Traveling in Different Vehicles: Mahayana

On the way to the Ft. Lauderdale airport, my Lyft driver went the wrong way at least three times. I got annoyed because his GPS system was clearly directing him to the right route but he wasn’t following it. Then I remembered what my dad would say when I would start to act like a brat about something. “Hey!!! Everyone is doing the best they can.” In my mind I always add “so get over yourself, asshole” because that was the tone of his voice. I sighed and looked at the guy. Older, gray hair, Spanish speaking. I directed him to the Turnpike and just read his GPS to him (which was in Spanish.) When he got on the right highway he took off his sunglasses and I could see the wrinkles and his concerned looks toward the backseat. There’s a Buddhist technique where you put yourself in someone’s head, and then you look out from their eyes. I looked at myself from his eyes. What was he worried about? Bad tip. No stars. A harsh review. I began just seeing things through his eyes. The world softened. The tension dissipated without me saying a word. He got me to the airport. We were both unbothered, relaxed. Total time delayed from expected ETA? 5 minutes. I walked through the airport with all these stressed faces and frantic ppl and it just kept hitting me again and again: everyone is doing their best. Even the crooks who were taught how to steal, even the liars who were taught how to lie, even the servers, security, passengers. Holy crap! What if I walked around like this all the time?

On the plane I spent the entire flight talking to my seatmate (this almost never happens) about life, religion, celibacy, meditation, traveling to Asian countries, and quantum physics. There was a Hassidic couple behind us and the husband asked if we had any water b/c his wife was getting nauseous. She was shaking and breathing strangely. I didn't think I was allowed to touch or physically assist her, so I sent prayers to her as we talked about meditation and breathing exercises. She calmed down and a doctor helped her out on the plane. When we landed the Hasidic ambulance was there with workers to help but she was fine. My Lyft pulled up and the driver jumped out to take my bag. I made a mental note 'this guy looks...different. Asian, but different.' I got into this massive black Chevy Suburban and saw a golden prayer wheel and mala beads on the dashboard. He said he was Tibetan but came here b/c he married an American. He drove the black tank through traffic while talking about how Tibet messed up by mixing religion with politics. I asked 'wasn't Tibet a wild country? Didn't monks take over b/c warlords were killing and destroying everything, and the monks were asked to lead?' He agreed, talked about the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, the Kadampas, and his family. "There was a time when Tibet defeated China." He then said Tibet made the biggest mistake by not having children and dedicating so much of the male population to religion and monkhood, thus decreasing thus decreasing the birth rate. I said that the 6th Dalai Lama tried to end celibacy...at least for himself *ahem." He wrote love poetry and wanted to get married. For his efforts, he was killed. We wondered if history would have been different if monks could have gotten married, had kids, study, and continue the population growth. So the evening started with a discombobulated Spanish Lyft driver in a Honda Civic and ended with a feisty Tibetan driver with a prayer wheel in a Suburban tank...and a plane and Hasidic ambulance in the middle. Different vehicles of learning. Mahayana.

Caretaking and Family

I've had to deal with many different nurses and nurse aides and it's always complicated. On the one hand, part of their job is to listen and become part of the family. On the other hand, if they do that too well or take a serious personal interest in the patient (like, you know, a thinking, complex, human being) then they are characterized as exploitative and manipulating the elderly.

My mom has a team of nurses who stop by every day to check on my dad, who has been bed-bound for several years. In many ways, these nurses have become apart of the family. They are more close to my mom than I am by now. I stop in, do my tour of duty, and then split.

My mom has bought paintings from these nurses, given away stuff, she gave a huge loan to a friend/helper. Part of me balked at these interactions. Yes, it's all right to love my parents, take care of them, be treated as a family, but GOD FORBID, property or money is exchanged. It's shameful. I caught myself bristling at a personal connection that I felt crossed whatever professional line I deemed appropriate. I felt a certain way and then told myself 'Aurin, shut the fuck up. You're not here. She's lonely. She has money and time.' We are human beings. We are allowed to be lonely. We are allowed to make personal connections in our later years with ppl of different classes or races. But as a culture we are so suspicious of different classes mixing, and/or different races. We assume it's exploitative because mone is involved. So pretty much poor people should work for the rich, eat crumbs, not show any of their personal sides, and be loving/caring/wonderful all the time b/c...it would make me comfortable?!? It's insane. And yet, a part of me thinks this way because there is a huge part of my brain dedicated to real estate/capitalism. Family -removed of deep love- becomes an exchange of services and capital. When parents age, one begins to think about the capital they represent more than the human beings they are and continue to be in my absence.

We can't talk about any of this. It's uncomfortable. So we sit on this enormous mountain of thoughts/feelings/capitalistic thoughts. We visit our parents and, when things become too difficult or we start digging into that mountain beneath our feet, we pass them off on the help. It's an unfair situation to my parents and to the nurses' aides.

My sister and I reacted in the opposite way. We ran away from the capital. I don't know if this is mature or cowardly. When my grandmother was dying she wanted us to come to the lawyer about the will and turning over the house to me or my sister. We both refused. We didn't want to think about her death and the house involved. We said the usual 'oh you're healthy' or 'oh it's not that bad' or 'I love you grandma, I don't want anything from you.' But she WANTED to give that house to us. She worked her whole life for it. That property was a symbol of her devotion and care. It was one of the few things she could give us and I turned it down out of fear that I would look like a vulture; as if being aware of property transference between families and trying to plan for it makes one a heinous vampire. Instead of sitting and having a conversation, I ran. She left the house to me and my sister and neither one of us wanted to deal with it. So the real vultures started to come out when my grandmother died. People from the neighborhood breaking in and stealing wiring, paneling. Real estate brokers who buy black people's property in cash so they can undercut market value and I can cheat on my taxes. The vultures swarmed that property which was a sign of my grandmother's life. Her home. That's when I realized what my grandmother was trying to do and I felt so ashamed of myself for not going to the lawyer's office, for not being there to have a sensible adult conversation about death/taxes/property/family.

My mom took over, hired contractors to fix things up, and put it on the market. By grace, we sold it before it was ripped apart by vandals or burned by drug addicts using it for a crack den. And we got a little bit of money. Now if my grandmother had a nurse living with her who had kids, would I give her the house? Would I give a completely empty house that I don't want to someone who could really use it and raise a family there, or would I be so selfish that I would rather sell it for scraps?

Anyway, if my mom or dad got a nice nurse who was being nice to them, and they fell in love, I would feel extremely conflicted. And then I would tell myself 'Aurin, shut the fuck up. If they're happy and this person is sane, then let it go on.' Yes it might be exploitative. But life is short and who gives a fuck about property when you're alone in a giant house?

WGA vs. ATA

WGA and why writers need to talk to each other: It was maybe 2014 when I got an urgent call from my tv agent. I was walking through Bushwick at night to check out an apartment. My agent said I should meet these entertainment lawyers. It was strange b/c it was a nighttime call and he was trying to sound casual but there was a tension in his voice that I couldn't place. I asked him why I needed an entertainment lawyer? I had representation (uhh...you!) I was with a major agency. He paused -as if to carefully consider how to phrase things- and then said I might need someone to represent my interests first during certain negotiations. I followed up with a logical question: so you're saying my agency won't represent me during certain times? He backtracked. Nonononono!! There was a delicate dance of words between us. I thanked him, hung up the phone, and continued walking. I remember thinking: what the hell did that mean? Months passed, I finished at Juilliard and got a tv staff writer job. My entertainment lawyer walked me through the contract he had just negotiated. Being a newbie and excited, I was just like 'yeah yeah yeah, sounds great' but he was trying to explain to me that this was a REALLY good contract. I just thought 'yeah it's standard stuff.' The job started and it was cool. At the end of my time at the writers' room, I revealed how much I was getting paid to another writer on my level (at a different show). I could see this other writer's face flush red. They were LIVID. I had gotten paid A LOT more, but it wasn't just that. I got the sense that this writer felt like they had been lied to and betrayed by their reps. I casually revealed to them 'this is actually how much you should have been paid." They fired their agents after their next job was secured.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from a playwriting colleague who had just gotten their first tv contract. They described the terms of the contract and asked for my opinion. The contract sounded AWFUL. A below scale, mini-room for only a few weeks on a show that sounded terrible and unsuited to this person's temperament and talent. Taking this bad job would have meant quitting a professorship that they liked. But their agent was telling them it's a good deal, despite the writer's taste and discomfort. I asked the writer: does this sound like a good deal to you? They said 'no, it makes me uncomfortable.' I said it sounded like an awful contract and it seemed like your agents had some ulterior motives. The writer said they were probably going to turn down the deal. They wanted confirmation of their fears from a colleague b/c it seemed like their agents were talking them into a bad choice.

This is why writers should talk to each other. This is why the WGA is right. This is why agencies can't produce. You can't represent a client and cut production deals with the studio. It is the epitome of the term 'conflict of interest.’ Low-level writers get screwed and showrunners get their budgets chopped.

I have had an unusual trajectory thanks to many auspicious moments and ppl helping me out. My tv agent didn't have to call me and warn me to get an entertainment lawyer. He could've just kept that 'uneasy' feeling to himself. My colleagues didn't have to tell me the inside gossip about certain jobs (which led me to avoid Titanic disasters). I have gotten a raise and promotion every year, and at every job. Not b/c ppl love my personality. I got this b/c it's in my contract, and it's in my contracts b/c someone was actually FIGHTING for me and representing me first. I see some fantastic writers repeating levels or experiencing pay stagnation. I realize that maybe they weren't as lucky as me. They didn't have ppl warning them or protecting them. They trusted the system over the people, and when you do that the system will screw you. The larger an institution becomes, the more money that gets poured into, the more power that gets invested in it, the more individuals get screwed. Always. The saving graces are the personal connections, the tips, the relationships formed that circumvent the system. That's what makes playwrights both so beneficial to TV's golden age and so dangerous to its larcenous business model. We gossip, we trade info, we have an inherent trust in talking to each other over talking to our director or producer. We have not surrendered power to institutions or brokers, b/c we know that the ultimate force is the power of the word...and we have it. We have the power to shape the story, to poke holes in stubborn walls of silence, to dig underneath the mega-agency fortress. Unfortunately, ppl only trained in screenwriting and TV writing first don't think that because they need a crew and director to make their vision come true. It's baked into their equation.

Playwrights don't need anything but words and some close relationships to pull off magic. So we specialize in those two things and it creates great art. And great art and corporate capitalism are not conducive to each other. There is a dance that happens but if you want truly remarkable tv or film, art HAS to win out over power brokers at certain key points. No movie has ever won an Oscar based upon the packaging the agents secured. If we want the golden age to continue then we have to protect talent against the 'evils' of our success. We have created a lot of money and -usually- this is when power destroys the thing it so greedily wants to possess. As keepers of the word, we have to stay true.

Get What You Want: February 2019

1. BRICLAB RESIDENCY
Deadline: February 7
website: www.bricartsmedia.org/artist-opportunities/residencies/briclab-residency

BRIClab is a commissioning and residency development program for Brooklyn and New York City-based artists to explore and expand the possibilities of their work in music, dance, theater and multi-disciplinary performance.  Free and open exploration and intentional commitment to process – with the support of the staff and resources that BRIC offers – are at the heart of the BRIClab program. Artists receive stipends and an intensive residency in BRIC’s Artist Studio with development time, opportunities for artistic mentoring, and work-in-process performances.

Artists receive:

-Exclusive use of the BRIC House Artist Studio for 10-12 days (10am – 10pm)
-Artist stipend of $1750
-Additional $200 for Creative Advisor honorarium
-Technical support from BRIC’s production staff
-Two work-in-progress showings, determined by BRIC (usually Thursday & Friday evening in the -2nd week of the residency), followed by artist/audience dialogues
-Photographic and video documentation of showings


2. MAP FUND GRANT
Deadline: February 15
website: https://mapfund.submittable.com/submit

The MAP Fund invests in artistic production as the critical foundation of imagining — and ultimately co-creating — a more equitable and vibrant society. MAP awards $1 million annually to up to 40 projects in the range of $10,000 – $45,000 per grant.

MAP supports original live performance projects that embody a spirit of deep inquiry, particularly works created by artists who question, disrupt, complicate, and challenge inherited notions of social and cultural hierarchy across the United States. Funded projects address these concerns through the processes of creating and distributing live performance to the public, and/or through the content and themes of the work itself. MAP is committed to intersectional anti-racism, and does not support cultural appropriation or oppressive project language, structures, or content.

The program pursues its mission by annually welcoming applications for new live performance projects. Each year, MAP hires a different cohort of peer reviewers who recommend the projects they believe most align with MAP’s goals through a rigorous, facilitated review process.

3. BROWN FOUNDATION and DORA MAAR HOUSE RESIDENCY
Deadline: February 15th
Website: https://www.mfah.org/fellowships/doramaarhouse/

The Brown Foundation Fellows Program, based at the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes, France, provides residencies of one to three months for mid-career professionals in the arts and humanities to concentrate on their fields of expertise. Transport costs covered and stipend available.

What does a Brown Foundation Fellowship at the Dora Maar House offer?
• one to three months in residence at the Dora Maar House
• a private bedroom and bath and a study or studio in which to work
• a grant for round-trip travel from a fellow’s home to the Dora Maar House
• a stipend based upon the length of stay at the Dora Maar House


4. STAGEQ Shorts: Spirit of Stonewall
Deadline: February 15th
Website: http://www.stageq.com

StageQ will now be accepting submissions from the public until February 15th, 2019. We highly encourage local, national, and international playwrights alike to submit. We will announce selections in mid March with production dates scheduled for early June, 2019.

This year's theme is "Spirit of Stonewall" Stories of overcoming persecution and bigotry, stories of love triumphing over hate, stories of perseverance and acceptance. The goal is to present stories of how our community has risen over the past half century and where our community is heading in our continuing fight for visibility and equality. From Christopher Street to the Castro to Madison, the Spirit of Stonewall marches on! Stories do NOT have to be specifically set in or about Stonewall.

Please make your submission(s) as soon as possible to: queershorts@stageq.com and include your name, contact information (especially email address), the approximate run time of your play(s) and number/description of the characters. Prop requirements should be kept to a minimum, and the set will be made up of 2 ft. wooden cubes. We look forward to hearing from you!

StageQ’s mission is to celebrate queer diversity through quality theater written by and about LGBTQ people, building an inclusive community and affecting positive social change.


5. LIGHTHOUSE WORKS FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: February 15th
website: https://www.thelighthouseworks.com/fellowship-program/

The Lighthouse Works’ Fellowship is an artist-in-residence program that strives to support artists and writers working in the vanguard of their creative fields. We are proud to have supported these artists, writers, and composers with the time and space to focus on their creative work.

The program accepts artists working in a wide range of disciplines, but we are best able to accommodate visual artists and writers. Fellowships are six weeks in length, occur year round and provide fellows with housing, food, studio space, a $250 travel allowance and a $1,500 stipend. Artistic excellence is the primary criteria for acceptance as a Lighthouse Works fellow.

While in residence, our fellows’ primary obligation is to the solitary pursuit of their work but we do ask every fellow to participate in an artist talk on the first weekend of the fellowship and to open their studio for an afternoon at the session’s conclusion.

Each fellow has a private bedroom and shares bathrooms, the kitchen and living space at our residence. The house is always stocked with food (with dietary needs accommodated), and most nights the directors cook for—and eat dinner with—the fellows. Our studios are located adjacent to Silver Eel Cove where our ferry arrives and departs the island. The studios are private, flooded with light and face the ocean. Additionally, Lighthouse Works maintains a wood and metal shop, a Paragon kiln, a black and white darkroom and a letterpress print shop.  All of which are available to our fellows.

Our program is unique in its size and intimacy; we award fellowships to 25 artists a year. In a program this small, everyone gets to know each other. Thus the fellowship, while allowing ample solitude and plenty of unstructured work time, also allows for conversation, critique, and collaboration.

Applications to the program must be made through our online application system during our two open calls

6. DJERASSI RESIDENCY
Deadline: February 15th
Website: http://djerassi.org/apply/application-guidelines/

National and international visual artists, composers, choreographers, media artists, writers and scientists (for Scientific Delirium Madness) are eligible. Alumni must wait three seasons before re-applying for a return residency. Example: 2017 residents can re-apply for the 2021 residency season. Artists who were placed on alternate status may re-apply for the next season. Please note the application form, resume and all support materials must be in English.


7. THEATRE LAB
Deadline: February 22nd
Website: http://fau.edu/artsandletters/theatrelab/

Theatre Lab, the professional resident company of Florida Atlantic University (FAU), is now accepting applications for The Fair Play Initiative: a commission and development program for emerging LGBTQ+ playwrights.  With support from Our Fund Foundation, The Fair Play Initiative will provide commissions for two new plays by emerging LGBTQ+ playwrights along with a week-long development process during the 2019-20 season, culminating in a publicly presented staged reading at Theatre Lab.

Theatre Lab invites interested playwrights, who identify as LGBTQ+, to submit proposals for a commissioned work.  Initial applications are open from January 18, 2019 through Feb 22, 2019.  Interested playwrights should email a resume and bio, a brief summary of their proposed play, and 3-5 pages of sample work to theatrelab@fau.edu using the subject line: FPI APP.

After reviewing the applications, a select number of playwrights will be invited to submit additional material (including a complete script of a previous work) for review.  In May 2019, Theatre Lab will select two playwrights to receive commissions.  These playwrights will receive an initial stipend of $2000 to begin work with an additional $2000 payable upon completion of the public reading.

The initial drafting process will be completed by August 2019. The plays will then be scheduled for a week-long development process, receiving no less than 20 hours of rehearsal before a reading for an audience.  The playwright will be present for the entire rehearsal process, the reading, and take part in a post-show discussion with the audience about the play and the process. If you have any questions please email theatrelab@fau.edu.  No phone calls please.

Established in 2015 within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Theatre and Dance, Theatre Lab is housed on the Boca Raton campus in its intimate 95-seat Heckscher Stage. Theatre Lab’s mission to “inspire, develop, and produce new work, audiences, and artists,” engaging the South Florida community with world-class professional theatre performances, workshops, and conversations with leading playwrights and theatre artists.

8. PLAYWRIGHTS REALM: SCRATCHPAD SERIES
Deadline: February 24th
Website: https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/scratchpad-series/

Scratchpad Series opens The Realm’s doors to early-career playwrights from around the country, deepening our ability to do what we do best: listening to what playwrights need, and giving it to them. Whether it’s a place to hear a rough draft aloud for the first time, space to fine tune a more mature work, or time to focus in on a particular aspect of a piece, The Realm aims to provide playwrights with what they need to thrive. Scratchpad is a chance for The Realm to engage with an entirely new group of playwrights each year, erasing limitations of geography or access by identifying and inviting playwrights from across the U.S. to participate.

Scratchpad participants receive a developmental workshop of up to one week in New York City, working with top-notch professional collaborators—director, cast, and The Realm’s artistic staff. If the playwright is based outside of New York, The Realm also facilitates the playwright’s travel and housing for the workshop.

Playwrights Receive

-Developmental reading of up to one week.

-Professional collaborators, such as a director, cast, and The Realm’s artistic staff.

-Travel and housing or per diem if the playwright is based outside of New York City.

Program Criteria

-Playwrights should identify as early-career.

-Submitted scripts must be a full-length play. (A full-length play is a single play that constitutes a full evening of theater. For example, a 90-minute intermission-less play is a full-length play.).

-Submitted script has not been produced in NYC.

-Submitted script is not under commission from, or slated for production by, another institution.

What We’re Looking For

We love plays with evocative language, plays that contemplate big, unanswerable questions, that are intellectually curious, embrace the complexity of life, and demonstrate an understanding of the possibilities of dramatic storytelling. And of course, plays that are inherently theatrical—that could never be anything other than a play!

As a playwright-centric company hoping to help create the next generation of successful playwrights, we believe it is our responsibility to ensure that the playwrights and the stories we support fully reflect the diversity of the society we live in. As such, we encourage writers and stories with unique cultural perspectives, experiences and backgrounds. With Scratchpad in particular, we aim to help artists break through any barriers that may exist—geographical, economic or otherwise—bringing voices and stories as diverse as our country to work with us and hopefully one day be seen on stages all across the United States.

With regards to Scratchpad, preference will be given to projects that can’t be served by the Realm’s Writing Fellowship (i.e. musical projects, playwrights who do not live in the greater NYC area etc.)

9. PLAYWRIGHTS REALM: WRITERS’ FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: February 24th
Website: https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/fellow-app/

The Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship Program awards four early-career playwrights with nine months of resources, workshops and feedback designed to help them reach their professional and artistic goals. Over the course of the season, Fellows develop a single new play. Monthly group meetings provide a collaborative, energizing space for writers to share and refine their work. One-on-one meetings with The Realm’s artistic staff support each writer’s specific artistic process. Fellows work with a director, design consultants, and actors over the course of two readings to see their work come to life. Professional development resources are also an integral part of the program and are tailored to the individual group of Writing Fellows. Mentor opportunities, meet-and-greets, and professional seminars are designed to shed light on the business of theatre, and empower the Fellows to be active, informed participants in their own careers. The culminating event of the program is our INK’D Festival, which features a public reading of each Fellow’s play.

Writing Fellows Receive

$3,000 Award

Internal reading

Public reading

Professional development activities

Access to Realm office resources

An occasional hug

What We’re Looking For

Above all, we look for dedicated early-career writers who crave a long-term, rigorous development process. We value intellectual curiosity, imagination and bravery. We love plays with evocative language, plays that contemplate big, unanswerable questions, that embrace the complexity of life, and demonstrate an understanding of the possibilities of dramatic storytelling. And of course, plays that are inherently theatrical—that could never be anything other than a play!

As a playwright-centric company hoping to help create the next generation of successful playwrights, we believe it is our responsibility to ensure that the playwrights and the stories we support fully reflect the diversity of the society we live in. As such, we encourage writers and stories with unique cultural perspectives, experiences and backgrounds.

Program Criteria

Playwrights must be able to attend meetings and readings in New York City approximately twice monthly from September 2019 through early June 2020.

Playwrights should identify as early-career.

Submitted script must be a full-length play, at a stage of development that would benefit from a nine-month developmental process.

Plays should have no commitments to other theaters that will limit their development with The Playwrights Realm.

Those enrolled in an academic program during the span of the fellowship are not eligible.

Plays which have had a production outside of an academic environment are not eligible.

Plays committed to another similar development process during the same period as the Writing Fellowship are not eligible.


10. FRESH FRUIT FESTIVAL
Deadline: February 24th

Accepting submissions of any kind of performance art featuring LGBTQ characters or themes. Held July 8 through 21 at The WILD Project and other Manhattan venues. YOU are the producer of your show, but there are no required application fees or participation fees, and all productions receive a box office share.
DETAILS
Categories: Full length plays; One-Act Plays; Choreographed Dance pieces; Thematic new Solo Shows, comedic or dramatic; Musicals; Opera; Cabaret; Unimaginable . . . ? -any kind of performance art featuring LGBTQ characters or themes.

The CREATIVITY is yours; the OVERHEAD is ours. And thanks to the generosity of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Council there are no required application fees or participation fees, and all productions receive a box office share! We provide:

ADA and AEA approved performance venues
AEA approved venue insurance
Technical, Booth, & Front-of-house Staff
Repertory Lighting Plot & Sound system, with Video available
On-line, real-time ticketing service with audit trail
Glossy, full-color Festival brochures
Networking events & Marketing assistance for all shows
Optional co-production plans* for higher box-office shares
Deadline:  Tuesday, January 29th.
Late Submission Deadline:  ($35 Late Reading Donation due) Monday, February 25th. (NO Fee if you are on NY Medicaid)

AEA SHOWCASE CODE - - - -

We allow Equity-Approved Showcases, and this theater is pre-approved. You must do all your own paperwork with AEA. In their forms, we are NOT the producer; YOU are the producer of your show. You should get a copy of our Insurance Certificate from us; it renews on JULY 1st. You may still need your own supplement insurance if you use any non AEA-approved rehearsal spaces.

COMPS - - - - (please see Comp-Policy sheet for more detail)

Except for Professional Media with Credentials, all comps are on a space-available basis. AEA Showcases follow AEA comp rules. A show's AUTHOR and DIRECTOR are always personally comped to each of their performances.

They are still ticketed (they must check in at the box office). Press (unlimited) and Industry (4 for the entire run) must be pre-arranged. See the Comps Policy Flyer for more information.

All Festival Performers have standby, personal comps to all OTHER Festival shows.

GROUP SHOWS - - - -

All short shows in a group performance equally split a percent of the net box-office after the House-Minimum (first 12 tickets per-performance). However, any advance Group-Sales you make (see above) are credited to your show's net alone, and not split with other shows. All shows must be present at the same time for the Tech. If your cast cannot make it, you must have at least your Stage Manager plus 1 crew person at the scheduled Tech, in order to co-ordinate setting & striking your show In-Conjunction with the other shows in the program.

SET PIECES, PROPS, & COSTUMES - - - -

The Festival provides some items shared by all, decided per-Festival year: For example,

1 mahogany folding table 32" square; 4 mahogany chairs (mission style); 2 bar stools.

2 heavy white folding tables 4x2, multiple height: 22" 30" & bar. (takes 2 people to set up! )

5 music stands and assorted folding chairs owned by theater. Etc.

Most years we rent an 88-key stage keyboard, the cost of which is shared by the Festival and participating musicals. Sometimes we can get one donated. It uses one of our multi-height tables and you must have 2 people to set up each of these. No set construction is allowed in the theater. You must get approval in advance for any large set pieces desired as there is usually no storage space for such items. IF allowed, large items must be shared among any shows needing them and must be left for the entire week of shared use.

All props must pack into completely closed, labeledstorage boxes which fit under the risers (nofoods or liquids storage). Costumes must be on hangers, tied together, and labeled with show name.


11. PLYSPACE FUNDED RESIDENCY
Deadline: March 1st
Website: http://www.plyspace.org

PlySpace is an artist-in-residence program in Muncie, Indiana, that is dedicated to offering visual artists, writers, performers, designers, and other creative individuals time and space to investigate and pursue their own practices. Additionally, it serves as a platform for experimentation and provocation by catalyzing conversation and collaboration with various Muncie communities. PlySpace facilitates opportunities for residents to engage with the public through partnership and programming that is tailored to their area of interest.

PlySpace is pleased to support practitioners in a variety of creative fields and facilitate access to a wide range of media-specific equipment and facility accommodations for individuals and teams working in areas including, but not limited, to painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, glass, metals, ceramics, performance, photography, video/film, time-based media, writing, poetry, theatre, non-object based practice, and social practice. All residents will have provisional access to the Ball State University School of Art facilities, with 24-hour access to personal studio spaces.

Each resident is expected to work with a community collaborative partner and complete a community-based project while in residence. This experience is meant to benefit the resident as well as the community of Muncie. The community project proposal is part of the application process, and projects should take up 5-10 hours of time per week in residence. For detailed information about the community collaboration aspect of the program, please see the website.

Selected residents will be offered one of two types of residency: a position as a PlySpace Resident or as PlySpace Resident Fellow. The type of residency offered will be determined by the Admissions Panel and Final Selection Committee during the admissions process.

All residencies include living space, studio space, and a $500 travel stipend, paid upon completion of the program. Resident Fellows are eligible for additional supply and project funding and will work directly with Ball State University as a community partner.

Three individual or collective applicants will be accepted for each residency term (one PlySpace Resident Fellow and two PlySpace Residents). Separate application terms are in Spring, Summer, Fall. Applicants can submit one application per residency term.

The length of individual residencies can range from a minimum of 4 weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks for the entire term. Resident Fellows must plan a stay of no fewer than 9 weeks. Residents are free to negotiate their length of stay, start dates, and end dates within this block of time.

There is no cost for lodging and studio space with the PlySpace Residency Program. Residents are expected to arrange their own travel and provide their own meals, supplies, and other personal expenses. PlySpace will arrange activities, dinners, and other events to complement the resident’s experience. There is a $25 non-refundable application fee for each application submitted for review.

For detailed information about the PlySpace Residency Program, community collaborations, application instructions and guidelines, and frequently asked questions, please see the website at http://www.plyspace.org.

Fall 2019 Residency - begins early September 2019 and continues through November 2019.
Optional length of stay between 4 and 12 weeks.
Application Deadline: March 1, 2019. Applicants will be notified about the residency decision in early April.


12. WOODWARD/NEWMAN DRAMA AWARD
Deadline: March 1st
website: https://newplays.org/submit-a-play/woodward-newman-drama/

The BPP is accepting submissions for the 2019-2020 Woodward/Newman Drama Award. Submissions are due by March 1st.

Full-length plays will have a complete running time of between 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes) to 2 hours 15 minutes (135 minutes). Plays submitted must be unpublished at the time of submission. Plays that have received developmental readings, workshop productions, or productions at small theatre companies are acceptable. No scripts with previous productions at major regional theaters will be accepted. Once entered, the subsequent activity does not change the acceptability of the script.

Each submission must include a synopsis (1 page or less) including the cast size. A separate page should include a brief bio of the playwright, and production/development history if applicable.

Each submission must include a cover letter with contact information and a $10.00 reader fee. Agent submissions require no fee. The fee will be waived for Dramatist Guild members with an enclosed photocopy of a membership card. The BPP only accepts U.S. checks or money orders (Make check payable to "BPP"). No international checks or money orders will be accepted.

Make sure to note with your submission that you have paid the reader fee online.

It is preferable for musicals to include a demo CD. The complete score is not necessary but may be included. All plays are read by BPP's literary personnel led by and including the Literary Manager and Artistic Director.

We do not accept email submissions. Scripts will not be returned. Blind submissions are not necessary. Please include all contact information. Plays submitted in previous years will be accepted.

The BPP reserves the right not to name a winner and/or name a winner but not commit to a reading or production.


13. DRAMATISTS GUILD FUND FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: March 12
website: https://dgf.org/programs/fellows/

The ideas of today’s writers become the groundbreaking shows of the future. DGF’s Fellows program helps create that future by propelling the most promising creative talents to their full potential. The Fellows program is a selective, year-long intensive for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and bookwriters. The program pairs talented writers with accomplished professional mentors, who help them hone their process, and find their unique voice.

This program increases the likelihood that Fellows will be able to turn their passion and talent into a successful career, impacting audiences around the globe. The Fellows program, currently headed by Michael Korie (Grey Gardens), Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde), and Diana Son (Stop Kiss), is highly sought after for its uniquely successful format of partnering playwrights and musical theater writers together in the learning process. In addition, Fellows receive a stipend and the opportunity to partner with several arts organizations for Fellows-specific development opportunities.


14. PRINCESS GRACE AWARD
Deadline Window: Feb 15-March 15
Website: https://newdramatists.org/princess-grace

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 Award recipients 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 the winning 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, including opportunities to gather with the Princess Grace community, New Dramatists writers, and other theatre professionals
• 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.


15. ACADIANA REPERTORY THEATRE
Deadline: March 15th
Website: http://www.acadianarep.org/

The Acadiana Repertory Theatre, celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2020, is committed to serve playwrights as a place where they feel they can develop work with a company that has a desire to help in the growth of both the playwright and the play. We strive to create a safe, creative, open environment for our playwrights and, using our own experience, along with the experiences of some of our friends from across the country, we seek to help playwrights create and develop shows that have the best chance of a long life of production. Through developmental readings, developmental productions, and soon, the possibilities of residences, we hope to help, through working with the amazing playwrights we come in contact with, the voices of new American playwrights be heard.

We are now accepting submissions for our 2019 Season, which kicks off in in early February. We accept submissions of full length plays and musicals. In order to be eligible for consideration, submissions:
-Should be no longer than 90 minutes (we occasionally make exceptions)
-Should be full length.
-Should be actor/story forward
-Have minimal technical and set requirements
-Have a cast no larger than 10
-Should have limited to no production history and should not be published. We are looking specifically for work that you are looking to further develop and are looking for playwrights who want to be involved in the process.
-include a cast list and a synopsis

Scripts should be submitted in PDF format to submissions@acadianarep.org

The window for submissions will close on March 15th.

Playwrights will be notified that their submission has been received as well as if their show has been selected as a finalist or not passed through.

Please note: There are no submission fees nor is there a fee to be a part of the season. Playwrights will be responsible for travel expenses should they choose to join us for any part of the process.

To find out more information about us, submissions, or our past work, visit www.acadianarep.org


16. ROYAL COURT THEATRE
Deadline: on-going
Website: https://royalcourttheatre.com/playwriting/literary-office/

The Literary Office is dedicated to finding exciting new plays that ask bold questions about the way we live now. We receive over 3000 unsolicited scripts a year from emerging and established playwrights, all of which are assessed and considered for development or production at the Royal Court.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
If you are a writer and would like to send us a script for consideration, then the Literary Office is your first port of call. The Royal Court programmes original plays that investigate the problems and possibilities of our time. Occasionally, we also present revivals. We are looking for outstanding plays which are formally or thematically original and are unlikely to be produced elsewhere.

Before you submit a script to us, we suggest you familiarise yourself with the Royal Court; come and see the plays being produced in our Upstairs and Downstairs spaces, and look at the archive and reviews of recent productions. This should give you a better feel for what we are looking for.

We do not accept one act plays or multiple submissions.

Please do not send us screenplays, novels, collections of poems or radio plays as the Royal Court does not programme adaptations from other forms. We will not read historical or biographical plays and we are unlikely to programme new musicals unless these have been commissioned by us. Unfortunately, we cannot consider resubmissions or new drafts of plays we have read and responded to, unless we have specifically requested a new draft.

SUBMITTING YOUR SCRIPT
Please send scripts in hard copy (double-sided if possible with contact details on the first page only), with a brief synopsis and covering letter describing any previous playwriting experience, to: The Literary Office, Royal Court, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS. Unfortunately, we cannot accept scripts by email.

Scripts sent without return postage will be recycled. We are unable to return scripts sent internationally so please do not send International Postage Coupons. Please use recyclable envelopes when submitting scripts to us.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
All English language scripts submitted to the theatre are booked in and distributed to readers, as appropriate, from the Literary Office. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your script, generally by email. This can take up to three weeks depending on the current quantity of submissions. The scripts are then read by a team of professional playwrights and directors, the senior in-house readers and/or the Literary Manager.

The reader’s report forms the basis of a recommendation to the Literary Manager and, where appropriate, may lead to consideration of the script by the senior Artistic Team at our weekly script meeting and/or additional support for play development through workshops, attachments or readings.

We read all scripts sent to us and will contact you to let you know whether or not we wish to proceed with the development of your play. We receive a large number of scripts through this submissions process; we aim to let you know the outcome of our reading within three to four months of acknowledging receipt but it can take us longer than this to fully consider plays.


17. FADE TO BLACK FESTIVAL
Deadline: April 1st
website: https://monologuebank.submittable.com/submit/75ef900d-f987-4e0f-801d-934965b19f69/fade-to-black-play-festival-2019?fbclid=IwAR3Sot_Fv4ityiorE7QAqgpLOY6E3IaVpAUPz_e11p9_crhsjTuCVz3GyuU

SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2019 TO APRIL 1, 2019.
No fee is required.
No restriction of theme or genre.
Three (3) scripts submissions are allowed per playwright.
Selected playwright winners will be awarded a cash prize of $100.00.

TO QUALIFY: 
You must be the sole African-American author of the submitted work.
Playwright must publicly and openly identify themselves as African-American, Black, or of the African diaspora.
Previously published or produced work by the author or theatre/company is not allowed (See definitions below).
Play must run no longer than 8-10 minutes long on stage. Consider conducting an informal reading to ensure).
Play should accommodate a “bare-stage” set requiring only a minimum of removable stage props and require basic lighting and sound cues. 
Play must not be a musical. 
Play must not be written for children or youth.
Play must not contain characters that are under 17 years old. 
Play must not be a re-submission of previous Fade To Black play festival seasons. 
Play must not be considered a translation or adaptation.
Play must not be a film. Screenplays will not be accepted.
Play should be "stand-alone", separate body of work that has not been extracted from a larger, previously written play.
Author must be at least 18 years of age.
Play must be submitted in a PDF format.

DEFINITIONS:
"Produced” - Your play was marketed for production date(s) by either you (its playwright) or a theatre company and was performed before an audience who purchased tickets to see the event. 
"Published" - Your play is an officially published work and commands royalties from the producing theater each time it is performed.
Staged readings (formal or informal) are not considered productions. If your play has only had public or private readings but has not been produced as a full-scale stage performance, you are permitted to submit the play.

**ADDED**

18. SYFY's PODCAST CONTEST
Deadline: February 28
website: http://quest2create.com/podcast-writing-competition/

Each entrant warrants that it has not: (1) received employment for a total of thirteen (13) weeks or more as a television, motion picture, or radio writer or writer on a “High Budget SVOD Program”; (2) received credit on the screen as a writer for a television or theatrical motion picture or on a “High Budget SVOD Program”; (3) received credit for at least three (3) original stories or one (1) teleplay for a program one-half hour or more in length in the field of live television; (4) received credit for at least three (3) radio scripts for radio programs one-half hour or more in length; or (5) received credit for at least one (1) professionally produced play or one (1) published novel.

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Contest, during the Contest Period visit Quest2Create.com (the “Website”), and follow the provided prompts to submit the first-round entry form, which includes your full name and email address. As part of your first-round entry, you must submit a five (5) minute teaser (“Teaser”) based on the following writing prompt: “Alice in Wonderland, as a thriller, set in space” along with the first-round entry form (the “First-Round Entry”). The Teaser must: (a) include between two (2) and four (4) speaking roles; (b) use character names from the source material provided (or alt-gender derivatives); (c) be geared towards an audio-only podcast format; (d) be between five (5) to seven (7) pages; (e) be submitted in PDF format; and (f) have been written solely by you.


Round 1
Applicants submit a 5-minute written teaser on the contest's Round 1 Prompt.
Submission deadline is February 28, 2019 at 12 Midnight Pacific Time
The top 3 finalists will win a prize of $500 each and proceed to Round 2.

Round 2
Finalists will each be given the same predetermined concept for a SYFY podcast.
For an additional payment of $500, finalists will be commissioned to write a 20-minute podcast pilot episode, plus a 6-episode season outline.
Upon submission, finalists will have a phone interview with the judges.
The submission deadline will be approximately 3 weeks upon notification of finalist standing, the exact date to be determined.
One winner will be chosen by the judges.

Winner
The winner will be engaged to write the remaining 5 podcast episodes for a total of $5,000, including a collaborative episode-by-episode revision process with SYFY executives.
Upon final completion of the 6 scripts, we will evaluate the creative content for a potential greenlight to production as a podcast. This is the goal!