"Miss Laura Mae of Harlem" Reading 9/17 (NYC)

For more information, please contact http://www.lifeasalemon.com/.

AAPEX & Fisk University Present "HollerLULA" 9/4 (Nashville)

The Red Harlem Readers present 3-one act plays and more 8/26 (NYC)

The Red Harlem Readers

are proud to present

Three Delicious One Act Plays

by esteemed poet, playwright and essayist

Austin Alexis

and an

Exciting Essay on Black Theatre and its Playwrights

by Professor, playwright, essayist, and author

Owa

August 26th

4 PM

The Indian Café

Broadway at 107 Street

Come early and meet the authors and the presenters:

Richard Gaffield, Cordis Heard, and Laurence Holder

Seeking Black Screenwriting Collaborator

Noted producer and director is looking for black screenwriting collaborator to turn well known African American play about women into a movie. Well known celebrities already expressing interest in film. Has produced and directed such stars as Iyanla Vanzant, Mo'Nique, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Bebe Moore Campbell, Sommore, Taraji Henson, Pyllis Yvonne Stickney, Terri J. Vaughn, Vanessa Williams. If you are African American (men must be able to touch core of female emotions), can write drama and are looking for a wonderfully unique opportunity, please contact: YettaYoung Productions at yettayoung@aol.com for more information on play and possible collaboration.

Source: TRU

Candy Robins and Kenny Dozier Present JaVon Johnson's CRYIN' SHAME at the Shades of Black Theater Festival 8/22 (Nashville)

Cryin' Shame

Written by JaVon Johnson

Directed by Stella Reed

Presented by

Kenny Dozier's

Nairobi Café

and

Candy Robins'

Robins' Nest

Anderson County, South Carolina, 1985. An illegal establishment disguised as a corner store provides the backdrop for the resurrection of hidden ghosts born out of strong generational bonds and of unconditional love. However, the traditions and expectations run deep and put love to the ultimate test. The disappointments, hurt, resentment, and shame combine to ignite this compelling tapestry of unspoken yet unyielding love. The play does not follow the protagonist structure. Ideally, the theme of the play exists within two relationships that are paralleled in issues and conflicts throughout.

August 22-September 2, 2007
Wednesday - Sunday at 7:30pm

with Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 3pm
Tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Group tickets - $10 in advance

For more information, please click here.

Jaz Dorsey Directs "HollerLULA!" 9/4 and "That Word" 9/11 (Nashville)

Jaz Dorsey
directs
Helen Shute Pettaway
in
HollerLULA!
A reading of a new work by DC playwright
Lois A. Wiley

Tuesday, September 4, 7pm
Fisk University Little Theater

(Podcast by eLIFE.com)

and...

Nubian and Melvin Ray in
THAT WORD
by
Dr. Henry Miller
with special guests
Billie Holiday (Narika Kendrick)
and
Harriet Beecher Stowe (Elizabeth Davidson)

Tuesday, September 11th
Cafe Coco
http://www.cafecoco.com/
Doors open at 6:30 pm

RSVP for both events to
jazmn47@aol.com

Assistant Producer Sought (DC)

The African American Playwrights Exchange seeks an assitant producer based in Washington, DC to work with us on our DC play reading series. Contact Jaz Dorsey at jazmn47@aol.com.

Film/Stage Scripts Wanted (Santa Monica)

Found on Craig's List:

All writers welcome: Send in your Script
Reply to: gigs-396941056@craigslist.orgDate: 2007-08-14, 11:53AM PDT
Edgemar Center for the Arts and Diva Chihauhau Films is seeking new works for the 2008 season. We are a two theater complex, and an Independent Film production comany. Our latest film won 4 out of 5 awards at the LA Film Awards. At Edgemar we have Michelle Danner and Larry moss as our Artistic Directors. We are looking for all genres, both theater and film, and we are accepting all writers, represented or not. If you do have an agent, please include all contact information. Please do not send PDF's. Paper only. We do not pay for to read your submission, but if the script is selected for Production, there will be pay. Thanks. Please send your scripts to: Attn: Ariela Anelli 2437 Main St. Santa Monica, Ca. 90405 Please do not contact Edgemar by phone, and no drop-ins. Mail in scripts only please.
Location: Santa Monica
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: If your script is selected for Production, there will be pay.

Owa and the WorkShop Theater Company Team Up for the "INCH" 8/22 (NYC)

Presents a staged reading of the play

Inch
A short piece for a naked tale

Written by Owa

Directed by June Prager

Music and narration by Victor Denzel Ramsay

Featuring:
SEAN ALLISON, LETTI FERRER, JAMES DICKSON, ALLISON HIROTO and KIM WESTON-MORAN.

Workshop Theater Company
“Jewel Box Theater”
312 West 36th Street
bet 8th & 9th Ave. 4th floor

Wednesday August 22, 2007
7 p. m.

Free admission
RSVP Owa@verizon.net

Seeking Short Screenplay!

Found on Craig's List:

Two Up and Coming Filmmakers in NYC seek next great Script!
Reply to: gigs-392752324@craigslist.org Date: 2007-08-08, 11:50PM PDT

Not Another Film Kid Productions is looking for a great short script. We have funding and are interested in producing a short script that would take us to Sundance and Cannes in the future. IF you are a screenwriter or even playwright please send us a LOGLINE of your script which is all we ask. We are not trying to steal ideas we are trying to unite with an amazing writer and make a great film together. Or you can email us to talk about a future meeting. Please view our website: www.famunited.com.

This is a great opportunity to get in with filmmakers who are great to work with and want more then anything to work with a talented screenwriter.

Thanks so much. Email us just to talk. Thanks! -Anthony Ingoglia & Bob O'Reilly
Location: Anywhere!
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: If its good

A Short History of the Negro Ensemble Company

Prior to the 1960s, there were virtually no outlets for the wealth of black theatrical talent in America. Playwrights writing realistically about the black experience could not get their work produced, and even the most successful performers, such as Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen, were confined to playing roles as servants. It was disenfranchised artists such as these who set out to create a theater concentrating primarily on themes of black life. In 1965, Playwright Douglas Turner Ward, actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald Krone came together to make these dreams a reality with the Negro Ensemble Company. The main catalyst for this project was the 1959 production of "A Raisin in the Sun."

Written by Lorraine Hansberry, of "A Raisin in the Sun" was a gritty, realistic view of black family life. The long-running play gave many black theater people the opportunity to meet and work together. Robert Hooks and Douglas Turner Ward were castmates in the road company. Together they dreamed of starting a theater company run by and for black people. While acting in Leroi Jones' play "The Dutchman", Hooks began spending nights teaching to local black youth. In a public performance primarily for parents and neighbors, the kids put on a one-act play by Ward. A newspaper critic who had attended the performance recommended that Ward's plays be produced commercially.

While Hooks raised money, Ward wrote plays. The pair recruited a theater manager, Gerald Krone, and the three men produced an evening of black-oriented, satiric one act plays. One of these short plays, "Day of Absence", was a reverse minstrel show, with black actors in whiteface performing the roles of whites in a small Southern town on a day when all the blacks have mysteriously disappeared. The plays, performed at the St. Marks Play House in Greenwich Village, were a major success. They ran for 504 performances and won Ward an Obie Award for acting and a Drama Desk Award for writing. Impressed with his work, the NEW YORK TIMES invited Ward to write an article on the condition of black artists in American theater.

Ward's piece in the Times became a manifesto for the establishment of a resident black theater company. With money from the Ford Foundation and a home at the St. Marks Playhouse, the Negro Ensemble Company formed officially in 1967. Though the new company succeeded in attracting audiences from all walks of life, they ran into a number of political and economic difficulties. In London a performance of the NEC's first production, "Song of the Lucitanian Bogey" (1967) was heckled by-right wing protesters who resented its anti-colonial message. Back home in America, the group had to deal with criticism from members of the black community over their continued association with white administrators, playwrights, and funders.

Among the many plays produced by the Negro Ensemble Company were such greats as Peter Weiss' "Song of the Lucitanian Bogey", "Lonnie Elder's Ceremonies in Dark Old Men" (1969) and Charles Fuller's "Zooman and the Sign" (1980). These plays dealt with complex and often ignored aspects of the black experience. Creating emotionally resonant characters with depth and variety, the NEC paved the way for black Americans to present a voice that had been aggressively stifled for three hundred years. This revolution in production and writing also meant an equally important advance for black actors. With the NEC, many black actors found their first opportunity to play characters with depth and meaning.

Though critically acclaimed and presenting some of the most important theatrical work of its time, the NEC ran into a number of economic troubles. With production costs rising and an original grant from the Ford Foundation gone, the group no longer had enough money for many of its projects. Even sellout audiences in the St. Marks Theater could not generate enough revenue to meet the budget. In the 1972-73 season the resident company was disbanded, staff was cut back, training programs canceled, and salaries deferred. The decision was made to produce only one new play a year.

Fortunately, the first play chosen was "The River Niger", by Joe Walker. "The River Niger" was a moving play about the struggles of a black family from Harlem in the '70s. It was the first NEC production to move to Broadway, where it stayed for nine months. It won the Tony Award for Best Play, and embarked on an extensive national tour. The success of "The River Niger" helped to insure the continued work of the NEC and of its many members over the next ten years. In 1981, the NEC had what was probably its most successful production with "A Soldier's Play", by Charles Fuller. "A Soldier's Play" is a gripping story of the murder of a black soldier on a Southern Army base, and the subsequent investigation by a black army captain. It was a tremendously popular play and won both the Critics Circle Best Play Award and the Pulitzer Prize. It was later made into a movie, "A Soldier's Story", which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Since its founding in 1967, the NEC has produced more than two hundred new plays and provided a theatrical home for more than four thousand cast and crew members. Among its ranks have been some of the best black actors in television and film, including Louis Gossett Jr., Sherman Hemsley, and Phylicia Rashad. The NEC is respected worldwide for its commitment to excellence, and has won dozens of honors and awards. While these accolades point to the larger success of the NEC, it has created something far greater. It has been a constant source and sustenance for black actors, directors, and writers as they have worked to break down walls of racial prejudice.

"That Word" September 11th at Cafe Coco (Nashville)

Cafe Coco and AAPEX are proud to present "That Word"

by

Dr. Henry Miller

Starring

Nubian
&
Mr. Melvin Ray

Followed by a discussion on this topic:

What are the three major challenges facing the African American Playwright?

Join us while you are here for Shades of Black.

AAPEX Member Aaron Carter Nominated for BTAA Lorraine Hansberry Award!

Black Theater Alliance Awards has released its annual nominations in black theatre. In the writing categories, we are proud to announce that AAPEX member Aaron Carter was nominated for the Lorraine Hansberry Award for his play "Panther Burn" (MPAACT). Congratulations, Aaron!

Call for Submissions from African American Screenwriters!

Starting its fourteenth year, The Guy A. Hanks & Marvin Miller Screenwriting Program will be accepting applications from July 15 to September 15, 2007. This program was established by Drs. Bill and Camille Cosby at the University of Southern California 's School of Cinema-Television. Unaffiliated with USC, the Hanks-Miller Program is geared toward increasing the pool of qualified African-American writers in the entertainment industry. The Program has single-handedly brought more successful African-American writers into the entertainment industry than any other program of its type.

This program meets twice a week for 15 weeks beginning February 2008. It is designed to assist writers in completing a television or feature script, while giving them the opportunity to examine African-American history, culture and iconography. Participation is free to those selected.

Our program is not designed for beginning level writers. We are seeking writers who have taken the initiative to formally study television or feature writing through workshops or classes; a degree is not necessary. In an industry that is extremely competitive, we have found our greatest success in assisting those who have a strong foundation in television or screen writing.

Although obtaining employment is not the primary goal of the program, alumni have used scripts developed in the program to further their careers. Our alumni have excelled in the entertainment industry as television and feature writers, producers and directors. We have had alumni who have created network television shows and who have written on top ten shows. This current season we have writers on: "Private Practice," "Lincoln Heights," "Saving Grace," "Cavemen," "Dirty Sexy Money," "Just Jordan" and "House of Payne." This year our Feature Writers have received honors through "Tribeca All Access," "Hollywood Black Film Festival," "Screenplay Festival 2006," and "Fade In Magazine." Their works have also been recognized by organizations including the NAACP, while the Program itself has been recognized by the California Governor's office, a state Senator and the Los Angeles Mayor's office.

As we continue to make a strong and positive mark in the entertainment industry, our alumni have become a primary source of recruitment for the ABC/Disney, CBS, NBC, FOX and the Nickelodeon Writing Fellowships; as well as the Warner Brothers Comedy and Drama Writing Program. Our alumni are also sought after by top literary agencies seeking new and talented writers.

For more information or to obtain an application visit our website at http://cosbyprogram.com.

CONTACT:
Jacqueline Rosales
cosbyprogram@yahoo.com

Calling All Playwrights!

Open Call For Submissions! Category: Writing and Poetry. Urban Echoes Entertainment is pleased to announce the launching of the Urban Classic Theatre Series! This new series will feature modern stage classics by contemporary playwrights the world over, with plays that continue the rich cultural legacy started by such masters as Lorraine Hansberry, Alice Childress, Ntozake Shange, and August Wilson. We are currently seeking manuscripts for its inaugural season. We prefer original works that have not been read or performed publicly, but we are open to all scripts at any stage of development.We are looking for original full-length (up to 110minutes), one- and two-act plays with no more than eight characters and minimal production needs. We will consider comedies, dramas, musicals, and gospel plays. One-person shows will not be considered at this time.

The Urban Classic Theatre Series will make its debut in October 2008. Our focus is on identifying character-driven pieces that transition easily to the stage, and we look forward to working with all the talented playwrights who will provide works for the series in the years to come.

Please include the following with your submission:

• A copy of the most up-to-date version of your script.
• A synopsis of your play not exceeding one page (the synopsis need not cover every point, but rather serve as an outline of the plot).
• Character breakdown (including genders and ages).
• A complete production history of the play.
• Your resume, including all applicable contact info.

Submissions can be delivered via postal mail or email. Mail scripts to:
Urban Echoes Entertainment
P.O. Box 61494
Durham, NC 27715
(If you would like your materials returned to you, please include an SASE of sufficient size and postage). Email scripts to: Info@UrbanEchoes.net (If emailing your submission, please combine all materials together into one MS Word document and not separate files). For more info, contact us at Info@UrbanEchoes.net.

Source: MT Champion's American Theatre.

AAPEX eLIFE Podcast of Jamal Williams' "Yesterday Came Too Soon: The Dorothy Dandridge Story"

Please check out this excellent multi-media eLIFE podcast link for AAPEX's sponsored reading of Jamal Williams' "Yesterday Came Too Soon: The Dorothy Dandrige Story" in Atlanta. Directed by Andre Regan, it features an introduction by Georgia State University professor Dr. Shirlene Holmes. Jocelyn Key has an uncanny resemblance to the late actress who was the first African American woman nominated for an Academy Award (Carmen Jones,1955). Casting Director for the reading was Timothy Aaron Styles. A standing-o goes out to all and especially eLIFE publisher Andrea Berry.

Seeking Short Films (LA)

Found on Craig's List:

Reply to: alexandardecker@yahoo.com Date: 2007-08-06, 10:00AM PDT

Rogue Entertainment is seeking 2 minute to 30 minute film scripts. Films will be produced and distributed via online and mobile. Films will also be submitted to various U.S. film festivals throughout 2008-2009. While all submissions will be considered films that have witty dialogue, minimal sets, and smart stories about youth culture, women's/minority issues, or current affairs are preferred. Scripts should be a .pdf, .doc. or a .rtf file and in proper script. Rogue Entertainment is non-profit company dedicated to quality theater and film through artistic collaboration. For more information about Rogue Entertainment please go to www.rogueonline.org or come see WAIT UNTIL DARK currently playing at The Raven Playhouse (5233 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, Ca.)
Location: Los Angeles
It's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: negotiable

Seeking SCENES for Producers Pitch Reel ASAP

Found on Craig's List:

Seeking SCENES for Producers Pitch Reel
Date: 2007-08-06, 12:16PM PDT
La Unica Pictures is an independent production company that specializes in developing and producing high quality film and television projects featuring women and Latinos. We are currently developing an MOW for Lifetime Television, with Stars attached, and have another in development for CBS. In an effort to beef up our Feature Film roster we are creating a pitch reel that will be used to attract talent and investors. We are seeking SCENES from talented, cutting edge writers with the following themes: -male/female relationships -divorce -parent/child relationships -experiencing loss -Autism or childhood disorders -depression or alcoholism/addiction -con-artists -human struggle. Please submit a SCENE that depicts one of the above scenarios along with a synopsis of your script or story to launicapictures@gmail.com. If selected we will shoot your scene with a full cast and crew and a copy of the finished product will be made available to you to use for your own pitching purposes. Your entire script may be considered for option in the future but will be negotiated independently of this project.

This will be a wonderful, creative experience with TOP TALENT and will be great exposure. One of our directors is an ACADEMY AWARD nominee and our actors have major television and film experience.
We are also accepting SHORT FILM submissions. Please submit a PDF or WORD DOC only.

We are also seeking CREW. If you are an editor, DP, sound engineer, script supervisor who needs reel/credit please contact us ASAP.

New Urban TV Station Looking For Writers (Miami)

Found on Craig's List:

Casting Call for new urban television station
Reply to: eryxmedia@yahoo.com Date: 2007-08-06, 5:14PM EDT

The casting call is officially here August 18th in Miami. MadFace Television is launching its new television station this fall on comcast over 70 cities reaching OVER 3 MILLION viewers and we are holding a casting for Actors, Host, Co-Host, Djs, Models, BasketBall Players, Writers and more. If you are interested please logon to www.madfacetv.com to find out more about. YOU MUST CREATE A PROFILE ON THE SITE IN ORDER TO COME TO THE CASTING CALL. This is a paid job. NON UNION SCALE. Again log on to www.madfacetv.com and create a profile for the audition you can and will find out more about the casting call if you click on the casting call button. Remember IF YOU DONT CREATE A PROFILE YOU CANT COME TO THE CASTING CALL.

Call 407-692-4356 for more info if you can't make it.
Location: miami
Compensation: yes

The Origins of OwaFest and the African American Playwrights Exchange

THE ORIGINS OF OWAFEST AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT EXCHANGE

by Roweena Mackay

Jaz Dorsey started the African American Playwright Exchange (AAPEX) on January 1st, 2007. His initial call for scripts was for "any plays by African American playwrights or scripts by any playwright that addressed African American history, culture or issues, or which provided significant, dignified roles for black actors within the context of said historical, social & issue related themes."

He didn't know what to expect - maybe, that within a year, he would have heard from 20 writers …By the end of the first week he had heard from 30 writers. By the end of January it was up to around 60. By the middle of February, it was around 90. Owa was about number 90, but he was the first to use the word "absurdist" in conjunction with his work.

OWAFEST: Owa (the playwright) Fest (A gathering or occasion characterized by a specified activity) was born from the idea that significant, dignified roles for African Americans are missing from American Theatre because … plays by and for African Americans are missing from American Theatre. Out of this, almost naturally, comes the idea of the Absurd and then we come back to America herself, or Absurd America or perhaps even America the Absurd? OWAFEST is about changing the landscape of American Theatre.

The playwrights that Jaz selected to represent this new landscape are Owa, Henry Miller, George Brome, Bob Ost and Mark Clayton Southers.

Tonight you will experience two works, GHOSTSPELL by Owa and THAT WORD by Henry Miller.

Welcome to a Taste of OWAFEST!

7 pm

Trisha Brown Dance Company, 625 W. 55th Street, New York City.

AAPEX Dorothy Dandridge Atlanta Reading online 8/6 Thanks to eLIFE magazine

Just wanted to let you know that the feature we did on the Dorothy Dandridge reading in Atlanta will be online on Monday, August 6th. We are currently promoting it on our home page. I've attached the photo I took at the reading for you. Thought you might like it. It features Andre Regan, Dr. Shirlene Holmes, Jocelyn Key and Jamal Williams. Looking forward to building our collaboration with AAPEX!

Best,Andrea---
Andrea L. Berry
Executive Editor
eLIFE Magazine
people, places, possibilities
http://www.elifemagazine.net/

Producer looking for faith-based screenplay

WorkShop Entertainment LLC

I am looking for completed contemporary screenplays (comedies or dramas) that are faith based and positive towards Christianity. I'm not looking for R rated material. Budget range is open.WG and non-WG writers are welcome.

Alvaro Donado recently produced his first feature, 'Messengers,' starring Michele Hicks, Eric Jensen and Frankie Faison. 'Messengers' (distributed by Capital Arts Entertainment) was written by Charles Hall, Adam MacLean & Ryan Neill. As a graduate student at Columbia University Alvaro produced the 2001 Sundance Honorable Mention and Student Academy-Award® Gold Medal winner short Zen and the Art of Landscaping; the 2003 Student Academy Award® Gold Medal winner La Milpa (The Cornfield), which also received an Ariel for Best Short Film (Mexican Academy Award); and the documentary Family Portrait which recently received the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the David L. Wolper award from the International Documentary Association. While at Columbia, Alvaro received The Arthur Krim Memorial Producing Award, a Hallmark Entertainment Producing Development Award and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Contact: 37 West 20th Street #305 NYC NY 10011 212-206-3539 (Fax) No phone calls, please.

WPI Seeks Short Plays from Women Playwrights

Call for Short Plays 2007
Women Playwrights' Initiative (WPI)
Deadline Oct 1, 2007
Open to women playwrights in nine states of the Southeast: AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA. The winning submission(s) will tentatively be presented as a part of the 2008 Orlando International Fringe Festival. Award/Stipend: The winning playwright(s) will receive a stipend to assist in travel to Orlando.
Complete Guidelines at www.womenplaywrights.com/call-for-scripts.htm.
Competition coordinator: Julia Gagne, 407-273-9723, julesgee@cfl.rr.com.

Source: MT Champion's American Theatre