To Be Or No To Be…Plat(form) Is The Question

To Be Or No To Be…Plat(form) Is The Question


by SJ Hodges

I wake this morning and find an email from an old friend in my inbox. Excerpts from his new novel. He’d like some feedback. Wants to know where to shop it. How to shop it. As a ghostwriter, I’ve dipped my pinky toe in the publishing pool. Been lucky enough to sell fiction off a proposal (when that was still possible), muscle a unheard-of memoir into a movie deal (when that was still possible) and will soon head back out in the market with a currently unnamed reality TV star’s life story. I have skirted around the periphery of the industry, clinging to the coattails of those personalities with “platform” in order to stay on the shelves. My friend has never ventured into books. As a screenwriter, he’s battled other demons. The kind who wear Armani. The kind who hire interns to read on their behalf. A different kind of beast. This is why he thinks I might have sage words to share.

I respond favorably to his excerpt. A whole world contained within a few pages. It’s nice to hear his voice in my head again, after so many years on opposite coasts. I write back with encouragement and suggest that he finish the complete manuscript before showing it to agents or editors. With the major publishing houses in massive transition from dinosauric to digitized, an unpublished, “brand-new” writer with great talent, a half-finished manuscript and no platform is easily cast aside.

It used to be that product created platform. Now, platform creates product.

First time novelists are told to launch a website, to start a blog. Or contribute to blogs. Or to blog tour. They are encouraged to tweet. No, they are expected to tweet. They’re told that their followers need to number in the thousands. No, the hundreds of thousands. I login to Facebook each day to find double friend requests smiling back at me with the same photo attached. Writers, actors, directors setting up two separate accounts: one professional, one personal. Platform, platform, platform.

I know what it takes to put the platform on the page because I’m the one actually typing up that proposal. The one that will land a six-figure deal for someone else. I’ve seen the remarkable numbers that some aspiring authors bring to the table. I’ve mastered the careful calculations necessary to estimate past and projected media impressions – broadcast and print. I’ve learned the term “back-of-room merchandising efforts” and can, without blinking an eye, recite a massive list of alternative income stream opportunities. I’ve massaged the statistical analysis of demographic draws to more favorably represent my clients and I should have a PhD in branding, trending, promotional packaging…

It can be paralyzing.

It can kill creativity.

It has nearly killed my first novel.

To write in the face of obscurity. This is nothing new. From the moment the first person ever carved into a cave wall, every writer’s greatest fear is to have opened the vein allowing their life to spill and splatter and spurt onto the wall, onto the page and to have that effort go unrecognized, unappreciated, unheard. It’s just now…publishers and agents have the actual numbers to confront you. They’ve got the hard evidence, the proof…you most definitely are not Ashton Kutcher. You. Are. Unknown.

Still, I write. And my friends write. And we email each other excerpts of our work and ask for feedback. We tweet, wax poetic on our Facewalls and ask for connections. On the bad days, when the words are slow to form and Charlie Sheen instantaneously accumulates 150,000 followers on Twitter without even tweeting, I try to remember the stillness and quiet perfection of my days at The MacDowell Colony where every year, 250 artists, some known, most unknown, wander among the woods, hunker down in cozy cabins and create.

It was enough, those days at the MacDowell, to be alone in the woods. To write, to eat, to share wine with newfound friends. Having no connection to or awareness of the business, it was a freedom. There was happiness to be found there. Beside the fireplace, with a warm thermos of tomato soup watching fluffy flakes of sugary snow drift against my front door. After seven years spent on the sunny beaches of L.A., I can watch snow fall for hours.

It was enough, the writing. It was enough to sustain me.

It is a feeling I often try to conjure as I walk my daily tightrope stretched between creativity and commercialism, meaning and marketing, product and platform. As I program my days into chunks of time: minutes to wake, minutes to eat, minutes to shower, walk, return calls, build a website, meet a new contact, and oh yeah, write.

I click on my inbox. Find another friend’s new chapter on the screen. Read it. Love it. Want to hear more. And in that moment, I choose not to calculate her media impressions. I choose not brainstorm tie-in merchandising opportunities. I choose not click to follow her tweets. Instead, I send her words of encouragement. Then I say those same words aloud to myself. Creation for the sake of creation. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.

In the sunny confines of my Santa Monica office, I close my eyes and listen for snow.

SJ Hodges writes for the stage, tv, screen and print. She can be contacted via Facebook at The Constant Creator and followed on Twitter @constantcreator.

The Loop

Playwrights -- visit The Loop online to connect with other playwrights, submission opps and tons of information about theatres big and small.  Click on the title above and it's free to become a member.

THE SCREENWRITING EXPO, OCT 7-10, 2010, IS.....

120+ seminars and classes...Guests of Honor...plus this year we're inviting producers and agents as our special guests just so they'll mingle with you.

FROM $300 LEFT TO HIS NAME TO $110 MILLION AT THE BOX OFFICE

Do not miss this exciting presentation: this writer gave up a comfortable movie executive job to become a screenwriter. He worked at it day and night. He used up his savings. He was down to his last $300 and desperate. And then ...

No, he did NOT use connections or get lucky. He broke in by doing something you could have thought of yourself, and that you could do from home whether you live under the shadow of a studio or off in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. And $110 million at the box office later, this multiple-major-movie writer is coming to the Expo to tell you how he made it in Hollywood. How YOU can if your work is good.

MARKETING YOURSELF AND YOUR SCREENPLAYS–THE STEP-BY-STEP COURSE

Speaking of how to break in: for the very first time, the Expo will present a three-hour course on how to market your screenplay, by legendary live-online screenwriting teacher Hal Croasmun. And always, the Screenwriting Expo is THE place to choose from 100 screenwriting classes, talk to Hollywood's top screenwriters, pitch your scripts at the Golden Pitch, and network with other writers.

wga west upcoming events

WRITERS ON GENRE


Thursdays, 7/8-7/29, 7:30 p.m. - WGAW 2nd Floor.
(800) 838-3006 

Writers talk about genre:

Horror (7/8)
Drama and True Stories (7/15)
Sci-Fi & Fantasy (7/22)
Comedy/Romantic Comedy (7/29)

Speakers include Mark Fergus, Scott Frank, Andrea Berloff, Scott Kosar, Adam Mazer, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, Nicholas Meyer, David Hayter, Dan Petrie, Jr., Gavin Scott, Nicholas Stoller, Wesley Strick, Kurt Wimmer and more.

$20

WRITING FOR TELEVISION 2010: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Saturday, 7/31, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. - WGAW 2nd Floor.
(800) 838-3006 
 
An all-day seminar devoted to writing for television in a changing world. Speakers will include writers, agents, and executives. Includes light breakfast, lunch, and evening wine & cheese mixer.
 
$150.
 
Info & tickets -- click on title above.

upcoming july deadlines

DEADLINES


July 10

The Rencontres Internationales, which will take place in Paris from November 25 to December 4, is calling for entries from artists and organizations working in film, video, and multimedia. The event aims to reflect the convergences of artistic practices between new cinema and contemporary art, and explore emerging media art practices and their critical purposes. Projects selected will be on view during the similar programs that will take place in Madrid in April 2011 and in Berlin in July 2011. Artists and filmmakers of all levels of experience are encouraged to apply.

July 12

Cinereach’s Reach Film Fellowship is a specialized program for early-career filmmakers who create artful, socially relevant short films of five to 15 minutes long. Four filmmakers are selected every year to receive a $5,000 grant, production support, seven months of mentorship, career advising, and industry exposure as they progress through the production and postproduction processes and prepare for festival submission and distribution. Applicants must have completed at least one short film and live in or near New York City during the course of the Fellowship cycle. More information and application forms can be found by clicking the title above.

July 15

The Experimental Television Center is now accepting applications for residencies between September 2010 and January 2011. The Residency supports contemporary electronic media art projects by offering recipients a studio workshop with access to an image processing system, intensive individualized instruction, and time for exploration and creative growth. Artists have an opportunity to study the processes and techniques of analog and digital imaging and then use the system independently to create new work. Participating artists have complete aesthetic and technical control over all aspects of production. To find out more about the Center’s equipment and to see application guidelines, click title.

July 15

The Times Square Alliance seeks letters of interest from arts organizations and artists across disciplines to present contemporary art projects and art events in public spaces in and around Times Square. In a one-page letter, applicants can propose a single project or series for anytime from September 2010 to December 2012. Artists and arts organizations are encouraged to propose projects that address the nature and history of Times Square. Projects should be able to have an impact in a space defined by dynamic activity and continuous, competing visual stimuli. Proposal letters should not exceed 500 words and applications should include organization history or artist résumé plus five images of relevant past work. Applicants with accepted proposals will be invited to enter a dialogue with the Times Square Alliance. For submission guidelines, click title above.

July 15

The Bard Fiction Prize is awarded to an emerging writer who is an American citizen, 39-years-old or younger at the time of application. In addition to a $30,000 monetary award, the winner receives an appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College for one semester, without the expectation that he or she teach traditional courses. The recipient is asked to give at least one public lecture and meet informally with students. To apply, candidates should write a cover letter explaining the project they plan to work on while at Bard and submit a CV, along with three copies of the published book they feel best represents their work. No manuscripts will be accepted. For more information, click on above title.

July 22

The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) is now accepting applications for its Swing Space residency program which provides studio space at LMCC’s Arts Center on Governors Island, and rehearsal space at The Vaults at 14 Wall Street. Studio space residencies will take place in five-month sessions between March and December 2011. Rehearsal space residencies will last six months, occurring November 1, 2010 to October 31, 2011. An information session will take place July 8 at The Vaults at 14 Wall Street. LMCC staff will review the application guidelines and project categories, and answer questions about the selection and placement process. For more information on the application process or the information sessions, click on title above.

subsidiary rights back in the hands of artists

the new york musical theater festival has relented. the org will omit a proposed clause from its new contract that would give the fest subsidiary rights on shows that premiere at the annual event in new york.

a victory for the dramatists guild.

read the full article at variety - click on title above.

fox diversity is due today

if you're submitting your original pilot to fox for consideration by the diversity program, today is the day. get yourself to the post office pronto!

for more info, click the title.

storyboard tv

Storyboard TV, an online community of scriptwriters, producers, and tv enthusiasts, has launched its website with a script competition awarding $5,000 to the writer with the best pilot for a television drama. Submissions will be accepted through March 31, 2010. Please visit www.storyboardtv.com to enter.

At storyboardtv.com, writers can share scripts for original shows with their potential audience members, while soliciting feedback and gauging enthusiasm for their story. Membership to Storyboard TV is free and open to all, and all members will be able to read, critique, and vote on their favorite pilots.

Storyboard TV believes in the power of the television drama to document, enhance, and transform people's lives. Established in 2009, Storyboard TV endeavors to cultivate new writers and TV scripts, to nurture the connection between the scriptwriter and the fan, and to shepherd new television drama into production during the Internet age.

attention tv writers

LEGAL NOTICE

If you are age 40 or over and wrote or were interested in writing for television, a proposed settlement may affect your rights.

Seventeen television networks and studios and seven talent agencies have agreed, subject to Court approval, to settle age discrimination allegations in connection with the hiring and representation of television writers age 40 or over, in nineteen separate class action lawsuits, for a collective payment of $70,000,000 Insurance carriers are paying approximately two-thirds of the settlement amount. If you qualify, you may send in a claim form to get benefits and may comment on or object to the settlement. If you do not want to be part of the settlement, you can exclude yourself.

Who's Included?

The settlement defines two classes (a) persons age 40 or over who have previously written for television, and (b) other persons age 40 or over who have been interested in writing for television. There are various qualifications and exclusions. If you believe that you may be a settlement class member, you can get more information, including a detailed notice, at the websites or telephone numbers below.

What's This About?

The separate lawsuits all claim that the networks, studios and talent agencies discriminate on the basis of age in their employment and representation decisions. The defendants (including ABC, APA, Carsey-Werner, CBS, Columbia TriStar Television, Inc., DW SKG TV LLC, formerly known as DreamWorks SKG TV LLC, Fox, NBC Universal, Paradigm, Shapiro-Lichtman, Sony Pictures Television Inc., Spelling Television, The Gersh Agency, The Endeavor Agency, The WB Television Network, Touchstone Television, TriStar Television, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, UTA, Warner Bros. Television, William Morris Agency, and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC) deny that they discriminate, but believe it makes sense to end the litigation, which has been pending since 2000. The Court did not decide which side was right.

What does the Settlement Provide?

Of the $70 million settlement, the lawyers representing Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class (Class Counsel) estimate that about $43 million will be used to pay awards to Settlement Class Members, pay taxes on those awards, fund activities beneficial to the Settlement Class Members, and fund certain reserves required under the Settlement. One-third of the Settlement will be used to pay Class Counsel's court-approved contingent fee award. The remaining 6.7% will be used to pay and reimburse expenses related to litigation of the claims and notice and administration of this Settlement. Part of that expense portion will be contributed to fund programs for Settlement Class Members.

The share of the fund that each eligible claimant receives will be based on a formula that, once devised, will be submitted to the Court for approval. It will consider many factors, including your income from and qualifications for television writing.

How do you Ask for a Payment?

To qualify for a payment, you must submit a claim form. Call or visit a website below to get one. Claim forms are due by April 13, 2010.

What are your Other Options?

If you stay in the class, you may comment on the settlement by April 14, 2010. To preserve your right to sue any of the defendants yourself for past alleged age discrimination, you must exclude yourself by April 8, 2010. If you exclude yourself, you can

t get money from the settlement. The detailed notice explains how to exclude yourself or comment. If you do nothing, you will not receive a payment, but you will still give up any right you may have to sue defendants or their affiliates and certain others about alleged age discrimination that occurred prior to January 22, 2010.

The Court will hold a hearing in these cases, which is currently scheduled for May 5, 2010, (but which may be rescheduled) to consider whether to finally approve the settlement and the request for attorneys fees and costs. You may ask to speak at the hearing.

Can I consult with Class Counsel?

Yes. To consult with Class Counsel (led by Paul Sprenger of Washington DC), at no charge, contact them at the number or website below, or email them at questions@TVWritersCounsel.com. All communications with Class Counsel are confidential and privileged.

Claims Administrator: www.TVWritersSettlementAdmin.com 1-888-730-7198
Class Counsel: www.TVWritersCounsel.com 1-877-518-7090

short play festival

Submissions invited for the Claire Donaldson 8 in 48 Short Play Festival

Augustana College (SD) and The Great Plains Dramatist Exchange seek submissions for the Claire Donaldson 8 in 48 Short Play Festival. Submissions are accepted from January 15, 2010 to May 15, 2010. Eight ten-minute plays will be selected by a national panel of selectors; winners are notified by June 15, 2010. A scholarship and cash prizes are offered. This festival is founded in honor of the late Claire M. Donaldson. Ms. Donaldson was a 2000 Augustana College graduate passionate about the art of playwriting.

Julia Bennett, Augustana Theatre Faculty and Co-Producer, says, "The 8 in 48 is an outstanding opportunity for us to honor Claire while supporting the development of new short plays. Producing eight plays in forty-eight hours is a challenging and exciting artistic event. Our community loves to see the new works and our students mark it as a highlight in their college careers." Heidi Sue Meyer, Festival Coordinator and Augustana College Alumna, adds, "As a playwright, I was eager to create a supportive environment for young playwrights in our state. The Festival continues to offer that possibility."

All submissions must be previously unproduced, 10 minutes or less in length, and can focus on any topic or genre. No more than two submissions per playwright, please. Submissions by electronic attachment are encouraged. Winning selections will be mounted during the 8 in 48 Festival on September 18, 2010 at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A call for Festival directors, designers, and actors will go out March 1, 2010. Augustana's community and alumni are strongly encouraged to participate. All interested individuals are invited to bring their talents to this unique opportunity. For more information regarding the Festival, contact Julia Bennett at julia.bennett@augie.edu

Direct any submission inquiries to Heidi S. Meyer at haleyhayworth@hotmail.com

Send all submissions to:


Electronic: haleyhayworth@hotmail.com

Subject: 8 in 48 Submission

Ground: Augustana College Theatre – 8 in 48

2001 S. Summit Ave

Sioux Falls, SD 57197

playwriting contests

PREMIERE STAGES at KEAN UNIVERSITY
DEADLINE: JAN 15
Seeks submissions to the 6th annual Premiere Play Festival. Winner awarded $2,000 and a fully produced Equity production in 2010 season. Runner-up receives $750 and an Equity workshop in June; 2nd runner-up receives $500. Premiere Stages hosts public readings of all three finalists in March. FOR MORE INFO: kean.edu/premierestages.

INTERACT THEATRE COMPANY
DEADLINE: JAN 15
Seeks submissions for their 20/20 Commissions project, an ambitious initiative that will award 20 new play commissions and development grants over six seasons. Development Awards will be $2,500, while New Play Commissions will range from $5,000 - $10,000. InterAct will accept proposals on an annual basis. FOR MORE INFO: www.interacttheatre.org

submissions requested

2010 New Works Fest
The Seven: Hidden Agendas
June 17- 20, 2010

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: www.fusionabq.org/TheSevenSubmissions.htm

• 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.

Free!!!

Russell Banks, Atom Egoyan and the Scripting of Time
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Location: Bovard Auditorium, USC make reservations »

Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Invite you and a guest to a special evening with

Russell Banks, Atom Egoyan and the Scripting of Time

7:00 P.M. on Monday, November 23rd
Bovard Auditorium, USC Campus
Admission is free.
RSVP online at www.usc.edu/esvp
(code: cc1123)

ABOUT THE EVENT

Russell Banks is a critically acclaimed author whose work has received numerous international prizes and awards. His dazzling novels include The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction, Cloudsplitter, Continental Drift and Rule of the Bone. Atom Egoyan is one of today's most remarkable independent filmmakers. His spectacular films include his stunning adaptation of The Sweet Hereafter as well as Calendar, Exotica and Ararat. Both Banks and Egoyan powerfully explore themes of tragedy, humanity, alienation and memory in their work.

This event will bring these two geniuses together for a provocative conversation about the treachery of memory and how we learn, forget and lie in time.

Organized by the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Email Address: visionsandvoices@usc.edu

tv movie contest

ION Television is partnering with the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) on a screenplay writing contest dubbed Act I: The ION Television Movie Contest. Dramatic screenwriters will have the chance to win a development deal for a TV movie on ION Television with their original drama script.

To enter the contest, writers must submit a movie treatment (5-10 pages) and the first act of their screenplay (20 to 40 pages). The deadline for entry is November 30, 2009. Visit www.nytvf.com and www.iontelevision.com for more information.

jobs in tv

WRIT/PROD ON AIR PROMOS/truTV/NYC: 3+yrs writ/prod exp. OnAirPromos/TV/Adv, Strng concept & writing abilities, Edit A+, Knwldge of truTV brand EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply online via www.turnerjobs.com Req#114319 (10/6)

WRITING YOUR RELIGION

WHAT IT IS: A six-week workshop that uses writing exercises and class discussion to help you explore, define, and most importantly write about religion and/or spirituality. The emphasis is on tolerance, support, and intellectual inquiry. The goal is to help you create a particular piece.

WHAT IT IS NOT: An attempt to indoctrinate or proselytize for any particular religion (or religion at all, for that matter).

WHO IT IS FOR: Writers of any genre, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, film, and TV. Writers looking to delve into their own faith (or lack thereof). Writers looking to create or finish a piece with a religious theme.

THE DETAILS: Wednesday evenings, 10/7 to 11/11, 7-9pm, at the Brewery in downtown L.A. Cost: $350. For more information call Gordon at 917-513-9009 or write to writingyourreligion@gmail.com

ABOUT THE TEACHER: Gordon Haber's fiction, criticism, and journalism has appeared in The Forward, Killing the Buddha, Zeek, the Nebraska Review, and Heeb Magazine. Gordon has taught writing at Columbia University, LaGuardia College, and NYU. In addition to an MFA from Columbia University, his awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, a Pushcart Nomination, and a residency at the MacDowell Colony.

sundance: two new labs for theatre

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE THEATRE PROGRAM ANNOUNCES
TWO NEW ARTIST LABS TO BE HELD IN 2010 AT
MASSACHUSETTS MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (MASS MOCA)
AND NEW YORK’S GOVERNORS ISLAND

Announces Call for Entries: Theatre Lab at Mass MoCA (March 28-April 11, 2010)

Theatre Lab on Governor's Island (May 23-June 6, 2010);

New Deadline for All Submissions is October 12, 2009

Los Angeles — Sundance Institute announced today the expansion of its Theatre Program with two new labs: the first to be held at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMoCA) from March 28-April 11, 2010, and the second to be held on New York’s Governors Island from May 23-June 6, 2010. The labs are two-week developmental retreats designed to provide private, creative environments for playwrights, directors, composers and librettists to devise new work with the support of dramaturgs and full casts. Participants will be chosen from an open submission process. The Program is interested in both established and emerging theatre artists, as well as artists making a transition from areas outside of theatre. Artists are encouraged to apply quickly; the deadline for submissions is October 12, 2009. These two labs will temporarily replace the annual Sundance Theatre Lab, held in Utah each July, while upgrades and construction take place at the Sundance Resort. Visit www.sundance.org/theatre for full submission details.

"We are thrilled to expand the Sundance Institute Theatre Program to these unique environments," said Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director, Sundance Institute Theatre Program." Sundance Institute labs provide a crucible for innovative developmental work. They are more than a place to “rehearse"; they are environments that encourage and support risk-taking, experimentation, and rigorous re-writing and re-imagining. MassMoca and Governor’s Island both provide a connection with nature, which is integral to our view of nurturing the creative process, and both have been generous with their resources and rehearsal space – critical gifts during this economic climate. We are thrilled and grateful that these venues will allow us to continue our 33 years of supporting theatre artists while our home base in Sundance, Utah undergoes some vital renovations.”

Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at Mass MoCA

North Adams, Massachusetts
March 28-April 11, 2010

This is a new, two-week development retreat for theatre artists held at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, ranked among the most visited institutions in the United States dedicated to new art. Since opening in 1999, MassMoCA has become one of the world's premier centers for making and showing the best art of our time. More than 80 major new works of art and more than 50 performances have been created through fabrication and rehearsal residencies in North Adams. The Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at Mass MoCA offers an opportunity and process for an independent-minded community of artists to engage with their work, ask questions, build text and take risks.

Sundance Institute Theatre Lab on Governors Island
May 23-June 6, 2010
The Sundance Institute Theatre Program is honored to be selected as the first theatre group to use the Island. This is a new, two-week development retreat for theatre artists held on and in collaboration with New York's Governors Island Preservation & Education Corporation. The Theatre Lab on Governors Island will provide a creative environment (artsists will take a short ferry ride to the island daily from the Battery Maritime Building at the southern tip of Manhattan) for playwrights, directors, composers and librettists to develop new work with the full support of dramaturgs and full casts. This lab will celebrate the diversity and rich resources of New York Harbor while providing a protective canopy of private time and space in which to create.

ELIGIBILITY
The Sundance Institute Theatre Program welcomes applications for projects at any stage of development. Submitted work cannot have been previously produced, but may have received prior labs or readings. In addition, projects scheduled to receive a production before July 11, 2010 (Mass MoCA Lab) and September 6, 2010 (Governors Island Lab), are not eligible. Commissioned work is eligible for submission.

Playwrights, directors, composers, ensembles, performance artists or choreographers may submit applications. Playwright/director teams are permitted and encouraged to apply together; however, because many emerging playwrights do not have access to a director, Sundance Institute is positioned to match these artists with an experienced director.

Participants must be available for the entire length of each lab. Artists can only submit one application. Previous applicants may re-apply, but not with previously submitted material.

PROJECT SELECTION
Through open submissions, Sundance Institute Theatre Program considers an estimated 600 projects. Each full-time Fellow (playwright, director, and collaborator) receives a $500 honorarium and company of actors (if applicable), selected by Sundance Institute in collaboration with the Fellows, to support their project. It provides professional actors, dramaturges and playwrights rehearsal space and stage management for the collaborative team working on each project. At the end of each lab, projects will culminate in an informal presentation for the community only, followed by a feedback session with Sundance artistic staff and guest Creative Advisors. Actors are selected for their professionalism, versatility and suitability for the development process. Actors operate on a Special Agreement with Actors’ Equity Association during the Theatre Labs.

Sundance Institute Theatre Program

Through its developmental activities at the Sundance Institute Playwright’s Retreat at Ucross, the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at White Oak, Sundance Institute East Africa,and two new pilot theatre programs at Mass MoCA and Governors Island, The Sundance Institute Theatre Program identifies and assists emerging theatre artists, contributes to the creative growth of established artists, and encourages and supports the development of new work for the stage. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg, more than 85% of the work coming out of the Program’s labs has found professional production at theatres across the United States, Mexico and Europe. Recent productions of Sundance-developed work include: Passing Strange by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, which won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and Grey Gardens by Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie.

Sundance Institute

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a not-for-profit organization that fosters the development of original storytelling in film and theatre, and presents the annual Sundance Film Festival. Internationally recognized for its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Angels in America, Spring Awakening, Boys Don't Cry, Sin Nombre, Born into Brothels and Trouble the Water. www.sundance.org.

hotINK 2010

Deadline: September 1, 2009

hotINK is an annual festival of plays, presented at the Tisch School of the Arts by the Department of Drama which has featured the work of writers from 17 countries. hotINK brings together playwrights from around the world with distinguished actors and directors from the New York theatre, as well as students, alumni and faculty from the Tisch School of the Arts. All scripts must be submitted in English.


FOR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: www.hotink.org

New Dramatists

Deadline: September 15, 2009

New Dramatists accepts writers for free seven-year residencies, during which they’re given access to the full range of services, including writer-driven new play development workshops, international theatre exchanges, free copying, free theatre tickets, writing space, retreats, temporary lodging, and numerous opportunities and community activities.

FOR APPLICATION GUIDELINES: www.newdramatists.org

Southern Rep Calls for Play Submissions

New 10-Minutes Plays to be Highlighted in Southern Reps 2009/10 Season

New Orleans Southern Rep calls on Southern writers to submit bold new ten minute plays for the SOUTHERN REP NEW PLAY RIOT by October 1, 2009 for readings, production or broadcast during the 2009/10 Season. As New Orleans premiere professional theatre, Southern Rep continues its mission of finding, developing and producing outstanding original theatre with the RIOT. The competition-based NEW PLAY RIOT promises to showcase the new work of some of the Southern Gulf Coasts most exciting playwrights, both established and emerging.

Playwrights should go to www.southernrep.com for the NEW PLAY RIOT guidelines. The RIOT competition is open to playwrights native to or a resident of The Gulf Coast South, defined as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas. Deadline for submissions is October 1, 2009 at midnight. Electronic submissions only. Questions and submissions should be sent via email only to newplayriot@southernrep.com

With this new Season, Southern Rep enjoys its 23rd triumphant year of developing and producing bold new plays, providing SRTs audience with professional theatre of the highest artistic quality and achievement, and establishing a creative working environment that nurtures theatre professionals. As New Orleans premiere professional theatre, Southern Rep strives to use the artistry of theatre to enlighten, educate, and entertain audiences, and aims to extend that service through educational and outreach programs.