Read Oscar-Nominated Screenplays Online for free-- including 12 Years A Slave

Studiodaily.com has compiled a list of Oscar-Nominated screenplays that can be read online for free, including John Ridley's 12 Years a Slave. Click here to learn more and to start reading those screenplays.

Tony Award winner Billy Porter, star of "Kinky Boots," will world premiere his play WHILE I YET LIVE a the Duke (NYC)

Billy Porter

Primary Stages will present While I Yet Live, a world-premiere play by Tony Award winner Billy Porter for its 30th anniversary season at the Duke on 42nd Street. Tony Award nominee Sheryl Kaller will stage While I Yet Live beginning in September. Porter's play "explores coming of age in Pittsburgh amongst a bevy of fascinating and strong-willed women."

If  you still haven't seen the uber talented Mr. Porter in Kinky Boots, please watch the video below. You can learn more at Playbill.

Nathan James' GROWING PAINS kicks off Black History Month at The Gene Frankel Theatre 1/30 (NYC)

The Gene Frankel Theatre has decided to kick off Black History Month with Nathan James' one man show, GROWING PAINS. This production is being dedicated to one of the shows that the theater is most famous for, The Blacks. Directed by Gene Frankel and written by Jean Genet, The Blacks was the longest-running Off-Broadway non-musical of the 1960’s. The legendary cast included James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Brown, Louis Gossett, Jr., Cicely Tyson, Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou, and Charles Gordone.

The Gene Frankel Theater 

24 Bond Street 

New York NY, 10012 

 January 30th - February 1st 

8pm 

Runtime: 1 hr. 15 min 

Tickets: $20 at the door only Group rates are available with advance reservation For more information call: (212) 777-1767

Nathan James starred as the first "Billy Rhythm," the main character in DC Copeland's Jitterbug! at the prestigious National Black Theater in Harlem a couple of years ago. AAPEX is very proud of this multi-hyphenate, have enjoyed working with him, and wish him continued success. 

3rd Annual New Voices Playfest Atlantic Stage is looking for 10-minute plays, One-Act plays and Full-length plays to include in its 3rd Annual New Voices Playfest. Submission Requirements 1. Deadline ends January 31, 2014 2. 10-Minute Plays, One-Act Plays, Full-length Plays 3. One submission per genre per playwright 4. Unproduced original work 5. Submissions cut off after first 200 per genre. 6. PDF file or word document in a standard play format – no screen plays, no musicals. 7. Blind submissions will be given to readers. Please include personal information on a separate attachment. The first attachment should have the cast requirements, synopsis, and script without your name; the second attachment would have the Playwright’s Bio and contact information including name of the script! Please title the first attachment with the name of your play, the second attachment with your last name, first name, and name of the play. As in: (Romeo and Juliet); Shakespeare, William (Romeo and Juliet). Email submissions to playsubmissions@atlanticstage.com 8. Notifications will be made to selected playwrights in March as soon as the reader’s have completed all evaluations.

Wanted to Take a Minute and Honor The Passing Of Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka, one of America's most important — and controversial — literary figures, died on Thursday from complications after surgery following a long illness, according to his oldest son. Baraka was 79.

Questlove reflects on Amiri Baraka:
I’m not the right age for Amiri Baraka, not exactly. Or rather: I’m not the right age to have seen his changes as they happened. Mr. Baraka, who died last week at 79, passed through so many different phases, from middle-class kid in Newark to aspiring Beat poet to founder of the Black Arts movement to leftist activist to academic. For me, he arrived as an author looking back, already armed with his own self-reflection: He published his memoir, “The Autobiography of LeRoi Jones,” in 1984, when I was in high school, though the book didn’t make its way into my hands or my brain until a few years after that.

To continue reading on the New York Times website, please click here.

Script Submissions

Capital Stage presents professional area premieres of new and recent plays. We are currently seeking bold, innovative new works that inspire thought and dialogue. Script submissions are accepted as follows: Playwrights wishing to submit work should refer to our Playwrights’ Revolution submission deadlines and criteria below Agents may send full-length manuscripts via email to: literarymanager@capstage.org or Literary Manager Capital Stage 2220 J Street #8 Sacramento, CA 95816 Playwright's Revolution 2014 As Sacramento’s leader of bold, thought-provoking theatre, Capital Stage created the Playwrights’ Revolution. This series of staged readings seeks to identify and develop exciting new plays and playwrights. These new works are brought to theatrical life through a series of staged readings performed by professional actors in Capital Stage’s intimate theatre. Capital Stage invites audiences to take part in the new play development process by attending readings and participating in post-reading discussion. Qualifications Capital Stage is particularly interested in plays that fulfill our mission to bring bold, thought-provoking work to the region. Plays must be full-length in any genre: comedy, drama, musical, etc. Translations, collections of one-acts, children's plays and any play that has received a full-scale, professional production prior to submission are not eligible. Plays that have had a workshop, reading or non-professional production are still eligible. Only one submission per playwright is allowed each year. The Selection Process Capital Stage’s competitive selection process consists of two rounds of selection. All play excerpts submitted during the first round, averaging 200 submissions, are reviewed. Then, selected playwrights are asked to provide a full manuscript of their play. Finally, Capital Stage invites four to five playwrights to have their work included in Playwrights’ Revolution. Please note that only full-length plays will be considered. Preference will be given to those plays that are aligned with Capital Stage’s mission to bring bold, thought-provoking work to our community. How to Apply Playwrights interested in submitting a play for consideration for Playwrights’ Revolution 2014 should send the following to Capital Stage, Attn: Literary Management, 2215 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95816: • Your contact information; • A concise paragraph stating your previous playwriting credits; • Title of the play; • Character breakdown and description; • Time and place of the play; • Synopsis; and • A ten page sample of the play. 2014 Deadlines Capital Stage is accepting submissions from January 1, 2014 through March 1, 2014. Requests for full manuscripts will be made by April 15, 2014. Local, national, and international playwrights are encouraged to submit. Thank you for your interest!