Mom. Playwright.

A challenge to write 31 plays in 31 days? And it’s been issued by Rachel Bublitz and Tracy Held Potter, two mom playwrights?

Why yes, I think I will.

Perhaps it’s time to brush the dust off the old blog, freshen it up a bit and get writing again. After all, the children are three years older now…

How about you? Are you up for the challenge?

The 31 Plays in 31 Days project is an opportunity for playwrights to flex their writing muscles by pledging to write an original play every day in August 2012. Participating writers will join an online community of other playwrights and those who successfully create 31 plays will be invited to submit their work for our online reading production.

Register here.

Thanks, Ladies!

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The 6 Women Playwriting Festival has announced its ten-minute playwriting contest exploring the theme “MIXED EMOTIONS.”

This fourth annual women’s playwriting festival is sponsored by The Pikes Peak Arts Council, The Pikes Peak Library District and Manitou Arts Theatre (MAT). The festival will be held April 2010, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Read the rest of this entry »

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If you’ve been following this blog for a little while, you know I’ve been participating in a playwriting workshop over this past month. In the midst of what turned out to be unexpected and extreme circumstances with my husband being called to NY (we’ll be reunited this Saturday–yea!), I managed to learn much about myself as a mom and a writer through the creation of my 10-minute play, Emancipation Evacuation, that had a public reading this past Sunday evening. I’m still flying high over the positive reception it received, and I’m forever grateful to fab actors Jo Howarth, Megan Hayes and Theroun Patterson (find them on Facebook!) for giving voice to my words. What a gut-wrenching, educational process!

Having just come through this workshop experience, I was more than interested in the From the Desk of … column from Gary Garrison in the Sept/Oct 2008 education issue of The Dramatist. As mom playwrights, we don’t often have the luxury of time to take writing classes or participate in workshops. So if and when we make the decision to do so, it’s important that we choose wisely among the myriad of offerings out there for maximum return. I would invite you to get a copy of the journal to read completely the checklist advice Mr. Garrison offers, but here are the fundamental questions he suggests you get the answers to as the basis of your litmus test:

What is the real “what/why” of your studying?

Who is teaching?

How many students are in each class?

What is the tone of the workshop and how is it taught?

And, once you’re enrolled, is the class working for you?

Seemingly simple questions, but the depth comes in the subquestions they birth, and what you decide to do with the subsequent answers.

I’m now post-evaluating the workshop I just completed with Mr. Garrison’s questions. The answers are giving me valuable feedback to share with the facilitators. I believe it will be appreciated. I just love the serendipity of full circle moments.

Thanks, Gary!  And “Happy Getting Educated” to you, mom playwright!

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Busy, busy, busy. Running, running, running. Writing, writing, writing.

This past weekend, en route to the Alliance Theatre to see and review Gem of the Ocean, I talked with my friend Theresa about how quickly it seems 2008 has flown by. We agreed how much we’d love to find the time for a brief Mommy respite–a chance to inhale and exhale before being steamrolled into the it’ll-be-here-before-we-know-it holiday season.

I’m still in that mode of thinking, which may be why I was led to discover this online piece written by Sue Frause for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog about Hedgebrook.

Hedgebrook is a 48-acre writers’ retreat for women nestled on Whidbey Island, found thirty-five miles northwest of Seattle, Washington, facing Puget Sound. For the last 20 years, women writers the world over of diverse ages, ethnicities, levels of experience and genre interests have spent time at Hedgebrook to relax, relate and release their writing out into the world–or at the very least onto the page.

I devoured the information on their website, and learned that among other activities and programs, they’ve held an annual Women Playwrights Festival. Hmm…

See the details for yourself. If you dream of even just 2 weeks away from your life as you know it, why not complete an application to be competitively considered for a residency at Hedgebrook in 2009. Mark your calendar–the postmark deadline is September 25, 2008.

And even if travel to Hedgebrook isn’t in the cards for you right now, you can see about sampling where their custom Yakima Valley red wine, Hedgebrook Cedar Deep, can take you. Produced by Whidbey Island Vineyards and Winery, a glass of this vino and a bubble bath may be all that’s needed to induce, “Ahhh….”. Sue says the label on the bottle reads it’s a place “where a writer can go to be still, draw from the creative force of nature and let her thoughts loosen and take flight.”

Cheers, Hedgebrook!

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Like many Americans, I have been seeking information and reactions about the Republican party pick for U.S. Vice President, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. As a matter of fact, it has scarily become a little obsessive.

So while I try to extract myself from the fray, check out these non-partisan details about the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, a gathering of playwrights, actors, directors and theatre enthusiasts from the world over that takes places annually in Palin’s fair state–specifically in the city of Valdez. The 17th Annual Conference is scheduled for June 13-20, 2009.

By all accounts, the Conference’s approval rating among past attendees is high, what with all its fabled master classes, panel discussions, evening shows and post-show receptions.

Like the fate of Palin’s VP quest, how the Last Frontier Theatre Conference 2009 will shake out remains to be seen, as the conference schedule is still in the planning stages. Hence registration links aren’t yet live, nor are the Play Lab selections and featured artists yet named.

But the LFTC website suggests that playwrights get on Gary Garrison’s mailing list to stay in The Loop. I did some months ago, and unlike what’s playing out in this U.S. presidential election year, the decision that it was a good choice is uncontested.

Have any of you readers been to the Last Frontier Theatre Conference? Does it get your vote? Leave a comment below.

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Well, actually, they’re giving all playwrights the following opportunity, but I can image how classic some entries would be with a mom playwright’s perspective. What do you think? Do you want to accept the writing challenge of the September 1st deadline?

RIVERSIDE THEATRE ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER 1ST DEADLINE FOR MONOLOGUE SUBMISSIONS TO WALKING THE WIRE: MONOLOGUES AT RIVERSIDE

Iowa City, IA – Riverside Theatre invites playwrights to submit monologues for performance in Walking the Wire: Monologues at Riverside. This Tenth Anniversary celebration of original work features monologues of ten minutes or less by both established and up-and-coming playwrights. The focus for this season’s monologues is: FOOD. Submissions must be postmarked September 1, 2008 or emailed as a Word document and dated by midnight September 1; final selections will be announced no later than October 31. The
monologues will be performed March 5-8, 2009 at Riverside Theatre.

Submission Guidelines:

1. Riverside Theatre is seeking original monologues surrounding one of our favorite obsessions . . . food! The quiche the dog ate? A holiday cooking fiasco? If you love Mama, you’ll eat another piece of pie? Why, there’s more possibilities than a 50-foot salad bar!

2. Up to two submissions per author of original, unpublished and unproduced monologues (may be dramatic character or personal memoir) less than ten minutes length (please read it aloud to be certain and include the approximate performance time on the first page of your submission; all lengths of up to ten minutes will be considered, with the objective of choosing monologues of varying lengths). The copy must be easy to read: double spaced in a minimum 12 pt. font, and should include the playwright’s name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.

3. Simple is best. Since “Walking the Wire” typically includes a large number of monologues, it is important that each one require as little production as possible; set-pieces, props, or effects needing set-up, strike, or special technical support may disqualify an otherwise excellent submission.

4. The POSTMARK deadline for submissions is September 1, 2008. Email submissions (Word document attachment) must be dated by midnight September 1. Final selections will be made by October 31, 2009, and posted on Riverside Theatre’s website, www.riversidetheatre.org.

5. Writers will be credited in all marketing and playbill materials; no royalties will be paid for performance. Monologues will be individually rehearsed and coached by the director until the week of the performance when the entire company will rehearse at Riverside Theatre. Area playwrights may perform their own work if available for rehearsal, or may include the name of an actor interested in performing the monologue, although neither is required. Walking the Wire will be produced March 5-8, 2009.

6. Submissions should be mailed to:

Riverside Theatre
Jody Hovland, Artistic Director
Walking the Wire submission
213 N. Gilbert Street
Iowa City, IA 52245

For guideline questions, please contact Jody Hovland, artistic@riversidetheatre.org.

Jody is also a mom, who knows a little something about balancing theatre and family. Read her and her husband’s story here.

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