Characteristics vs. Character: Judgment

Working on a project and I was trying to describe the pitfalls and blindspots of using personal characteristics as a judgment of overall character. I suggested using a blind jury to look at different characters to determine whether they were good or not... helpful to society or a danger. Off the top of my head, I used a series of well-known ppl and their backstory...

Character A
-misogynist
- racist...like WILDY racist
-heavy drinker/smoker
- corpulent glutton
- fits of anger and rage, stubborn
- stubbornness/incompetence resulted in tens of thousands of deaths
Character A is Winston Churchill...someone who, arguably helped save Western Democracy during its darkest hour.

Character B
- strong racist until his late 30s
- presumed hypocrite
- vegetarian
- still racist at the end of his life toward certain ppl
- accused sexual predator...many times over again
Character B is Mahatma Gandhi

Character C
- artist
- naturist
- lover of well-rounded liberal arts education
- believed in classics
- gave power to women
- late-life vegetarian who couldn't stand to see animals suffer.
- racist...WILDLY racist
- but religious
- non-drinker, non-smoker
Character C is Adolf Hitler

Character D
- philanderer
- accused of sexual assault many times
- accused of rape
- heavy drinker
- vain, venal
- hated toward the end of his life
Character D is Martin Luther King Jr or...Ted Kennedy..or JFK.

Character E
- recovering alcoholic, man of faith, never cheated on wife
- possibly tricked into war which killed millions
- but also knowning instituted program which saved millions
Character E is George W. Bush...arguably a war criminal or just really dumb...or some combination of both.

Question: Are these models enlightening or offensive? They aren't meant to condemn great men or prop up monsters, but to serve as examples of the complex nature of judging character qualities, personal intent, and societal impact...especially when it comes to social media/online presence. But I don't know b/c some ppl might find describing MLK or Gandhi in such terms as an attempt to knock them down (it's not).

A FALL FROM GRACE: When Tyler Perry Out Tyler Perry's Himself

A few nights ago I was laughing so hard that I couldn't finish A FALL FROM GRACE. Today I watched the rest of it. OMG, SWEET BABY JESUS 😳. The plot is off-the-wall, the lead character pouts her way through a murder trial, the trial itself was a 5-min montage of 'OBJECTION... OVERRULED.... SUSTAINED...STEP AWAY COUNSELOR...OBJECTION' and then they were at closing argument. I'm not going to spoil the ending b/c there is NO WAY any sane person is going to guess how the story unfolds. The movie could have had an alien spaceship land and lasers blast their way into the courtroom to present key evidence... and it would've made as much sense. The shit was bananas!

I get the Tyler Perry economics. This was a 5-day shoot. This was boot camp/factory work/Roger Corman rolled into one long dirty streak across the face of Netflix. Now race complicates everything in this equation. He's working in Atlanta...a town where there are 2 black women for every black man. A cosmopolitan city filled with professional black women. And in the southern cities, in general, there is a lack of black male professionals to match the amount of black females. So he's dealing that that deep psychological pressure, the supply-and-demand of love pressure. I get it. And it's even more apparent if you go to a black church. The character in this script isn't more complex. She is literally the vice president of a bank (to quote Jackson's A STRANGE LOOP) who thinks she will never fall in love again until she meets a man 'too good to be true.' But guess what...spoiler alert: he is! I will say this though...there are some BIG twists in the story toward the end. It's like he took the note about writing the same black female dynamic and he said 'okay, you want something different...how about THIS!!!?!'

Unfortunately the twists make absolutely NO GODDAMN SENSE. There are enormous plot holes, logic problems, and things that go 'wow....wait, WTF?!?' The entire backend of the movie is a slide into absurdity and horror. Poor Cicely Tyson out here looking like she's in a Korean horror movie. The beginning of the movie is a clue, but the clue doesn't MAKE SENSE! It's crazy. He's trying to wink to the audience but the wink isn't seductive...it's like 'wink wink...guess what? My house is on fire!' You would be like 'yo...Why are winking at me to tell me that?! That's not scary of sexy...it's just weird and off-putting. Take care of your house.'

Granted, I respect the used car salesman hustle of Perry...but Tyler baby...you know what...I'm not going to say it. I'm not gonna 'should' anyone b/c they're too many 'soldier shoulds' online telling ppl what to think and how to live. But Tyler baby...babbbbeee... I-I, don't even know what to say about those plot points. You know what: not important. Namaste!

Tyler Perry is successful b/c he is a WILDLY entertaining hack who has no interests in craftsmanship. Freed of artistic integrity, he is able to crank out an insane amount of product to fill content needs at bargain-basement prices. His stories are overflowing with hysterical impossible contrivances that will make half the audience scream WTF and the other half love it...but no one walks away bored. You will never be bored in a Perry movie. It's like going on a cross-country road trip with a meth head: you know you're gonna have stories to tell your grandkids...if you make it out alive.

His commitment to this ethos of faster, cheaper, more shirtless men, and more Jesus has attracted a following. That following has attracted...good actors. Surprisingly, at this stage in a hack career, he is pulling in stars...usually black women who are older and given less exciting roles at this point in their career. Perry offers them the chance to 'go in' on playing crazy, demented, manipulative, sexy, and layers unexplored in most Hollywood fare. In return, these older actors deliver the goods...no matter the script, the shooting time, the lack of craft. They come to work.

If you ever doubt the commitment of old-pro actors to read a whack-a-doo, banana pants crazy-ass script, be told they're going to shoot the entire movie in 5 days, wear the cheapest shake-and-go Brazilian wigs, and deliver absurd lines with absolute Hamlet-like conviction...then A FALL FROM GRACE should restore your faith in the chainsmoking, lunch pail, artists. These are the kind of actors who could shoot 20 pages of a cheesy 1960s soap opera script during the day and then do a 3-hour play in the evening, snort all the coke at a nightclub, get into a fistfight with the bouncer, and show up on set at 7AM, fresh as a daisy. So kudos to the cast for pure commitment.

2020 Woke Olympics

Is there any space for a black political contrarian? Not conservative, very liberal, but also not into the woketheatrical displays. I have never been able to fake it.

I've written about this before, but in middle school during the LA Riots, the adminstrators -who were well-intentioned- wanted to hold an open forum about Rodney King. Even as a kid I knew 'this is going to be absolute and utter bullshit and talk show shouting, and randomness.' There was no order to the event except 'we understand you're upset.'  I was probably one or two black students who just...couldn't force myself to go the event. I was called a 'sellout' b/c I didn't want to participate in 'group shouting' which is exactly what the event turned out to be...my friends who went said it was terrible and ppl were just screaming.

In college they were going to hold an 'anti-hate' rally. It was supposed to be covering...I guess...all hate everywhere. Against women, poc, immigrants. My friends went and the organizer tried to sign me up. I was like 'this rally sounds stupid and vague.' She got upset with me or maybe she thought I was secretly Republican. I just found the idea of marching against 'general hate' to be so pointless and self-congratulatory that it might as well have been on Biden's Mularkey Express. To this day, I still don't understand why you would march for 'anti-hate' instead of marching for love? Or why not march for a specific love like...#blacklivesmatter, gaypride, or freaking St. Paddy's Day. Why march against hate...why give power to the thing you're trying to avoid?

In 2020, I see the DNC through this wrong-headed diversity, anti-Trump display of theatrics. I'm not interested in bland diversity organized by old white liberals who never get their hands dirty or challenge corporations. I'm not interested in screaming my head off in a rally of people who all hate Trump so we can go over all the things we already know about his monstrous administration. 

Nice and Easy Ppl

Don't ever tell me about the good keep-your-head-down kind.
the quiet church mouse Christians who wouldn't harm a fly...
or help the dying.
the nice ppl who just want to be left alone,
the soft-spoken neighbors who just want to keep keeping on,
dangling by fingernails to the spinning globe.

I don't feel no kind of a way about the do-nothing good.
the crowd-pleasers and shiteaters and heavy breathers
shucking in beat to a death march,
singing in key to the screams.
Harmonizing so that terror almost sounds like a song.
Harmonizing so that they are in perfect pitch to wails.
There are more important things than being in tune
with the Breaking News scrolling across our eyelids.
In times of strife, harmony is complicity
and smiles are machetes.

Every Experience is a Story: Hospital Horrors

Some times you have bad experiences that are so extreme you think 'I'll remember this so I can tell it to someone.' And some times those war stories work their way into a tv show...like EVIL.

My second episode of EVIL aired on Thursday. It's based around hospital horrors and it got me to thinking about how my medical experiences from 15 years ago. For this EVIL episode, I relayed several experiences that worked their way into the story treatment.  In 2004 I was in the hospital for something very simple: appendicitis. Cut that sucker out and let's move on, right? Ohhh, no. Hahahaha nononono. My karma was like 'it's time for a reckoning.' Two weeks later after a botched surgery, a screaming roommate who just had his legs amputated, followed by a racist roommate who would 'stage whisper' to his relatives about his worries that I might try to steal and/or beat him up (b/c it's not like I'm sick and in a hospital bed and trying not to die), internal bleeding, infections, being sent home with questionable medicine, and having to go back to the hospital, ending up with a hole in my stomach that took another two weeks to heal as I walked around the August NYC streets sweating and with gauze falling out of my insides like a used teddy bear, I thought 'well that was an experience.'

Of course, the cherry-on-top of all bad American hospital experiences is an enormous bill from a prolonged stay, even if it's due to medical negligence. There was that added chef's kiss as I headed into my last year of grad school, working 3 jobs, and getting calls from creditors asking 'well, can't you get a fourth job?' And yes, I had insurance so I was lucky. This was a good scenario. Pity the poor students who don't have insurance.

When I was back in school that fall I wrote BLEED, an absurd comedy about a man with a hole in his stomach who slowly bleeds to death on his birthday while a magical negro janitor narrates. And now I got to write ep 111 of EVIL. So I guess I got a lot of mileage out of that ridiculous summer. It's one of the advantages of being a writer. No matter how awful things get, there is a part of the mind thinking 'this is an interesting predicament for our protagonist. I wonder what's going to happen next.'

Children of Color Will be Majority of Youth in 2020

Children of color will be the majority of youth this year. That means that the majority of teens, young adults, and America's future will be non-white going forward from this year. This seismic demographic is set to happen around the middle of 2020 according to US Census Bureau. I am both optimistic and somewhat worried about what this means for the fate of this nation.

A majority black/brown/yellow America is good overall. Our main allies/frenemies this century will be India, China, Brazil, Japan. Western Europe will start to fade into our rearview mirror. America will be dealing with more complex societies, gov structures, and values than the white Anglo-Saxon paradigm. If we are to succeed, we can't have a nation looking like and thinking like Trump's old white man cabinet. America will need to get leaner, younger, and browner to thrive this century. But all changes are met with huge resistance...especially when it comes to race.

There will be growing waves of hate against these truths b/c logic and historical perspective never stopped bigots. We are entering the age of the backlash. While we try to move away from white supremacy model, there will be white-guy Alamo standoffs in our culture: dead-enders, suicide bombers, lone gunmen, white nationalist terrorists, and Broadway producers still trying to resist the inevitable some will take down huge institutions and destroy lives rather than see a different future.

The white 'cowboy' fatalists will be the biggest threat to our safety and security for the next century. You didn't think the psychological model based around the murdering white knight would go silently into that sweet night, did you? The white cowboys will collaborate with our enemies, shoot up our schools, work with foreign govs, employ twisted logic for destroying America in order to make it 'great again.' They will burn down the village to 'save it,' rape the woman to 'cleanse her,' and turn our gov into an oligarchy to honor the democracy. These radicals will come from both the alt-right and the 'woke' left because the artificial race-based supremacy runs much deeper than political parties. It's woven into our cultural fabric and psychosis. The 'I marched with King' white racists will switch over to the 'I voted for Obama' shields to hide their deep-seated fears that their tribe is being eliminated.

 And just a final warning....just because POC become the majority doesn't mean that's the end of the current model. White supremacy can exist without a white majority. Just look at colonial South Africa or India, Alabama, Mississippi...or just look your window. Brooklyn, Iowa City, San Antonio, Chicago, it doesn't matter. No matter the racial makeup of your street or collection of friends, you are still living under a model of white capitalist supremacy. 

Decade Rewind: 2018-2019. The Loop

My father has been bed-bound since the start of the decade. A stroke in 2006, has incapacitated him. At the start of 2018, he was put on hospice. My mom and I have gotten to know the hospice nurse KD. She stops by the house a few times a week. The extra hand is helpful when my mom has to run errands, but it's also nice that she has someone to talk to about this...whatever this is...this slow dying of a man we all loved.

In 2018 I was able to complete another meditation retreat. I planned on doing a fourth retreat in the spring/summer of 2019, but then Evil happened. The Kings had a pilot in development. Their exec asked me if I would be interested in reading it. When I heard it was horror, I was less than thrilled. I don't know the genre that well and gore and blood splatter doesn't interest me. But EVIL was much more than that. The writing and characters were so crisply drawn, the philosophical debate so clearly rendered in dramatic terms. It reminded me of all my failings in trying to write my epic play A COLLECTION OF MIRACLES. Where COLLECTION veered off into sermons and lectures, EVIL keeps itself going with muscular storytelling. I was definitely interested and the only thing I had scheduled was the fourth season of THE GOOD FIGHT. There was an outside call made about the Apple Series adaption of PACHINKO, but I didn't think I had a good chance of getting a staff job on a Korean family drama.

EVIL started in June and ran right into THE GOOD FIGHT with some overlap. I lost my meditation period, but I gained a wealth of experience working in a new room. EVIL has been picked up for another season. If there's no WGA strike, I look forward to being back in the room.

At the start of 2019, I had several theatre commitments. FIRE SEASON world premiered at the Seattle Public Theatre, OBAMA-OLOGY was produced in Dallas/Ft. Worth and CONFESSIONS OF A COCAINE COWBOY also got a world-premiere at Miami New Drama in March. I signed on to write a Louis Armstrong musical and cranked out several drafts in my free pocket of time in between tv seasons. I got a commission for a Gullah history play and flew down to South Carolina to do some initial research, and received another commission for a musical, as well as a museum project.

I pitched two movies, saw them get the proverbial greenlight, and then saw them taken away or reconfigured as something else. I'm still pitching a few other projects.

On the relationship front, I returned to NYC in the summer of 2017 and decided to date again. Prior to that I was in a one-year relationship. The dating scene was intense, wild, some times fun, some times exasperating delicatessen of humanity. I had men who ignored me, dated me with disdain, passionately loved me, desired me, and everything in between. I met a guy and we dated for a month before he died accidentally or committed suicide...it was never made clear. After a tumultuous six months I decided to take a break from dating and go back to my celibacy vows. I redoubled my meditation efforts, went to NC for the premiere of my drama RUNNING ON FIRE, and kept a low profile for my 39th birthday. In the summer, a friend invited me to a reading at Jefferson Market Library in the West Village. We were going to see  J. Julian Christopher's dramedy BUNDLE OF STICKS. Afterward, my friend . We talked and walked to the subway. At the 14th street and 6th avenue juncture, we all departed and went our separate ways and I thought 'I'll never see that guy again.' A few days later I posted my monthly list of playwriting opportunities on a Facebook page. The guy from the reading liked it and then friended me. We started talking and met up at Signature Theatre to discuss theatre. We ended up going out for dinner at Westbank Cafe, and keeping in contact. A few weeks later, on a Buddhist holiday, we started texting each other. And then I agreed to be in his reading. We started dating and -right before- I went into a month-long meditation retreat, we agreed...this is sort of, kind of...looks like it could be...a relationship.

When I got out of the retreat I visited my 'official boyfriend' in Chicago during a theatre conference. Then back in NYC, I started work on the third season of THE GOOD FIGHT and life continued on. After a year, we decided to do something rash: move in together. He didn't like traveling all the way from Harlem to visit me in Williamsburg and I didn't like his 5th floor walkup near Columbia (coincidentally in the same building that housed Barack Hussein Obama while he was a student.) We found a place only a few blocks from my old Williamsburg apartment and sealed the deal. I've been able to walk to work for the past 2 1/2 years, except now I'm 3 blocks closer to the office and about equidistant from the gym if I take another route. I've felt blessed these last 2 years. I'm in a healthy relationship and share a loving home, have a stable and fun career in writing theatre/tv/film, have retirement savings, healthcare, vacation money. Coming back to NYC means I've recommitted to my Buddhist fellowship and teacher, as well as going to more dharma talks. I walk to work and avoid traffic and the MTA 90% of time. And now I get to give back with a writers' group that started as 'advice around a coffee table' and has grown to over 100 people. The writers' group has been relocated to the Dramatists Guild and we meet once a month, pour over their work, and find ways to collaborate and help each other. And at the end of 2019, I still return home to Miami for the Louis Armstrong musical...and family...

At the end of 2019, my Dad was a shell of his former self. He is rail-thin, blind, unable to talk, unable to turn himself, brush his teeth, feed himself. He is completely reliant on my mom, KD, the morning nurse who comes by to bathe him and brush his teeth, the healthcare administrators who stop by the house for check-ups. And yet there is still a sliver of him...trapped within that body...some tiny spark of light that occasionally peers out from behind bewildered eyes. As he nears the end of his life, I hope he's not in pain. I was getting him John of God pills for the last several years and he appeared to be feeling better and more upbeat. But last year, John of God was arrested by Brazilian authorities...and that outlet vanished. Now it's just us, him, and time.

It is so surreal to think after starting this year focused on family, my dharma studies took off, my art flourished, my writing career started and grew...and I end up right back where I started in 2010...by my Dad's bedside, holding his hand.

Stuff I Know...Besides Being Black

Yesterday, a black writer posted that they were tired of only getting invitations to panel discussions about diversity. I can relate. I'm black, and I know things outsides of my racial identity. But often, I have no place to exercise and stretch these interests with others. I write these blog posts and keep a journal to keep from going mad. But I don't really get invitations to talk about anything significant...except race.

Now don't get me wrong: it's an honor to be the 'representative of blackness' and to try to right some of the wrongs of the past. But I am bigger and bolder than how I am viewed by the white gaze.

Stuff I’ve Been Asked To Speak About That I Don’t Know
-prison boxing
-rapping in prison
- rapping in the hood and ending up in prison
-Africa...no, not a country. Just...you know, the United States of Africa that exist in many ppl’s imagination.
-what black ppl are planning to do about stuff? (Guys, I’m not sharing the notes from our last black meeting...stop trying to trick me into telling you our plans to take over...oops, I’ve said too much!!)

Stuff I Know...Besides Race
-sci fi
-quantum physics
- some pre-Buddhist Eastern philosophy
-Buddhism
- 19th century Russian lit
-film, tv
- Miami
- violin stuff
- tennis
- forensic debate
- theatre (yes black theatre but also just...American theatre)
- queer lit and film theory
- Marxism
- politics
- the timeline history of WW I and WW 2
- American Revolution
-military equipment (childhood obsession)
- ants (also childhood obsession)
-bees

Stuff You Know I Know
- yes, okay...black stuff!
- how much people love THE WATCHMEN
-yes I knew about the Tulsa massacre before the show
- inner city high school stuff
- identity politics
- sports culture
- how to play spades...poorly...so don’t ask me to be on your team unless you enjoy losing
- ppl named Jamal (be specific...unless this is a panel about the Jamal!)
- Pootie Tang

America's Mideast Policy...post 9/11 and beyond

1) do whatever it takes to never have another 9/11, break laws, violate int'l treaties,  coverup, and count on no one caring.
2) frack oil (at the expense of public health) to make the US the #1 oil producer so that OPEC had less leverage. And that has happened.
3) keep troops in various Mideast countries with the purpose of having some presence there...forever.
4) use the troops in Mideast countries as shields and point of attack for terrorists. Better to have terrorists focused on hard targets nearby like US bases...than soft targets abroad in America.
5) use drones in Yemen, Afghanistan and other lawless regions to keep regions in a low-level state of perpetual war. Better to have instability and war over there, than the possibility of it coming here.
6) since the majority of 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia, fund the corrupt Saudi Arabian royal family, their secret police and their military to torture, kill, and root out any dissident...making a formerly shaky nation-state into a repressive, surveillance regime.
7) stricter immigration rules for Arabs and Muslims
8) pre-emptive kills, assassinations, and the drone bombing of anything that looks suspicious in these countries...with many errors at the cost of thousands of lives.
9) count on the American public to only care about their safety and comfort...and the inability of the media to present the truth.

 The assassination of Qasan Soleimani both fits within our ruthless Mideast policy carried out by Dems and Republicans, and distracts the public from ever thinking about the deeper patterns of complicity/corruption/duplicity that underpins America's 'our safety first' policy. You will hear a lot of talk about Trump's stupidity or bravery, what Dems should do, and how we are going to war with Iran. But the fact is...we are at war with Iran. And Afghanistan, And Pakistan, and Yemen. We have been and are actively in a low-level constant state of war, and there are no checks and balances on us killing anything from the sky. You will not have any serious candidate try to change our policy...b/c it's much easier to be snugly ignorant to the causes of our safety than to engage with a complex region populated with people of color who worship a religion other than our own. As long as white corporate Christianity is our driving political force, we will always treat other nations and people of other faiths as expendable.

Decade Rewind: 2014-2017. The Blur

It smears together here. Juilliard accelerated everything by a million. It's hard to explain to someone how eery it feels to go from a plodding pace to a Ferrari roadster...and to have classmates and colleagues who are all in their own lane, speeding down a racetrack. At this point, it's foolish to go by the years, because it felt like things went into warp speed. OBAMA-OLOGY -the first play I brought into class- went from lab, to the summer workshop production, to a world premiere at Finborough Theatre in London, publishing, and was being performed by RADA students...in about 18 months, It was then performed at Skylight Theatre in LA and has been produced in Dallas, and in classes around the country.

For money, I continued to write/produce web videos for different sites all throughout these years. The Ferguson protests, BlackLives Matter, and the sudden white woke consciousness meant that I was back in demand as an independent journalist. I wrote political articles, social media essays, and commentary for The New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Take Part. I was on podcasts about police brutality, white supremacy, and black respectability politics. I interviewed Professor Robin DiAngelo over the phone when she dropped the phrase 'white fragility.' I asked her to run that back for me again as I sat in the student lounge. She explained 'white fragility' as a new term she coined. I ran with it to my editors, and our story was ahead of the curve and the new zeitgeist phrase that she created causing a lot of #whitetears. My article about the NYPD went viral and I was asked if I wanted to be a guest on HuffPo Live (I declined). In one incident, I was literally listening to FBI director James Comey's speech on race in the Juilliard computer lab while on the phone with an editor, and jotting down notes in a google doc. I went to a poetry class and continued editing the google notes on my phone that is hiding under my desk, and then went back to the lab after class to correct some things, add an arc that made the notes into a story, and saw the article released within the hour. It's amazing when white people decide to become #woke, and very lucrative for a writer like myself. But white awareness is fickle and I knew that their interests weren't going to last forever.

I used the journalism money to fly out to LA for TV general meetings. I LOVED TV meetings. There were no expectations and nothing at stake for me. I was very happy writing my weird plays and my angry black protest articles. TV was cake...cake icing...sprinkles on top of the cake icing. If anything happened, then GREAT. If not, I knew I would be fine. I felt free and loose. I actually liked most of the people I met and found myself joking and schmoozing because I was actually interested in people. It wasn't an act...it's so much easy when I actually give a fuck about someone and I'm not desperate.

After 'graduation' I went to London for a Royal Court Fellowship of American writers, the Kennedy Center workshop for one of my plays, got the I AM SOUL fellowship at National Black Theatre, won the Helen Merrill Prize for Emerging writers, completed the Dramatists Guild fellowship, and started on the Brooklyn Arts Exchange's artist in residency for 2 years.

I got into New Dramatists, a lifelong dream. And my satire RUNNING ON FIRE was at the O'Neill! I was also hired as a staff writer on the CBS show BRAINDEAD. That job led to me reading Dan Fogelman's pilot 36...which became THIS IS US. I moved out to LA for THIS IS US...which was a no-name show without Marvel comic capes, CGI, and any expectations. When another TV writer heard about my cross country move for this sure-loser, they said to me 'you moved out here...FOR THAT?!?' Before TIU, I was actually offered a job on the first season of THE GOOD FIGHT. I tentatively accepted and began voraciously watching THE GOOD WIFE...all 7 seasons and 22 episodes per season. But TGF scheduling delays, led me to TIU. At the end of the first season of TIU, I heard TGF was moving back to NYC. Bye LA! It was fun.

Back in NYC, I started on TGF season 2 and one of the most exhilarating seasons in the history of tv. our stories were bombastic, funny, acidic. I would watch some of the episodes on the editing system 2 or 3 times because I couldn't believe the acting, editing, design...how everything was clicking at such a high-quality level. To go from TIU to TGF felt like going from one treasure to another. These three electric years, changed me forever. I got to see master craftsmen operating at optimal levels in 3 different tv shows, live in 2 great cities, and meet tons of funny/interesting TV and film execs...yeah, I can't believe I just said that...execs?!?

GET WHAT YOU WANT: January 2020

1. YADDO
Deadline: January 5th
Website: https://www.yaddo.org/apply/guidelines/

Artists who qualify for Yaddo residencies are working at the professional level in their fields. An abiding principle at Yaddo is that applications for residency are judged on the quality of the artist’s work and professional promise. There are no publication, exhibition, or performance requirements for application.

Artists in all disciplines who are enrolled in graduate or undergraduate programs, or are engaged in completing work toward an academic degree at the time of application, are not eligible to apply to Yaddo.
Artists may apply once every other calendar year. For example, if you applied in 2017 (January or August), you will be eligible to apply again in either January or August of 2019.
Yaddo encourages artists of all backgrounds to apply for admission. Yaddo does not discriminate in its programs and activities against anyone on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, disability, HIV status, or veteran status.

Artistic Disciplines
Five admissions panels consider applications to Yaddo in the following disciplines:

-Literature, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, translation, librettos, and graphic novels.
-Visual Art, including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, mixed media, and installation art
-Music Composition, including instrumental forms, vocal forms, electronic music, music for film, and sound art
-Performance, including choreography, performance art, multi-media and/or collaborative works incorporating live performance
-Film & Video, including narrative, documentary and experimental films, animation, and screenplays


2. MADISON NEW WORKS LAB
Deadline: January 5th
Website: https://www.jmu.edu/theatredance/about/special-programs.shtml

MNWL is interested in new plays that address contemporary issues with characters that are suitable for college-age actors. Creative teams are given retreat during a one-week residency while working on a new play. During this residency, we provide opportunities for creators to take their new plays into the next stage of development and explore their work with a community of artists in the rehearsal room as well as in front of an audience.

Accommodations
Creative teams are given retreat during a one-week residency while working on a new play. During this residency, we provide opportunities for creators to take their new plays into the next stage of development and explore their work with a community of artists in the rehearsal room as well as in front of an audience. Connecting emerging writers with our students and faculty offers mutually beneficial opportunities for artistic growth in a safe and focused environment.
Round-trip transportation and housing for the playwright
Honorarium for the Playwright
Rehearsal studios and practice rooms in a variety of performance venues.
Access to student performers, selected through an audition process. (Maximum of 8 actors, may include double casting.)
Available resources include director, stage managers, and supportive artistic staff.


3. WOMEN’S PROJECT LAB
Deadline: January 6th
Website: https://wptheater.submittable.com/submit

WP THEATER is the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of women+ at every stage of their careers. For over four decades we have served as leaders of a global movement towards gender parity, and the example we set and the artists we have fostered have grown into a robust, thriving community of artists in theater and beyond. WP empowers women+ artists of all kinds to reach their full potential, challenging preconceptions about the kinds of plays women write and the stories they tell.

WP LAB: The artistic heart of WP Theater lies  in the Lab: a two-year residency for early career women+ playwrights,  directors and producers. Selected through a highly competitive process,  the Lab provides its members with a vital professional network,  entrepreneurial and leadership training, rehearsal space, and most  significantly, tangible opportunities for the development and production of bold new work for the stage. In addition to developing their own unique work, the Lab residency culminates in the biennial Pipeline Festival, a festival of five new plays written, directed and produced by the Lab.

The deadline for applications for the 2020-2022 WP Lab is January 06, 2020.


4. LEAH RYAN FUND FOR EMERGING WOMEN WRITERS
Deadline: January 8th
Website: http://www.leahryansfeww.com/apply.html

All women who consider themselves emerging playwrights (as distinct from fledgling or mid-career playwrights) are eligible to apply for the 2018 FEWW Prize. Playwrights from all over the world are encouraged to apply, but the play must be written in English. Eligibility does not require that a submitted work adhere to the traditional three-act structure. One-acts, two-acts (even four-, five-, six- acts), monologues, adaptations, and any other wild (or deceptively tame) format will be considered with equal seriousness. The only absolute requirement is that the submitted text be a completed full-length work for theater.

The winner will be chosen by a readers committee selected by the board members of Leah Ryan's FEWW, and will be presented her award as part of the 2018 Lily Awards, which honors the work of women in American theater. In addition, the winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500, a workshop at the Vassar Powerhouse Theater, and a reading of her play in New York City. A stipend of up to $700 for travel and accommodation will be provided by FEWW if necessary.


5. BRICworkspace RESIDENCY
Deadline: January 9th
Website: bricartsmedia.org/ARTIST-OPPORTUNITIES/RESIDENCIES/BRICWORKSPACE-RESIDENCY

The BRICworkspace residency program provides emerging and mid-career artists the resources and support to make a significant commitment to their practice, as well as critical feedback and exposure of their work. The 2020 summer residency for Brooklyn-affiliated visual artists offers free studio space in the Artist's Studio and Project Room at BRIC House (647 Fulton St) in Downtown Brooklyn.

ARTISTS RECEIVE:

-3-month Rent-free studio space at BRIC House. Studios are approximately 225 square feet.
-Artists are provided with a modest stipend for materials.
-Studio visits with curatorial staff from BRIC and other local NY institutions.
-Open Studio event takes place at the end of the residency.


6. SESAME STREET WORKSHOP
Deadline: January 10th
Website: https://sesamewritersroom.org/

Sesame Workshop Writers’ Room is a writing fellowship from the creators of Sesame Street. And we’re looking for YOU! Fresh new writing talent from underrepresented racial backgrounds. Emerging storytellers who are selected to join the Writers’ Room will receive hands-on writing experience guided by Sesame Street veterans and other media industry leaders. Each participant will develop and write a pilot script for their own original kids concept. Past fellows have gone on to develop their own original content with Sesame Workshop, as well as write for Sesame Street and various programs at Nickelodeon, Disney, DreamWorks, and more!
-Up to 8 writers from underrepresented racial backgrounds will be selected

-Weekly sessions will take place at the Sesame Workshop NYC offices in Summer 2020 (early May through mid-July)

-Includes eight, three-hour sessions on creating original children's content

-Learn from industry writers, producers, agents and executives

-Complete at least one original script during the program

-Up to two participants will have the opportunity to receive creative development deals and further mentorship

Eligibility Check List
-Participants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
-Participants must be 21+ years old
-Must come from an underrepresented racial group
-No extensive media writing experience, such as having written more than six episodes for a network or cable scripted/narrative series
-Participants must be able to attend all eight weekly sessions in NYC, which will be held from early May to mid-July. Travel and lodging expenses are the participant's sole responsibility.


7. ANT Fest 2020
Deadline: January 15th
Website: https://arsnovanyc.com/Apply_ANTFest

We’re now accepting submissions for our twelfth annual ANT Fest, a festival of All New Talent showcasing new work from New York’s most adventurous emerging artists. ANT Fest 2020 will run through the month of June — to check out last year’s lineup, click here.

Every June, Ars Nova throws open our doors to the next wave of pioneering, hybrid theater-makers and fills our stage with their most dynamic ideas. We’re on the prowl for artists with diverse viewpoints and impressive skills, who see the future of live entertainment and want the chance to try out their ideas on stage. As an artist-driven festival, ANT Fest brings together an eclectic network of creators who feed our artistic community all year long.

We’re interested in unique, innovative projects that span traditional genre boxes (theater, comedy, music, burlesque, drag, variety arts or anything else you can think of) in an exciting way to tell a story, make us laugh, or showcase musicians with a vibrant new sound. This is the place to pitch that crazy show you’ve been dying for an excuse to make! We’re waiting for you.

TO APPLY:
Please fill out the online application form and submit it along with:

-A short description of your evening (one page max)
-An Artist Statement that describes what makes your key creator(s) tick and why you want to make this show (one page max)
-Samples of your key creator(s) work
-Bios or resumes for key creator(s)
-A range of unique submissions will each be given a night to perform in Ars Nova’s intimate -Off-Broadway theater and the opportunity to be a part of artist-driven events throughout the festival. Artists of color and all theater-makers with wide-ranging viewpoints are strongly encouraged to apply.


8. MACDOWELL COLONY (Summer Residency)
Deadline: Jan. 15th
Website: http://www.macdowellcolony.org/

The MacDowell Colony provides time, space, and an inspiring environment to artists of exceptional talent. A MacDowell Fellowship, or residency, consists of exclusive use of a studio, accommodations, and three prepared meals a day for up to eight weeks. There are no residency fees. MacDowell will only accept applications for the upcoming deadline. For the Literature Summer residency (Jun. 1st - Sep. 30th), submissions are due January 15th. MacDowell Fellows are selected by our admissions panels, which are comprised of a revolving group of distinguished professionals in each artistic discipline who serve anonymously for three years.

Eligibility
The Colony accepts applications from artists working in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts. The sole criterion for acceptance is artistic excellence, which the Colony defines in a pluralistic and inclusive way. MacDowell encourages applications from artists representing the widest possible range of perspectives and demographics, and welcomes artists engaging in the broadest spectrum of artistic practice and investigating an unlimited array of inquiries and concerns. To that end, emerging as well as established artists are invited to apply. Applicants who are enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs as of the date of application are ineligible for a residency and therefore cannot apply. Doctoral candidates who have finished all coursework may apply.

MacDowell is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical ability or disability. The Colony offers barrier-free access to its main buildings and some studios. There are no medical facilities or medical personnel on site. MacDowell is situated in a rural area with limited access to medical care facilities. We strongly suggest that applicants with special medical needs contact the Resident Director before applying.


9. BOGLIASCO FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP (for fall residency)
Deadline: January 15th
Website: http://www.bfny.org/en/apply

Bogliasco Fellowships are awarded to gifted individuals working in all the disciplines of the Arts and Humanities without regard to nationality, age, race, religion or gender.

To be eligible for the award of a Fellowship, applicants should demonstrate significant achievement in their disciplines, commensurate with their age and experience. Please note that Bogliasco Fellowships are not awarded to students currently in a degree-granting program. The Foundation gives preference to those whose applications suggest that they would be comfortable working in an intimate, international, multilingual community of scholars and artists.

The Foundation only accepts applications submitted through the online application system. To access the system, you must first register for an account here, where you will also find a list of requirements that we strongly encourage you to read before beginning your application. Once registered, you may login as needed to work on your application by clicking on the "login" button indicated to the left.

Bogliasco Fellowships include full room and board, plus the use of a private studio. The cost of transportation to and from the Bogliasco Study Center is the responsibility of Fellows and their accompanying spouses/partners. So also are all project materials and equipment, and any personal expenses incurred during the fellowship period, including medical expenses. Spouses/partners will be charged a daily fee of $25 to help defray the cost of meals and housing.

10. CORKSCREW THEATER FESTIVAL
Deadline: January 17, 2020 (extended)
Website: https://corkscrewfestival.org/

Corkscrew Theater Festival is now accepting submissions for its fourth annual season, which will take place in Summer 2020 from July 30-August 30 at A.R.T./New York’s Mezzanine Theatre (502 W 53rd St, Manhattan). Along with its move uptown from the East Village, the festival will expand its support for artists: for the first time, Corkscrew will provide its five productions with commissioning fees, help in defraying physical production costs, and more. These new initiatives further Corkscrew’s mission to reduce the steep financial and material barriers for early-career artists striving to produce work unreliant on traditional nonprofit and commercial models.

Merging the institutional support of a theater company, the soul of a collective, and the energy of a festival, Corkscrew prioritizes new and underrepresented voices creating spectacularly eclectic, defiantly exhilarating, subversively jubilant theater. Corkscrew selects each season through a free and open submissions process, culminating in a five-week repertory festival of five world premiere productions and five works-in-progress. In addition to the new financial resources, Corkscrew will continue to provide comprehensive dramaturgical, casting, and design support over a months-long developmental process. Each production will receive 9 performances over 2-3 weeks and at least 16 hours of technical rehearsal time.

Corkscrew is not limited in genre, content, or theme – all kinds of theater are welcome. Important criteria for selection include an innovative perspective and adventurous scope for the project, passion for the project from its generating artists, and an understanding of how Corkscrew’s unique development process will serve your goals for the project. Artists may apply with collaborators attached or without; the festival will help connect new collaborators to projects if selected.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to January 17, 2020 at 11:59pm EST. A complete application consists of:
1.      A draft of the script, or other document demonstrating the scope and content of the project
2.      Lead artist bios
3.      One or more work samples (photos, audio, or video)
4.      Five short answers accessible on application form

11. VILLAGE PLAYWRIGHTS: LOVE IS QUEER
Deadline: January 17th
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/villageplaywrights/

The Village Playwrights is seeking submissions for Love Is Queer, staged readings of 10 minute plays to celebrate Valentine's Day on Monday, February 10, 2020 from 7 to 9 pm at St. Johns Church, 81 Christopher, NYC.

The VILLAGE PLAYWRIGHTS was founded out of the need of Lesbian and Gay writers to have a venue in which they could present their works without fear of being harshly criticized or dismissed because of their sexual orientation or gender identification.   The VILLAGE PLAYWRIGHTS meet at the LGBT Center in New York on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month (8 pm) and welcome all Playwrights, Screenwriters, Directors and Actors to participate in their programs.  The VILLAGE PLAYWRIGHTS take pride in critiquing works solely on their merit and not on their sometimes sensitive subject matter. This allows each writer to find his or her voice as a creative individual.  To speak freely is to be empowered.


12. HELEN WURLITZER FOUNDATION RESIDENCY (TAOS, NM)
Deadline: January 18th
Website: https://wurlitzerfoundation.org/apply

To apply for an artist residency, submit an application form (below) along with the application fee and required work samples.

The annual deadline for applications is January 18th to be considered for a residence grant the following calendar year. Online applications must be received, and mailed applications must be postmarked, by January 18th. Grantees will be notified of their fellowship awards in June. For more info read the FAQs online.

Online applications received between now and 11:59PM MST, Jan. 18 2020 will be considered for residency grants in 2021. Supplemental work samples sent via mail must be postmarked by January 21st!

13. CITY THEATRE
Deadline: February 1-7th
Website: https://citytheatreofindependence.org/playwright-festival/

Subject & Content:
-Scripts shall contain at least two and not more than five characters.
-The subject matter of the story must be women.
-The stage will be bare, with no walls, doors, or floor coverings.
-Set pieces available shall be an overstuffed chair, a sofa, a coffee table, two end tables with lamps, an office desk, a regular table, three regular chairs, and a coat tree. All, or any combination of, these pieces (and these only) may be used. Photographs of the specific pieces are shown below.

Additional information and guidelines:
-All scripts must be submitted electronically via email in .pdf format to: playwrightsubmissionscti@gmail.com
-Playwrights will be notified via e-mail when their manuscript is received.

Scripts must include:
-A separate cover page with the playwright’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and a short biography of the playwright.
-A cast of characters with descriptions
-A brief synopsis
-Numbered pages

THEME: Missouri.

Only the first 75 submissions will be accepted.


14. MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: January 20th
Website: https://pwcenter.org/programs/mcknight-fellowships-in-playwriting

The McKnight Foundation, a family foundation based in Minnesota, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. The McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting recognizes and supports mid-career playwrights living and working in Minnesota who demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence. The fellowship term is July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021. The fellowship includes:

$25,000 stipend
$2,500 to support a play development workshop and other professional expenses
$1,400 in travel funds
Past recipients include: Carlyle Brown, Lisa D’Amour, Barbara Field, Keli Garrett, Jeffrey Hatcher, Christina Ham, Cory Hinkle, Carson Kreitzer, May Lee-Yang, Kira Obolensky, Harrison David Rivers, Stacey Rose, and Rhiana Yazzie.

Applicants must have been continuous residents of Minnesota since January 16, 2019, and must maintain residency in Minnesota during the fellowship year. Applicants must have the legal right to work in the United States. Applicants must have a minimum of one full-length work fully produced by a professional theater at the time of application. Recipients of 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 McKnight Artist Fellowships in any discipline are not eligible. Full-time students are not eligible. Staff and board members of the McKnight Foundation and the Playwrights' Center and their immediate family members are not eligible. Fellowship recipients may not receive any other Playwrights' Center fellowships, grants, or Core Writer program benefits during the grant year. If a recipient is a Core Writer, the Core term will be extended by one year. Applicants may only apply for one McKnight Artist Fellowship each year in any discipline.

Each application will contain the following pieces:

-Application Form (including contact details and eligibility information)

-Playwriting Resume
Please note clearly which productions listed on your resume (if any) meet the criteria for being "fully produced by a professional theater." Professional productions are defined as productions for which the author and primary artists (actors, directors, and creative collaborators) were reasonably compensated and that received at least three public performances each. Ten-minute or one-act plays and university, college, secondary school, amateur, and Equity showcase/waiver productions are not considered full professional productions. Productions that open after January 16, 2020 do not count.

-Artistic Statement
Use this statement to contextualize your work sample and help the panel get to know you as an artist. Describe your artistic goals and vision as a theater maker. You're only submitting one play, but this statement is your opportunity to describe the larger landscape of your work and to discuss your reasons for writing plays.

-Full-length play script
Please be sure your name and the play's title are on the cover page. A full-length play generally runs at least one hour. All script submissions must be written only by the applicant—no cowritten submissions will be accepted. Scripts for musicals may submitted by the book writer only. If you have previously received a McKnight Artist Fellowship, this script must have been completed after that fellowship year.

-References
Please list two individuals who are familiar with your work as a playwright and who we may contact during the evaluation process.

15. CORE WRITERS PROGRAM
Deadline: January 23rd
Website: https://pwcenter.org/programs/core-writer-program

The intent of the Core Writer Program is to support playwrights who demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence. Created in recognition of the particular needs of emerging and established writers, the program offers significant resources intended to further a playwright's career and is available to writers nationally.

Playwrights who have benefited from the Core Writer program include Christina Anderson, Trista Baldwin, Lee Blessing, George Brant, Carlyle Brown, Connie Congdon, Marcus Gardley, Jeffrey Hatcher, Sherry Kramer, Carson Kreitzer, Martyna Majok, Melanie Marnich, Winter Miller, Greg Moss, Qui Nguyen, Kira Obolensky, Jen Silverman, and Alice Tuan.

The Core Writer program gives 25-30 of the most exciting playwrights from across the country the time and tools to develop new work for the stage. All Core Writers receive play development workshops at the Center in collaboration with prominent directors, actors, dramaturgs, and designers. Core Writers are eligible to be included in our formal season of public readings: the PlayLabs Festival and the Ruth Easton New Play Series. Core Writers are also promoted by the Center and provided opportunities through an extensive network of colleges and universities, cultural institutions, and producing theaters.

Each term is three years; Core Writers may reapply for additional terms.

Applicants must reside in and have the legal right to work in the United States during the Core Writer term. It is not required for an applicant to have had professional productions in order to apply. However, please note that this program is highly competitive and is designed for committed professional playwrights who are pursuing playwriting as their primary career. Students enrolled in a full-time educational program are not eligible.


16. BBC INTERNATIONAL RADIO COMPETITION
Deadline: January 30th
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2K19ftQ7bts6lNlnzQZSXjd/international-radio-playwriting-competition-rules-2020

Entry is only open to anyone who is over the age of 18 as at 31 January 2020 who is not normally a resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man (“UK”). Individuals who have lived or worked in the UK on a temporary basis for no more than 12 months at the time of entering the competition are also eligible. Professional and previously published writers are eligible to enter, but this is not a requirement of entry. We may require proof of eligibility.

Entrants should write a radio play of approximately fifty three minutes’ length on any subject of their choice.

THERE ARE A LOT OF RULES AND GUIDELINES, so please check out the website for all the details: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2K19ftQ7bts6lNlnzQZSXjd/international-radio-playwriting-competition-rules-2020


17. BRIClab Performance Artist Residency
Deadline: January 30th
Website: www.bricartsmedia.org/artist-opportunities/residencies/briclab-performance-residency

The BRIClab Performance Residency is a commissioning and residency development program for New York City-based performing artists to explore and expand the possibilities of their work in music, dance, theater, and multidisciplinary 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 Performance Residency 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
-Artistic mentoring
-Technical support from BRIC’s production staff
-Two work-in-process showings (dates/times determined by BRIC)
-Documentation of showings

18. 2020 WRITERS RETREAT FOR EMERGING LGBTQ VOICES
Deadline: February 3rd
Website: www.lambdaliterary.org/writers/subs/11/14/2020-writers-retreat-for-emerging-lgbtq-voices/

Lambda Literary is proud to announce details of the 2020 Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, the nation’s premier LGBTQ writer’s workshop and residency. The Retreat will be held August 9-16, 2020 on the campus of Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices offers intensive and sophisticated instruction to selected writers over a carefully designed one-week period. The Retreat provides writers access to industry professionals and the opportunity to advance in their craft and careers. It is one of Lambda’s most dynamic initiatives: it represents the future of LGBTQ literature.

Applicants of the Retreat submit prose, poetry or theatrical manuscript pages that are evaluated for craft, creativity and originality. Twelve students per workshop are accepted into the competitive program where they spend the week working on their manuscripts, attending guest lectures led by publishing industry professionals, and participating in public readings in venues around Los Angeles. Ability to pay is in no way part of the decision-making process and scholarships are available. Lambda Writers Retreat Fellows have gone on to publish an impressive array of works.

NOTE: there is a $25 application fee and the week costs $1725 for the artists.


19. HERE ARTS RESIDENCY
Deadline: February 3rd
Website: https://here.org/programs/harp/

One of the most robust residency programs in the country and serving as a national model, HARP provides a commission, development support, career planning, and a full production to hybrid artists, all within a collaborative environment of peers working across disparate art forms – including theatre, dance, music, puppetry, visual art, and new media. HARP provides significant long-term support, as well as $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in space, equipment and services over 2-3 years to tailor each residency to each artist’s individual needs. Through significant investment of time and resources, dynamic work within a strong community is created.

Each spring, we offer a window into the creative process of our nationally recognized HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP). For 19 years, this exploration of new work in development has been known as HERE’s CULTUREMART Festival. As we launch into 2020, we’re ready to embrace a new moniker that better captures the essence of the experience. Welcome to HERE RAW / Resident Artist Works! This year’s program features 7 workshop presentations, at various stages of development, that blur the boundaries between theatre, music, dance, new media, and visual art. HERE RAW / Resident Artist Works 2020 is Feb 23–Mar 1


20. DRAMA LEAGUE: DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP IN TV & FILM
Deadline: February 3rd
Website: https://dramaleague.submittable.com/submit

For many decades, emerging directors felt they had to choose between working on the stage, or working in film and television.  The skills sets overlap to some degree, but not in totality…which made the acquisition of experience difficult.  Recently, however, the field of directing has begun to widen.  The notion of a director successfully transitioning back and forth between these overlapping industries is now not only possible, but in some cases, encouraged.  Their imaginations are vital to the future of both mediums.

The Fellowship for Directing in Television is a career development initiative for stage directors to observe the craft of film/TV direction.  Through network building with industry professionals and shadowing successful film/television directors, the Fellow will gain essential skills and contacts to begin working in both mediums.

COMPONENTS

1) SHADOW DIRECTING ASSIGNMENT

Those selected to participate become part of the Drama League Directing Talent Pool. Drama League staff, entertainment executives, executive producers and/or producing episodic directors select individuals to shadow on an episode of produced television. Shadowing assignments are not guaranteed; however, if an assignment is secured, the Fellow will shadow production and shooting. Observing post-production is solely at the discretion of producers. Drama assignments typically run three or more weeks, and comedy assignments usually run one to two weeks. The duration of an individual's participation is at the discretion of the Drama League staff, executive producers and/or episodic directors.

2) STIPEND

Directors on shadowing assignments will receive a paid stipend when actively shadowing on a production, the amount of which will be disclosed prior to acceptance. In the 2019 cycle, the Stipend was $2,000, but could be less or more depending upon the length and location of the assignment.  Taxes will be deducted from the stipend in accordance with federal, state and local law.

3) TRANSPORTATION

Fellows will be provided with travel to the city of the shooting location.  In-city travel is not included.

4) HOUSING

Fellows will be provided with housing in the city of the shooting location.


21. DORA MAAR HOUSE
Deadline: February 15th
Website: mfah.org/fellowships/doramaarhouse/dora-maar-how-to-apply/

The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at the Dora Maar House is located in one of the most beautiful regions of Southern France, about 40 km southeast of Avignon, the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes is an 18th-century residence. In 1944 Pablo Picasso purchased the four-story mansion for Dora Maar, an artist and surrealist photographer who was his companion and muse in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Dora Maar owned the house until her death in 1997.
In 1997, a friend of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston purchased the former residence of Dora Maar. In a five-year effort, the owner rehabilitated and updated this spacious eighteenth-century, four-story stone residence in the village of Ménerbes. Her goal was to make it a retreat for scholars, artists, and writers, where they could work undisturbed on their research, art, or writing, for one to three months.

The Brown Foundation Fellowship provides
• 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
• expenses paid for round-trip travel from a fellow’s home to the
Dora Maar House
• a grant-based upon the length of stay at the Dora Maar House

In 2006 the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston was asked to direct this project, which is now known as The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at the Dora Maar House. Here outstanding midcareer professionals are offered fellowships that enable them to reside in the Dora Maar House and focus on the creative aspects of their work.

http://www.mfah.org/fellowships/doramaarhouse/fellowship/


22. PLAYWRIGHTS REALM WRITERS' FELLOWSHIP
Deadline: February 2nd
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

Decade Rewind: 2012 & 2013. Rain of Blessings

2012

I go on another month-long silent meditation retreat...this time in Pennsylvania on a farm. When I finish the retreat, i clean out their zen rock garden that's been covered over in weeds.
I get hit up to write some funny bits for web ads. This becomes an all-encompassing writing/producing job for MISTER, a gay dating app. I write dozens of scripts, find a director, make a budget, audition actors, set a schedule and shoot an initial 4 videos, followed by a fifth one that I just wrote and let someone else produce.

The web work lead to more random web jobs that I'm cobbling together. I'm asked to create a campaign to encourage young people to vote in the 2012 election. I create the Vote It Forward Campaign and hand out over $20,000 in prizes for great videos and funny content. I also create and produce a fundraiser for Three Jewels, using the theme of voting rights and democracy. This is my part in both creating content, earning money, and taking part in our democracy...with a Buddhist bent.

I go to a bigwig fundraiser in Connecticutt and rush back to the city in time to batten down for Hurricane Sandy. The following week I'm supposed to attend the world premiere of SKYFALL, but the hurricane has done so much damage that they scale things back to just showing the movie. I'm put up in a hotel near Times Square for the screening. The next morning is the election. i wake up to Fox New predicting a blowout victory...for Mitt Romney. I laugh to myself and go home. My new roommate comes that evening, but by the time he shows up the election is over with...Obama wins. Maybe I played some small part in that? Who can say?

I start working with a new company Red Shirt Entertainment. They ask me to write something so I decide to expand my short play DEFACING MICHAEL JACKSON into a full script. Afterward I don't hear anything from them for a while. I also write DON'T SMOKE IN BED, an interracial two-hander for a reading at Red Shirt. I don't know what's going to happen but I figured this is an exciting start. My other play St. Augustine, FLA is going up at the Red Shirt rooftop reading series.

I decide to apply for the Juilliard Playwriting Fellowship, and I'm going to use DEFACING MICHAEL JACKSON. I make an agreement with the universe: if this is meant to be, then let it happen. If not, then I will accept that fate.

My short play FREEFALLING gets into the Barrington Stage Festival. I go up there for a wintry fun weekend. When I get back to the city, I have a call from Juilliard: the literary manager wants to interview me in January.

2013

At the end of 2012, I tried out a few posts titled GET WHAT YOU WANT that offered grant help. In 2013, I decided to go all in and start posting a listing every month. On the volunteer front, I started answering letters from people in prison needing 12-step help. But I found that most prisoners were writing about wanting to know how they could get government identification when they got out, places to sleep, etc. I started a mailing list for NY state prisoners that listed where they could get new ID, temporary housing locations, job training centers, and 12-step meetings for different substance abuse problems. I started getting more letters from around the state requesting this improvised packet. I sent them out to prisoners, people in halfway houses, and even some prison officers who requested it. Eventually, I was let go from this volunteer position because I had overstepped the bounds of my position: making my own packet and sending it out to anyone who requested it crossed a line. I sent my last bunch of packets out at the end of the year to an inquiring prison administration official. I told him I was no longer at the position, these are all the copies of this packet, and to please keep it going.

In January/February I interviewed for the Juilliard playwriting fellowship. I was the first person being in, so I was told to have patience. They would be doing interviews into the spring so I shouldn't take offense if I don't hear anything for several months.

For work, I was put up in a Stanford CT hotel room for a week in February. I was told to charge everything to a mysterious account, and to even get a massage. My job was to help a wealthy woman needing to warehouse certain goods. Every morning I waited by the phone for more instruction, and every morning I was told that we would start the next day. After a week, I was told my services were no longer needed. I was handed a check for $14,000 and summarily dismissed. I had done nothing.

That Monday after the Baltimore Ravens and Ray Lewis won their last Super Bowl, I took the train back to my apt in Queens. I found out that my roommates and next-door neighbors had gotten into a huge brawl. People were arrested, some went to the hospital. I decided that maybe a) that week in the hotel was an angelic sidestep to being at my apt and getting beaten up and b) it was probably time to move.

I was working on a series of plays about genocide for Red Shirt. I acted in the first play about the Holocaust and helped out with the dramaturgy. The second play was about Rwanda and I was mainly put in charge of dramaturgy. The play had a fire dancer. I continued writing/producing web videos and got a job with IHS to do a series on our surveillance state and Edward Snowden. Once again, I got to dive into writing/producing. I found a director, worked with a college professor, got some actors together and we created a 3-part series about how our lives are being monitored constantly. The videos went semi-viral.

My play FREEFALLING won the FIAT LUX prize by the Catholic Church. It also got a tv reading at Williamstown that I attended, and won first prize at the InspiraTO Theatre in Toronto. I never imagined that taking an hour to jot down a 10-page play on my kitchen table would have such a far-reaching impact.

By the end of the summer, I was answering another batch of letters from prison, when Juilliard called to tell me...I got in! I was so stunned that I was numb. I thanked them. It had been 6-7 months. I assumed a rejection letter was in the mail for me. Now my entire life was going to change. Red Shirt immediately wanted to put up the play that got me into Juilliard, DEFACING MICHAEL JACKSON. Nuyorican Poets Cafe agreed to let us use the space for a workshop production.

In the fall I started at Juilliard, went into rehearsal for DEFACING, was writing/producing another web series about Millenials and debt, titled "Generation Debt" At school, I brought in OBAMA-OLOGY as my first play, wrote another play about miracles, and used some Juilliard actors for the Generation Debt filming. I signed with Paradigm Talent Agency. They asked if I was interested in a tv writing job. I thought about it... 'sure.'

I started off 2013, worrying about my career and finances...so I made a request to the universe. By the end of the year, the answers were being shouted at me.