Plays and Playwrights

This item submitted by Jen Grigg

FUSION Theatre Company Announces Fifth Annual Short Works Festival. 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 by following this link.

You may also mail your submissions AT NO COST 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.

This item submitted by David Gersten, publicist

The New York Musical Theater Festival will begin accepting open submissions for its Next Link Project January 11th for the seventh annual festival taking place September 27 October 17, 2010.

Twelve of the Festivals full production slots are reserved for participants in The Next Link Project, NYMFs primary writer service program. The Next Link Project empowers emerging musical theatre writing teams as both artists and entrepreneurs by providing the training and relationships needed to help them move their musicals from mere readings to fully-realized productions and to advance their careers by maximizing the exposure they receive in the Festival.

Any work that has not been produced professionally in New York City may be submitted by authors with or without industry representation, but scripts should be ready for developmental production and the widespread exposure NYMF provides.All entries undergo double-blind evaluations by several members of NYMFs reading team, with finalists referred to our grand jury.

Authors submitting to The Next Link Project will need to provide a demo recording of their songs, a detailed synopsis of their show, a 15-page script sample (15 consecutive pages representing the heart of the show and including lyrics for at least one of the songs), a complete script, and, if applicable, proof of rights to adapt underlying material.

The Next Link Project will accept submissions from January 11th through March 1st, 2010 with an early bird deadline on February 1st. For important additional information, including details about what it takes to produce your show in NYMF (and what you get in return), please visit nymf.org.

This item submitted by Ron Lasko, publicist

Applications due March 12, 2010. Festival runs July 13 – 18 at The Lion Theater. Submissions for the 35th annual SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF-OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL are now being accepted. Playwrights should visit samuelfrench.com for application and submission details.

The festival will feature a selection of 40 short plays, chosen from hundreds of submissions by playwriting workshops, university theatre programs, and professional companies both in the U.S. and abroad. Out of these plays, six finalists will be chosen by the Samuel French, Inc. Editorial Staff to receive publication and licensing contracts.

This item submitted by Theater for the New City

The motto of the festival is “Dream Up: Invent, Concoct.” The festival will be a month long anthology of wide-ranging and original theatrical visions embracing drama, poetry, music and dance. The festival hopes to offer at least 20 shows on its lineup. Submissions will be accepted from December 8, 2009 to March 26, 2010.

The Submission Form can be downloaded from Theater for the New City’s Dream Up Festival web page.

Submissions with a postmark on or before February 25, 2010 must be accompanied by a non-refundable $25 early application fee, in the form of a certified check, cashiers check, or money order in US Dollars payable to Theater for the New City. The application fee from February 26 will be $35 and applications will be accepted until March 26, 2010

This item submitted by Christopher Fields and Shawn Harris

Are you a playwright of color with little or no production experience? A new weekly or bimonthly playwriting unit of 4-6 writers is forming with the objective of assisting in the development and critique of new work and to collectively explore avenues of production. Once or twice a month, we will have an in-depth discussion of your script. This group will not only provide the accountability you need to get your first script on paper, but also feedback from other writers on perceived strengths and weaknesses, applications of drama theory, writing ideas and more. Occasionally, we may network with established writers and theater professionals. After a few months, we would like to self-produce a night of readings or a series of small-scale staged productions. We have full-time access to rehearsal loft space in Brooklyn.

We would prefer to work with writers on the more experimental/avant-garde scale. As of now, the group’s plays deal heavily on the social and historical dynamics of race and racism but this isn’t the only topic that interests us. We welcome writers who take inspiration from the likes of Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan Lori-Parks, George C. Wolfe. We also welcome beginning and established playwrights writing traditionally structured plays like those of August Wilson, James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. You should be queer-friendly but all sexual orientations are welcome and sexuality does not have to be a focus of your writing.

We hope you will join us in helping to build this collective. With dedication and directed energy to each other and to our craft, we can broadcast our voices and ensure each other’s success. If interested, please e-mail Christopher Fields at info@brandshire.com

This item submitted by Pauline Stack, ASCAP

Submissions deadline is Friday, February 26, 2010.

As part of its continuing commitment to nurture new American musicals, The ASCAP Foundation is seeking new musicals for the annual ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in New York. Serving once more as artistic director for the workshop is Stephen Schwartz. The workshop will take place April 14, 15, 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. sharp, at ASCAP, 5th Floor, One Lincoln Plaza (Broadway between 63rd and 64th Streets) in New York.

Writers interested in applying for participation in The ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in New York should submit the following:

*A CD of four (4) songs with lyric sheets *A brief description of each song as to its plot placement *A brief synopsis of the musical *Biographical information for each composer, lyricist & book writer *Contact information for each collaborator (email address / phone number / mailing address).

Send complete submission package to:
Michael A. Kerker
ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop
ASCAP
7920 W. Sunset Boulevard, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90046

This item submitted by Ty DeMartino

The Frostburg State University Center for Creative Writing in western Maryland announces its first annual One-Act Playwriting Competition to showcase new works.

Writers are encouraged to submit their one act plays (running time of 40-minutes or less) to the Center by April 1, 2010. All entries will be judged on plot, character development, dialogue and overall quality.

First prize will receive $750 and production of their play at The Frostburg One-Act Playwriting Festival to be held on the FSU campus in September of 2010. Second and third places will receive $250 and $100, respectively, and staged readings of their works.

For submission guidelines, visit The Center for Creative Writing’s website.