Thursday, February 14, 2013

February Funeral


It all tastes like funeral ash to me;
exquisite feast set out in banquet hall.
Tonguing down the bile, a bitter dark sea,
A casket'ed table for bearers pall.

It was a long time coming, we sigh sips.
Now we gather 'round plates of dust
Scooping the dry mulch between our lips,
as our gray eyes flicker off the rust.

From a distance the feast looked amazing,
Staring through the cherry-stained estate glass.
And we rammed against hall doors, complaining
of the plundered spectral treasure amassed.

So we say Grace at the table of ash.
Our stolen jewels worn like funeral sash.

February 2013: Get What You Want


1.
Sundance Producer Lab
Deadline: Feb. 8th


A year-long program designed to nurture emerging producers with project-specific support through Labs, grants, and long-term advisor relationships.

The Sundance Creative Producing Fellowship was conceived to develop and support the next generation of American independent producers. For over 30 years, Sundance Institute has offered in-depth year-round programs for feature screenwriters and directors. In an increasingly competitive and complex marketplace, the health and excellence of the independent film movement hinges on sophisticated creative and strategic producers with whom these directors and writers can collaborate.

The Fellowship focuses on the holistic producer, who identifies, options, develops, and pitches material; champions and challenges the writer/director creatively; raises financing; leads the casting/packaging process; hires and inspires crew; and navigates the sales, distribution, and marketing arenas. The Program is designed to hone emerging producers’ creative instincts and evolve their communicating and problem-solving skills at all stages of realizing a project.
Six producers will be selected for a one-year fellowship, with Fellows supported to participate in the following:

  • Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
  • Sundance Film Festival attendance (screenings, curated meetings, and networking opportunities)
  • $5,000 living stipend
  • $5,000 pre-production grant
  • Year-round mentorship from two industry Advisors
  • Community building among Producing Fellows
  • Year-round support from Sundance Institute staff
Fellows will attend a five-day lab focused on creatively strengthening their projects from script to screen. Through a series of one-on-one sessions with Advisors, as well as group sessions, Fellows will explore their own creative take on the project and develop skills and a process for evaluating, developing, and implementing their material to reflect these ideas. Scripts will be discussed alongside issues, such as creative imperatives, marketplace valuation, and production challenges. Case studies will be used to explore creative issues in preproduction, production, and editing processes, while techniques in communicating with writer/directors and potential production partners will also be addressed.

Eligibility


  • Candidates must have produced at least one short or feature-length narrative or documentary film, but no more than two narrative features total, this does not include co, associate, or executive producer credits.
  • Candidates must have a completed, legally-optioned, scripted, narrative project in hand with a director attached to the project.
  • Candidates may not be the writer or director of submitted project.
  • Candidates must live in the United States, though the project may be filmed internationally.



The application for the 2013 Creative Producing Fellowship and Lab is now open through 6:00 p.m. PST on February 8, 2013.
If you have any further questions please email producers@sundance.org.

2.
ROUGH WRITERS
Deadline: Feb 14th

A two-week long festival (April 18-28), Rough Writers will feature readings of new scripts submitted by playwrights worldwide. A panel of theatre professionals will judge the submissions and the winning script will be given a full production during the FAC Theatre Company’s 2013-2014 season. Submissions to the festival must relate to three works of art (see large images on website) featured in the exhibition, A Family Affair: Selections from the Progressive Art Collection (Feb. 23 – May 19) as part of the FAC’s exploration of the enduring, yet evolving, role of Families.

Scripts for 10-minute, one-act and full-length plays and musicals will be accepted. Approximately 12 scripts will be chosen for readings during the festival.

Submissions must be received by February 14, 2013.





3.
Red Bull
Deadline: March 8th

Six short plays will be selected from an open-submission process and presented in staged readings along side two short plays by commissioned writers (past writers have included Constance Congdon, Elizabeth Egloff, David Grimm and John Guare). Plays will be selected based on relevance to Red Bull Theater’s mission, incorporation of stated theme and excellence of the work.

The Drill
Write a short play of no more than 10 minutes in length that contains heightened language, verse, classical themes, or is an adaptation of a classical story. This year, each play must respond to the following word:
GREED
Take a look through  to see the kind of work we have done. Respond to a play we’ve produced or choose a classic of your own. Adapt something, or riff on a character, or borrow a language structure, or create a whole new world based on classical themes – you choose!

The Rules
• Each playwright may submit ONE SCRIPT only.
• Each play may be no more than TEN PAGES in font no smaller than 11pt.
• We ONLY accept electronic submissions in PDF form. Do not mail printed scripts.
• INCLUDE writer contact information on the title page.
• Plays should be self-contained with a beginning, middle and end.
• Excerpts of full-length works are INELIGIBLE.

The Timeline
Email scripts to submissions@redbulltheater.com by the deadline of March 8th, 2013.
Submissions will only be accepted electronically in PDF format.
Selected plays will be announced by April 15th, 2013.
New Play Festival is May 13th, 2013.
*Due to the volume of scripts, we are unable to comment on submissions.

Questions? Contact Craig Baldwin, Associate Artistic Director at craig@redbulltheater.com.


4.
the claque
Deadline: Feb. 15th

Artistic Director, Nick Leavens, and I would like to inform you that |the claque| is now accepting submissions for  the QuaDs, which aims to give scripts that are beyond the staged-reading phase an opportunity to get on their feet.  Playwrights will see their stories lightly staged and in front of an audience--while still on-book, this "next step" will contribute to the progress of the piece.
________

|the claque| is pleased to invite you to submit your play for our third annual Quick and Dirties or the QuaDs: work-out a play hosted at The Tank.

Beginning in April of 2013 we will be presenting six plays for a work-out that will go beyond a simple reading. All the details you need are in the attached document.

Submissions will be open between now and February 15.

Please direct your submissions and questions to submissions@theclaque.org

Looking forward to reading your work,

5.

The MRT
Deadline: March 10th

McKinney Repertory Theatre is pleased to announce The 3rd Annual MRT New Play Competition. MRT is committed to providing quality entertainment for the community through cultural education and inspiration. We will begin our 11th season in Fall of 2013 and would like to encourage new playwrights to share their inspirations and hard work with us. MRT offers the competition winner the chance to see the playwright’s work fully realized on stage, and we hope that the winning play will go on to numerous productions elsewhere as well.

Prize:

An MRT committee will choose one play as the Winner to fully produce sometime in our 2013-2014 Season. A second play will be chosen as Runner-Up and that play will receive a staged reading in the 2013-2014 Season. The Winner and Runner Up will be announced on or before July 31st, 2013.

Submission Procedure:

Electronic Submissions will only be accepted.  Email entries will be accepted only in PDF format, and must include your completed and Legible Entry Form. Send your email entry to info@mckinneyrep.org with a subject line of “3rd Annual MRT New Play Competition” and your full name. All submissions must be accompanied by a completed, signed and legible entry form.

PLEASE NOTE:

McKinney Repertory Theatre will have exclusive rights to produce the Winner, and a staged reading of the Runner-Up, royalty free during the 2013-2014 Season and to use the names of winning plays, readings and playwrights in all MRT publicity and promotions. MRT will also have the right to make copies of the plays for production and reading use. MRT reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted play. MRT also reserves the right to declare no winner. The decision of the committee is final. MRT will not provide transportation or housing for the Winner or Runner-Up during production, but will welcome your input in the process.


6.
Unrenovated Theatre
Deadline: Feb 15th

Seeking 10-minute plays to be performed in an unrenovated brownstone in Brooklyn.  The space is very raw and unfinished, with tools, 2x4s, and sheets of drywall scattered about.  There’s a cast iron radiator and an old nonworking fireplace.  The space is about 15’ by 10’. If you would like to see photos, send an email to the address below.

All plays must be 5 to 15 minutes long, with no more than 4 characters.  Dramas and comedies are welcome, but all plays should be set in the space where they will be performed (no plays set on boats, for example).  The topic of the play should be somehow relevant to the space. In other words, there should be a reason your play is set in a contruction site, other than that I told you to do so.

Deadline is February 15, 2013.

Send scripts in standard format to unrenovatedplayfest@gmail.com.

7.
Phoneix Stage Company
Deadline: May 1st

Phoenix Stage Company, located in Naugatuck, Connecticut is dedicated to providing opportunities for new playwrights to workshop, develop, and present their work as part of our regular season of plays in our black box theater.We are currently seeking full length plays and/or musicals to be included in our 2014 season.
DETAILS
We welcome all submissions that meet the following criteria:

Full length plays or musicals at least ninety (90) minutes in length (performance time).

Maximum number of performers is ten (10).

Unit set, or minimal set requirements with simple technical needs.

Author must own the copyright for the script (no adaptations will be accepted, unless the source material is in the public domain).

We prefer plays that have not been produced before, but we will consider plays that have been produced in a limited capacity.
If you meet the above and would like to submit a play for consideration:

Please introduce your work to Phoenix Stage Company by submitting a letter of inquiry, a brief synopsis, a full script and character breakdown.

If you are submitting a musical, please include a CD/mp3s.

Please include the play's production and workshop history (if applicable) and the playwright and creative team biographies.

All materials may be submitted either electronically (Word or PDF format) or via regular mail. Electronic submissions are strongly preferred.

Unfortunately, materials cannot be returned. By submitting, you allow Phoenix Stage Company to reproduce the material for the selection and/or production process.

Submit submissions by email to: ed@phoenixstagecompany.org

By postal mail to:
Phoenix Stage Company
New Works
PO Box 344
Naugatuck, CT 06770

Deadline for consideration in the 2014 season is May 1, 2013

If your work is chosen to be produced by Phoenix Stage Company, the following will apply:

The playwright will receive a royalty of $25.00 per performance. The playwright will receive copies of playbills, reviews and other print material.

You will receive a production contract breaking down future credit agreements.

All playwrights submitting work will be notified via email, and postal mail of the decision by the selection committee.

8.
Venus Theatre Festival for Women
Deadline: March 1st

The Venus Theater Festival is a playwright’s contest created uniquely for women. It was designed to offer women writers a chance to direct their own never-before-seen shows, helping them to develop a sense of casting, staging, use of lights and direction. With Venus, it is our intention to give female writers a unique chance to create their vision from the first stroke of their pen to the last scene of their play. Venus is not only a festival; it’s a competition as well. That means there are prizes! The winner of Best Play will receive a prize of $2,500. Winner of Best Actress will receive $500. Venus, as well as our summertime festival, Thespis, is hosted by Cabrini Repertory Theater, a beautiful, 200-seat proscenium theater in uptown Manhattan.



9.
Theatre Conspiracy (in Ft. Meyers, FL)
Deadline: March 30th

14TH ANNUAL NEW PLAY CONTEST Theatre Conspiracy will be accepting submissions for its Fourteenth Annual New Play Contest between November 2012 and March 30, 2013. All works submitted will be read and judged by a panel of qualified theatre teachers, directors and performers.

Script Parameters: Work submitted to the contest must be a full length play with eight characters or less and have simple to moderate technical demands. Plays having up to three previous productions are welcome. No musicals.

Remuneration: First place: $700.00 and full production. However, it is our goal to produce more than one entry each year.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Send complete script to Theatre Conspiracy Inc. 10091 McGregor Blvd. Ft. Myers, FL 33919 or send via e-mail to tcnewplaycontest@gmail.com
2: Include Biography of the Playwright and character breakdown.
3: If you would like to have the script returned include SASE. If not include an SASE for results.
4: Include a non-refundable administrative fee of $5.00. Make checks payable to Theatre Conspiracy (DO NOT MAIL CASH). Entry fee waived for members of The Dramatists Guild (Please provide proof of membership).

E-mail: tcnewplaycontest@gmail.com. Deadine March 30, 2013. $700 plus full production.

10.
Inkwell Open Call
Deadline: Feb 22-March 17th

The Inkwell is encouraging playwrights to send in their full-length plays in progress to be considered for a nurturing and challenging development process, and will be choosing between 25 and 30 works for their unique initial development experience, a FIRST CONTACT showcase reading. A handful of playwrights will then be selected for 18-month sustained, developmental collaborations to support their artistic and professional growth. For more info: inkwelltheatre.org/site.

11.
Red Gate Residency
Deadline: rolling throughout the year

RED GATE RESIDENCY (in Beijing, China)
Deadline: Rolling but check website)
This is a highly unique special residency. Check out the application at http://www.redgategallery.com/residency. Red Gate Residency provides an environment for artists, curators, writers, and academics to easily start their projects and offer a community in which they can participate as much as they like.

The program is managed on a not-for-profit basis under the care of Red Gate Gallery. Participants are expected to cover the costs of living, transportation, supplies, and accommodation whilst Red Gate provides all the necessary support to make your time here fruitful and enjoyable. Many of the residents attend with the help of funding they have received from their home countries.
The issue is that they can't provide funding but TDF has travel grants that could apply to a project like this if you were really passionate about working in China.


12.
Triple Canopy Proposals
Deadline: Feb. 11th

For our fourth annual call for proposals we wish to intensify our work in a variety of offline forms of print publication and public programming. We are interested in forging connections between books, manuscripts, lectures, performances, exhibitions, among other forms, and our online publishing practice. We believe that a publishing model that engages both real-world and Web-based audiences can prompt artists and writers to develop work that is deeply considered and formally inventive.
For our 2013 call, we invite artists and writers to submit proposals for projects that may not find their primary realization on the Web, but which may ultimately be published in some form in Triple Canopy's online magazine. The following list, by no means exhaustive, enumerates some of the initial forms such projects might take:

  • Print broadsheet or pamphlet
  • Print poster
  • Book or e-book
  • Public lecture or seminar
  • Performance
  • Reading
  • Screening
  • Exhibition or installation
Triple Canopy is looking for artists and writers with coherent proposals for projects that can be realized in one year or less. We are, as ever, in search of work that makes innovative, persuasive use of its own form and medium. While past publication or experience is not a prerequisite, successful applicants will demonstrate fluency in the field in which they wish to publish. Triple Canopy prioritizes work by emerging artists and writers working in the fields of visual art and literature, broadly defined; we appreciate work that takes into account current discussions and debates but is not bound by them, work that is carefully crafted but not fixated on form.
Commission recipients receive:

  • Three to six months of artistic, editorial, and technical support
  • $300 honorarium
  • Opportunity for inclusion in our annual print publication, Invalid Format: An Anthology of Triple Canopy
  • Opportunity to use Triple Canopy’s space at 155 Freeman for a performance or other public event
  • Coordination and production of any print publication or live event
  • Archiving of materials and long-term maintenance of any online version of the project by technical staff
For more information: http://canopycanopycanopy.com/submissions#call_for_proposals
to fill out online application: http://form.jotform.us/form/23306760258150

13.
Pavement Group
Deadline: rolling

Pavement Group
Pavement Group accepts un-produced full-length plays in correlation with our mission. We are particularly interested in young writers and writers of color.
Pavement Group is a Chicago based collaborative of theatre artists who seek emerging voices to produce fresh plays that make contact with new audiences. We commit ourselves to immediate and immersive work and aspire to create experiences that can unlock a conversation between the audience and their humanity.
In an attempt to minimize our environmental footprint as a company, Pavement Group is now accepting unsolicited electronic submissions. Email in PDF or DOC format to our literary department at literary@pavementgroup.org
If you prefer to submit the old fashioned way, please send a non-returnable manuscript, resume, and cover letter to: Pavement Group 2239 N Kimball Ave Rear C Chicago, IL 60647 Response time is approx. 6 Months. Thanks for your patience. Thanks for writing plays. Keep doing it, we need you.


14.
Jane Chambers Playwriting Award
Deadline: March 1st

The Jane Chambers Playwriting Award recognizes plays & performance texts created by women that present a feminist perspective & contain significant opportunities for female performers.  Experimentations in form and subject matter welcome. This annual award is given in memory of lesbian playwright Jane Chambers who, through her plays such as A Late Snow, My Blue Heaven, Kudzu, & The Quintessential Image, became a major feminist voice in American theatre.
The Award for the primary Jane Chambers Contest consists of $1000, free registration to attend the Association in Theater in Higher Education’s conference in early August & a rehearsed reading of the winning piece at that conference, hosted by WTP, with ATHE. The winner should attend the conference’s awards ceremony. The student winner is also recognized.

To enter, please send three copies of a typed script,  resume, application form, JANE CHAMBERS APPLICATION FORM 2013 (click here), brief description of the piece, and your email contact information. Please, only one submission per applicant, and no email submissions.  NO FEE is Required (voluntary donations, blind to jurors, are welcome).

Mail submission to:
Jane Chambers Award

C/O : Maya E. Roth
108 Davis Performing Arts Center
Department of Performing Arts, Box 571063
37 & O Street, NW
Georgetown University
Washington DC, 20057-1063

15.
Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship
Deadline: Feb. 28th

Nickelodeon is offering writing fellowships in live action and animated television to writers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Participants will have hands-on interaction with executives writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. The program, developed to broaden Nickelodeon's outreach efforts, provides a salaried position for up to one year.

Applications and submission guidelines are available on our website at www.nickwriting.com.

Information via phone: (818) 736-3663, Information via email: info.writing@nick.com, Follow us on twitter @NickWriting, Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NickWriting

Application: http://www.nickwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/nwf_application_11.pdf


16.
Princess Grace Award
Deadline: April 1st

Prince Grace Foundation offers an annual fellowship and $7500 in funding to emerging playwrights and artists. All applicants must be U.S. citizens or have obtained permanent residency status. All applicants, except playwrights, must be nominated by a school department chair/dean or company artistic director. Scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships must be completed in the United States. For more specific information, please refer to individual category guidelines.


17.
LEEWAY FOUNDATION
Deadline: May 15th
The Transformation Award provides unrestricted annual awards of $15,000 to women and trans artists living in the Delaware Valley region (includes Philadelphia) who create art for social change and have done so for the past five years or more, demonstrating a long-term commitment to social change work.
The Award is unrestricted (it is not project-based) and open to women and trans people working in any art form, traditional or non-traditional. We encourage you to apply if you are a woman or trans artist who:
-Creates art for social change that impacts a larger group, audience, or community.
-Has been creating art for social change for the past five years or more, demonstrating a long-term commitment to this work.
Has financial need and limited or no access to other financial resources.
-Has lived for the past two or more years in the Delaware Valley region: Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia County.
Check website for application:  http://www.leeway.org/home.html


18.
Fly-By-Night Theatre
Deadline: April 1st

Fly-By-Night Theatre is always on the lookout for new works. And though we prefer to work with artists local to the North Carolina Triad area, we are happy and willing to work with like-minded artists anywhere.

Here are some ground rules for all submissions:

Please keep in mind that we do exclusively new work, and by new  we mean unproduced.

We are active collaborators. We aren't going to rewrite your piece for you, nor are we after any authorial credit or future production percentages or any of that nonsense – but we are a process-oriented group. Please just understand that going in.

If we agree to work with you on your piece, we will pay you a small stipend. We're really open to any length. Full-length plays (75-120 pages) are your best bet, but we'll look at one-acts as well. We tend to favor plays that are ambitious in form and content over the standard family/relationship squabble, but we'll look at anything.

HOW TO SUBMIT: Send us a brief synopsis (anywhere from a sentence to a page) and the first ten pages in format of your play, each in PDF format.

More information about us at www.flybynighttheatre.com


19.
Dionysus Theatre
Deadline: rolling

Dionysus Theatre in Houston, Texas currently seeks script submissions. Dionysus is a unique non-profit, non-sectarian organization bringing the theater experience to those with disabilities as well as the able-bodied.

Dionysus Theatre is only interested in work which is written by or about people with disabilities.

Please send letter of inquiry, brief bio along with a synopsis and a 10-page selection from the script. If the material interests us, we will contact you with a request for the complete script.

Requirements:
-The play must be full length.
-There will be no compensation if your play is selected to be produced
-You will only be contacted if we would like to read the complete script
-Small cast, simple set scripts preferred
-work must be written by or about people with disabilities

Send submissions to:
The Dionysus Theatre
5300 N. Braeswood #226
Houston, Texas 77096

Thank you very much, and we look forward to reading your work!

20.
Swivel Theatre (in UK)
Deadline: March 4th

Swivel Theatre Company is seeking ambitious writers to submit one-act plays about Arab Women in the Arab Spring to be showcased during a 3 week run in June 2013 at the White Bear Theatre, London.

SUMMARY OF THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR WRITERS
Theme of the Script: Arab Women in the Arab Spring.
Length of the Script: 30 A4 pages
Deadline to submit your script: 4th March 2013
Benefits to you: This is an unpaid opportunity. However, the scripts selected to be performed in The White Bear Theatre will be promoted along with the writer’s name in all our promotional material and website.
To participate: Just send us an email to tell us you are interested in submitting a script to swiveltheatre@live.co.uk.

INTRODUCTION
The rich and the poor. The rebels and the regime. The fighters and the bystanders. Women across the Arab world have had a myriad of experiences amid revolution. We want these stories to be told, and we can’t do it without great writers!

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