Dramatist Guild acts against submission fees

Hooray, hooray, hooray!
as Gary says, "it’s a spirit issue: it’s demeaning"

Dramatist Guild Steps Up to the Plate!

FRom DG Newsletter!

As of today, the Guild will no longer publicize calls for
submissions that have a fee attached unless that fee is transparent
(where does the money go and to whom) in the description to the
reader. The subtext: it is not okay to charge a dramatist a fee to
supplement a theatre or producer’s production opportunity. YOUR ART
IS FEE ENOUGH!
I know all the arguments of why some theatres and producers
position that they must charge fees: “We couldn’t afford to produce
the event if we didn’t charge a fee. We have to hire readers. We
have to publicize the event. We have to pay the actors and
directors. We have to offer prize money . . .” I understand that,
but theatres and producers are doing that on the backs of people
that are more poor than they are! What?! On average, dramatists
spend ten dollars to submit a play or musical anywhere in this
country: printing, copying, postage, return postage, binders,
envelopes. If a theatre or producer tacks on an additional $10, $15
or $30 fee, one submission now costs anywhere from $20-50, with no
guarantees that anything will come of it. And yes, I know: there
are no guarantees for anyone in the theatre. But all too often this
feels like, “we’re not going to guarantee you anything, AND we’re
going to charge you for the privilege of that, AND you’ll probably
never hear from us, AND don’t expect any kind of critical reaction
to your material, AND don’t expect notification of who, in fact,
was chosen.” And if it’s not a money issue then it’s a spirit
issue: it’s demeaning enough to submit your work to theatres and
producers that you never hear from. To pay someone for their
silence is too much to ask anyone...... we will no longer list an opportunity that requires you pay a fee to be considered for inclusion.

Enough is enough.

Gary Garrison, DG

Coming to Wellesley March 3rd

I'll be acting with June Lewin in Gail Phaneuf's "New Tricks"

Celebration of Women's Voices Festival
Features Platform Members at Wellesley College,
March 3, 2007, 7 p.m.

Eight Playwrights' Platform members will have plays featured in the "Celebration of Women's Voices Festival," hosted by Wellesley Summer Theatre, in the Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre, March 3, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

This evening of staged readings is part of the Internatonal Center for Women Playwrights', month-long presentation of Boston-area women's plays celebrating International Women's Day March 8. Featured playwrights include: Ludmilla Anselm (Three Friends), Marika Barnett (Chekhov and Pinter Take a Pause), Kelly DuMar (Clay), Hortense Gerardo (The Dress Rehearsal), Holly Jensen (an excerpt from Stripped), Gail Phaneuf (New Tricks), Regina Eliot Ramsay (The Perfect Stranger), and Phyllis Rittner (Breeding Season).

Following the plays, Nora Hussey, head of the theatre department at Wellesley College and Artistic Director of the Wellesley Summer Theatre, will moderate a panel discussion with Boston-area directors to discuss the plays and explore how the theatrical culture can be influenced to be more receptive to producing plays by women. Featured directors include: Michelle Aguillon (Hovey Players), Jerry Bisantz (Playwrights' Platform/Image Theater), Rose Carlson (Executive Director, Devanaughn Theatre), Lisa Rafferty (Freelance Director and Producer/MOMologues Productions) and Nancy Curran Willis (formerly with Gloucester Stage Company & Boston Theatre Works).

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served from 7:00 until 7:30 when the readings begin. The Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre is on the lower level of Alumnae Hall and is wheelchair accessible. There is ample free parking in the Davis covered parking structure adjacent to the theatre. Reservations are not necessary.

Celebrations Coming Up! March is Women's Month

Women Playwrights in the Spotlight during March 2007

OVERVIEW: The International Centre for Women Playwrights, (ICWP) dedicated to increasing the attention paid to women's lives and women's voices on stages across the world, is sponsoring a series of Celebrations in March during Women's History Month Along with play readings in New York City and Bucharest, there will be five ICWP sponsored Celebrations held in the Boston area between March 3 and March 15. The ICWP held a previous Woman Playwrights event here: Boston Her-Rah!2003. Currently only 16% of plays produced in the USA are written by women, though they now make up the majority of the students in play writing courses. Scripts in hand, women are knocking on stage doors everywhere!

PLAYWRIGHTS: Boston-area writers featured during March celebrations include: Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro, Ludmilla Anselm, Marika Barnett, Leslie Dillen, Kelly DuMar, Rae Edelson, Deborah Fortson, Beverly Scott Gidron, Kirsten Greenridge, Hortense Gerardo, Laura Harrington, Geralyn Horton, Holly Jensen, Ginger Lazarus, Amy Merrill, Jacqui Parker, Gail Phaneuf, Regina Eliot Ramsay, Monica Raymond, Phyllis Rittner, Lois Roach, Lee Roscoe, Joyce Van Dyke, Cynthia Wands, Debra Wise, Eliza Wyatt., et. al. This sampling only skims the surface of the local pool of dedicated writers.

CELEBRATIONS: The Five ICWP sponsored events are:

1) Saturday March 3 7:00 pm "Celebration of Women's Voices" Festival
Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre at Wellesley College. Free.

Wellesley Summer Theatre hosts eight short plays by local women writers who are members of http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifPlaywrights' Platform. A get-acquainted reception at 7pm will be followed by staged readings at 7:30. At 9:15 Nora Hussey, head of the theatre department at Wellesley and Artistic Director of the WST, will moderate a panel discussion with Boston-area directors Michelle Aguillon, Jerry Bisantz, Rose Carlson, Lisa Rafferty, and Nancy Curran Willis.

CONTACT: Kelly DuMar
Web link Wellesley:
web link ICWP
web link

2) Thursday March 8, 7:00 pm, Celebration of Monologues by Women
Boston Playwrights' Theatre 949 Comm. Ave. Boston MA Free.

Joan Faber at the keyboard will provide a Musical Prologue as people gather; then MC Victoria Marsh will introduce some of Boston's best actors (e.g. Naheem Allah, Rena Baskin, Robert Bonotto, Nancy Carroll, Richard McElvain) and directors (e.g. Daniel Gidron, Ted Kazanoff, June Lewin) presenting 1-5 minute monologues by 16 local writers. This Celebration-- demonstrating the wealth of fresh material available to actors who reach out to use the work of their writing colleagues-- will be topped off by a post show Party.

CONTACTS: Rosanna Alfaro & Amy Merrill
Directions and Parking:

3) Saturday March 10, 10:00 am, WHM Celebration of Writing and Reading
Central Square Library, Pearl St. Cambridge, MA. Free.

A morning writers’ workshop on "Topical Theatre"-- using items clipped from the news, a dash of improvisation, and free wheeling free association-- will be followed at 11:30am by staged readings of short plays and scenes with a talkback. This event is a good opportunity for women who are interested in play writing but not connected with a group or theatre to come and make some connections.

CONTACT: Geralyn Horton

4) Saturday March 10, 6:00 pm, Women of Influence
Yamawaki Arts & Cultural Center, Lasell College, Newton MA , Inc. Free

"Women of Influence -- 23 artists consider the women who have shaped their lives", an interdisciplinary art event curated by Steve Fishcher, will open at 6 pm with a viewing of visual art and an artists' reception. The 7:30 production of "The Rosewater of Dona Felicidad" will be followed by a talkback with author and ICWP member Hortense Gerardo.

CONTACT: For more information and directions

5) Thursday March 15, 7 p.m. ICWP WHM Celebration of Women Playwrights
Brighton Branch, Boston Public Library. 40 Academy Hill Road, Brighton, MA. Free.

Readings of short plays and scenes by local women writers will be followed by a question and answer session with the authors and actors

CONTACTS: Library

PHOTOGRAPHS: Headshots of many of the writers whose work will be presented are available upon request. Above is a picture from Amy Merrill's reading at the previous ICWP event, Boston Her-Rah! 2003

Rosanna Alfaro & I will be going to ICWP/NYC!

Where I will perform an excerpt from Rosanna's "Martha Mitchell" Friday, March 23rd, at The Drama Bookshop (Arthur Seelen Theatre):

Here's the message:
On behalf of the N.Y. ICWP readings committee, I would like to thank you all for submitting your work for consideration in the ICWP Celebrates International Women's Day readings in New York City. We received 70 scripts from 30 member playwrights located in four different countries!
Every script we received was read blind (with no knowledge of the author's identity) and given careful attention by at least two readers (sometimes as many as five!)
Having received acceptances from all selected playwrights, we are now thrilled to announce the rosters!
Friday, March 9th, at The Dramatists Guild:

THE THERAPEUTIC HOUR by Guy Glass
WINDOWS by Judith Pratt
BLOOD SISTERS by Robin Rice Lichtig
SHORT-TERM AFFAIRS by Donna Spector
THE UNDERSTANDING by Rachel Rubin Ladutke
CALAMITY JANE SENDS A MESSAGE TO HER DAUGHTER by Carolyn Gage
THE MIRACULOUS DAY QUARTET by Mary Steelsmith
PIKE by Terri Febuary



Friday, March 23rd, at The Drama Bookshop (Arthur Seelen Theatre):

THE SOME OF ALL PARTS by Mrinalini Kamath
WHY D?YA MAKE ME WEAR THIS, JOE? by Vanda
CASUALTIES by Sandra Dempsey
HURRICANE IN A GLASS by Kimberly Pritchard
FLYING BLIND by Kathleen Warnock
OVERCHARGED BRICKS by Emily Cicchini
EVEN THE DIRT BLEEDS DOWN HERE by Carolyn Nur Wistrand
MARTHA MITCHELL by Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro


Readings will begin at 6:30 each evening, followed by a reception.

Please stay tuned for more details as they emerge. We hope to see you there!

Also, if anyone would like to offer help with publicity, organization, or other areas, please back-channel me. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and your support!

Rachel Rubin Ladutke

ICWP Celebrations in Boston March 2007

original "call" to ICWP list with some timely updates....

The International Women's Day or Women's History Month ICWP Celebrations in Boston March 2007

These will be mainly networking events: a chance for women playwrights to introduce themselves and present an attractive sample of their work: Short pieces! So that we get a critical mass to interact and a sense of the abundance of talent and the wide range of subjects and styles women writers have to offer. The work will be self-selected and self-produced by the writers. I'm not jurying, except in so far as I am inviting the women who participated successfully in the 2003 Her-Rah to be part of 2007. This isn't an event for testing new material, but for showing off a bit of the best that you have to your colleagues and theatre professionals. We had a wonderful time together in 2003, getting to know and admire each others' work and sharing contacts. I'm trusting that the Muse will smile on our endeavors this time too.


VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION: Boston Playwrights Theatre is donating space for an event Thursday March 8th that will focus on monologues for actors to use for auditions. Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro, who organized for ICWP in 2003, has taken responsibility for this. Some of Boston's best actors and directors have signed on, and the Playwrights Theatre will promote the idea of actors and acting teachers going directly to local women playwrights to get fresh unpublished material. There will be a directors/coaches panel led by Victoria Marsh, discussing how to choose and use monologues, and a network and smooze reception. The Theatre only seats 75, but is legal for 90 with standees -- we're hoping to use the lobby/greenroom for an after-show party that will include more actors/directors/playwrights than will fit into the event, but that is still at the wish stage. VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION by ICWP writers for whom it is impractical to be present will work like this: You snail me a packet of 100 copies (single or double sided) of a page that includes your contact info, tiny bio, description of your monologues and their availability, and a sample or 2 from your monologues that give a sense of your work in this genre; OR you email me the same info, edited to fit onto a single side-- simple txt formatting, please-- I'm a mac user and MSWord has a nasty way of gumming up my word processor programs-- and I will print out 100 copies on my laser printer. However these playwright-advertising pages come to me, I will collate them into packets to be offered to the directors and lit mgrs and actors who take part in this BPT/ICWP event. Any packets that are not claimed at the BPT will be taken to later ICWP events and offered to people there. Advertise!

PHYSICAL PARTICIPATION: If you are an ICWP member and you have some Boston-area connections and can be here for one of the events, please consider participating! I wouldn't encourage anyone to do so who does not already have some connections... Boston does not generally welcome or nurture playwrights. We're working on that here: there is a StageSource committee charged with setting up something for Boston that is modeled on the great work of Chicago Dramatists. Local theatre directors and literary managers will be invited to this event. Chances are, though, that they will NOT come unless someone they know personally is directly involved. But if you have had a play done in this area before, or an area theatre has expressed interest in your work and said something like "If you have something done nearby where I can see it, invite me" and you think that your participation could be a real networking opportunity, then do come! We can't produce for you, but we will assist in any way we can. Maybe the Boston person who is interested your play will be willing to direct the scene or short one act, and provide actors.

So far, there are 6 committed venues for these events, follows:

Kelly Du Mar, a member of Board of Playwrights' Platform and also a veteran of ICWP's Boston Her-Rah 2003, is organizing readings co-sponsored by Boston Playwrights Platform centered on Metro West women for Saturday March 3rd at Wellesley College. It includes a panel on the Wide World of Women Writers. Nora Hussey, head of Theatre at Wellesley, brought a fully mounted production to the ICWP/WPI conference in Galway Ireland, and produces a high proportion of women's work at her theatre, mostly Irish or English. She is the main producer of Polly Teale's work in the US. She will be joined on the panel by directors Nancy Curran Willis, Rose Carlson, and Jerry Bisantz.

ICWP member Hortense Gerardo is featured in an event that will showcase her one act "The Rosewater of Dona Felicidad", an allegorical play based on Dr. Faustus and the fall of Allende circa 1973, which will be performed as a form of object-based theater-- aka puppetry. There's also a women-themed gallery art show -- at Lasell College in Newton. Newton Community Cable will cover it as News. It is Saturday March 10th, and will have a reception with refreshments.

ICWP has secured the Central Square Library in Cambridge for events March 8th 6-9pm
and Sat March -10th "matinee" 10:30 am-2pm.
These are events for which I am hoping for more participants. Central Sq. is a funky diverse location, nestled between Harvard and MIT. You can see the space-- it will seat 70-90-- with bad sight lines-- on the ICWP web site under "Events 2003 Her-Rah". Two of the participants from 2003 have indicated that they want slots in the Sat. "Matinee". I am trying to recruit a sane dependable person to run Central Sq. Thurs eve, because I'll be acting a monologue from Rosanna Alfaro's Martha Mitchell at BPT and can't be in 2 places... Actress Ann Carpenter, who is in the Charlestown Working Theatre's production of ICWP member Jamie Pachino's "Race", is getting two of the CWT actors to reprise a scene from "Race" at Central Sq., probably on Thurs. the 8th.

The Brighton (Boston) Public Library just called to request ICWP Women's History Month readings in their 70 seat performance space on Thursday March 15th 7-9 pm. I queried them-- the Platform used to have play readings there-- last month, but the head Librarian was on vacation. She's back, and very enthusiastic. So this space is open for plays and scenes, and so far I have only 20 minutes of scenes to put in it!