Marguerite Louise Scott, who attended the Gretchen Cryer Master Class at Cherry Lane kindly shared her thoughts on the experience:

Much gratitude to the Cherry Lane Theatre and Gretchen Cryer for a fabulous Master Playwrighting Class! As a playwright who has just recently relocated back here to NYC after eleven years in Portland, Oregon it was greatly comforting and inspiring to be in a room with fellow writers and hear each others work we all wrote on the spot. I came into the evening feeling like a stranger in a new land, and left knowing something intimate and intriguing about each and every one present. What a gift.

The focus of Solo Writing and Performance was particularly inspiring for me, as I have written and performed a show in the past, but didn't think I had another one in me. I left the evening with the seeds of a new show I am now working on!

Thank you Gretchen and NYC Playwrights and the Cherry Lane Theatre for making my landing back here in the city such a fruitful one.

Marguerite's blog

Submission Guidelines
web site

Insight Out Theatre Collective is seeking submissions for its upcoming seasons.

* The mission of Insight Out is to give a voice to unheard stories.
* Insight Out Theatre Collective is passionately devoted to celebrating cultural awakening.
* We are dedicated to honoring the integrity of theatrical traditions, while encouraging innovative technique.
* Our mission is to explore contrast and harmony through theatre, music and dance.
* Please explore this website for more information about the company and details about our current and past work.

Send a detailed synopsis of your play, a 5-10 page excerpt from the piece, and any relevant production history including dates, places, and development. Please allow 3-6 months for review of your work. Submissions will not be returned.

Mail to:
Insight Out Theatre Collective
Attn: Literary Manager
812 SW Washington, Suite 1050
Portland, OR 97205

web site

NOTE: submission is free if you send hard-copy scripts via snailmail. There is a submission fee if you send electronic submissions via email - $5 for up to 2 submissions.

***

Seven fully-produced world premieres.
Seven different directors.
A professional ensemble cast.
One winning playwright who will receive transport and lodging to Albuquerque for the festival.

GUIDELINES FOR PLAY SUBMISSION

* The plays should be inspired by the theme: “Hidden Agendas”
* Scripts may be a maximum of 10 pages.
* Each playwright may submit up to two scripts.
* Do NOT include the phrase “Hidden Agendas” in the text of the play.
* We are looking to mount premiere productions of submitted plays. If the play has previously received a fully-mounted production, please do NOT submit. Plays that have been given public readings are allowable.
* Longer one-act or full-length plays will not be accepted for consideration.
* Each manuscript must include an additional title page with name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

* The easiest and our preferred method of receiving scripts is via e-submission. There is a nominal cost of $5 to offset printing and distribution costs to do so. You may submit up to two scripts with this fee.

* To begin, click on the "Add to Cart" button below, which will place the required $5 fee in your Shopping Cart;
* Then, after you pay via credit card or PayPal, the displayed receipt will include a WWW address that allows you to upload your script. The receipt will also be Emailed to you automatically. Copy and paste this address into your web browser for a page that will permit you to upload your script(s).
* If this is your first time visiting our ticketing site, you'll be asked to create a simple account that protects your transaction and allows us to contact you if something goes awry. All patron and artist information, including email addresses, are kept strictly confidential: FUSION never shares any information with any other organizations.

You may also mail your submissions to:

FUSION Theatre Company
Attn: The Seven Submissions
700 1st St. NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102

There is no submission fee with this option.

* POSTMARKED DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: FRIDAY, APRIL 16th, 2010.
* E-Submissions will be accepted until midnight on that date.
* Entries will be acknowledged by e-mail once they have been received. Due to the volume of scripts we are unable to offer criticism or return any submissions.
* Finalists will be announced on Friday, April 23rd. The winning seven will be announced on Friday, May 7th.

Questions: use our contact form, attn: The Seven.

Writer member N.G. McClernan's short play SODOM AND GOMORRAH: THE ONE MAN SHOW will be performed as part of the Where Eagles Dare Playlab, February 26 & 27 2010 @Studio Blackbird 347 W. 36th St., 13th Floor NY NY (right where NYCPlaywrights meets each week) Actor members Carl Maguire, Carolyn Paine and Doug Rossi perform along with Alice Anne English. More information @mergatroyd.org

web site

SkyPilot Theatre Company is focused exclusively on bringing compelling, challenging and humorous new works of stage art to the Los Angeles region. SkyPilot will seek to establish relationships with provocative writers from the Los Angeles area and beyond to ensure that its local audience experiences a fresh, never before seen production each and every time.

We encourage all playwrights who would like to work with us as we head in this new direction to contact our Literary Manager Philipe Simon at psimon620@yahoo.com and send him your work. The only stipulation is that it has never been produced in Los Angeles. World Premieres are especially favored.

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Award-winning company EndTimes Productions is now seeking submissions for
its 4th annual one-act festival, "Vignettes for the Apocalypse". The
festival focuses on pieces with horror, sci-fi, political, or dystopian
themes. Many past pieces have been published on the basis of their
inclusion in the festival, and last year's production of "The Godling" went
on to win Best Director and Best Ensemble at the 2009 San Francisco Fringe
Festival. Submissions should not exceed a 50 minutes run time. Enter plays
at submissions@endtimesproductions.org. Deadline for submissions is
February 15, 2010.

Kids with Guns, a NYC-based theater company is presently seeking submissions of new plays for the 2011 season.

web site

Special consideration will be given to emerging playwrights that live and work (or aspire to live and work) in New York City.

What to submit:

* Brief synopsis of your new, unproduced, full-length play
* Character breakdown
* Clarification of any technical or production requirements
* 20 pages from your script
* Script page count
* Playwright contact info (name, telephone, mailing address, email address)
* Playwright bio or resume

Send all materials (PDF, DOC, or RTF formats only) to submissions [at] kidswithguns.com

Due date: Sunday, February 28, 2010

We encourage questions. Email us at submissions [at] kidswithguns.com

Thanks to the generosity of Cherry Lane Theatre, several members of NYCPlaywrights have received complimentary passes to particpate in Gretchen Cryer's Master Class tonight.

Read more about Cherry Lane and its programs here.

web site

The Centenary Stage Company, an Equity theatre in residence on the campus of Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ is accepting submissions for the 2010 Women Playwrights Series (WPS) and the 2010 Susan Glaspell Contest.

The WPS is a developmental program dedicated to providing a working forum for the unique and underserved voice of women writing for the theatre today. Each season 3-4 new plays are selected for a collaborative workshop process, with a professional director and actors, which takes place over a period of a approximately 1 week, allowing time for the playwright to hear and adapt their work with other professionals. At the end of the rehearsal, a staged reading of the play is presented at CSC (50 miles w. of NYC) for our regional audiences, giving CSC audiences larger exposure to new work, as well as offering the playwright an opportunity to get feedback from the audience during the development process.
Playwrights selected for the workshop process will receive a $200 honorarium. Additional funds for travel and housing are available for one playwright each season.

The 2010 WPS will celebrate new plays and playwrights in a week-long festival, featuring a series of readings, seminars, workshop presentations and playwrighting classes.

Send to:

Attn: Catherine Rust, Prog. Dir
Centenary Stage Co. WPS
400 Jefferson St.
Hackettstown, NJ 07840

The 2010 SUSAN GLASPELL CONTEST: One play from the WPS Festival will be selected by a panel of judges to be featured in a subsequent CSC main-stage season as a full production, with an additional award of $1500 to the playwright.

Guidelines for WPS Susan Glaspell Contest: Submit Full-length play, previously unproduced.
Deadline: Feb 1, 2010

Project 2
Deadline: Mar 1, 2010

This season the WPS Festival will feature the 2nd annual "THE MASTODON CHALLENGE" contest, for short plays having anything to do with the subject of mastodons. The challenge is inspired by The Harvard Mastodon (now in the Harvard Museum), which was discovered and excavated from the great swamplands just north of Hackettstown, in the shadow of the Delaware Water Gap. The real-life history of the event includes a discovery of historical significance, subsequent financial hardship and finally, murder. The Terminal Moraine of the last ice age ends just a few miles from the site near Stephens State Park in Hackettstown.

Three submissions from the Harvard Mastodon "Challenge" will be read during the WPS festival week, April 20 - 25, and one will be selected for further development. The winner of the short play contest will receive an honorarium of $150, plus further development by the Centenary Stage Company.

Guidelines for Harvard Mastodon "Challenge": One-act or 'short' play having anything to do with the subject "Mastodon".
Deadline: Mar 1, 2010
CSC is an SPT Equity Company located
50 miles west of NYC in Hackettstown, NJ

Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights
A unique annual festival showcasing original works by Appalachian playwrights

web site

Play Submission Guidelines:

Plays must be written by an Appalachian playwright (currently living in the Appalachian Mountains which, for our purposes, run from New York State to Alabama)
OR the plays must contain Appalachian settings and themes.

Full-length plays are preferred. Please submit the full script and an SASE if you wish your play returned. No E-mail submissions, please. The writers of the selected plays will be provided with housing and transportation in order to attend the reading of their play.

The playwrights of the six selected plays will each receive $250 plus transportation and housing for two nights (the day before and the day of the reading).

The winner of the Festival will receive $500 and a possible mini-production the following year.

Second place will receive $250 and a possible mini-production the following year.

Plays must be received by March 31, 2010. Plays may be sent to address below.

For more information contact:
Nicholas Piper
Director, Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights
P.O. Box 867
Abingdon, VA 24212
276.619.3316
apfestival@bartertheatre.com

Writer member Andrew Fingland's play COME LIVE WITH ME will be performed at Polaris North on Friday, Jan 29th at 7 pm. @ 245 W. 29th St, 4th floor.

Kassi Festival

web site

It's happening again! Our 3rd annual short play festival, Kassi Fest. Last year was such a hit we can't stop now.


But we need YOU!


Playwrights: Here's how it works. We've chosen a list of words and phrases to be used as inspiration: gnomes, Muppets, panic attacks, renter's insurance, "Doll Man", drinking 40s, chicken dumpling soup, cross country skiing, sunburn, Circus World, Stevens Point/WI, meatloaf, ping pong table.
Take any (or all of) the words to create a short play no longer that 10 pages. Then email it, with a short blurb about yourself, to playwright@rubicontheatreproject.org.

Play submission cut-off is February 15th.

Actors: We're going to need you, too. Please submit a resume and headshot to actors@rubicontheatreproject.org.

Directors: If you're interested in directing a piece in the festival, please sned us a short blurb about yourself and a resume to directors@rubicontheatreproject.org.

Thanks to all of those who have made Kassi

Aspiring Playwrights Contest
Sponsored by East Valley Children’s Theatre

web site

East Valley Children’s Theatre is searching for aspiring playwrights to become a part of the theatre’s future seasons of performances. Contest rules and prizes are listed below.

All Plays must be submitted to EVCT no later than March 15, 2010. (Must include a cover sheet with name, address, phone number and age.)
All Plays must be suitable for children to perform for children.
All Plays must be one hour to one hour and a half in length. (Shorter plays may be submitted but they will not be considered for production by the theatre as one of its season’s productions.)
Plays and Musicals have not been previously performed.
Musicals must include a copy of the music in some form either written or recorded.



Cash prizes will be given for the first, second and third place entries.
The first place entry will not only receive a cash prize but also will be produced by East Valley Children’s Theatre in its upcoming season, if it meets all the criteria for performance.

Send entries to:
East Valley Children’s Theatre
P.O. Box 20514
Mesa, AZ 85277-0514


Or email them to: Karen (at) evct.org

For more information or questions call EVCT at 480-756-3828 or email Info@evct.org.

Seeking Original Plays
No longer than 10 min
Open Genre
characters between 2-6 roles in each play
Plays will be performed at Shetler Theater Feb 27th
Director is Joanna Tomasz

jo.tomasz (at) gmail.com

This is brought to you by Urnetworkalliance

DEADLINE IS JAN 30

Horse Trade Theatre Group will be reading an excerpt of writer-member Aliza Einhorn's A YEAR OF HER LIFE in The Red Room, as part of their new play reading series, and featuring their acting ensemble, The Drafts. Two other playwrights on the bill, free admission, tentative date July 18. More info: www.horsetrade.info

RSP is seeking Original Unpublished One Act plays for its Annual Series.

web site

Submission Deadline: January 30th 2010

Plays will be vetted by RSP Ensemble, and the top 15-25 plays will receive a staged reading for the public in spring, from the reading series, audience & ensemble favorites will be given a fully produced run in the summer of 2010.

Seeking Contemporary themed, Ensemble driven works; all genres and subjects considered.

Cast Age range should be Mid-Twenties to Late 30s.

Cast size should be no larger than 5 people.

Running time should be 10 to 20 Minutes.

Plays should be no more than 30 pages in length.

Unit/Basic Set with uncomplicated production values.
(Keep in mind plays will run in rep)

Submission Guideline; Please include the following:
Cover Letter, including your contact information
Play Synopsis
Cast breakdown
Script in word or PDF format
List of previous productions/publishing (do not include readings)
Any other pertinent information

Please be aware that no financial payment is available at this time. Writers retain full rights and credit for all work produced. Rising Sun also conducts workshop and table readings as a tool for writers to hear their work out loud and continue their artistic journey. Also accepting applications for resident & guest writers, as well as teaching artists.

Please resubmit even if you have submitted in the past.
Work will not be returned, please do not send original copies
Electronic Submissions are preferred. No Phone Calls Please

For more information on the company visit www.risingsunnyc.com
To Submit your work : Submissions@risingsunnyc.com

Or mail to
Rising Sun Performance Company
C/O Horse Trade Theater Group
Attn: Akia Squitieri
85 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003

Actor member Quinn Warren will perform as Buckingham in the Alliance Repertory Theatre Company's production of Richard III March 5 - 27 2010.

See their web site for more details.

web site

The Thistle Dew Theatre welcomes new plays for production in our intimate theatre. Our New Playwrights' Program is not a competition, festival, workshop or staged reading program. We consider plays that writers feel are ready for production, not development.
We have an in-house Playwright’s Workshop, which considers only local playwright’s (Sacramento, CA) work for development.
We are interested in personal issue-oriented full-length plays (a comedic approach is fine); 1 to 5 characters; with no double casting; no produced or published plays; and no musicals at this time.
There is no submission fee.
Playwrights will be compensated if play is produced.

Your submitted play, if mailed via USPS to
Thistle Dew Theatre,
1901 P Street,
Sacramento, CA 95811
Should include:
1. Script bound with one staple only at bottom left,
2. A character list and character description,
3. 350 Word critical synopsis,
4. 100 Word Raison Pour Écriture,
5. Your resume, including contact information,
6. Typewritten in proper manuscript form with pages numbered and your name in the header or footer of each page, and
7. An SASE if you want your manuscript returned.

If emailed to thistledewplaywrights@yahoo.com as an attachment, your script should include:
1. A character list and character description,
2. 350 Word critical synopsis,
3. 100 Word Raison Pour Écriture,
4. Your resume, including contact information,
5. Typewritten in proper manuscript form with pages numbered and your name in the header or footer of each page.

web site

January 7 - February 14, 2010.

Call for Submissions to 10 by 10 in the Triangle, an international festival of new, ten-minute plays. 10 Plays, 10 Actors, 10 Minutes, ONLY 10 Bucks! A panel of judges will select ten plays to showcase in The ArtsCenter mainstage theatre July 8-25, 2010.

The Submissions: Please email new, 10-minute plays with minimal set requirements to theatre@artscenterlive.org. We do not accept monologues but do accept musical submissions, provided that they require little or no accompaniment. Playwrights may submit up to two plays in standard format (Courier or 12 pt font) in Word or PDF.

Please send two separate emails for each play.

Email 1: The subject line of the email is the title of the submitted play followed by "Contact Info." (For example: For the play "Poker Face," the email subject line would read "Poker Face Contact Info.") The body of the email contains only the title page of the play with playwright contact information. Please use the full title of the play as we often receive plays with similar titles.

Email 2: The subject line of the email and name of the attached file are the title of the play. (For example: For the play "Poker Face," the email subject line would read "Poker Face" and the attached file title would read "Poker Face.") This file contains cast, set requirements, and script. NO CONTACT INFORMATION PLEASE. If you are submitting 2 scripts, please send 4 separate emails. Please do not zip the files.

Submission Deadline: February 14, 2010. We will notify finalists by email and post those titles on our website. We are sorry we cannot respond to each individual playwright.

The Award: Playwrights receive an award of $100. Playwrights who attend our playwright gala on July 10 will also receive a $100 travel stipend.

The Space: Our main stage is a 300-seat theatre with basic lighting and sound capabilities.

The Producer: ArtsCenter Stage will provide directors, actors, designers, and technical staff for the festival. The directors will contact the playwrights at the beginning of the rehearsal process. For more about The ArtsCenter, visit www.artscenterlive.org.

The Dates: Festival dates are July 8-25, 2010.

Playwright Gala: July 10, 2010. Playwrights are invited to a Post-Show Discussion/Reception as well as an overnight stay at a local hotel or bed and breakfast on Saturday, July 10, 2010.

The Production: Featuring an ensemble of 5 men and 5 women, all ten plays run every night on a unit set with flexible set pieces.

An excellent web site for actors is Nudity Required, No Pay which documents the many and varied ways that actors in the NYC area are exploited. Here's an example of a project recently featured on the blog:

DAY 2
Feature Film
NON-UNION
NO PAY

Producer: Laura XXXXX
Director: Andrew XXXXX
Casting Director:Laura XXXXX
Interview: late January
Shoot/Start Date: February 15
Location: New York

SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY TEL: 732-XXX-XXXX

THERE IS NUDITY IN THIS PROJECT.

[ LAURA ]
Lead - Female, 20s - plagued by voices in her head, one of very few survivors of the apocalypse. She is hunted by the giant robots and must find a way to stop the invasion. Nudity, one back-lit love scene.

[ DR. MASCHWITZ ]
Female, 40s-60s - Laura's psychiatrist, secretly trying to protect Laura from the robots.

[ NEIL ]
Male, 30s-40s - a crazy drunk, former Special Forces op. Knows way more about the invasion than he should.

Gabby says: ...Thanks to Anonymous for tipping us off to this masterpiece where our heroine, poor, haunted, schitzo Laura, will probably be forced to make back-lit naked "love" to Neil the crazy drunk. It is very fortunate, however, that her psychiatrist is one of the "very few survivors" of the apocalypse. I mean - what are the odds?

It is because of shameless exploiters such as this that actors unions are so important.

NYCPlaywrights returns after its holiday hiatus with the first meeting of the new year tonight, Tuesday, January 19. 2010. 7PM - 10PM. There are five readings scheduled for this evening.

web site

Our Annual PlayShop Festival occurs in February/March each year. During this unique and intensive program, playwrights work collaboratively with a director, dramaturg, designers, actors, and audiences over a five-week period to fully develop scripts into plays ready for world premiere productions.

Submisions are now being accepted for our 2011 festival. We seek new, previously unproduced scripts from playwrights in the greater Philadelphia area. Philadelphia Theatre Workshop looks to the PlayShop Festival to choose productions for our mainstage season. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2010. Here are the details:

Philadelphia Theatre Workshop presents world premieres of high quality scripts that reflect diverse, contemporary, human stories. Our plays are chosen because they present characters, situations, and perpectives not seen on other area stages. We are looking for unproduced, full-length, contemporary plays that require simple sets and costumes, with small casts and low technical requirements. For the festival, we are specifically seeking plays that are IN PROGRESS and would benefit from the five-week developmental process. Four plays will be chosen for the festival.

The PlayShop Festival offers playwrights:
* 3 staged reading performances
* 5-week workshop process working with actors, designers, dramturg, and director, with time between performances to revise, rehearse, and try new material based on audience reaction. NOTE: playwrights are required to be in residence throughout the full five weeks and are expected to attend all rehearsals -- at their own expense (no stipends are available).
* consideration for full production in our 2011-2012 season
* no fee for submissions

Submission requirements:
(Please read carefully. Submisions that do not comply with the guidelines wil be disqualifed)
* playwright must live in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware
* submit ONE DOCUMENT either in Word or Rich Text format which must include:
- Title page with playwright's name, address, email, phone numbers. This is the ONLY place where the playwright's name may appear
- Play synopsis and character breakdown
- Full manuscript with the play title only as header/footer. The playwright's name MAY NOT appear on any page of the full manuscript
* manuscripts in process are welcome, send your submission in its current stage of development
* deadline is April 30, 2010
* submit via email only to ptwplayshop@gmail.com with "PlayShop Festival Submission" in the subject line

Questions? Call Artistic Director Bill Felty @ 215-300-9460

This is Madcap's general submission policy:

web site

Play Submissions:

We are interested in reading plays of any length to consider for future productions.

************************************
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

LENGTH OF PLAY: Any length.

SUBJECT MATTER: Completely Open.
Both comedies and dramas will be considered. We do prefer plays that haven't been staged before. If you would like to submit a play that has been produced, please include a production history with your script.

SEND TO:
E-mail entries (MS Word or PDF files preferred) to: scripts@madcapplayers.com

If you are unable to submit electronically, mail to
Madcap Players
405 6th Street NE
Washington, DC 20002

Include a self addressed stamped envelope if you would like the script(s) returned to you.

web site

And Toto too Theatre Company promotes women in the arts, with a focus on producing new works by women playwrights. Our goal is to become an incubator for these works, spearheading their production at venues nationally and internationally.
Requirements:

* Women Playwrights only
* Never Produced in Colorado
* Full Length: any genre except musicals and children's
* 6 characters or less
* Minimal set requirements

Submit:

* Synopsis of play
* Character outline
* First 10 pages only - manuscript format
* Playwright bio and production history of script

Submissions can be sent in electronic format only (PDF preferred) to submissions@andtototoo.org. (Need a PDF converter?)

Any scripts sent by mail will not be accepted; all communication regarding scripts will be done electronically.

Please note that due to the high volume of scripts received, a response to your script could take up to a year, and that we are unable to offer feedback. Submission of script, whether solicited or not, does not in any shape or form constitute an agreement to produce.

Scripts not following the above guidelines will not be considered. Please, no phone calls. Any further questions, feel free to contact us at info@andtototoo.org.

Writer-member Aliza Einhorn's short play FIRE was selected to be part of Madlab Theatre's 11th Annual Theatre Roulette, May 2010.
More info: www.madlab.net

There are some play reading groups that maintain that post-reading feedback must adhere to a strict "constructive" line.

The NYCPlaywrights philosophy is that verbal feedback is unnecessary for a reading - the purpose of a reading is for the playwright to hear their work. But more importantly: the best feedback is to be had by watching the audience respond during the reading. In this we agree with the playwright/teacher Jeff Sweet.

Sweet says, although not quite so bluntly, that the reason it's more important
to watch than to listen to the audience is because people lie more with their
mouths than with their bodies.

This is not usually out of malice: people tend to soften their criticisms in a public forum like a play reading. And the "constructive" stricture for feedback sessions only magnifies that tendency.

But the truth will out, sooner or later. I've seen promoters of "constructive" feedback in action: they avoid expressing negative feelings about the play, and spout a string of soft-sell euphemisms instead. Then, once the playwright has left the room, they say what they really think.

This is the behavior of politicians, not people who care about art.

Enforcing "constructive" feedback means that dissident voices are often squelched through the effort to reach some kind of consensus and achieve a teaching moment. Sometimes the squelching is done quite deliberately - I attended the reading of a founder of another playwrights group in New York, and in the notes of his reading's program, he very explicitly said, in effect "if you didn't like my play, STFU." He then went on to produce the play, and it was thoroughly trashed by critics.

NYCPlaywrights is not a course in playwriting (it would charge much more for membership if it was) but rather a service for playwrights, to hear their work spoken aloud, by skilled actors. Feedback is strictly optional: the playwright must request it. And when the playwright requests it they are warned: they might hear something they don't want to hear. In this, NYCPlaywrights feedback is no different from a critic's review. Anybody who is serious about writing plays needs to get toughened up - critics don't feel the need to coddle playwrights' egos, or reach a constructive teaching moment.

At NYCPlaywrights, audience members get to express their feelings, in any way that they wish (but only about the play, nothing personal) without any group-think restrictions. This means that sometimes arguments break out, and people disagree passionately about some aspect of a play, or even play theory in general. NYCPlaywrights prefers the expression of visceral honest feelings to namby-pamby carefully-articulated verbiage. The NYCPlaywrights philosophy is that honest emotional feedback is far more valuable to a serious playwright than all the "constructive" feedback in the world.

But some people are by nature conflict-adverse. They find the NYCPlaywrights type of no-holds-barred feedback upsetting. If these people are playwrights they should avoid having their work produced in a public, critic-reviewed forum, and stick to readings of their work for an audience of friends and family members.

And they can join a "constructive" playwrights group and never worry about anybody making strongly-worded, passionate commentary about their plays - at least, not to their face.

- N. G. McClernan

NYCPlaywrights is also on Facebook

Simonalta Theatricals, a new, independent theatrical production company is seeking play scripts to produce, and submit to upcoming NYC theater festivals. Please submit plays no longer than 90 minutes.

Please include a synopsis and character breakdown with your script.

Simonalta Theatricals
205 West 88th street
New York, NY 10024
US

Contact I. Simon
pooway1@aol.com

The Seven Collective theatre company's opportunity for aspiring playwrights:
TSC presents The "7 Days of Plays" Theatre Festival
We are giving four aspiring playwrights the opportunity to see their work produced in New York City now, and your participation is vital. The premise and details can be found here: TSC Festival

A pro-Strafordian article in the London Times:

There is an extraordinary - seemingly an insatiable - urge on the part of quite a number of people to believe that the plays of William Shakespeare were written by someone other than William Shakespeare. The number of published books suggesting - or more often insisting - as much is estimated now to be well over 5,000.

Shakespeare's plays, it is held, so brim with expertise - on law, medicine, statesmanship, court life, military affairs, the bounding main, antiquity, life abroad - that they cannot possibly be the work of a single lightly educated provincial.

The presumption is that William Shakespeare of Stratford was, at best, an amiable stooge, an actor who lent his name as cover for someone of greater talent, someone who could not, for one reason or another, be publicly identified as a playwright.

The controversy has been given respectful airings in the highest quarters. Perhaps the most extraordinary development of all is that Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London - built as a monument for his plays and with aspirations to be a world-class study centre - became, under the stewardship of the artistic director Mark Rylance, a kind of clearing house for anti-Stratford sentiment.

So it needs to be said that nearly all of the anti-Shakespeare sentiment - actually all of it, every bit - involves manipulative scholarship or sweeping misstatements of fact. Shakespeare "never owned a book", a writer for The New York Times gravely informed readers in one doubting article in 2002. The statement cannot be refuted, for we know nothing about his incidental possessions. But the writer might just as well have suggested that Shakespeare never owned a pair of shoes.

For all the evidence tells us, he spent his life naked from the waist down, as well as bookless, but it is probable that what is lacking is the evidence, not the apparel or the books.

more...

The Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) is currently accepting
submissions for its eighth season, scheduled for April 19th through May 2nd
at the Theater for a New City, located in the Lower East Side of New York
City. DUTF, presented by Creative Ammo Inc., is a two-week celebration of
urban theatrical expression by a cross-section of playwrights. This annual
event focuses on theatrical works that resonate with the essence of urban
life and speaks to a whole new generation whose lives defy categorizing
along conventional lines.

For DUTF 2010, we plan to accept 12 theatrical works; six full-length
productions (60-90 minutes) and six shorts (30-45 minutes). Each work is
performed only once during the festival. Three of the outstanding works
produced during the festival will receive $1,000 awards in the categories of
Best Play, Best Short and Audience.

To submit for DUTF 2010, please provide all of the following information in
ONE (1) document file:

1) Bio with contact information of the playwright - name, address,
telephone number and email address; photo of
playwright
2) Synopsis of theatrical work
3) Complete script of theatrical work
4) Actor/director/crew bios, if available
5) Description of stage set (if any) and production needs (i.e. sound
and lighting)

To Arcos Communications by 5pm on Monday, January 11, 2010 at:
nsantiago@arcos-ny.com

Or

Mail -
Downtown Urban Theater Festival
C/O Arcos Communications
341 West 38th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018

We're still looking for plays for the Short Play Lab on Jan. 23 - 24. Our ambitious program of as many as 4 programs a month, curated by 4 playwright/producers, has created an opportunity for some NYC playwrights. The rules are easy-peasy:
Plays should be 1 - 10 pp. in standard playscript format.*
Submit scripts in MS-Word.

You produce the play; the SPL provides the theatre (the 65-seat Studio Blackbird at Where Eagles Dare).
Productions must be non-union: no showcases please! (Solo shows may get an Equity waiver, if Equity approves.)
Keep production values to a minimum: costumes and hand props are okay. We provide rehearsal cubes, chairs, a table or two, and a couch.
We provide a board op, box office, and venue management.
There are no fees. The SPL keeps the door.
Tickets are $15. Each playwright and director gets 1 comp each. Comps are non-transferable. If you're involved in more than 1 play, you still get only 1 comp. There are no industry comps.
There is a tech rehearsal. Plays get either 15 mins of tech (1 - 5 pp.) or 30 mins. of tech (6 - 10 pp.).
Where Eagles Dare rehearsal studios offer 10% off on rates.
Every play gets 2 performances.
*12 pt Times Roman; character names in the middle on their own line; line spaces between speeches and stage directions; indented stage directions

Many of last season's SPL veterans ended up in the Midtown International Theatre Festival's Short Subjects series, not surprising since I produce both events. We are also seeking longer one-act plays for the ongoing Short Subjects (cont.) series. Regardless of your plans for your play, the SPL is a lot of fun and a good way to see your work on its feet in a supportive environment. It's also a great way to see actors and directors at work.

To submit a script, send it as an attachment to john.chatterton@gmail.com.

Thanks,
John Chatterton
Where Eagles Dare rehearsal studio and theatre

web site

The Rep's 2010 Ten Minute Play Competition

"An Evening to Hang Your Hat On"

Ten minute plays are being solicited by the Rochester Rep for performances scheduled in July 2010.

A reading panel comprised of The Rep's Board of Directors, Staff and Advisory Members (excluding the Board’s Artistic Liaison) will select eight plays to be produced from submissions received.


"An Evening to Hang Your Hat On" is a continuing project following "Glass Half Full" (2008), “Reflections in a Mirror” (2006), "Treasures From The Trunk" (2003) and the first "An Evening to Hang Your Hat On" (2002).


These productions have had one central goal: To support new and emerging playwrights as they experiment with an emerging and more accessible, but highly challenging, art form. We wish to showcase the considerable talents of area playwrights, provide a venue for their scripts, and provide director(s) and actors with the opportunity to work with a "work-in-progress."


It is The Rep's intent to sponsor an evening of ten minute plays as a summer production, opening July 16, 2010, and running Thursdays - Saturdays, July 16-17, 22-24, and July 29-31, 2010.


The theme for the evening of plays should incorporate The Rep's coat rack.


Requirements:

1. The playwright should take for inspiration incorporation of the free-standing coat rack in the action of the play. The playwright must also consider the space available on The Rep's stage. All other props and set pieces must be minimal in demand (benches, stools, tables, etc. For example, four cubes might be arranged as a sofa).

2. All scripts must be at least 10 minutes in length, not to exceed 15 minutes. Estimate that one page of dialogue equals approximately a minute of stage time.

3.Plays may be any genre from farce to tragedy, excluding musicals.

4. Scripts must be the original, previously non-produced work of the playwright, and not a translation or adaptation.

5. Number of characters in a script should not exceed four (as the same actors may well perform throughout the evening).

6. The play should adapt well to a bare stage, with a minimum of props, set pieces, costume demands, and no special effects, lighting, or scenic demands.

7. Selected plays will be directed by director(s) chosen by the Rep's Artistic Liaison.

8. Because of the interest and enthusiasm shown in past competitions, a playwright may submit only one script for consideration.

Submission:

1. The deadline for submission of scripts is Saturday, February 13, 2010. Early submission is strongly suggested.

2. The Title Page should include the play's title, playwright's name, e-mail, postal address and telephone number. Please do not put your name elsewhere on the manuscript. The Title Page should not be attached to the rest of the script.

3. Scripts should be typed or printed in 12-point Times font on 8.5”x11” standard white paper, one side only and should be stapled or bound. The title of the script should appear on each page of the script along with page numbering.

4. Scripts will not be returned to the playwright. If you wish acknowledgment of receipt of your script, please include a self-addressed stamped postcard with your script submission.

5. Submission of scripts implies permission to produce said scripts royalty-free.

6. Submit scripts and questions to:


Ten Minute Play Competition

Rochester Repertory Theatre

103 7th St., NE

Rochester, MN 55906


Scripts may also be emailed to boxoffice@rochesterrep.org


The Rep Board readers will evaluate scripts on personal appeal, suitability to site, perspective on the theme, directorial and acting challenges, and audience appeal.


Each script will receive at least three readings; readers will be encouraged to make written comments to each playwright.

Winning playwrights will be notified by April 30, 2010 at the opening of "1776", as well as by letter/email.

The Rochester Repertory Theatre Company
103 Seventh Street NE
Rochester, Minnesota 55906

web site

Emerging Artists Theatre presents
The 6th Annual ILLUMINATING ARTISTS: New Work Series
April 2010 at the TADA! Theatre, NYC
Paul Adams, Artistic Director
Stacy Mayer, Production Coordinator

Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) ILLUMINATING ARTISTS: New Work Series is a three week
developmental festival that provides artists of different disciplines the opportunity to present one night of a "work in progress" with audience feedback. Scheduled to run April 2010, the four series now accepting submissions are:

ONE WOMAN STANDING (OWS)
A series of one woman shows in all stages of development. Male or Female playwrights may apply.
Running Time 5 – 60 minutes.
Festival Curators: Stacy Mayer and Jessica Carr Phillips
onewomanstanding@gmail.com

ONE MAN TALKING (OMT)
A series of one man shows in all stages of development. Male or Female playwrights may apply.
Running Time 5 – 60 minutes.
Festival Curator: Scott Klavan and Scott Raker
onemantalking@gmail.com

WELL NOTED SHORTS (WNS)
A series of short musicals 15 minutes or less in all stages of development.
Festival Curators: Peter Saxe and Jonathan Warman
wellnotedshorts@gmail.com

NOTES FROM A PAGE (NFP)
A series of full length ensemble musicals in all stages of development. Open to NYC, NJ and CT composers/lyricists. Please include a CD and full or partial script with your submission.
Festival Curators: Paul Adams and Derek Jamison
notesfromapage@gmail.com

All application materials must be postmarked by January 8, 2009.

If your show is chosen, you will receive notification on or around January 30, 2010.

web site
After a successful Outworks 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, The Louisiana State University Department of Theatre in Baton Rouge is pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions for Outworks 2010, a festival of new lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or queer (LGBTQ) themed one-act plays.

Submission Guidelines:
*Submissions must be the author's own original work. Each entry shall be free from copyright restrictions and the author agrees to hold LSU, its officers, and directors free and harmless from all copyright claims.
*Scripts must be LGBTQ-themed.
*Submissions must be one-act plays, ranging from (10) ten to (20) twenty minutes in length.
*There is a limit of two scripts per playwright.
*All Entries should be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF format via e-mail to outworksfestival@gmail.com with "Outworks 2010" in the subject line.
* Scheduled production dates are April 13 - 18 of 2010

Submissions will be read and scored by a faculty/student committee. The committee will select six plays. These six playwrights will receive $250 in monetary compensation, each play selected will be guaranteed three staged.

Performances and each playwright will receive a video of his/her production. Playwrights wishing to attend the festival are responsible for all travel expenses.

The LSU Theatre Studio season retains all rights and privileges concerning casting, production, and programming for Outworks. LSU Theatre reserves the right to:
a. Reproduce as many copies of the play as are necessary for distribution to the judges and participants in the production.
b. Videotape the performance for archival purposes.
c. Use the title, author's name and images from the production for publicity purposes related to the Outworks Festival.

The final play list will be announced February 14, 2010.

Submissions sent via email are preferred. Please send submissions or inquiries to:

Robert Lee, Outworks Festival Curator, at:

outworksfestival@gmail.com and put "Outworks 2010" in the subject line

The LSU Theatre Studio Season: The LSU Theatre Studio season, produced by the Louisiana State University Department of theatre, offers audiences an "alternative" theatrical experience. Providing a diverse and exciting schedule, the LSU Theatre Studio Season highlights the tremendous talents of the LSU graduate and undergraduate students (B.A., M.F.A., and Ph.D.) both on and behind the stage.

Submission rules

Deadline: April 30, 2010

No Fee, but donations suggested. Grand Prize $500. This is an all-ages amateur playwright competition for community readers theatre. No "X" rated material. Festival dates are 8/20/10 to 8/22/10. Venue is Pine Mountain Club (PMC), Kern County, California. PMC is a small community nestled within the Los Padres National Forest, near the historic spiritual site of Mount Pinos, worshipped by the Chumash Indians as the center of the world (Liyikshup), "the point where everything is in balance." In the spirit of Lyikshup, 10-minute plays must reflect theme of man's co-existence with nature--theme of "eco-drama." Original scripts only. Plays are performed in outdoor stage. No complicated sets, lighting, or props. Audience will vote for the winner. All festival event donations are directed to Kern County Red Cross for mental health disaster team. For complete theme and submission rules, and entry forms, go to

Contact Information: Center of the World Festival
c/o California Family Counseling Network, Inc.
P.O. Box 1929
Frazier Park, CA 93225-1929

Submission requirements:

1.) Full length unproduced plays (max 2hrs) written by men and women in ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, and NY

2.) 4-10 characters

3.) Themes involving LGBT a plus. Also themes of "Wanting & Waiting" whatever that phrase means to you.

4.) Scripts must be snail mailed by February 1, 2010

We will be producing 5 full lengths

Your play, if chosen will be given a 2-3 week professional Boston production. You will receive a $200 stipend.

Scripts should be sent to Heart & Dagger Productions, 448 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02141

for info/questions email Joey Pelletier @ heart.daggerproductions@gmail.com

web site

2010 PLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

LiveWire will present our 3rd annual festival of original short plays in August of 2010.

This year, playwrights will be asked to write plays based on an Image. LiveWire is putting a call out to visual artists from around the world to submit their best image for consideration. These submissions will be due by January 29th and are open to any style, form or content. Once we have received all visual art submissions, the LiveWire Collective along with invited members of the community will choose 10-12 pieces for the entire public to vote on. The Image with the most votes will guide all play submissions. NOTE: We are not looking for plays where the characters are sitting, looking and talking about the image, but for plays where the image is part of the world of the play.

The online public poll for the Image will be start in early February and run the entire month.

LiveWire established VisionFest to expose new works to the community and get the community involved in new works. Besides helping us choose an "Image" (or "Environment" or "Theme" as we have the last two years respectively), VisionFest audience members are offered the chance to provide feedback to the playwrights and artists on the development of the pieces presented.

Submissions are required to adhere to the "Image" guideline or are discarded. Submissions are open to local, regional, national and international playwrights. Finalists will be announced when program is complete.

* Only original material may be submitted.
* Submissions must be postmarked between March 1st through May 2nd to be accepted (Any submissions sent outside of these dates will be discarded.)
* Plays must be between 1 to 12 minutes in length; 1 to 12 pages depending on density of material. (Any scripts over 12 minutes will be discarded.)
* One submission per playwright will be considered.
* Previously produced scripts will NOT be accepted.
* Submissions should only include your playscript (bound preferred) with playwright's name on the title page only. (SASE for returning playscript is optional.)
* Submissions should be sent to LiveWire Chicago Theatre, ATTN: VISIONFEST, P.O. Box 11226, Chicago IL 60611-0226. E-mail Submissions will not be accepted.

Actor member Bruce Barton appears on SEARCH AND DESTROY January 14 - 23 at the Kraine Theater, 85 East Fourth Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery, in Manhattan. Tickets for the show are $10, and $5 for students and seniors with identification. Show times are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 PM with matinees on Saturdays at 3:00 PM. The performance runs one hour and fifty minutes. Tickets are available through SMARTTIX at (212) 868-4444 or online at www.smarttix.com.

more info here

Bruce Barton and Amanda Thickpenny perform in member Olivia Arieti's NIGHT INTRUDERS at the NYCPlaywrights December 8 2009 meeting.

Thanks to David Lamberton for sharing his Cherry Lane MasterClass experience with us:

Last week I received an email from NYCPlaywrights that free tickets were available for members for that night's MasterClass with A.R. Gurney at the Cherry Lane Theatre. I went.

The evening was hosted by Angelina Fiordellisi, Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Theatre. It proved to be very informative for both playwrights and those of us who speak their words as Mr. Gurney genially and generously shared his experience and his insights. There were approximately 10 people invited to sit onstage in a semi-circle with Mr. Gurney as the main part of the open topic discussion while another 20 or so people sat in the theatre seats.

At the end of the 90-minute forum Mr. Gurney generously took time to speak personally to those in attendance, signed autographs, and gave individuals parting words of encouragement. (I just shook his hand and said 'Thank You.')

When I arrived at the subway platform for my ride home I saw Gurney standing by himself several yards away waiting for the same train. No entourage, no bodyguards, no limo, no paparazzi - just another guy waiting for the train. Entirely in keeping with the avuncular man I'd met two hours earlier.

We got on the same train in different cars and I rumbled my way home with everyone else. To my surprise, when I got off at the train at my stop, there he was. We happened to make eye contact and both of us smiled and chuckled at the "Hey, it's you" irony of it. We spoke briefly on our way up the stairs to street level. I remarked on his comfortable anonymity. He smiled, laughed and said, "Yeah, you're right". We waved good-night to each other and set off in opposite directions.

DB Lamberton, jr.
http://davidlamberton.com

For more info on the Cherry Lane Master Class series go to :
http://www.cherrylanetheatre.org/playing.php?page=masterclasses

Evening of Staged Reading Series
Brought to you by Urnetworkalliance
Urnetworkalliance.info
meetup.com/urnetworkalliance

Monthly Readings

We are seeking THREE ten min pieces
open to all genres

Original Plays, Published Plays are fine to submit

vcorwin@rcn.com

NYCPlaywrights is off for the winter holidays. We will resume meeting on Tuesday January 19, 2010 at the same location - Studio Blackbird at Where Eagles Dare 347 W. 36th St. 13th Floor.

We will still be posting writers opportunities, updates, videos etc. to this web site between now and January 19, so keep checking in. And happy holidays.

web site

If you are interested in being a part of an annual playwrights' festival, then Stone Soup's Original National Playwrights' Festival is for you! Every year, Stone Soup produces (along with a team of directors and actors) up to fourteen original works in their Downstage theatre.
Submissions will be accepted from September 1, 2009 to January 1, 2010. Plays must be submitted by mail (NO electronic submissions will be accepted, sorry!) to this address:

Stone Soup Theatre
c/o Playwrights' Festival
4035 Stone Way N
Seattle, WA 98103

Authors must include TWO printed copies, with a cover letter and cover page. The cover letter should include all contact information, including mailing and email addresses and telephone number and a description of authorial intent (Why do you present this play to our group at this time? Please include any information that you believe would aid us in producing your play.). The cover page should include the play's title, author's name, and a character list with age breakdown and brief character descriptions.

The plays themselves must be ORIGINAL. Plays should be 10 to 45 minutes in length, with minimal set, costumes, and characters. If you are interested in and capable of putting together the production as well (finding directors, actors, and/or costume and props resources), please include this information in your cover letter.

Thank you for your time and good luck!

Please email any questions to playfestival@stonesouptheatre.org

Catherine Smith
Stone Soup Theatre

F.A.C.T. (Friends Always Creating Theatre) New York City

Seeks Original Plays for Our 2010 Season


A newly formed Non-profit Membership Theatre Company, F.A.C.T. seeks original scripts for several projects thorughout the 2010 season. The company premiered at the NYC FRINGE this past August with GUTTER STAR: The Paperback Musical and have since presented two workshop presentations, CONNECT THE PLOTS and the HO HO HOliday One Acts.

The company will host a NEW monthly Reading Series WORDS & WINE on the last SUNDAY Afternoon of the MONTH, 3:00pm (January 31) (February 28) (March 28) (April 25) and we are looking for short plays or cuttings from full length plays that can be presented in a 10-15 minute format. We are interested in hearing from Playwrights around the world but especially invite New York/New Jersey Playwrights to get involved with us. We accept scripts through email and our reading committee looks forward to hearing from you. If chosen, your play will be presented by a cast of Professional Actors. They will be presented as Cold Readings, however all actors will receive your script several days in advance of the presentation. THE PUBLIC is invited to join us for Entertainiment and a glass of wine.

In addition, we will present INSTANT THEATRE, a 48 Hour Play Festival on MARCH 12-13-14-15 and invite local Playwrights to get involved. If interested in working in a FUN, FAST, environment, please send a resume and a 10 page sample of your work via email. Mark Subject Line: Interested in Instant Theatre

We are also interested in hearing from local NY/NJ actors-actresses who would like to participate in the Reading series and/or Instant Theatre. Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested. Performers need to send a photo and resume.

NO PAY. NO FEE for submissions.
Send all SCRIPTS and Actors Photos/Resumes to
fact.theatre@gmail.com

Check us out on Our Blog at factheatre.wordpress.com
or on Facebook at F.A.C.T.

Attention Playwrights!
The Noumenon Theatre Company is currently accepting play submissions for the 2010 season. We are looking for the following criteria;
~ One page synopsis
~ 2-3 page script sample
~Brief character description
Comedic and Children's works are highly recommended. The Noumenon Company is a family oriented company providing comedy and fun to our audience members. So, while we do appreciate your ideas, we strongly urge you to keep this in mind before submitting your works.
If interested please submit works to the following:
noumenontheatre@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your submissions.
Thank you,
Noumenon Theatre Company, INC.

About US:
The Noumenon Theatre Company formed in 1998 in New York City. Its mission is to entertain audiences of all ages with clean, fun, original comedy. By producing work that portrays healthy family relationships, we seek to reach at-risk men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds. Our proceeds help benefit and educate victims of domestic violence

Deadline to Submit: 02/15/10

Facebook page

Jonathan Wallace, curator of the late February 2010 Short Play Lab at Where Eagles Dare is seeking ten- to fifteen-page scripts about the experience of doing theatre. In other words, comedies or dramas not simply set in the theatre world, but which involve some aspect of the work we do as actors, playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, etc. Please send one script per playwright in word or pdf format to jw@bway.net