Shhh..LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX 3/10 (NYC)

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Petronia Paley's ON THE WAY TO TIMBUKTU 3/12 & 22nd (Trenton)

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To learn more and to buy tickets, please click blog post title.

Red Harlem Readers

MUSIC CITY THEATER PROJECT 3/30 (Nashville)

The Music City Theater Project

invites Press & Theater Professionals to our first event -

a reading of THE ROOM by New York playwright Alyce Mott,

renowned director and president of The Victor Herbert Society, whom everyone will have a chance to meet at the reading.

The reading will take place at Gallery F at Scarritt Bennett

at 7 pm on March 30

as we celebrate Vincent Van Gogh's birthday with this tale of the woman who came very close to burning ALL of Van Gogh's canvases.

Don't miss Claire Syler, Mike McFaden, John Jones and Matt Bolton

in this stunning historical drama.

For reservations to this event or more information, please call

615-915-0891

Reservations are required and there are only 30 seats in THE ROOM.

The Music City Theater Project

Dr. Jamie Cutler, Artistic Director

Jaz Dorsey - Dramaturg

Ted Swindley - Resident Playwright

We are also looking forward to the 15th anniversary of ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE at The Ryman on April 15. And the AAPEX production of HANNAH ELIAS at The Darkhorse on June 17.

Now taking reservations.

615-915-0891

Tickets from $7.00 to $20.00 ($7.00 tockets for opening night only)

Come to Nashvillle and go to the theater.

Gregory S. Carr's GIMME WINGS! a Hit in Houston

Hello Wings Team:
It looks like we're taking flight! I'm really proud of our collaboration. Great job.

Gregory S. Carr

#####

Houston International Airport-- Extremely well received - Passion and I had a Very Lonnnnnnggggg day, but a proud day. Tonya Patterson is the Director of Human Resources Field Services at IAH. The director of diversity at Continental is interested in what we did - I will be reaching out to her today. Hopefully it will result in an article in the Continental Times Magazine and the sponsorship that we need.

Dee Spencer

Ebony Repertory Theatre HIRING (LA)

Greetings All,

Ebony Repertory Theatre is presently accepting resumes and qualifying credentials for designers(USAA/ IATSE preferred), stage managers(AEA) , carpenters, property masters, electricians, dressers/wigs/ hair/make-up, stagehands, sound engineers/techs and riggers in the Los Angeles area. If you are professional, detail oriented, organized, punctual, and passionate about Theatre, we would like to hear from you. Please direct all correspondence to:

Ebony Repertory Theatre
Human Resources - Production
4718 West Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90016 or
production@ebonyrep .org or
by fax - 323.964.9822

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!!!!!!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,
Sheldon P. Lane
Production Manager
Ebony Repertory Theatre
4718 West Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90016
323.964.9768 main
323.964.9822 fax
http://www.ebonyrep .org

Ebony Repertory Theatre (ERT), a newly formed Equity Company, is the Resident Company and Operator of the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, under the leadership of Founder/ Producer Wren T. Brown and Artistic Director Israel Hicks. ERT's commitment is to bring diverse, high standard, professional performing arts to the Mid-City community, as well as the greater Los Angeles area, to engender business development along the Washington Boulevard corridor, and to make the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center Los Angeles' Newest Cultural Destination!

Kwami Alexander's THE SEVENTH SON 2/27 (Nashville)

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Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival Call for Entries (LA)

The Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival is NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS!

The largest west coast Loving Day celebration kicks off the 2nd Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival on June 12, 2009. The Festival celebrates storytelling of the Mixed racial and cultural experience and brings together innovative artists, film and book lovers, and families for two days of writing and film workshops, readings, film screenings, a special family event and live performance by talented comedians, musicians and actors. The 2008 Festival featured appearances by Rebecca Walker, Kim Wayans, Angela Nissel, Sundee Frazier and Maya Lilly. Best-selling writer James McBride and celebrated artist/filmmaker Kip Fulbeck received the inaugural Loving Prize for dedication to illuminating the Mixed experience. All events are free and open to the public.
WE ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING FILM, LITERARY, WORKSHOP, VENDOR TABLE AND EVENT SUBMISSIONS. For submission requirements and more information, visit: http://www.mxroots.org/.

Thank you,

Fanshen Cox & Heidi Durrow
Founders, Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival
http://www.mxroots.org/
To contact, click here.

Kevin-Anthony at The Triad 4/6 (NYC)

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Greetings Community,

Hope that you are all doing well and had a great weekend. I spent the weekend at The Apollo Theatre celebrating their 75th Anniversary. Well I'm not quite 75....yet...but I will be celebrating my birthday on Monday, April 6th, 2009 @ The Triad in NYC. They have asked me to take party in their "Just Piano" Concert Series. So I'm hitting the stage and standing behind the mic once again. I would love it if you all would come out and celebrate with me. I'm excited for serveral reasons; one, it's my birthday and two I'm recording a live CD that evening. So needless to say, I'll need all your energy and love in the house that evening as this is my 1st CD....can't believe I'm doing it but really excited. So come join me for a very special evening. And as always, please make your reservations in advance, tickets are now on sale. See you all behind the mic. And don't forget to check out the new blog site.

Purchase Tickets:
http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=KEV5
or by calling 212.868.4444

$10.00 (2 Drink CASH only minimum)

The Triad
158 W. 72nd St.
New York, NY
www.triadnyc.com

As Always,
Kevin-Anthony

Our New Blog Site:
http://b2productions.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/kevin-anthony-birthday-show/

http://www.triadnyc.com/

Thompson and Blank's LIBERTY CITY wows them in Miami Now thru 3/1

"'Liberty City' is a grand, not-to-be-missed experience."

Christine Dolen, Miami Herald

To purchase tickets, please click the title on this post.

Advanced tickets sales now on for Nathan Ross Freeman's HANNAH ELIAS (Nashville)

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The AAPEX production of Nathan Ross Freeman's HANNAH ELIAS starring HELEN SHUTE-PETTAWAY is now ON! Exactly one year from the date of our NYC reading, we will celebrate JUNETEENTH with this devasting ommission from the story of our country and the lawsuit nobody wants to talk about to this day. In order to raise the $700.00 rent for The Darkhorse, opening night tickets are available for a mere $7.00 if you purchase them NOW (so we can pay that rent.) General admission for subsequent performances will be $20.00. Arrangments for tickets can be made by email at aapextv@gmail.com Come to Nashville and go to the theater.

International Black Film Fest Nashville DO NOT WALK ALONE screening 2/27

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To visit the IBFF Nashville web site, please click the title of this post.

Call For Plays

The Playwrights and Poets Series at the LGBT Center here in New York has opened up full length script submissions. Plays should have at least one LGBT character central to the plot. Please email scripts to playwrightsandpoets@yahoo.com.

You will be contacted by a Center representative to discuss presenting your work if your material fits within their upcoming season.

Best wishes,
Playwrights and Poets

Live Stage Theatre for sale (Ft. Lauderdale)

Sol Theater business is for sale to the local artistic community that may be looking for this type of turn-key theatre at an affordable price to either a sole owner or a collaborative group. Sol Theatre productions are currently running. Our founder and Artistic Director is currently pursuing other interests with a tenure college professor position, thus the theatre is for sale. Briefly, key items are listed below:

• 67 seats
• 1,800 sq. feet
• Setup includes Lobby, Box office, Dressing Room, Stage Managers Booth, Stage, Storage area
• Turn-key, includes all setup lights, sound, props, furnishings, fixtures, furniture, tools, storage bins, etc.
• Below-market rent lease
• Recently updated and renovated
• Located on Flagler Drive near Sunrise Blvd. and US 1 (Federal Hwy) in east Fort Lauderdale
• Has been a successful theatre since 2001 with awards, etc.
• The business is for sale, not the building.

If you have an interest, please email and we will send you our Sales Package that includes details of the following:
• IRS 501c3, and Florida Not For Profit information
• Theatre Space
• Utilities
• Website
• Email (blast) Marketing
• Past Show Statistics & Annual Tax Returns
• Awards & Production History
• Support Personnel
• Inventory
• Business Sale Pricing

A must see! Close to everything – 2 miles from the beach, east of I95, east of Dixie Hwy, just north of Sunrise Blvd. Directions: From I95, Sunrise Blvd. east 2 miles, right/north quarter mile on Flagler Drive to property on the right side (1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304)

To view website, please click post title.

Hershell Norwood's BILLIE'S BLUES opens 3/18 (NYC)

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For more information, please contact Jaz Dorsey, Assistant Production Manager by clicking here.

James Weldon Johnson's GOD'S TROMBONES wails this Sunday (NYC)

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GIMME WINGS! flies to Houston

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To visit DeeWorks Entertainment website, please click the post's title.

Props to Dee Spencer! Her unique idea of producing theatre in airport concourses around the nation has taken her and Gregory Carr's GIMME WINGS! from Newark to Houston in one week. We love her Nike© approach to getting things done: Just Do It! She and her director Passion should be inspirations to all of us.

George Boyd's LE CODE NOIR 3/17-4/5 (Montreal)

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Click Post Title to go to Black Theatre Workshop website.

Red Harlem Readers

Crossroads Theatre Company Festival of the People 2/19-21 (New Brunswick)

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To visit the website and purchase tickets, please click the post title.

THE FACE OF EMMETT TILL 2/27-3/8 (Nashville)

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Click Post Title to go to Site.

Monique Shaw's WILL A REAL MAN PLEASE STAND! 3/27 & 28th (Atlanta)

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To learn more about the play and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Yo, it's Yayoi!

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Lots of cool things happened as a result of last year's International Black Film Festival of Nashville, but the coolest for me was meeting Yayoi Winfrey. Here's why.
Jaz

Yayoi on Yayoi

One of my favorite childhood pastimes was “playing paper dolls” with my younger sister. She and I accumulated them like they were postage stamps. Tagging them with unconventional names like Golly-ah and U-need-ah, we’d also create their elaborately detailed lives.

Most of our paper dolls had lots of siblings, yet somehow they all managed to be fashionably dressed thanks to our proficiency with crayons and scissors. Weaving intricate storylines, my sister and I could pick up wherever we left off—even days later. Looking back now, I realize that we were directing drama through our paper dolls--our “actors”.

Our highly creative mother was a significant influence. Always sewing, crocheting, quilting, painting, woodcarving, writing haiku, or making something, she eventually taught us to make our own paper dolls; and, we’d spend hours designing, drawing, coloring, and cutting out new clothes for them. By high school, I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer.

Yet, I yearned to be a novelist, too. When I was 10, my mother gave me a diary. I’ve kept a journal ever since, and I’ve always loved reading and writing fiction. Back in the day before Facebook, we had pen pals; and, I scoured teen magazines for prospective friendships in England, Scotland, Canada and California. Composing long letters by hand, I’d stuff them into envelopes decorated with my artwork.

At 15, I became a stringer for Datebook magazine and interviewed several British rock groups. I wasn’t paid, but being cool was more important to me at the time. At 17, I was invited by the editor of Teen magazine to move to Hollywood to write, but I was scared.

The mail that my mother received regularly from her relatives in Japan often included vibrant origami paper and manga (comics). Those gifts shaped my artistic sensibilities and helped develop my Japanese aesthetic. My drawing style is linear and my stylized fashion figures look like anime. I’ve always been attracted to bright colors, and in high school was teased for wearing neon and bold geometric patterns. As hard as it was being the biracial child of a Japanese mother and African American father in a predominantly white world, dressing “Mod” while others wore pastel cashmere sweaters was sometimes harder.

I can’t remember a time when my mother, sister and I didn’t create. Even now, my mother paints (mostly landscapes and seascapes) while I prefer stylized computer illustrations. Recently, I designed a line of t-shirts for the mixed-race community. I also plan a comic strip featuring a biracial super-heroine. Like me, my sister also writes, illustrates, and even studied filmmaking at college. The musician in our family, she taught herself to play 12-string guitar as a teenager; and, she and I used to write songs together.

Even though I was born with all this creativity bubbling in my blood, I didn’t gravitate towards filmmaking until 1997 while living in L.A. At the time, I wrote arts and entertainment articles, but really wanted to sell screenplays. I was naïve enough to believe that Hollywood studios would care about my interracially themed scripts.

The first screenplay I wrote featured a tribe of highly intuitive blue-skinned beings and a yellow boy that discovers them. A D.C. friend wanted her actress/producer pal to read it, and traveled to L.A. to make the connection. But our wires crossed, so I wrote another script--Watermelon Sushi. My friend then invited me to D.C. to meet her pal who was in town promoting a film. Accepting my script, the actress/producer summoned us to her L.A. home, but declined involvement. So, I decided to make the film myself.

Loosely based on my life, Watermelon Sushi is about two biracial Japanese and African American sisters seeking their racial identities. While the older sister looks more Asian, her younger sister has predominantly African features. Because people respond to their appearances, the sisters pursue the group that rejects them. Told against the backdrop of the 1980’s hiphop scene, Watermelon Sushi is equal parts drama and comedy with a strong musical center.

After studying at the Hollywood Film Institute and attending dozens of film conferences, I began making Watermelon Sushi with my credit cards. But on day seven of a 10-day shoot, I shut down production. Because of problems incited by the producers, the film lacked production value. Disappointed, I nevertheless felt we’d find investors to finance the film the way I envisioned it. I’d already received the attention of several Hollywood “names”, so I thought that with a newly cut trailer, money for a re-shoot was inevitable.

Ten years later, I’m grateful for all the people throughout the years that have attached themselves to this project. Because of them, we’ve been able to grow the movie into a movement. With so many mixed-race folks now claiming both of their heritages and the election of a biracial president, our issues are at the forefront. The film’s website and my weekly blog have brought contacts from mixies all over the world. I’ve also spoken on panels and at schools about the multiracial agenda. In 2000, for the first time in the history of the U.S. Census, biracial people were allowed to claim both of their races. Before then, on various forms I’d complete, I was allowed to choose only one racial identity--denying the existence of one parent in the name of One Drop Rule.

Although our producers haven’t yet secured a location, we’re currently casting and attaching talent. (Contact us regarding submissions.) What we need to complete Watermelon Sushi is an investor. We have a solid script. We have several well-known rappers who want to be featured on the soundtrack. We have name talent wanting to perform in the film. We have producers in Tokyo, Beijing, Nashville, New York and Los Angeles—and, fans everywhere. We have a chapbook, a novel, and a staged musical. Now, all we need is money.

Film: http://www.watermelonsushi.com/
Blog: http://www.watermelonsushiworld.blogspot.com/
T-shirts: www.cafepress.com/hapateez
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/, go to Hip Hapa Homeez

Call for Plays

SOUTHERN WRITER’S PROJECT (AL)
Material: Plays (see play criteria below)

Deadline: Open

SWP Submission Policy: The Southern Writers’ Project of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival accepts original scripts and adaptations, not professionally produced, that meet one or more of the following criteria:
1. You are a Southern Writer.
2. Your script is set in the South, or deals specifically with Southern issues, characters, or themes.
3. Your script deals with African - American themes or characters.

Submissions that meet these criteria are considered for the Southern Writers’ Project Festival of New Plays, an annual weekend of readings of new work. These plays are then considered for production in subsequent ASF seasons.

If your play is an adaptation, please secure the permission to the underlying rights prior to submission. Full length plays only, please. Submissions are limited to one play per author per season. Musicals and theatre for young audiences should send a letter of inquiry first. Due to the large volume of submissions, please allow up to six months for response. If you wish your materials returned to you, please include an appropriate SASE.

Nancy Rominger
Artistic Associate
Director, New Play Development
Alabama Shakespeare Festival
One Festival Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
swp@asf.net

Source: The Loop

Call for Plays

EILEEN HECKART SENIOR DRAMA COMPETITION

Deadline: 03-20-09 (Postmarked by)

Material: Full Length, One Act (45 min’s or less), and 10-min Plays

The 2009 Eileen Heckart Senior Drama Competition has begun. Intended to increase plays available for the rapidly growing field of Senior Theatre, the third Heckart Competition accepts plays in three categories: full length, one act (45 minutes or less in playing time), and ten-minute.

Only plays which have not yet received major professional productions may be entered. Plays should include major senior characters and/or deal with issues pertaining to seniors (people over 55). Musicals or adaptations may not be entered. There is no submission fee. Winning playwrights will receive cash prizes ($100 for full length, $75 for one-act, $50 for ten minute).

The Eileen Heckart Senior Drama Competition is sponsored by the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at The Ohio State University. The first Heckart Competition, in 2003, saw more than 470 scripts entered, the 2005 Competition brought 459 entries, and 506 were submitted in 2007.

Details of entering: Electronic or hard copies. Electronic copies should be in word or pdf format; if sending hard copies, please send two copies. Author’s name should appear only on the title page, not in the text of play.

Deadline (postmark): March 20, 2009. We hope to announce finalists and semi finalists by the middle of May, winners by the middle of June. Entries should include a brief biographical statement about the author. SASE should be included if hard copy is to be returned at the conclusion of the competition.

Send submissions to:
Alan Woods
2007 Eileen Heckart Senior Drama Competition
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute
The Ohio State University
1430 Lincoln Tower
1800 Cannon Drive
Columbus, OH 43210-1230

Winning plays, and first-runners-up, will receive staged readings at The Ohio State University during the 2009-2010 academic year. Winning writers are not required to attend.

The competition honors Eileen Heckart (1919-2001), the distinguished American actress whose long career culminated in her stunning performance in Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery (2000), for which she received the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award. That same year she was awarded the Tony for lifetime achievement. She also was the recipient of an Academy Award (Butterflies Are Free), Golden Globe (The Bad Seed) and an Emmy (Save Me A Place at Forest Lawn). She was recognized with a Margo Jones Medal in 2000 for her long championing of new plays, having appeared in almost thirty world premiere productions.

Further information: www.heckartdrama.blogspot.com

Source: The Loop

Red Harlem Readers

BLACK WOMEN: STATE OF THE UNION Opens 2/20 at Company of Angels (LA)

Company of Angels

Presents

BLACK WOMEN – STATE OF THE UNION

Kanye, LeBron, Will Smith and now the new American President encapsulate the ideal African-American male of 2009; but beyond a dependable Oprah identity, and an enigmatic First Lady, where does the collective black woman fit into the changing culture of her gender and race?

February 20 through March 15, 2009

Fridays & Saturdays @ 8pm/ Sundays @ 7pm

$20; $15 Student/Senior; $10 group of ten plus

(323) 883-1717

tonygatto@companyofangels.org

Company of Angels @ The Alexandria Hotel

501 S. Spring St., 3rd Floor

Downtown Los Angeles, CA 90013

http://www.companyofangels.org/

This Company of Angels production includes plays by Sigrid Gilmer, Josslyn Luckett, Lisa B. Thompson & Nia Witherspoon; scenes by Michelle Flowers & Paul Mabon; poems by Ruth Forman; and video by Cauleen Smith. Directed by Ayanna Cahrr and Nataki Garrett. Dramaturgy by Ricardo A. Bracho. Producers: Ricardo A. Bracho, Tony Gatto & Lee Sherman. Ensemble: Kila Kitu, Lony’e Perrine, Lee Sherman, Tamika Simpkins & Paul Mabon.

BLACK WOMEN – State Of The Union is a theatrical ensemble work of new words and video, insight and comedy that examines those dramatic characteristics of contemporary black womanhood. Stops along this journey include a visit with an upper-middle class mom of the future exploring childcare options while coming face-to-face with the stereotypes of being black mother and wife; then we’ll downward dog with two women struggling for balance, solitude and one sincere "namaste" in a Westside yoga class; we’ll crusade on with an ‘all things are possible’ super heroine-in-training facing three doors and her choices between identity, liberty and destiny; a we also hit up a hip hop spot where a former Black Panther drinks away his politics and his “daughter become son” wrecks the mic and all pre-conceived notions of femininity and biology.

www.RichardAzurdia.com

NFT Presents Edward Pomerantz' A TUNE BEYOND US 2/15 (NYC)

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GOD'S TROMBONES by James Weldon Johnson, Directed by Woodie King, Jr. 2/22 (NYC)

St. Augustine’s Church

presents
God’s Trombones

by
James Weldon Johnson

a Benefit for St. Augustine's Church
directed by
Woodie King, Jr.
musical director
Bishop Nathan Townsley
adapted by
Vinnette Carroll
with additional text by
Ossie Davis

Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 3pm

St. Augustine’s Church
290 Henry Street
NYC 10002

Tickets: $25, $35 and $50
Reservations and information: 212-673-5300

Cast:

Ralph McCain, Debbi Blackwell Cook, Linda Gravatt, Cliff Frazier, Don Corey Washinton, Ernest Witherspoon, Dawn Driver

GOD’S TROMBONES

“You’ll absolutely love 'God’s Trombone.' A heap of Old-Time religion ... Moments that are unforgettable."
-Arch Campbell, WRCTV

“A richly moving experience ... electrifying, jubilant! It should not be missed.”
- V.A. Williams, The Review

“Nonstop glory ride ... Hallelujah and amen for 'God’s Trombone’ ... A joyous masterpiece.”
- Sandra Bayne, Metro Chronicle

“An unusal, exceptionally fine gospel show ... excellent singing."
- Faiga Levine, WTOP Radio

“A worship service is an inherently theatrical occasion; it’s got its star performer, a chorus, and audience and its 'script' is derived from the most elementally dramatic material. So it’s not surprising that 'God’s Trombone,' a newly popgospelized revival of a 1969 musical (itself based on James Weldon Johnson’s classic 1927 book of poetic sermons), makes such stirring theater out of its Sundaygotomeeting source material."
-Joe Brown, Washington Post

Crossroads Theatre Company: Common Ground Festival of the People 2/19-21 (New Brunswick)

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Helen "Olaketi" Shute Pettaway tackles HANNAH ELIAS at Vanderbilt

Helen “Olaketi” Shute-Pettaway was bitten by the theatre bug as a child in Cleveland, Ohio. The love affair began there at Karamu House while taking classes in dance and acting. She received her professional training at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. In Nashville, she has worked with Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Mockingbird Theatre, Nashville Childrens Theatre, American Negro Playwright Theatre, and Amun­Ra among others. She is currently Theatre Director for The Village Cultural Arts Center. She also serves as Theatre Director for Healing Waters Productions. Some favorite Shakespearean roles include Olivia in The Tempest, Titania in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. An important work, which is very special to her, is We Say of Ourselves, a two-woman project with Denice Hicks. Theatre is magic and is an absolute necessity in her life. She feels blessed to be able to share it with others.

Hershell Norwood's BILLIE'S BLUES 2/15 (Brooklyn)

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Interview with an Archivist!

That's archivist--not anarchist!

Alan Woods, archivist of the Lawrence and Lee Institute at Ohio State University, wants to preserve not destroy. And he wants your plays. Following is an interview between Mr. Woods and AAPEX's Jaz Dorsey.

Jaz: First off, I want to let our readers know that Alan has been supportive of what AAPEX has been doing from the very beginning. He came to us looking to preserve the work of our African American playwrights and those writing about the African American experience. Thank you, Alan, for helping to legitimize what AAPEX is all about. Now, why in the world would anyone want to be archived?

Alan: Being archived means the work will survive, whether published or unpublished, along with whatever supporting material is included. And also that a corpus of work is preserved, so that a range of the writer’s work can be studied – something that’s not possible for many writers who may find that not all their work makes it into print. If the archive is in an educational institution, then there will frequently be interest on the part of the institution on seeing that the archive is used, and the institution will encourage use through programs, events, and through publicizing the material’s presence. For example, materials from the Lawrence and Lee Institute have been on exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art (see http://www.columbusmuseum.org/objectsofwonder/collection.php for some coverage) -- and materials from our design collection were exhibited in Prague at the Prague Quadrennial last summer, and will be exhibited in Cincinnati and in Texas this summer. We regularly exhibit materials from our archives locally and internationally.

And, of course, we regularly schedule readings drawn from our collections and from special projects (the Limbo Plays, for example, and the Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors Competition). Readings are held in a variety of locations: on campus, at a couple of galleries off campus, at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, and we’ve done several at Stonewall Columbus and will do more there as time and material permit.

All this means that a playwright in putting the work in an archive is making the work available to the artists/scholars/students who use the archive, making sure that the work is preserved, and ensuring that the work will be around long after none of us are still here. A list of some sample archives in the Lawrence and Lee Institute can be found at the end of this interview. Oh, and regarding our archiving, it's all free to the playwright.

Jaz: "Free." That's a nice word to a playwright's ears since most of them-- black or white-- you pick a color-- are struggling in anonymity and perhaps-- I know it sounds like a cliche-- poverty-- to get their work read much less produced.

Alan: It's a good word for me, too since I’ve been led to write a few very short pieces myself, which have had a number of productions in the United States, Canada, and South Africa. So, in a nutshell, I can relate.

Jaz: Why did you become an archivist?

Alan: To make sure that the theatre arts of the present are preserved for the future, so that our artistic descendants can have a sense of what was achieved at this moment in time, what our successes were, and where we failed. To ensure, ultimately, that our work is not forgotten.

Jaz: And how does your archive help the playwright?

Alan: The playwright can, through exploring materials in an archive, learn how earlier writers solved (or failed to solve) problems, how they practiced their craft, how they approached areas and topics that might be of interest. In short, an archive provides the base on which artists can build their own work.

Jaz: What was your own evolution as an archivist and how do your other talents and interest benefit?

Alan: I worked in the archives at the University of Southern California as a graduate student, on the papers of the stage, screen and television star Gladys Cooper, whose career as one of the great stage beauties of the London theatre in the first two decades of the twentieth century, as a theatre manager and producer in London in the 1920s, as a Broadway star in the 1930s, and as a star of the screen in the 1940s and 1950s and of television in 1960s until her death in 1971 spanned the range of popular entertainment, and was an eye-opening introduction to the world of popular entertainment which was then not much covered in academic theatre study. The development of archives at Ohio State was a logical career move, and those archives led me to collect the work of contemporary writers and to document the contemporary theatre and performance. The archives allow me to develop courses, seminars, and readings centered on the materials, and to host a regular retreat for writers at Ohio State which benefits the writers, as well as benefiting central Ohio theatre artists and students.

Jaz: Thank you, Alan. Hopefully our writers will take you up on your latest endeavor: playwright interviews re "Battling the Patriarchy: Defining gender, ethnicity and identity in the contemporary theatre." To contact Alan about an interview, please consider using one of the various means below:

Alan Woods
The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute
The Ohio State University
1430 Lincoln Tower
1800 Cannon Drive
Columbus, OH 43210
http://library.osu.edu/sites/tri/
614 292-6614 office
614 688-8417 fax

Some of the Lawrence and Lee Institute’s collections:
Our general website
http://library.osu.edu/sites/tri/ ; the papers of Columbus native, performer Eileen Heckart, winner of the Tony, Oscar, and Emmy awards
http://library.ohio-state.edu/search~S7?/tEILEEN+HECKART+/teileen+heckart/1%2C7%2C1447%2CB/frameset&FF=teileen+heckart+papers&138%2C%2C554 ; materials documenting the life of the Los Angeles Theatre Center, a small group which became a major performing arts center, and then ingloriously collapsed, encapsulating the history of the successes and failures of the regional theatre movement of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s
http://library.ohio-state.edu/search~S7?/tLOS+ANGELES+THEATRE+CENTER/tlos+angeles+theatre+center/1%2C1%2C8%2CB/frameset&FF=tlos+angeles+theatre+center+collection&8%2C%2C8
the AAPEX archive, one of several collecting original materials by contemporary writers ;
http://library.ohio-state.edu/search~S7?/tAFRICAN+AMERICAN+PLAYWRIGHTS+EXCHANGE+/tafrican+american+playwrights+exchange/1%2C1%2C45%2CB/frameset&FF=tafrican+american+playwrights+exchange+collection&1%2C%2C45 ;
the Charles McCaghy Burlesque and Strip Tease Collection, documenting an important type of popular entertainment and the way its changed over the past century or so
http://library.ohio-state.edu/search~S7?/XMCCAGHY+COLLECTION&searchscope=7&SORT=DZ/XMCCAGHY+COLLECTION&searchscope=7&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBKEY=MCCAGHY%20COLLECTION/1%2C182%2C182%2CB/frameset&FF=XMCCAGHY+COLLECTION&searchscope=7&SORT=DZ&1%2C1%2C ;
the archive of the experimental company, Cupola, of Columbus, Ohio, which is very typical of the approaches to collective, communal creation of the 1970s and 80s.
http://library.ohio-state.edu/search/t?SEARCH=Cupola+collecti .

Ohio State U wants to interview African American playwrights

Hello,
I'm looking for playwrights willing to participate in the course offering below, which means you'd have to be willing to be interviewed by a graduate student about your work, etc. I'd be happy to answer any questions anybody might have.

Alan Woods
The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute
The Ohio State University
1430 Lincoln Tower1800
Cannon Drive
Columbus, OH 43210
http://library.osu.edu/sites/tri/
614 292-6614 office
614 688-8417 fax

THEATRE 802.07: Battling the Patriarchy: Defining Gender, Ethnicity and Identity in the Contemporary Theatre
G 5 Credits

Battling the Patriarchy: Defining gender, ethnicity and identity in the contemporary theatre.

The creation, definition, and reification of gender traits, archetypes, and stereotypes in contemporary theatre. Participants will explore the ways in which gender informs the work of current playwrights, and will work directly with selected writers represented in the archives of the International Center of Women Playwrights and the African American Playwrights Exchange in the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute.

Selected playwrights have already agreed to participate but we are looking for more.

Alvin Moore's play A MOTHER'S PRAYER goes Hollywood thanks to the International Black Film Festival (Nashville)

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Playwrights Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, & Lynn Nottage: One Place One Time 2/23 (NYC)

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To make reservations (REQUIRED) online, please click here.

Red Harlem Readers

Jackie Alexander's HIGH PRIESTESS OF DARK ALLEY 2/19-3/22 (NYC)

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To buy tickets, please click here.

Daniel Beaty's RESURRECTION now thru 2/22 (Philly)

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To purchase tickets, please click here.

Lynn Nottage's RUINED now thru 2/7 (NYC)

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To buy tickets, please click here.

Call for Plays (featuring fighting roles for women)

BABES WITH BLADES: JOINING SWORD & PEN INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRITING COMPETITION (IL)
Deadline: 02-28-09
Material: Full-Length Plays (75-120 minutes, at least 75 pages)

Founded in 2005 to increase the number of quality scripts featuring fighting roles for women .... Fortius Stylus Gladio, Sed Prudens Ambos Portat .... The winning script will be produced in Spring 2010 as part of Babes With Blades’ 2009-10 Season. The winning playwright will receive a $1000 cash prize. Follow the links at the bottom of the page for more details on requirements, timelines and the history of the competition.

And now, the image that must appear in each script in order for it to be considered: "Film Noir" by Chicago artist Kristine Borc. (see website: http://www.babeswithblades.org/competition.htm).

SCRIPT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS for ‘08-09:
*Only FULL LENGTH submissions will be accepted: 75-120 minutes (at least 75 pages) in length. Shorter submissions will not be read or considered.
*Please DO NOT send incomplete submissions, excerpts or a synopsis.
*The image in the drawing must be depicted in the play. (see website)
*Both all-female and mixed-gender casts will be considered.
*Women must be in most/all of the primary roles
*Women must be featured in most/all of the combat
*U.S. and international, male and female authors’ submissions are accepted.
*All submissions must be new, original works, inspired by the contest’s topic. Previously workshopped, published or performed submissions will not be considered.

Please Consider:
*We are a stage combat-oriented theatre company. We like fights!
*We typically perform in small, black box theatres. As such, small casts & simple settings will be favored. Preference will be given to scripts that require fewer than 12 actors, and a minimal number of locations.
*Please take a few moments to peruse our website to familiarize yourself with the mission and direction of our company, our current members, and our past shows.

Submission Guidelines:
*Submissions are due NO LATER than February 28, 2009.
*Electronic submissions preferred: email to swordandpen@babeswithblades.org.
*IMPORTANT: This will be a BLIND SUBMISSION PROCESS. This means your email submission should contain two separate attachments.
*Your cover page with title, name, and full contact information (name, phone numbers, email, mailing address).
*Your script. DO NOT include ANY contact information in the body of your script. No names, by-lines, or contact information of ANY kind. This is to ensure that when the selection panel reads your script, it is a blind read. An author’s identity will only be revealed once a selection has been made.
*If you are unable to submit via email, you may submit by snail mail to
Babes With Blades
C/O Beth Cummings
2050 W. Addison #2
Chicago, IL 60618.
If submitting via snail mail, do not bind or staple your script.
Scripts submitted will be considered the original creations of the authors, not as Works for Hire. The author will retain all copyright rights and privileges granted thereto. If a winning script is eventually published, we ask authors to note Babes With Blades as the original producing company.
Additional questions: Please email us at swordandpen@babeswithblades.org.

Source: The Loop

Call for MYSTERY Plays

MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA

PRESENTS:

HELEN MCCLOY/ MWA SCHOLARSHIP FOR MYSTERY WRITING (MN)
Deadline: 02-28-09
Material: Mystery Writing—in fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting

The Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship for Mystery Writing seeks to nurture talent in mystery writing—in fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting. The scholarship is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents only. Membership in Mystery Writers of America is not required to apply. As the McCloy Scholarship is intended for serious aspiring mystery writers who wish to improve their writing skills, we expect that most applicants will be college students or adult learners.

The scholarship may be used to offset tuition and fees for U.S. writing workshops, writing seminars, or university/college-level writing programs. Applicants must select a specific writing class/workshop/seminar to which scholarship funds would be applied. MWA will present two scholarships for up to $500 each in summer/fall 2009. (Scholarship checks are made out jointly to scholarship winners and their chosen educational institutions.)

Applicants are required to submit:
*Scholarship application form (download PDF application form at http://www.mysterywriters.org/files/2009_McCloy_application.pdf)
* ONE copy of official description of writing class/workshop/seminar (from college catalog, workshop brochure, etc.)
* TWO letters of recommendation (usually from teachers who can speak to the applicant’s writing ability)
* FIVE COPIES of a short essay (300- to 500 words) explaining the applicant’s interest in mystery writing
* FIVE COPIES of a mystery writing sample (e.g., synopsis and 3 chapters from a novel; 3 short stories; 3 short nonfiction pieces; 1 screenplay; or 2 play script)

The scholarship committee may also require letter of acceptance and/or syllabus or other documentation from the writing class/workshop/seminar to be attended.

Submit all materials to:
Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship Committee
PO Box 16319
Saint Paul MN 55116-0319

All applications must be postmarked by February 28, 2009. No late applications or emailed applications will be accepted. Contact the Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship Committee at the address above or e-mail mccloy-mwa@lycos.com. No phone calls, please.

Source: The Loop

Call for Plays

PEN IS A MIGHTY SWORD CONTEST (NC)
Deadline: 02-28-09

Material: Full-Length Plays written in English

VTP is accepting bold, passionate, innovative and compelling new work for the stage.
We impose no restrictions as to theme, style or subject matter, but do want plays written specifically for the stage.
• Winner receives a $2,000.00 cash award.
• First and second runners-up receive cash awards of $1,000.00 and $500.00 respectively.
• Up to seven honorable mentions will receive cash awards of $100.00 each.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
All entries must be unpublished and un-produced full-length plays written in English. (Labs, workshops and readings exempted). No musicals, one-acts or children’s plays.
* For mailed entries submit one (1) legibly typed and firmly bound manuscript.
* For emailed entries submit one manuscript file in Word, pdf or Final Draft format.
* All entries must include the author’s name, address, telephone number and email address.
* Please...only one (1) submission per playwright.

All mailed submissions should be sent to:
Whit Andrews
The Virtual Theatre Project
130 Cook Street
Rural Hall, NC 27045

*All emailed scripts should be sent to pen_sword2008@yahoo.com.
* SASE required for script return. No loose stamps, cash, checks or money orders for postage, please.
* Winners announced June 30, 2009
www.virtualtheatreproject.com.

Source: The Loop

Call for Children's Plays

NEW BEVERLY HILLS MARILYN HALL AWARDS (CA)
Deadline: 02-28-09
Material: Children’s Plays

The Beverly Hills Theatre Guild annually sponsors the Competition for Youth Theatre to discover new theatrical works and to encourage established or emerging writers to create quality works for youth theatre. The Play Competition for Youth Theatre represents grades 6-8 and grades 9-12 and offers two prizes:

FIRST PRIZE: $700

SECOND PRIZE: $300

Entries must be accompanied by the application form and in accordance with the submission policies and procedures. We accept scripts from January 15th to February 28th for this competition. No scripts will be accepted after these dates and all scripts received after the deadline cannot qualify and will not be returned.

Rules for the Play Competition for Youth Theatre
1. The Marilyn Hall Awards consist of two (2) monetary prizes for plays suitable for grades 6-8 (middle school) or for plays suitable for grades 9-12 (high school). The three prizes will be awarded on the merits of the play scripts, which includes its suitability for the intended audience. The plays should be approximately 45 to 75 minutes in length. There is no production connected to any of the prizes, though a staged reading is optional at the discretion of the BHTG.
2. Authors must be U.S. Citizens or legal residents. Co-Authorships are permissible.
3. The plays must be written in Standard American English. Slang, jargon, and regional dialects, etc., may be used only to establish necessary characterization.
4. Authors may enter up to two (2) scripts in the Play Competition for Youth Theatre.
5. Entries must be unpublished, theatrical works written for the living stage and suitable for the grades designated. Play scripts may have had one (1) non-professional or educational theatre production. But the play may not have been produced on a professional level for which authors, actors or staff were paid.
6. Entries may be original plays, adaptations and/or translations. Authors of adaptations and/or translations of works that are under current copyright must provide (upon request) proof of permission from the copyright holder(s) or their legal agents to use such works.
7. Plays shorter than approximately 45 minutes are not eligible; musicals are not eligible; and plays entered in previous BHTG Competitions are not eligible. (Please note: plays with music, i.e. plays with an occasional interpolated song, are eligible: works that are designated as musicals are not.)
8. Submissions in noncompliance of these Rules and the Submission Procedures will be ineligible.
9. BHTG has the right to accept or reject any entry without explanation, and will not correspond with, or discuss with, any person the results of the competition, or the acceptance or rejection of any entry.
10. The competition judges’ decisions are final in all respects.
11. BHTG has the following rights which it may exercise at its sole discretion:
a. To declare any entry ineligible if prior to Competition’s close (June 1) the entry is in violation of rule #6. Authors must notify the BHTG of any change in status.
b. To reproduce as many copies of an entry as are necessary for distribution among the judges.
c. To use the author’s name and title of any entry receiving an award for publicity about this Playwright Award and the results of the competition.
d. To present one script-in-hand, rehearsed readings of an award winning entry to an invited, nonpaying audience. No royalty payment will be due to the entry’s author for these readings.
12. Each award winner will, at all times, in connection with publications, production, publicity, advertisements, etc. about the award winning entry, designate that the play is an "Award Winner of The Beverly Hills Theatre Guild/Youth Theatre Competition."
13. Each entry will be free from copyright restrictions relating to this Award, and the author will hold the BHTG, its officers, and directors free and harmless from all copyright claims and violations.
14. The BHTG is not a producing organization. No production is connected with the competition nor any prize awarded.
15. Sorry, the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild - Youth Theatre Competition does not sponsor scholarships, fellowships, educational grants, or loans to students or private individuals. Nor does the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild as an organization.

Submission Procedures
1. Each entry must be accompanied by an individual, completed application/entry form. Application forms may be duplicated as necessary. Application forms and Competition rules and Submission Procedures may be obtained by sending #10 business-sized SASE to the address below.
2. Each author must personally sign the application. Entries must be legible and signature clearly the name of the writer(s). The author(s) must sign the entry form. Proxy or agent signatures are not accepted and will lead to disqualification.
3. Bind your entry securely and include a title page with the name of the play, whether it is an "original" or an adaptation/translation from another work, and, if desired, copyright or registration information and date (instead of the author’s name, please use "by the author.") On the second page list all characters, time, place, number of acts and scenes, and any other pertinent information such as whether the scripts make use of special effects, e.g., puppetry. Scripts must be bound. A clip holding pages together unfortunately doesn’t constitute being "bound". (This is insisted upon for the protection of the script and benefit of the writer. Loose scripts may have pages become misplaced or lost. The competition is not responsible for loss or damage to entries or parts thereof.)
4. Do not show your name, address or any identifying information on any page of your entry. Attach with a removable paper clip, a sheet containing the title of your entry, your name, address, phone number and any other information.
5. To preserve anonymity, all entries will be identified by numbers for judging. All identifying marks will be removed.
6. Submissions will not be returned. This includes either eligible or ineligible submissions. Enclose with your submission a #10 business-sized SASE for our response.
7. You may enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard for acknowledgment of receipt of your entry. Competition winners to be announced on this web site in June.
8. The BHTG is not responsible for loss or damage to entries.
9. No script will be accepted by fax or e-mail. No electronic submissions or correspondence.
10. No entry is returned.

Address All Inquiries and Submissions To:
Candace Coster
Competition Coordinator
Play Competition for Youth Theatre
P.O. Box 148
Beverly Hills, CA 90213
www.beverlyhillstheatreguild.org/youth.

Source: The Loop

5th ANNUAL NAACP HOLLYWOOD BUREAU SYMPOSIUM, “THE ABC’S OF TELEVISION & FILM FINANCING: RAISING THE CAPITAL” 2/9 (LA)

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Diversity Committee and Production Executives Peer Group Team Up with NAACP to Produce Event at Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre

WHAT: Diversity comes to the forefront when the NAACP Hollywood Bureau presents its 5th annual symposium, The ABCs of Television and Film Financing: Raising the Capital. The symposium will be produced in conjunction with the Television Academy's diversity committee—marking the third consecutive year it has co-sponsored the event with the NAACP—and the Academy’s production executives peer group. Ford Motor Co. and the trade journal Television Week are also providing support.

WHO: Panelists: Brenda Doby-Flewellyn, President, FilmBankers International; Schuyler M. Moore, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP; Bernard Kinsey, Philanthropist.
Moderator: Vic Bulluck, Executive Director of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau and Executive Producer of the 40th NAACP Image Awards

WHEN: Monday, February 9, 2009
6:30 p.m. VIP Reception
7:30 p.m. Panel

WHERE: Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre
5220 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood

BACKGROUND: The ABCs of Television and Film Financing: Raising the Capital will offer a panel discussion and audience Q & A with entertainment executives, producers, financial experts and venture capitalists who will present a comprehensive overview of the current state of television and film financing. Topics to be explored include identifying, accessing and securing capital from traditional and alternative sources, such as equity and debt investments, “soft money” contributions from state and foreign tax incentives (shelters, credits and subsidies), grant-funding agencies and private investors. Additionally, the discussion will address many new challenges faced by those seeking financing given current economic realities.

Prior to the panel the NAACP/Ford Motor Company will award a $10,000 grant to Peace4Kids, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for foster children and at-risk youth in South Los Angeles. Peace4Kids offers creative programs, life skills education and one-on-one mentorships to create a consistent, stable groundwork for youth to grow beyond their current circumstances.

Panelist Bios :

Brenda Doby-Flewellyn, President, FilmBankers International.
Brenda, a principal and founder of FILMBANKERS International, is one of the premier finance professionals in the entertainment industry. She has worked closely with the film and television production industries and is highly regarded by producers, directors, leading entertainment industry executives, managers and agents for her capabilities in the areas of film financing. Brenda has financed more than 100 films ranging from independent ventures to blockbusters, among them such hits as “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Jeepers Creepers” and many others. She has also been responsible for financing studio negative pick-up transactions with all of the major Hollywood studios.

Schuyler M. Moore, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
Schuyler M. Moore is a partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, a law firm that provides integrated legal experience in transactions and financings, corporate counseling, regulatory and tax issues. Schulyer is the attorney engaged to represent the company in all production slate financing transactions including offerings and major studio deals. He has an extensive entertainment, tax and corporate background, with more than 25 years experience representing major studios, major independent producers and financiers. He currently represents Reliance Big Entertainment in the financing of DreamWorks as well as its recently closed development deals with the production companies of Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Nicholas Cage and George Clooney.

Bernard Kinsey, Philanthropist
Bernard Kinsey is a Los Angeles philanthropist with a passion for African American history and art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was a founding board member of the William H. Johnson Foundation for the Arts which was established in 2001. The purpose of the foundation is to encourage minority artists early in their careers, by offering them financial grants. Kinsey is also president of KBK Enterprises, a management-consulting firm. He is a recognized expert and leader in the field of urban revitalization and economic development and has counseled the governments of South Africa, Germany, England, Israel and France.

Contact: NAACP Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Jennifer Price/Alex Lippin Robin Mesger/Lauren Kelcher
The Lippin Group
323.965.1990

Source: Yayoi Winfry

CHICAGO DRAMATISTS’ 4TH ANNUAL MANY VOICES PROJECT (IL)

Deadline: 02-15-09
Material: Full-Length Plays (at least 70mins) in English, from

Playwrights of Color

Chicago Dramatists’ 4th Annual Many Voices Project is a national playwriting contest and Developmental showcase that embraces all playwrights of color. The Project seeks out, develops and showcases unproduced, full-length plays in English (or primarily in English) by U.S.A. residents who are playwrights of color, including, for instance, playwrights of African, Latin, Caribbean, Pacific Island, Asian, East Indian, Arab, and Native American descent. The Many Voices Project brings together several of Chicago’s race and ethnic-specific theatres, and culminates in a week of development (July 6 – 15, 2009) and a weekend festival of staged readings (July 16 – 18, 2009), plus $500 cash awards for the four selected playwrights.

PURPOSE: The Many Voices Project was created in response to Chicago Dramatists’ desire to work with more playwrights of color. It also is intended to provide opportunities to playwrights of color for new play development and for professional networking that may lead to productions of their plays, and to expand Chicago Dramatists’ relationships with race and ethnic-specific theatres. The long-range impact hopefully will expand and deepen the theatre’s relationships with all artists of color for years to come.

THEATRE PARTNERS: Many of the city’s race and ethnic-specific theatres participate as Theatre Partners, providing endorsement of the Project, artists for the readings, and dramaturgical support. Past partners have included: Congo Square, Teatro Luna, Rasaka Theatre Company, Silk Road Theatre Project, MPAACT, Urban Theatre Company, and Teatro Vista. Each of the participating playwrights also will receive a dramaturgical meeting with one of Chicago’s larger theatres.

PLAY SELECTION: Play readers consist of Chicago Dramatists’ Resident and Network Playwrights and staff. The final selection of plays is determined by the Artistic Director and the Project Director, as informed by the readers’ scoring. The main criteria for selection is the quality of the work, with secondary consideration given to the diversity of the racial and ethnic makeup of the playwrights selected.
Participant playwrights will be announced by May 15, 2009. Cash prizes awarded on July 18, 2009.

SUBMISSION RULES AND GUIDELINES:

Submissions that do not adhere to the rules and guidelines will not be considered.
1. The contest is open to all playwrights of color who are U.S.A. residents, including, for instance, artists of African, Latin, Caribbean, Pacific Island, Asian, East Indian, Arab, and Native American descent. Any type of play and topic will be welcome (plays do not have to be about race or ethnicity).
2. Plays must be in English or primarily in English, unproduced (though readings and workshops are fine), and full-length (minimum 70 minutes).
3. Submitted plays must be in standard industry format and include a standard list of character descriptions/ages and how many actors are needed. Plays must be submitted either not bound or with three hole punch-type binding, although e-mail submission is preferred.
4. Include a one-page synopsis.
5. No musicals (though plays with music are fine) and no adaptations of works by other authors.
6. Include a playwright’s bio or resume.
7. Individual playwrights may submit no more than one full-length play.
8. Include SASP if notice of receipt is desired.
9. Submissions must specify the playwrights’ name, race or ethnicity, address, e-mail, and all phone numbers.
10. Submissions will not be returned.
11. The theatre will provide a travel and housing stipend for out-of-town playwrights.
12. All plays will be read at least twice, by different judges.
13. There is no submission fee.
E-mail submissions are strongly encouraged. All e-mail submissions must be sent as a ".pdf" file.
Submit by February 15, 2009 to: mvp@chicagodramatists.org.
Or mail submissions by February 15, 2009, (postmark deadline) to:

Ms. Ilesa Duncan
Many Voices Project Director
Chicago Dramatists
1105 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
Please address all inquiries or questions to Ms. Duncan at the above address/email.

Source: The Loop

JANE CHAMBERS PLAYWRITING CONTEST 2009 (DC)

Deadlines: Jane Chambers Award: 02-15-09 / Student Contest: 03-01-09
Material: Plays by Women

The JANE CHAMBERS AWARD recognizes feminist plays & performance texts created by women writers that present significant opportunities for female performers. Given in memory of lesbian playwright Jane Chambers, who through her plays such as My Blue Heaven, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove and Kudzu became a major feminist voice in American theater, the Jane Chambers Playwriting Contest welcomes experimentations in form as well as subject matter. Feminism is understood variously, and may cross diverse class, sex, race, national, ethnic, theatrical, and/or geographic perspectives. The Jane Chambers Contest winner receives $500 & a rehearsed reading of the winning play at ATHE’s annual mid-summer conference. First given in 1984, the award is sponsored by the Women and Theater Program (WTP) with generous support from the Association for Theater in Higher Education (ATHE), private donors, and university friends. Submissions for the 2009 Jane Chambers Contest should be sent to arrive by February 15. Please note there are two divisions, one for student applicants!

Submission Guidelines 2009:
To enter, please send three copies of a typed script, application form, resume, brief description of the piece, and your email contact information. Please, only one submission per applicant, and no email submissions.

Mail submission to:
Jane Chambers Award
c/o Maya Roth
Dept of Performing Arts
108 Davis Center
Box 571063
Georgetown University
Washington, DC 20009

All entries MUST be received by February 15, 2009.
The Women & Theatre Program will announce the winner by June 30, 2009.

Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Contest:
This competition is open to both graduate & undergraduate students; entrants do not have to be registered in a theatre or drama program to submit. The Jane Chambers Award for emergent playwrights encourages diversity of style & content. All forms of drama are accepted, including solo performance work. Excerpts from the winning play will be read at the annual Women and Theatre Program pre-conference, which will be held in New York 2009 prior to the American Theatre in Higher Education Conference (ATHE). A professional playwright will offer feedback in a post-reading discussion with the audience. Student winner will receive a $150 cash prize & a year’s membership in Women & Theatre. To enter, please send two copies of a typed script, application form, resume, and a brief description of the piece. Please, only one submission per applicant and no email submissions.
Mail submission to:
Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Award
Jen-Scott Mobley
c/o 230 West 56th Street
Suite 65A
New York, NY 10019
All entries MUST be received by March 1, 2009. The Women & Theatre Program will announce the winner by June 30, 2009.

For more information email jen-scottm@nyc.rr.com.

Source: The Loop