the award is on innovative writing for performance, competitive submissions may consider a range of approaches to innovation in performance, including but not limited to integrated experimentations with language, gesture, movement, sound, visual art / vision, site / location and/or activist practice. The writer should demonstrate some experience in the discipline, materials or medium involved.


3.
Yale Drama Series/David Charles Horn Prize
Deadline: August 15th
Website: http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/drama.asp#rules


The Yale Drama Series is an annual, international competition for emerging playwrights. The winner is awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of the winning play by Yale University Press and a staged reading. The reading of the 2013 winning play will take place at Lincoln Center Theater in New York City.
Winners are chosen by the preeminent playwrights of our time. Edward Albee served as the Series’ inaugural judge (2007-2008), followed by Sir David Hare (2009-2010), John Guare (2011-2012), Marsha Norman (2013-2014) and Nicholas Wright (2015-2016).


What to submit:  A full-length play in English (worldwide submissions accepted).  Playwrights may submit only one manuscript per year.  No application form is required beyond the play itself.
The manuscript must begin with a title page that shows the play’s title and your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address (if you have one), page count and (if applicable) a list of acknowledgments; a second title page which lists the title of the play only, a 2-3 sentence keynote description of the play,  a list of characters, and a list of acts and scenes.
A brief biography may be included at the end of the manuscript, on a separate page, but is not required.


Full submission details can be found on their website.


How to apply:  They encourage electronic submissions, which can be made at the following address: https://yup.submittable.com/submit.


If you wish to apply in hardcopy, scripts can be sent to Yale Drama Series, P.O. Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040.
What you get:  The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of his/her manuscript by Yale University Press, and a staged reading at Lincoln Center Theater.


Deadline: 15 August 2014 (entries not accepted until 1 June 2014)


4.
Hedgebrook Residency
Deadline: September 3rd


Hedgebrook supports visionary women writers whose stories and ideas shape our culture now and for generations to come. The Writers in Residence program is Hedgebrook’s core program that for more than 25 years has supported fully-funded residencies for writers representing diversity in citizenship status, nationality, current place of residence, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, trans* identity, age, disability, professional experience, and economic resources. We welcome applicants, published or not, who embrace the mission and opportunity to be a member of Hedgebrook's community.


All residents are selected solely on the artist statement, artist information and writing sample supplied in their application.


You must be 18 years of age or older by February 1, 2015 to apply. Applicants are welcome to reapply if they have not yet been awarded a residency. Writers who work in languages other than English are welcome to apply if they can supply a writing sample in English translation as well as in the original language.


5.
Cullman Fellowship
Deadline: September 26th


Award Period: September 8, 2015 - May 27, 2016
Stipend: $70,000


The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers supports projects that draw on the research collections at The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (formerly the Humanities and Social Sciences Library). The Center looks for top-quality writing from academics as well as from creative writers and independent scholars. It aims to promote dynamic conversation about the humanities, social sciences, and scholarship at the very highest level — within the Center, in public forums throughout the Library, and in the Fellows’ published work.


Candidates who need to work primarily in The New York Public Library’s other research centers — The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Science, Industry and Business Library — are not eligible for this fellowship.


In order to avoid real or apparent conflicts of interest, the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers does not accept applications from New York Public Library staff members or their partners, or from people active on the Library’s Board of Trustees, Board Advisory Committees, or Library Council.


Please visit www.nypl.org/research-collections for detailed information about the collections of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.


Fellows are required to work at the Cullman Center, on the project for which they applied, for the duration of the fellowship term. Fellows may have a few prior brief commitments, but must limit research trips, attendance at scholarly meetings, and speaking engagements, and may not accept other major work obligations during the course of this fellowship. Anyone who needs to be away for more than two days must notify the Director or Deputy Director in advance. The Library will pro-rate stipends for Fellows who spend too much time away from the Center.
Fellowships will not be granted to post-doctoral fellows or to applicants doing graduate-school dissertation research.


The Cullman Center will not accept dossier letters in place of new letters of recommendation.
Fellows must be conversant in English.
Completed applications and supporting materials — research proposal, Curriculum Vitae, letters of recommendation, and art work sample or creative writing sample — must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on September 26, 2014.


New York Public Library staff members are not able to make corrections or additions once applications are submitted.


The New York Public Library/American Council of Learned Societies Fellowships
The Center may give up to five fellowships a year in conjunction with the American Council of Learned Societies. Candidates for joint fellowships must submit separate applications to The New York Public Library and to the American Council of Learned Societies. For information regarding ACLS eligibility requirements and an ACLS application, please visit the ACLS website, www.acls.org/programs/comps.


6.
Blue Ink Playwriting Award
Deadline: September 1st
Website: americanbluestheater.com/about-blues/new-work/blue-ink-submission-guidelines/


The winning play will be selected by Producing Artistic Director, Gwendolyn Whiteside, and the Ensemble. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the Blue Ink Playwriting Award of $1,000 and receive a staged reading at American Blues Theater in Chicago.
There is a $5 administrative fee. Please follow these guidelines in preparing your manuscript:
- This contest is restricted to plays written in the English language. Worldwide submissions are accepted.
-Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays written in English. Translations, musicals, and children’s plays are not accepted.
- Playwrights may submit only one (1) manuscript per year.
- Plays that have been professionally produced or published are not eligible. Plays that have had a workshop, reading, or non-professional production will be considered.
- Plays may not be under option or scheduled for professional production or publication at the time of submission.
- American Blues Theater reserves the Right-of-First-Refusal to produce the World-premiere of the winning manuscript for (1) year beginning with the public announcement in March 2015.
-Plays must be sent as a Word document or pdf file to blueink@americanbluestheater.com.
- Send the $5 administrative fee to: American Blues Theater, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60610 or pay online here:


7.
ATHENA PROJECT
Deadline: July 31st


Athena Project--located in Denver, Colorado--is proud to announce the call for submissions for its Plays In Progress Series (PIP Series).  This series will take place in Denver at The Aurora Fox Studio Theater over the course of three weekends, March 20-April 5, 2015, as part of a larger arts festival celebrating women artists, including the yet-to-be named world premiere, winner of this year's PIP Series.  Four new plays will be selected based on a blind submission process and given a dramaturg, director, designers, cast and workshop presentation during the festival.  One play from the 2015 PIP Series will win a full production to be produced in March of 2016 festival, based on a combination of audience vote and board input.  Scripts are being accepted online from now until midnight, July 31, 2014.


Submission Guidelines are as follows:
1.  Playwright must be female and may only submit ONE full-length script.
2.  The play must not ever have had a fully mounted production.  Prior workshop presentations are permissible but the script must be a new version since the time of the workshop.
3.  Submission must include:
    1. Full copy of script (without playwright contact info*)
    2. Character breakdown (without playwright contact info*)
    3. Short synopsis of script (300 word limit, without playwright contact info*)
    4. Resume
    5. Cover letter addressing what the playwright would like to accomplish with the workshop presentation and how she heard about the call for submissions
*Contact info must be listed ONLY on resume and cover letter, not on script or any other documents (submissions will be read blind).  All documents should include the Title of the Play, but no playwright contact information.
4. Plays submitted without all supporting materials included will be disqualified.
5. We recommend the playwright be able to travel to the area for rehearsals as needed if selected (or may Skype in). Attendance at at least one workshop production performance during the festival at the playwright's own expense is mandatory. We will select four playwrights to participate in the PIP Series and hope to strike a balance between local and national work.  Exact rehearsal and performance schedules will be worked out with the director, dramaturg, and playwright after all plays are selected.
6. Please submit via our website.


Please contact our Literary Manager, Patrick Elkins-Zeglarski viapez@athenaprojectfestival.org if you have any questions about submitting.  You will receive an automatic confirmation email upon receipt of materials.


Four finalists will be selected in October 2014
Directors and Dramaturgs will be selected in November 2014
Rehearsals will begin in January 2015
The 2015 Athena Project Arts Festival opens March 20, 2015


8.
Schlossin Broellin International Arts Residency
Deadline: July 31st
Website: http://broellin.de/gb/index.php/module-styles/produktionsstipendien


Professional art groups from Germany and abroad can apply for a residence stay of up to three weeks within the months of April to November for the production of projects in the areas of contemporary dance, theatre and performance.
With several dance studios, production spaces and seminar rooms, as well as overnight accommodation and catering facilities, Schloss Bröllin offers space for artists to rehearse, experiment, train and relax in a creative atmosphere. The goal of the residence programmes in Schloss Bröllin is to give ensembles and groups the possibility of a short and concentrated production phase, and to support groups whose members come from different places or countries. During the stay, the agreed working spaces, accommodation and boarding will be provided. The deadline for residence applications at Schloss Bröllin is the end of July each year (must be postmarked on or before the date), for residencies in the following year.
Read guidelines: http://broellin.de/gb/images/dokumente/residenz_richtlinien_en_schloss_broellin.pdf


9.
Kutztown Installation Art Residency (theatre artists can apply)
Deadline: July 18th


Residency Dates: Jan. 20 - Feb. 5, 2015 / Exhibition on view: Feb. 5 - Mar. 13, 2015
The Marlin and Regina Miller Art Gallery at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania requests proposals from artists, craftspersons, and designers for the production of an original, temporary, site-specific installation for our exhibition space. The artwork will remain on view from February 5 – March 13, 2015. The selected artist (or artist team) will be awarded $7,500. The award must cover all material and labor costs associated with the production of the work, all incidental costs, meals, transportation costs, and all artist fees and honoraria. The university will provide $2,500 stipend for housing one block from the gallery (Main Street Inn) for one artist – all remaining housing costs for additional artists and/or support personnel must be covered from the $7,500 award. A group of Kutztown University students will be available to assist with the physical production of the selected proposal.
Application deadline is end-of-business, Friday July 18, 2014
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, located an hour north of Philadelphia, and two hours west of New York City, has an enrollment of 10,000+ students. Each year, our College of Visual and Performing Arts awards approximately 225 undergraduate degrees in Communication Design, Fine Arts, Art Education, and Crafts. Our Visual Arts programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
SCHEDULE
-Proposals must be received by end-of-business, Friday July 18, 2014.
-The gallery's website will publish the award recipient on August 1, 2014.
-The on-site residency will take place from January 20 to February 5, 2015. Artist(s) will be expected to be on-site during this period, be available to our students, and present one public lecture about previous work and plans for the Kutztown University project.
-Project must be completed for a public reception by Thursday, February 5, 4:00 p.m. (reception continues until 6:00 p.m.)
-Artist must be available for a lecture on the night of the opening, Thursday, February 5, 7:00 p.m.
-Project will remain on view from February 5 – March 13, 2015.
-Depending on the final disposition of the artwork, the artist(s) may be required to assist with de-installation which will take place from March 16 – 20, 2015. Artist will be required to pay all costs associated with transport of materials and artwork to and from our site.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Proposed artwork can be realized in any medium and there are no restrictions on form or content. However, proposals that demonstrate innovation and deep, nuanced understanding of contemporary art, craft, or design are preferred. Proposals must be for a site-specific installation and must differ greatly from a proposal for a solo exhibition. Preference will be given to proposals that have a strong student involvement component.
All proposals will be reviewed for overall artistic merit, impact on the experience of our students, feasibility within the established time-frame and budget, artist's demonstration of ability to complete such a project (as evidenced by past projects or a detailed work plan and budget for the KU project), and the relationship of the project to the gallery's mission.
The Marlin and Reginal Miller Art Gallery of Kutztown University presents significant and professionally executed solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art in a variety of mediums as well as supporting programs, events, and services that will directly enhance the artistic and philosophical development of our students and will contribute to the lives of our residents. We strive to challenge assumptions and stimulate discussion by presenting artwork and programs relevant to the social and cultural life of the general and special populations within our service area.


10.
UMass New Play Lab
Deadline: August 1st
Website: http://www.umass.edu/theater/newplaylab.php


The UMass New Play Lab is accepting play submission for two paid residencies in the spring of 2015. Now in it's second year, THE UMASS NEW PLAY LAB is accepting play submissions for two paid residencies (March 23 – April 4, 2015).


WHAT IS THE UMASS NEW PLAY LAB?
The Play Lab is a UMass Department of Theater mainstage production, running from March 23 – April 4, 2015. Two playwrights will be chosen for concurrent 10-day residencies during this period. These residencies are structured around a series of public staged readings directed and dramaturged by UMass graduate students and performed by undergraduate actors. The 10-day workshop term allows time for exploration in rehearsal and the generation of new material.


WHAT IS THE UMASS NEW PLAY LAB’S MISSION?

Our mission is to develop two exceptional new plays per year in cooperation with visionary playwrights. The Play Lab, is, in essence, a writer's playground: a stimulating and constructive artistic environment founded on three guiding principles of engagement, collaboration, and discovery. The UMass Amherst Department of Theater's commitment to new play development is internationally recognized, from our groundbreaking work with New WORLD Theater to our recent collaborations with artists like Will Power, Marcus Gardley, and Constance Congdon. We approach new play development with rigor, focus, and sensitivity—and we're seeking playwrights who are as passionate about this process as we are.  


DOES THE UMASS NEW PLAY LAB PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT?
Yes. We offer a $750 honorarium per playwright. Accommodations will be provided. Playwrights are responsible for booking their own travel arrangements, and will be reimbursed for a portion of the cost.


WHAT KINDS OF PLAYS CAN I SUBMIT?
Plays must be full-length. Musicals are not accepted. Submissions may have had a previous reading, workshop, or production; as a rule, though, the Play Lab exists to develop relatively new work, so unproduced material will be given priority in our selection. The UMass New Play Lab seeks to develop plays that tell compelling stories about our world in bold and innovative ways. We encourage submissions from a broad spectrum of writers, from emerging to widely produced, and are particularly interested in works by underrepresented voices in American theater (e.g. women, LGBTQ, and playwrights of color).


HOW DO I SUBMIT MY PLAY(S)?
Submit manuscripts to umassplaylab@gmail.com. All documents must be submitted in .pdf format; plays formatted otherwise will be disqualified. Please include a concise playwright’s bio and a short (max. 50 word) summary of how you think your play might benefit from a developmental reading. 
Submissions will be capped at 500 plays.


WHAT IS THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE?

The deadline is Friday, August 1, 2014.


11.
Exit Player 7
Deadline: September 13th
Website: http://www.exit7players.org/shows/theexit7newshortpl/


Exit 7 Players is seeking submissions for The Exit 7 New Short Play Contest, performing in February 2015. The contest producers are Janine and Jeffrey Flood (co-producers, the LabWorks 15-Minute New Play Contest 2010-2013, Valley Repertory Company) and Rebecca Johnson (co-producer, Les Miserables, Exit 7 Players).


The Exit 7 New Short Play Contest will produce short plays by twelve playwrights in an exciting audience-participation format, awarding two winning writers a prize of $150 each.


You may submit either one or two plays. Please use the following process to enter the contest. Read all requirements carefully so as to be considered.


1. Format your script using no smaller than 12-point type. Use 1” margins on top, bottom, and sides. Please number your pages. (Click Sample Script Format to see a properly formatted page.)


2. Page one should start with the title of the play at the top of the page (as seen on the Sample Script Format). If you consider your play to be a comedy, please follow the title with “A Comedy”. If you do NOT consider your play to be a comedy, follow the title with “A Drama”. And yes, you must label your play as either one or the other.


3. Your play must be limited to 15 pages total. Any script 16 pages or longer will be rejected.


4. The plays we produce are chosen blind, so do not include ANY author information on the script itself. The contest Play Selection Committee does not see any playwrights’ names until the final selections for production have been made. Therefore, if you put your name on the script so that a member of the Committee sees it, it will be rejected. A company member who is not on the Play Selection Committee keeps the playwright contact info until the final 12 plays are selected for production.


5. Save your script(s) in .pdf format. You can submit your script(s) until Saturday, September 13th, 2014 via the form found in the link. Do not attempt to submit the script in any other format or to any other destination. Snail mail submissions are NOT being accepted.


Submission Restrictions


Please read the following carefully so that your script can be given due consideration:


1. Playwrights can submit 2 plays, but only 1 play per writer will be produced. Members of Exit 7 Players are eligible to submit to the contest, but if their script is chosen as one of the 12 semifinalists, they will be prohibited from working on the production of the contest in any capacity.


2. Scripts should require 2 to 5 actors. Please note that a play can include more than 5 characters, as long as they can be played by 2 to 5 actors. Scripts requiring more than 5 actors will be rejected.


3. We will not consider one-man or one-woman shows, musicals, or children’s theatre.


4. Entries must be original plays. Scripts may be co-authored, based on factual  material, or an adaptation. Legal clearance of materials not in the public domain is the full responsibility of the playwright.


5. We will consider unproduced works as well as plays that have been previously produced, so long as their first date of production was on, or after, June 15th of 2013.


6. Submissions are restricted to plays that have not been published in any form, and they must be royalty-free to Exit 7 for this contest.


7. We’re seeking plays, not skits or sketches. Plays should have a beginning, a middle, and an end (though not necessarily in that order) and feature character development. Above all, make the script compelling.


8. Exit 7 is a community theatre. If we foresee difficulty producing a play due to unusual script requirements, the play may be rejected.


9. While Exit 7 is a family-friendly theatre, adult content is acceptable. Profanity, if it is fully justified by the script and for the character, will not be cause for outright rejection; however, profanity is no replacement for good writing. We will reject any script that requires nudity.


10. Keep set, lighting, sound, costume, and prop requirements to a minimum. The contest will feature 6 plays per night, with quick changeovers. A script with complex technical requirements could lead to its rejection.


12.
20% Theatre
Deadline: open


20% Theatre Company Twin Cities is open to accepting full-length plays any time (60 minute minimum performance time). Please complete this Script Submission Form and email with your script to submissions@tctwentypercent.org. Due to the high volume of scripts submitted to us, we are unable to respond to all submissions. If we are interested in producing your work we will contact you.


13.
Mixed Blood
Deadline: open submission
Website:http://www.mixedblood.com/


Mixed Blood welcomes submissions of contemporary plays that pursue and realize the company’s mission and aesthetic. Mixed Blood uses theatre to address pluralism, usually manifest in race, culture, language, disability, gender, nationality, affectional orientation, and political worldview. Predictably unpredictable, the theatre particularly invites polyglot plays, scripts from the global stage, and work that advances the art form. We prefer e-submissions. If you think you play might be a good fit for us, please send a query letter, your bio or resume, a brief synopsis, and a 10-page sample of your play to the Mixed Blood. Send to: literary@mixedblood.com

14. 
Ars Nova Play Group
Deadline: August 3rd
Website: http://arsnovanyc.com/playgroup



This vibrant and eclectic group of emerging playwrights gathers twice a month at Ars Nova to share new work and get feedback. The group offers members the chance to develop their plays with peer support, form collaborative relationships and build a strong sense of community within Ars Nova. In addition, members receive dramaturgical support and artistic matchmaking advice from the Ars Nova artistic staff and development opportunities through public readings and workshops.


All emerging playwrights are eligible to apply. New members join for two-year residencies beginning in January of 2015. In selecting new members, we will take into account the strength of the submitted play, what the writer stands to gain from membership at this point in his or her career, and the overall balance of voices and styles within the group. Women and writers of color are encouraged to apply.

Click here to apply online. Applications require a full-length play, a playwriting resume and a personal statement. All attachments must be saved as PDFs.
Please attach the following to your completed online application form and submit it by August 3, 2014. All applications will be reviewed and finalists will be notified by December 15, 2014. Questions? Email us at artistic@arsnovanyc.com.
  1. Your play (please save as LAST NAME, FIRST NAME PLAY TITLE)
  2. Your resume (please save as LAST NAME, FIRST NAME RESUME)
  3. A personal statement (please save as LAST NAME, FIRST NAME STATEMENT)

15.
BMI Lyricists and Composers Class
Deadline: August 1st

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management, has announced that the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is accepting applications for its first-year composer-lyricist class through Aug. 1.
Applications should send completed applications to: Patrick Cook, BMI 250 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007-0030. Composers should include three (3) contrasting compositions on CD — up-tempo, comedy song and ballad — as well as a copy of score that includes lyrics.Lyricists should include three (3) contrasting lyrics — up-tempo, comedy song and ballad. Composer-lyricists should include three (3) contrasting songs on CD — up-tempo, comedy song and ballad — as well as a copy of score that includes lyrics.
The workshop begins Sept. 15 and runs through June 2015. The first-year class is moderated by BMI's director of musical theatre, Patrick Cook, and workshop administrator, Frederick Freyer.
Workshop participants will pay $27 for an identification badge, but all other sponsorship costs are fully covered by BMI. The purpose of the workshop is to "bring writers together to work under the guidance and supervision of experienced professionals in order to develop new creative talent in American musical theatre. A springboard for new works, the Workshop creates a learning environment for members to experiment, take risks and learn from moderators and other participants."
Applications for the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop can be downloaded here or requested by emailing theater@bmi.com.
A recipient of the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre Award, the Lehman Engel Musical Workshop consists of approximately 250 composers, lyricists and book writers who are actively writing new works for the musical theatre.
BMI alumni include Tony Award winners Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q), Edward Kleban (A Chorus Line), Maury Yeston (Titanic, Grand Hotel, Nine), Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), Jeff Marx (Avenue Q), Michael John LaChiusa (Queen of the Mist, Marie Christine, The Wild Party) and Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal).
For additional information, visit BMI.com.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Send in the Well-Oiled Clowns

Parades: Bleh

A few years ago I was asked why I didn't attend any gay pride parades and events of a particular organization any more, especially since I was one of the few people of color. I simply responded "I don't feel welcomed, comfortable, or visible." To this day it's still my most succinct description of my emotional reaction to this time of year.

When I was in college I would attend the Pride Parade in Chicago. I found the experience to be an exercise of masochism. It was white guys from my college, their outlier cliques of hanger-ons, a few lesbians, and me: the fat black guy with glasses cracking nervous jokes and sweating. I would stand there talking myself into 'enjoying' the loneliness, the complete lack of communication. My last Chicago Pride parade I was invited back to the place of my straight friends for a Sangria birthday party. It was a pity invite which I gladly accepted. That was the only event anyone ever invited me to during my four years of Chicago "Pride."

Parades: Fey

Although race is a factor in my feelings it's not the only one. There's also the overwhelming sense that the Pride Parades feel like a r-rated walking commercial for mega-corps, had a dwindling activists presence, and connection to the local community. Many of the companies feed into a body-obsessed, apolitical cult of American consumption that's based out of subconscious fear of lacking, rather than historical pride of being enough. My friends would walks away from the parade and feel an overwhelming urge to drink, screw, find a clique, and get some validation after having been gently reminded 'something is missing from your life.'

Parades: Meh

I soaked myself in ambivalence, and it's triggered me looking for my own joy. During one year when the parade wrapped around my building, I stayed inside and wrote the last scenes of "Defacing Michael Jackson" which went on to be published. On a few occasions I've started new plays that got produced. Today I attended an interactive media show about connectivity in which the audience was forced to talk to each other. I met an older playwright who works with kids, a LATV producer and his partner who works in social activism. Afterward, I sat down at a juice bar to work on a choreo-poem. I had EE Cummings "Erotic Poetry" and Ntozake Shange's "for colored girls...' on each side of me as I wrote out a few pages. And I have found that there is no animosity or anger toward what I think 'they should be doing.' Rather, there's a great gift at creating my own community, celebrating in my own way, and doing what 'I must do' as a creator.

Parades: Yea

I've only attended two parades in my life that I truly enjoyed. The first was in Dayton, Ohio. It was medium-small size and for the NFL Hall of Fame. The local towns folks chipped in, the high school bands showed up and showed out, there was dancing, an announcer explained each of the floats clearly and related it to an overall theme, and it was over in 2 hrs. It was just commercial enough to be done in a professional quick-paced manner, and just amateur enough to be filled with unexpected hilarity and personal touches of the off-beat local community. In that moment -even as a child- I finally 'got' why parades could be great, but also why they were such a difficult thing to do.

The other fun parade experience was the King Mango Strut down in Miami, which is sort of like a hipster parade where all the weirdos, clubs, and strange factions march down the street in diaper chaps, plastic flamingoes, ironic satire, deluded grandeur, and other normal Miami attires and emotions. King Mango is always capped off with Hare Krishna's who bring up the tail end by dancing, ringing bells, and jumping up and down. The parade makes NO sense. I always thought that this is the kind of parade for all the awkward kids left sweating on the sidelines. It is a freewheeling peek into the cracked alt lifestyle id of Florida. It is a wonderful mess that I hope never gets cleaned up and commercialized.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Rumi-nation

I always thought you would come to me
       in the shape of a beautiful lover
I never dreamed you would steal my heart
       with no shape at all

I always pretended I needed arms to hold me
       and lips to kiss away my pain
yet I find fulfillment
      in the embrace of empty space

I always wished you would speak to me
     with words of tender sweetness
now I know you whisper silently
      of your undying love

I always knew I would find you
      although I foolishly looked with my eyes
you were here all along
      hiding just out of sight in my heart
-Rumi

Thursday, June 12, 2014

I'm Going to Say Something Nice about the Tea Party

A few yrs ago I was driving around NJ listening to right-wing talk radio. I wanted to laugh.

I switched between Glenn Beck and more fringe radio filled with anger and bombastic yellers.  Most of the callers weren't upset about Obama or immigrants, but they were frustrated with the big business fraud, corporate control of government, and the GOP's lack of concern for the average person. Instead of laughing, I found myself agreeing on some of things being said. The callers were mostly older, white men. What they were saying made sense on a basic level.

Ever since listening to that, I'm continually amazed at how this valid feeling of 'losing control' gets so easily misdirected by GOP consultants into attacks on blacks, immigrants, women, gays, Muslims, atheists, unions, teachers, and other groups who -historically- have so little control over their own fate, much less others.

If there were ever day when Occupy youth and Tea Party elders could sit at the table, I think they would agree on quite a number of points. If they could get past their exterior differences and prejudices, there could be a movement fostered on helping the swelling underclass of Americans who feel angry and impotent. Of course such a 'bold' move of sitting with others and listening seems unlikely. It's seems unlikely because it would be productive, proactive, and progressive which is the antithesis of the regressive, reactionary, reductive mood of current political discourse.

But I wonder if Tea party members ever turn to MSNBC for laughs. I wonder if they ever sit at home waiting to giggle at the 'left-wing' pinkos and find themselves nodding their head as Rachel Maddow points out another case of corporate corporate and political collusion. Perhaps there is a path in the quiet moments in our cars and living rooms. I wonder if this quiet certainty is something that could be built on to bridge the gap among so many people who think they're different but are looking for the same freedom.


Saturday, June 7, 2014

Old Woman in My Head

Her teeth fell into her soup
"Gotdamnit to hell Good Lord!"
unfurled Panegyric plangents
twanging the twi'lit nimbus
as she fished white choppers from stew.

The kippered shriveled orifice
twisted like a hank of flesh
Black rheum gravid with ribaldry
swallowing white dentition.

"Wearing me to a frazzle!"
this shilly shallying life,
anger and acquiescence
appall and appeasement
lit recividist revelry
cigarette's lissome pale reeds
tumbled silver blue trellis'es
quivering hieratics
spelling out her life in smoke.

"Let's get whisky stinky!"
she blessed her meal in rapture
and flung the damp paper bowl
in her wake and to nirvana.

Gray decanters clanged on plastic taiga
brown gulches in styrofoam
 filled to the stippled tip
invoking the Dionysus
she petitioned for dice luck,
and whor'ish nights of passion.
Appealed for sharpshooter's aim
employ gravedigger's wisdom.

"Our father who art in heaven
shoot 'em six, roll 'em seven."


Sunday, June 1, 2014

GET WHAT YOU WANT: June 2014

1.
Queer Art Mentorship
Deadline: June 7th

The program is a year in length. It is largely driven by the unique character of each of the mentor/fellow pairs according to their respective needs and habits of communication, although once-a-month meeting commitments will be suggested. The program coordinators engage in an ongoing dialogue with the mentors and fellows in an effort to ensure that the program best serve its participants.
The entire group of mentor/fellow pairs will also convene for three short meetings throughout the cycle. The goal of the limited group-wide meetings is to encourage dialogues between all levels of participants and between all disciplines. It has been shown in a variety of fields that implement mentor programs that the mentor-to-mentor dialogue that occurs in mentor programs is as significant to the program’s success in developing the field as any that occurs directly between mentor and mentee.
1) INTENT TO APPLY
Before you can receive the application you must submit a simple Intention to Apply by June 7, 2014. All that is required for this form is your name, email address and discipline. Once submitted you will receive an email with the password to complete the application process.
2) APPLICATION
After completing the Intent to Apply you will be emailed a password and link to submit the following application materials through the online application form. The completed application is due by July 1, 2014:
  • Name, address, and contact info
  • Describe a formative experience you’ve had with queer culture (250 words).
  • Describe your art; how you and it have evolved; and where you would like to see yourself and your art develop. Please reference the work samples submitted in this application (500 words).
  • Describe a specific project you’d like to work on in the next year and share with a mentor over the 2014-2015 mentorship cycle (500 words).
  • Describe why you’re interested in the Queer/Art/Mentorship Program; what you feel participation would do for your life, art, and career; and what you can imagine being able to offer to the relationship (250 words).
For Film/Video Applicants, and those with video/audio work online: Please submit url links to your work samples in the online form.

2.
SDCF Observership Program
Deadline: July 31st

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) Observership Program grants emerging Directors and Choreographers 25 paid opportunities to observe the work of master Directors and Choreographers as they create productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway and at leading regional theatres across the country.
SDCF Observers have access to the entire rehearsal process, from first rehearsal through previews to opening night. Observers are guaranteed the invaluable opportunity to observe, first-hand, the techniques, disciplines, approaches and insights of master artists as they create new productions and revive classics.
Each Observer receives a grant of at least $225 per week plus a project travel stipend. In addition, any Observer who is not already a Member or Associate Member of SDC will be awarded a free one-year SDC Associate Membership.
Application to this year's program is free to SDC Members and Associates. A $25 application fee is required for those unaffiliated with SDC.
To apply, visit http://www.sdcfoundation.org for program information, application, and guidelines. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by *May 30* as opportunities are expected to be available prior to that date, though applications will be accepted through July 31. Those who apply by *May 30 *if accepted will be eligible for summer Observerships, while those who apply from *June 1 ? July 31* will be eligible, if accepted, for the remaining Observerships after September.
All applicants will be invited to SDCF Programs and special SDC events throughout the year, all of which are free of charge or very low cost. After reviewing guidelines and FAQ?s online, please email: Opportunities@SDCweb.org
or call 646.524.2226 with any questions.

3.
Elite Theatre Company World Premiere Play
Deadline: June 30th

The Elite Theatre Company produces at least one World Premiere play in its regular main stage season each year. We are open to all kinds of plays.

We prefer small casts, single or unit sets, more women than men, with minimal budgets. Familiarize yourself with our standards by looking at past plays we’ve recently produced.

Plays must be full-length, unpublished and unproduced.

We are a 72-seat theater with very limited off-stage space. Casts with more than 8 actors are a very tight fit (although we have done plays with 20 actors); set changes must be minimal; and, having only an 8.5-foot ceiling over the upstage half of our stage does not allow for tall platforms or second floor sets.

Tom Eubanks, Artistic Director, describes what he’s looking for: “For this slot in our season, I like plays that engage the audience’s sense of not knowing what to expect, something about the play in its characters, theme and plot that is quirky, off-center, but not obscene or tawdry. I’m not interested in “living room” plays or plays that take the social justice issue to the point of being whiny. For 2015, he would love to see more submissions by conservative writers, whose voices have traditionally been muted by the East Coast theater establishment. If in doubt, just write it and then send it to me.

How to Submit:

Letters of Inquiry and submissions are accepted from March 1 – June 30. If you send an inquiry or script outside the submission period, we may not respond.

1. E-mail a Letter of Inquiry to the Artistic Director at ad@elitetheatre.org. In the letter, tell us:

· Title of Play

· Number of male and female characters

· Describe the set requirements, including the number of different locales

· Brief Synopsis

· Your phone number and e-mail address

Allow one month for a response.

2. If the Artistic Director requests a full script, submit electronically only as a PDF, Word or WordPerfect document. Plays not written in acceptable play script format or handwritten will not be read. Always provide your e-mail address and phone number on the cover page of the script. Allow 4-6 months for a response.

Payment
The royalty payment will be negotiated by the Artistic Director; however, we generally pay a minimum of $50 per performance and plays usually run 15-18 performances. Payment is made prior to the first performance.


4.
Cimientos
Deadline: June 30th

Cimientos is a program dedicated in full to the development of new plays in English and Spanish. By focusing on the strengthening of a dramatic work's foundations, Cimientos takes each playwrights vision from initial drafts to a rehearsed staged reading where the audience voice is the culmination of growth. There is no submission fee for Cimientos.
Submissions lacking any of the following guidelines will not be considered.

LINK: http://www.iatitheater.org/programs/play_development_program

1. Submission will only be accepted through the online form.
See link above (only visible in June 2014.)
2. Submissions must be the author's own work. The piece shall be free from copyright restrictions and the author agrees to hold IATI Theater and directors free and harmless from all copyright claims.
3. The playwright must commit to be present on the staged reading performance of his/her work.
4. The playwright must commit to be present on the PPP (Pal Playwrights Panel) assigned to his/her work.
5. This program is open to authors from anywhere in the world with original works in English or Spanish who are interested in a New York audience feedback. However, because of the PPP (Pal Playwrights Panel), every playwright must be present to take part in the monthly meetings or commit to presenting feedback electronically or in written form on the dates of the PPP's and with no delay.
6. Only one play may be submitted per playwright, per season.
7. Submissions must not exceed 90 minutes in length.
8. The play must require 5 actors or less. Plays that have more than 5 actors and do not provide a clear and stageable doubling explanation will not be reviewed. If doubling is possible, it must be expressed clearly on the online form.
9. The submission must be a completed full-length play that has not previously been produced in any setting. If the play has undergone a workshop, staged reading or development of any kind, the playwright must inform IATI Theater of the specifics on the online form.
10. The author’s name(s) should be nowhere within the script, any authorship information must not be visible in the play document. Scripts will be read ‘blind’.
11. Submissions for the 2014-2015 Season will only be accepted from June 1 to June 30, 2014.

*The 2014-2015 Cimientos will consists of two main components:

*PPP (Pal Playwrights Panel): Playwrights accepted to the program, IATI Theater’s artistic staff and other specially invited theater professionals will converge in workshop meetings to discuss the new works that make up the particular season. Every meeting will be dedicated to a single playwright in the program, the focus being in further advancing the text before it is presented in front of a live audience.

*SRP (Staged Reading Presentation): Each playwright in the program will be given the opportunity to present his/her play in a directed, professionally acted staged reading. Thus, the piece will be exposed to a receptive audience that further develops the featured script through a post-reading talkback.


5.
Yale Drama Series Prize
Deadline: August 15th

The Yale Drama Series is seeking submissions for its 2015 playwriting competition. The winning play will be selected by the series' current judge, distinguished playwright Nicholas Wright. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of his/her manuscript by Yale University Press, and a staged reading at Lincoln Center Theater.

There is no application form or entry fee.
Please follow these guidelines in preparing your manuscript:
1. This contest is restricted to plays written in the English language. Worldwide submissions are accepted.
2. Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays written in English. Translations, musicals, and children's plays are not accepted. The Yale Drama Series is intended to support emerging playwrights. Playwrights may win the competition only once.
3. Playwrights may submit only one manuscript per year.
4. Plays that have been professionally produced or published are not eligible.  Plays that have had a workshop, reading, or non-professional production or that have been published as an actor’s edition will be considered.
5. Plays may not be under option or scheduled for professional production or publication at the time of submission.
6. Plays must be typed/word-processed, page-numbered, and in standard professional play format.
7. The Yale Drama Series reserves the right to reject any manuscript for any reason.
8. The Yale Drama Series reserves the right of the judge to not choose a winner for any given year of the competition and reserves the right to determine the ineligibility of a winner, in keeping with the spirit of the competition, and based upon the accomplishments of the author.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS:
The Yale Drama Series Competition strongly urges electronic submission. By electronically submitting your script, you will receive immediate confirmation of your successful submission and the ability to check the status of your entry.

Electronic submissions for the 2015 competition must be submitted no earlier than June 1, 2014 and no later than August 15, 2014.

If you are submitting your play electronically, please omit your name and contact information from your manuscript.  The manuscript must begin with a title page that shows the play's title, a 2-3 sentence keynote description of the play, a list of characters, and a list of acts and scenes. Please enter the title of your play, your name and contact information (including address, phone number, and email address), and a brief biography (optional) where indicated in the electronic submission form.

If you would like to submit an electronic copy of your manuscript please go to:


6.
NEWvember New Plays Festival
Deadline: June 30th

Inaugurated in 2011 as a co-production of Tangent Theatre Tivoli and AboutFACE Ireland,
NEWvember is a festival of rehearsed readings of new plays that takes place over four days at the Carpenter Shop Theatre in the historic village of Tivoli in upstate New York.

CRITERIA FOR SUBMISSIONS
-submitted plays should be previously unproduced (we will consider plays that have had
readings before but are still in development)
-plays should not have previously been submitted to the NEWvember Festival
-plays should have a cast size of 2-8
-plays should have a running time of 30 to 120 minutes
-we will only accept one submission per writer
-we ask that the writers of the chosen plays attend the reading of their play towards its further development and to be present for a post-reading Q&A with the audience. We will provide $50 towards travel for those traveling more than 50 miles (the equivalent of a return Amtrak trip from NYC to Rhinecliff) as well as local accommodation in Tivoli
there is no fee for submissions while we are open to all styles and subjects, our companies do have a preference for narrative and character driven stories

PROCESS OF SUBMISSION:
Please submit your play at www.NEWvemberfestival.com/submit
via our online application form
you will be asked to include
your play as a PDF, without your name, email or other identifying marks (to aid our blind
reading process)
the title page, listing the name of author, separately
a 3-line synopsis of the play
a bio of the writer
SUBMISSION DATES: The window for submissions opens Thursday May 1st
2014.
The closing date for submissions is Monday June 30th 2014 (12 midnight EST).


7.
NBC Comedy Playground
Deadline: June 30th

NBC’s Comedy Playground is a contest intended to identify talent for the development of two new television comedies for the NBC television network (the “Contest”). The Contest begins on or about May 1, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (the “Start Date”), and ends on the date that the Digital Winner is chosen (the “Contest Period”). Subject to the Official Rules detailed below, the Contest will proceed as follows: http://www.nbccomedyplayground.com/#/home

OFFICIAL RULES
Entering the Contest: Each applicant or permitted applicant team, as detailed in the Official Rules (“Contestant” or “Contestants”) must submit: (1) a five (5) to ten (10) minute video sample of their existing work (the “Video Sample”); (2) a two (2) to five (5) minute video of themselves pitching their original sitcom idea, which may include a description of the show content (the “Sitcom Pitch”) (the Video Sample and the Sitcom Pitch are collectively referred to herein as a “Submission”); and (3) a completed application (the “Application”), along with their resume/credits (the Submission, the Application and the resume/credits, collectively referred to herein as the “Entry” or “Entries”). Submissions must comply with the Criteria for Eligible Submissions (below), and the Entry and Contestants must meet the Eligibility requirements (below) for the Entry to be accepted into the Contest.

Semifinals: From the eligible Entries, which will be evaluated as detailed below, NBC Entertainment, a division of NBC West LLC (“NBC”) will select up to thirty (30) semifinalists (each, a “Semifinalist”); each Semifinalist will be required to provide at least two (2) letters of recommendation, execute certain documentation and agreements, and submit to certain screenings (including, without limitation, an interview and a background check).

Finals: From the Semifinalist group of Entries, NBC will select up to ten (10) finalists (each, a “Finalist”), as detailed below. Each Finalist will be provided access to funding in an amount to be determined by NBC to develop, produce and submit a video presentation of approximately twenty (20) minutes in length of their sitcom idea in accordance with the specific instructions provided at a later date to the Finalists (each, a “Finalist Submission”). In order to participate as a Finalist, you must be a member in good standing of the Writers Guild of America (the “WGA”) or you must become a member in good standing to the extent required by the applicable provisions of the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement at your sole cost and expense.
Winners: Two winners (each, an “On-Air Winner”) will be selected as detailed below, and each will have their Sitcom Pitch developed by NBC into one or more episodes of a television program based on the Sitcom Pitch (collectively, the “Winning Programs”), which will be intended for broadcast on NBC; part or all of the Winners’ Finalist Submissions may be considered to be one of such episodes. In addition, the Finalist Submission of one (1) Finalist (the “Digital Winner”) will be selected by public voting as detailed below. NBC may also, in its sole discretion, choose two (2) Digital Winners (i.e., the two Finalists who receive the highest number of public votes). Each Digital Winner will have his or her Sitcom Pitch developed into approximately thirty (30) minutes of digital content for initial exhibition and distribution, as a whole or as divided into segments in NBC’s sole discretion, on nbc.com and possibly elsewhere (“Digital Program”). NBC will determine in its sole discretion what services, if any, the Winners will perform with respect to the Winning Programs and the Digital Program(s), and any such services will be pursuant to the terms of a separate agreement.
http://www.nbccomedyplayground.com/#/home


8.
THE ARCH AND BRUCE BROWN FOUNDATION
Deadline: June 30th

The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation will accept submissions for its 2013 Playwriting Competition between March 1 and June 30, 2013. 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.


9.
Shakespeare’s Sister
Deadline: July 1st

The Shakespeare’s Sister Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a female playwright to be supported by three extraordinary institutions over the course of a year while she writes and develops a new play.

In addition to a cash prize of $10,000, the playwright will receive residencies at three geographically distinct institutions—AROHO,Hedgebrook, and the Lark Play Development Center—each one providing a different kind of support at successive stages in the playwright’s process. The fellowship seeks to make possible for the playwright a breakthrough into the kind of new work she would not have had the freedom or the resources to create otherwise.

  • In order to be eligible, the applicant must be a woman playwright (no age limit) who has written at least one full-length play.  (A first round-applicant will submit 30 pages of a play that she will then submit in its entirety if she makes it into the second round.)

  • Applicants must be able to commit wholeheartedly to each stage of the fellowship, entailing four weeks of dedicated time over the course of the year, and must be willing to write an entirely new play. (This fellowship isn’t designed to refine existing work. The playwright must be open to what the process brings.)
View the Shakespeare’s Sister Showcase to see announcements about the fellowship.


10.
Fiant Verbas
Deadline: June 15th

FIANT VERBAS, an online literary journal & monthly zine is now accepting submissions for the June 2014 collection. Up to 10 pieces will be selected.
The journal is a new start up from an MFA student in School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Writing Program. Thus, the publication will be read throughout the Chicago art scene. Check out our Tumblr Profile athttp://fiantverbas.tumblr.com
Submission Details: Only one submission per writer can be submitted every month. Submissions should be no longer than 20 pages unless completely necessary. All genres of writing (including mixed media) are accepted, and strongly encouraged. Email to mhellw@saic.edu in a word or pdf format, unless it absolutely requires alternative formatting.

11.
Uppity Theatre’s Short LGBT Plays
Deadline: June 15th

It is that time of year again, and we are looking for short play submissions for our third annual Briefs: A Festival of Short LGBT Plays, which will be held in late winter or early spring 2015 in St Louis. We are looking for plays that are 10-15 minutes in length, that can be done with simple staging/props, and that are LGBT themed.

If you are interested in submitting a play, please send a PDF copy BriefsFestStl@outlook.com with a subject line Briefs 2014/ Playwright Last Name/name of play. In body of email, please include contact information including address, phone, email, a short synopsis of the play and a 100 word bio of the playwright.

We are reading plays now, and would like to have the plays by June 15. Please let us know you get this, and we hope to read some of your work soon! If there is a fellow playwright you think this festival would be a good fit for, please feel free to forward the submission information to them, and have them tell us who sent them.

Get What You Want: November 2026

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