This just in

Here's a fresh take on new play development from Vassar, passed on to me by a young, fast-out-of-the-gate writer and thinker and polyglot who has been a huge asset in recent JAW festivals. Leave it to her and her cronies to come up with a new spin on the developmental process:

The Dynamo Theater Lab, sponsored by the Vassar College Drama Department, is seeking playwrights to help us experiment with the process of theater making. In the spring of 2008, our company will use new plays as a springboard to explore rehearsal and performance possibilities. We hope to discover new methods of bringing plays to an audience by changing the parameters of the rehearsal process. Over the course of six weeks, we will work on three previously unproduced plays. Each play will be rehearsed for one week and then presented to the public. After three weeks we will repeat the cycle, giving each play another round of rehearsal and public presentation, to incorporate lessons we learned from the first incarnation and to test out new ideas. Neither workshop readings nor polished productions, the work we create in this condensed period will invite our audiences into a dynamic, immediately imaginative experience.

We are interested in working with different types and styles of plays, but are especially seeking texts that experiment with theatrical form or that deal with important contemporary issues. Because the Dynamo Lab will consist of 12-15 Vassar students, medium to large cast sizes are encouraged. If you are interested in collaborating, please contact us at dynamotheater@gmail.com. Most of all, we are interested in starting conversations with playwrights, to discuss your ideas for our proposed experiment and what part you could see yourself taking in it.

Go ahead, take them up on the offer, or at least inquire after the details. Sounds like good clean fun to me. By the way, did you know that the legendary Hallie Flanagan, of Federal Theatre Project fame, taught at Vassar? C'est vrai.

Need funds? Try the Scientific Method.

Seen this one? If you have a script along scientific lines, or were thinking about writing one (come on, I know you already have your Sloan proposal at the ready), here's your chance. It doesn't cost to enter and the brass ring's worth 10K. Also the dazzling list of people they've invited in as judges in the past is encouraging: Luis Alfaro, Morgan Jenness (full list below).....a very good sign that.

Overall it seems like a great outfit -- even if they don't know how to spell dramaturg.
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES 3rd INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION WITH
$10,000 PRIZE FOR PLAYS ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Website: www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/stage E-mail: stage@cnsi.ucsb.edu


The Professional Artists Lab and the California NanoSystems Institute at the
University of California, Santa Barbara continue their collaboration with
the third STAGE International Script Competition, open to plays about
science and technology.

The winner of the Scientists, Technologists and Artists Generating
Exploration (STAGE) Competition will receive a $10,000 USD prize, along with
opportunities for developing and promoting the winning script, including
access to advice and guidance from professional theatre and film artists as
well as experts in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

Submitted plays must explore scientific and/or technological stories,
themes, issues or events. (The competition is not open to plays written in
the genre of science fiction.) Entries must be postmarked by December 31,
2007. The winning play will be announced in July, 2007.

Scripts will be judged by an esteemed panel of jurors from both the arts and
sciences. Previous judges included:
Nobel Laureates David Gross (2004 Physics) and Alan Heeger (2000 Chemistry);
playwright and MacArthur Fellow Luis Alfaro; award-winning theatre, film and
television director Arvin Brown; Dr. Polly Carl, Producing Artistic Director
of the Minneapolis Playwrights' Center; Obie Award-winning playwright Lonnie
Carter; award-winning playwright Constance Congdon; award-winning playwright
and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher; Morgan Jenness, dramaturge and literary
agent at Abrams Artists Agency; Professional Artists Lab
Playwright-in-Residence Barbara Lebow; Eduardo Machado, award-winning
playwright and Artistic Director of New York's INTAR Theatre; and Tony and
Olivier award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director Mark Medoff.

For details about the competition and submission guidelines, visit
www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/stage. For questions or additional information, please
e-mail stage@cnsi.ucsb.edu.

Information about the winners of the second round of the STAGE Competition
may be found at: http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=1639.

STAGE endeavors to:

- foster new and imaginative voices and methods of storytelling.
- catalyze the development of art that depicts the technological age in
which we live.
- cultivate appreciation and collaboration between the two cultures of
science and art.
- promote understanding of the sciences in the public arena.
- accomplish all of the above within an international community.

The Professional Artists Lab (www.proartslab.ucsb.edu) is a dynamic artistic
laboratory in the Department of Film & Media Studies and the Media Arts &
Technology Program at UCSB, in which professional actors, directors, writers
and producers create and develop new works in film, theatre, television,
radio and multi-media performance.

The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) (www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/stage), one
of the prestigious California Institutes for Science and Innovation, focuses
on dramatic breakthroughs in materials, devices and resulting technologies,
made possible by controlling form and function at the nanoscale. These
breakthroughs are being accomplished through the integration of many science
and engineering disciplines, and will have broad applications for innovation
in communication, biomedical, energy and environmental technologies.


THANK YOU FOR FORWARDING THIS INFORMATION TO ALL WHO MAY FIND IT OF
INTEREST.

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STAGE Script Competition
Professional Artists Lab
CNSI - MC 6105
3241 Elings Hall - Bldg. 266
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6105
E-mail: stage@cnsi.ucsb.edu
URL: www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/stage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~