Mom. Playwright.

If you’re a playwright in the metro Atlanta area, this post’s for you. If not, read anyway and consider relocating for a month.

I received the following email message in my inbox from Jill Patrick, Managing Artistic Director Extraordinaire of Working Title Playwrights, the premier play development group to which I belong (despite the absence of my name on the still-yet-to-be updated Affiliates page… I’m told it’s being worked on! ). The message was announcing THE KICK-ASS SERIES: ACT TWO–The Second Installment of a Gonzo Playwriting Workshop in Five Parts.

I participated in ACT ONE earlier this year, and I will be forever grateful for the experience. I highly recommend this workshop series to anyone who is serious about designing a playwriting life.

I’ve reserved my space. Will I see you in class? No matter if you didn’t attend the first installment–you can jump right in now. When you register, tell ‘em Lisa B. enthusiastically sent you!

Working Title Playwrights Presents

THE KICK-ASS SERIES: ACT TWO
The Second Installment of a
Gonzo Playwriting Workshop in Five Parts

With Pamela Turner and Hank Kimmel

• Consider your life…
• Now, consider your writing.

In both cases, you may be jumping ahead before you’re ready

With the first, you’re on your own, Baby, but with the second, We Can Help.

* The most common complaint expressed by theatres is that too many submissions are underdeveloped and/or full of deadly mistakes.

* Our remedy is applied over four consecutive work sessions and then a workshop reading.

* First, through writing exercises, group critique, and “example mentoring”, you will start and finish a 10-minute play. Instruction will focus on “the character’s journey” and will emphasize the unique “rules” for a 10-minute play. You will have reading assignments and writing assignments both in and outside of class time.

* Second, you will hear your play performed by professional actors in a public reading followed by a formal critique conducted by Pamela Turner, Hank Kimmel, and a guest reviewer.

The Course Sessions and 2008 Schedule

September 6, 1-4 pm Part I – SETTING SAIL – The idea
September 13, 1-4 pm Part II – THE CALL OF THE SIREN -The characters
September 20, 1-4 pm Part III – BEYOND THE HORIZON – The story
September 27, 1-4 pm Part IV – FINDING LAND – The structure
September 28, TBA Workshop Reading and Response

SPACE IS LIMITED!
COST: $175 PUBLIC/ $150 WTP MEMBERS
CALL 404.441.2716 or e-mail Managing@WorkingTitlePlaywrights.com
TO ASSURE YOUR SEAT TODAY!

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As an attorney turned stay-at-home mom in New Hampshire, Susan Chamberlin has traveled a path to playwriting with more dramatic twists and turns than even I can claim.

Thanks to Jeanné McCartin at Seacoast.com for her feature on Chamberlin. I’ve found yet another heroine for whom I’m cheering. Read it and be inspired.

If you’re in the Portsmouth, NH area this weekend, show support and see George and Bill are Friends and Lions and Hyenas–two of Chamberlin’s works appearing in Late Night Confessions II at The Players’ Ring–Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Go mom playwright Chamberlin, go!

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The Fund for Women Artists Theatre Funding Newsletter, Vol. #45 was made available today. Thanks, Carrie and Martha!

For a brief overview of the Fund, check out this 8-minute video. If you fancy yourself an artist, join the community! And don’t be afraid to toss a few dollars into the karma well.

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When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as child; but when I became a (wo)man, I put away childish things. I Corinthians 13:11

Inkubator, PlayPenn, the Cradle.

Funny how these words to me as a mom (when spelled correctly, not creatively) don’t seem so loaded. But as a playwright, I am intrigued by the point made that they are perhaps infantile and condescending when related to how new plays are regarded and developed. I’ve been chewing mightily on the read in yesterday’s Washington Post, “New Plays: The Coddling Can Be Constraining” written by Nelson Pressley.

As pointed out in the article, being a newbie to the playwriting world, I am interested in readings and workshops for my work.

However, having attended a number of play readings to support fellow playwrights, I know when my time comes, I will welcome other cooks into my kitchen, but be mindful to not let their contributions spoil the pot. There’s something to be said for taking things with a grain of salt–eating the fish and removing the bone…

Bottom line: as a playwright you’ll want to eventually be produced. You’ll want to leave your work open to the audience’s interpretation–in its produced form. Then everyone can have at it all they want.

I see both sides off the argument. Perhaps being a mom gives me the perspective that crawling is fine–in fact at 9 months old it’s a welcomed, celebrated feat. But if you’re still crawling at 4 years old and haven’t yet walked, there is cause for concern.

What do you think?

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Summer colds, unexpected South Carolina treks and a home improvement project have tipped the scales more toward “mom” than “playwright” these last couple of weeks. It’s all good. Such is life.

Shifting back into my groove today I had the pleasure of taking in readings of Psychology of Chromosome X and A Lovely Malfunction by Shontina Vernon, as a part of the National Black Arts Festival’s Discovery: A New Play Development Project.

Whew! I’m no prude, but there was a whole lot of sex talk goin’ on that got me to wondering how much I could handle as I questioned where I stood among the characters presented. I loved that! I enjoy being challenged and pushed to defend or further consider my stances and examine the root of their origins.

This is why I love and appreciate theatre–I grow from every encounter. Be sure to keep an eye out for Shontina Vernon’s work and dare to go bare.

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Thumbing through the latest issue of American Theatre, while the little ones napped, I noted the In Memorium column for late mom playwright (and actress) Oni Faida Lampley, written by (mom?) playwright Darci Picoult.

I was moved by its poignancy. It was clearly written by a friend who knew and loved Ms. Lampley, who lost a seemingly valiant battle against breast cancer. Though being new to the scene I’ve never personally experienced or encountered Ms. Lampley’s work, it is clear from the essay that she was a talented, witty and warm woman who touched many a life. Tough Titty, the story of a family facing cancer, was a work she wrote while dealing with her illness.

According the column, Ms. Lampley turned 49 on April 15, and died thirteen days later. The following day, a memorial was held at New Dramatists in New York, where family and friends packed the space and spilled out into the hallway. Her son spoke last after many and said, “My mom was the busiest lady I knew. She never stopped working.”

I couldn’t help but be simultaneously inspired and pained by his words. I know I want to do something to reach out to him, as my heart aches for him and his younger brother as they continue on in this life without the tangible presence of their mother.

So in the spirit of good mama karma, I intend to sow a seed into their lives, knowing in some way that their mom will appreciate it.

Click here for more details on Ms. Lampley’s life and the scholarship fund established for her sons Olu and Ade. Ask your mom playwright self what she might want to do with this information.

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I couldn’t keep from laughing at this ”news” clip on Onion News Network. In your high school days, which award might you have snagged?

High School Tony Awards Honor Nation’s Biggest Drama Club Nerds
 

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During these 24 hours of Independence Day celebration in the United States, it’s fitting to salute Mercy Otis Warren, the first female historian of the American Revolution and America’s first woman playwright.

You can read all about this wife, mother of five boys and playwright and her work in the biography, The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation, written by Nancy Rubin Stuart (who also knows a little something about theatre, the writing life and being a mom).

Read Ms. Stuart’s July 4th contribution to Beacon Broadside here, and learn more about Mercy, a fierce patriot and the original American mom playwright.

Have a happy and safe holiday!

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“someone fell in love with someone they weren’t supposed to . . .”

Now THAT’S a premise! And it’s central to Lydia R. Diamond’s Stick Fly, a play that explores issues of race and class.

Read more about her work and her mom playwright journey in this interview with Washington DC-based theatre critic Nelson Pressley, carried by The Shepherdstown Observer. Stick Fly is one of five plays that will be running at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, July 9-August 3.

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