Are you an Oregon playwright?

Fantastic. Do this now: submit your application to Literary Arts for the Oregon Literary Fellowships. It costs nothing to apply; application is E-Z; and if you’re selected you get a nice chunk of change and probably a serious career boost along with it. The deadline for application is June 24 (not a postmark deadline, by the by).

Genres up for awards include poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama, and young readers literature. Which I mention because of all the genres, playwriting is, for some reason, still not on the radar of Oregon’s burgeoning playwriting community. Hence your chances of grabbing the brass ring are much, much greater, statistically, than if you submitted, say, literary fiction.

Questions? All the coaching you could ever need can be found at Paper Fort, an excellent writer’s resource created by the fabulous Susan Denning.

What you are waiting for, get off the interwebs and starting crafting that application. You’ve got nothing to lose but your undeserved obscurity.



And if you still need encouragement, here’s a little Alice Cooper to inspire you to take action:

For Oregon artists only

FYI:

In last year's round of fellowships awarded to writers by Literary Arts, playwrights did mighty fine. Of the 14 awards bestowed on an array of genres, an unprecedented THREE went to people writing for live performance: William Sam Gregory (a member emeritus of PlayGroup); Sue Mach, who is participating in JAW’s wild Commission! Commission! event this year; and John Frohnmayer, whose musical Spin uses his years as the head of the NEA as dramatic fodder.

So playwrights walked away with > 21% of the Oregon Literary Fellowships -- “not too shabby,” as my mother-in-law likes to say.

If you’re an Oregon resident and you’ve got a finished script, why not submit it to Literary Arts? There’s no application fee, and the application itself is E-Z. You might walk away with some fresh funds, and better yet, you gain the approbation of your peers and the attention of potential producers.

The deadline is coming up: June 27. (NB that's not a postmark deadline.) Apply here.

PlayPenn + YOU

Wow, two outstanding opportunities in one evening (if you check out the next post as well, I mean). PlayPenn is a recent and welcome addition to the tiny universe of good developmental festivals for orginal playwriting; take advantage of its open submission policy while it lasts!

I admire these guys. Admittedly I'm partial to them because of their excellent taste -- by which of course I mean that we're in perfect accord -- inviting in boundary-busters such as Jordan Harrison and Sheila Callaghan -- so what's not to like??

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PlayPenn 2008 Submission Guidelines

PlayPenn, Philadelphia’s professional New Play Development Conference invites you to submit a sample of your work for consideration for development of the full-length play during our 2008 Conference.

The 2008 conference will be held in Philadelphia from July 13 – 27 at the Adrienne Theatre. Invited playwrights will have the opportunity to work with a director of choice, dramaturg and professional Philadelphia actors over a two week period that allows for 29 hours of rehearsal and staged reading time. The public staged reading will be presented over the final weekend of the conference. PlayPenn will provide travel for casting for both writer and director, travel to and from the conference, housing, per diem and an honorarium.

Since 2005 PlayPenn has developed as many as six plays each summer. We offer a process that focuses on writers’ needs, providing rehearsal time, dramaturgical assistance, ample time to write and ultimately a public forum in which to view the work accomplished over the course of the development period in the form of a staged reading. Within reason, playwrights are given responsibility and freedom to pursue their own goals with collaborators of their choosing. Plays developed at our 2005 and 2006 conferences have been, and will be produced by Great Britain’s National Theatre, The Roundabout Theatre (Fall ’07) (THE OVERWHELMING by JT Rogers), The Humana Festival, Illusion Theatre (ACT A LADY by Jordan Harrison) and Crowded Fire Theatre (WE ARE NOT THESE HANDS by Sheila Callaghan) and more with SCARCITY by Lucy Thurber scheduled to receive production at the Atlantic Theatre in the Fall.



What is PlayPenn?


PlayPenn is an annual conference for the development of new plays, the advancement of new voices in the theatre both locally and nationally, and the cross-fertilization of writers, directors, dramaturgs and actors.

PlayPenn is a new play development conference. The goal of the conference is to develop plays, through a process of collaboration, experimentation, rehearsal and rewriting rather than fully realized productions of finished works. By focusing on playwrights’ needs PlayPenn makes the fundamental work of the theatre possible without the constraints and pressures of production, promotion and commercial consideration.

By providing a laboratory and the necessary tools for playwrights offering the potential for the most progressive and substantive results for playwrights’ work, PlayPenn’s process is helping to develop the next generation of playwrights for Philadelphia, the region and the nation.



PlayPenn’s National Advisory Board

Lee Blessing
Walter Dallas
Russell Davis
Steven Dietz
Liz Engelman
Frank Gagliano
Sara Garonzik
Bruce Graham
Lillian Groag
Jeffrey Hatcher
Robert Hedley
Michael Holllinger
Willy Holtzman
David Strathairn
Tazewell Thompson
Michele Volansky


For more information visit our website at www.playpenn.org



Submissions

Because of an increasing number of submissions PlayPenn is receiving each year, we can only consider a single submission from each playwright.

Your submission should include:

1. Ten pages of a play you feel will benefit from the process and resources offered by PlayPenn, simply bound. Plays that have been previously produced are not eligible for consideration. The play may have been previously read or work-shopped.

2. Your full mailing address, phone number and e-mail address

3. A cover letter containing information about the development of the play and where it is at this point in its development.
.
4. A short synopsis of the play.

5. Breakdown of the cast (how many in the cast, doubling, etc.)

6. An up-to-date resume and short bio.

*** If you would like confirmation of receipt of your submission,
please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard.

We encourage you to submit using double-sided printing and staples or paper clips to reduce the use of paper and your costs.

Send your materials to:

PlayPenn
220 West Evergreen Avenue, D-2
Philadelphia, PA 19118

***MATERIALS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 8, 2007


paul meshejian, artistic director
playpenn
220 west evergreen avenue, d-2
philadelphia, pa 19118
215.242.2813
215.242.2814 (fax)
www.playpenn.org

Oregon playwrights, check this out!

All right, so I'm bad. I've been so caught up with JAW preparations that I've neglected my own blog. And consequently I'm just now reminding you of an important deadline that happens to be, um......tomorrow.

June 29...yeah. This is the last day to submit an application to the fab people at Literary Arts for an Oregon Literary Fellowship in Drama. I'm appending all the details below, which I posted some time ago on PDXbackstage and on the PATA board, but I meant to put it here long ago. Just in case any one ever looks at this blog. Does anyone ever look at this blog?

Anyhow. If all this is news to you, not all is lost -- at least not if you happen to live in Portland OR, or nearby enough to walk your application in to the Literary Arts office.

Details below, and buona fortuna.


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I want to make sure you’re aware that a terrific opportunity awaits you, as an Oregon playwright, through the Oregon Literary Fellowships. Administered by Literary Arts, Fellowships are awarded to writers in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young readers literature -- and drama -- as well as to independent publishers.

Although the Fellowships for drama are awarded annually, the category gets relatively few submissions. Therefore I urge you to apply --the odds are good! Applying costs you nothing, and winning this distinction can bring you a little money and a lot of visibility.

Several aspects of the Drama Fellowship are different from previous years:

• The minimum amount for each Fellowship, Drama included, is now $2,500.

• Drama now has its own judge – a notable theater practitioner -- meaning that your script will be read by a real live theater person, rather than a literary figure from a different discipline.

• Drama means work written for the stage, but your submission does not have to be produced already.

Guidelines and applications are available at www.literary-arts.org, on the Oregon Literary Fellowships page, or by contacting Susan Denning at susan@literary-arts.org. But please note: applications are due in the Literary Arts office (not just postmarked) by 5:00 p.m., June 29.

Yes, that’s right. You have 10 scant days left to fill out your application and get it in to Literary Arts. But the application is E-Z, and now is a better time than ever to cast your bread upon the waters. So do it. Show our friends at Literary Arts that playwriting is alive and thriving here.

Best of luck,

Mead

Attn playwrights: Vertigo launches fun festival

Mead's note: Vertigo is one of Portland's best and wildest theater companies, producing the likes of Len Jenkin, George Walker, Chuck Me, Don DeLillo and other bad boys.

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Theatre Vertigo's One Page Play Festival


Words, words, words. Normally, theatres ask you for money when talking about fundraising but Theatre Vertigo is asking for your words. We are rapidly ending our 9th Season as "Portland's Premier Acting Ensemble" and would like you to contribute to our next fundraiser. We are holding "The One Page Play Festival" in Portland, OR Summer 2007 (Date and Location TBA) and need you to write a play. Think it might be hard?

Well, you only have to write A SINGLE PAGE.

That's right. One page. The theme is Dirty Laundry: America's Best Unkept Secrets. Let your imagination take you from there. We are looking for just about any genre so the sky's is the limit. Originally conceived by Robert Caisely, Associate Professor at the University of Idaho, the One Page Play Festival allows every playwright to contribute to this exciting event.

Don't think you're a writer? You have one page to find out. Please read the submission guidelines below and then write your play. We encourage all skills, ideas and scripts! If you think anyone else would be interested in contributing to this cause, please tell your friends about this by forwarding this e-mail. We are trying to get as many submissions as we can from a variety of writers.

If you would like to submit a play to Theatre Vertigo's One Page Play Festival please submit your plays to onepageplays@theatrevertigo.org and please follow these guidelines:

1. Plays must be no longer than one-page in length (9-12 pt font).

2. Plays must not have been previously produced or published in any form.

3. Maximum of 4 characters per script.

4. Maximum of 4 entries per writer.

5. Plays must address, directly or indirectly, the festival theme of Dirty
Laundry: America's Best "Unkept" Secrets.

6. Plays can either be comic or dramatic, in any style or genre.

7. Plays must have extremely limited production/staging demands, as the play
will be produced "without décor."

8. Entries must be submitted via email as an attachment in MS Word format or
PDF (and should include the author's name, address, phone number, a brief
bio, and one-sentence description of the play in the body of the email. The
subject of the email should read as follows:
RE: "OnePagePlays/author's full name" (OnePagePlays/Jessica Rabbit)"

9. All entries must include a cover-page (in the same file as the script
itself) which includes the title, the author's name, address, phone number,
and email address.

10. We will notify you when we have received your script and in the
following weeks, we notify you if your script has been selected.

11. Deadline is May 1st.

Again, please tell everyone who you think would like to contribute to this
event. Please check Theatre Vertigo's website www.theatrevertigo.org to find
out the location and date of this event. We will be updating our website
soon.

Thank you,
Theatre Vertigo

*


Theatre Vertigo plays at the landmark Theater! Theatre! building
3430 SE Belmont, Portland OR • (503) 306-0870 • www.theatrevertigo.org