NYCPlaywrights February 9, 2019

Greetings NYCPlaywrights

*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***

Beyond the Realm Festival

Playwrights Realm Festival of Works in Progress

February 10-18

*** PLAYWRIGHTS OPPORTUNITIES ***

Watermelon One-Act Festival is an excellent opportunity to showcase an original one-act play in a competitive environment and to receive instructional feedback that will help to further develop the play for future productions. Cash prizes totaling more than $1,000 will be given to the best overall script, audience choice, production/director, ensemble, and performers.

***

Experience Theatre Project is currently seeking one-act and full-length scripts.

We seek work that:

- Has [relatively] simple casting, tech, costuming, and prop requirements

- Would work well in a non-proscenium seating environment, allowing the possibility of being performed in non-traditional spaces like a storefront, rooftop, restaurant, pub or brewery

- Feature immersive elements or takes advantage of being performed amidst or among (not “at”) a live audience

- Is entertaining, bold, and collaborative

- Has not had a fully-produced production in the past three years (workshops and readings are fine).

​

***

In a time when cannabis is moving from taboo to dinner table conversation, we here at The Green Room offer a space for artists to use theater as a medium of discourse. We are a pot-positive environment! Weed/Pot/Bud/Dope and all of its nicknames, we want to collaborate with theater communities, both near and far, with a purpose to open the conversation of cannabis with their unique voices and perspectives.

*** For more information about these and other opportunities see the web site at http://www.nycplaywrights.org ***

*** SELF PRODUCTION ***

If you’re a playwright and you’ve been trying to get your plays produced for at least a few years now, you’re probably well aware that it’s not easy to get your play produced by a major theatre company. Even if you wrote a fantastic play, it takes months and months to even hear back from the theater after you submit to them, and even then, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a response saying that they want to produce your work. Often, if it ever gets produced by a theatre company at all, it might take a few times submitting to different companies before to hear back from one that says “yes”.

The reality is that for the vast majority of playwrights, it’s not particularly easy to get produced on a consistent basis in today’s era. Indeed, for the average playwright, getting just one play produced anywhere by a major theatre company can be a challenge. H, there is a way for them to get their work out into the world, although it requires a lot of work that you yourself need to put into it, to put it mildly.

More...

***

Before you go self-producing your work dear friends you need to ask yourself a few questions:

1) Are you ready to work a ridiculous amount of hours to make it happen knowing that you might not even make a profit?

2) Are you organized? I mean super duper organized or are you kidding yourself?

3) Are you insane?

The last question is probably the most important one to answer. It also depends on your definition of insanity. I like this one: insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I’m realizing quickly what works and what doesn’t, however there is no science to this kind of existence at all. There are so many factors that can make a run have high attendance and lots of buzz, as well as unseen elements that can cause you to lose your shirt even if you repeat the same system that worked the year before. Believe me I just experienced it first-hand.

More...

***

When I graduated in 2011 with an MFA in playwriting that included a scholarship and teaching fellowship at Boston University, I just assumed I would be jubilantly welcomed by the Boston theatre community with shouts of, “Where have you been all of our lives?” Instead, all I heard were crickets.

Then the reality of the situation hit me. Theatres always have been reluctant to produce unknown playwrights, and now a volatile economy makes them even more so. MFA programs are glutting the market with playwrights and new plays, and digital submissions are stacking the deck against discovery.

More...

***

Embarking on a new production can be daunting, filled with questions like: How are we going to build the set? Will we have enough rehearsal time? And who’s going to make sure every actor has a costume? Here are 10 easy steps to lay the groundwork for a successful production.

1. Choose a show that you love. You’re going to be spending the next 4-6 months deep in the trenches of the show you’ve chosen. If you love the show and the music, working hard on the show will be worthwhile. When picking a show make sure the language, number of roles, themes, and style are appropriate for your performers and audience.

More...

***

Producing a Play: Getting Started

Producing a play or musical doesn't have to be a hair-raising or hair-graying experience.  All it takes is desire, organization and knowledge (some resources help too!).  While we can't make you want to produce a play or produce a play for you, what we can do is help you organize your efforts and give you the knowledge to make it a successful experience for all involved.  Whether you want to learn how to produce a play or just need some ideas in a few specific areas, you've come to the right place.

More...

***

There is no set template for producing a play. I once read that a producer is a banker, a cheerleader and a fireman – which summarises it quite nicely. 

I’ve been producing theatre for four and a half years professionally. I started by working on a show at the Finborough Theatre that needed a general manager. I made it up as I went along, and have been doing it much the same ever since. Every day is different: I learn every day, and every day I have to make decisions that I have never made before. It can be stressful, but the good far outweighs the bad. Here are my tips... 

Find your play

No good show was ever made out of a bad script. Many bad shows have been put together out of good scripts, but good shows have only ever come out of good scripts. The cliché is correct – the play very much is the thing. If you can find a good new play, so much the better; critics and industry in general are most interested in new work, particularly in smaller venues.

More...

***

O’Riordan put on his first comedy show at his local pub, the Harold Park Hotel in Sydney back in 1996. Since then, he has written, directed and produced many of his own plays for theatre company Barestage Theatre. But it was this first show that taught him one important piece of knowledge: it’s not as hard as you think. Don’t be fooled, it’s not exactly easy, but sometimes we build it up in our heads so much that it becomes off-putting for those just starting out when it really should be something exciting to tackle.

‘I learnt a lot about the fear of having to take on the responsibility of coming up with something that people would come to see, but on the other side, the great pleasure and feeling of validation.’ That’s why his advice is to have a go.

More...