Playwriting Competition

I am writing today to share with you that in 2016, the Adirondack Shakespeare Company is sponsoring its first annual Dramatic Writing Competition, encouraging the development of new works for the stage that explore the broad theme of mental illness.

The competition consists of two categories: Full-Length and Short/One-Act plays. The deadline for timely submissions is June 1, 2016. Late submissions will be accepted through July 1, 2016 but will incur an additional fee.

FULL-LENGTH
Prize: $1,000 and a staged reading of the piece by a cast of professional actors. Other finalists will receive $250 and a workshop of their piece with a producer and actors from the Company.
Recommended Length: 60-120 minutes.
Submission fee: $30 (covers a thorough and fair review of submissions by our panel of judges)
To submit, visit: https://adkshakes.submittable.com/submit/49703

SHORT/ONE-ACT
Prize: $500 and a staged reading of the piece by a cast of professional actors. Other finalists will receive $100 and a workshop of their piece with a producer and actors from the Company. Finalists' work may also be selected for a staged reading.
Recommended Length: 10-30 minutes.
Submission fee: $30 (covers a thorough and fair review of submissions by our panel of judges)
To submit, visit: https://adkshakes.submittable.com/submit/50107

All genres and styles welcome: comedy, tragedy, or otherwise. Writers at any stage of their career are welcome to submit their unproduced work for consideration. Screenplays and teleplays are eligible, but please note that winning submissions will be presented in a theatrical context, not allotted the resources to produce the work for the screen.

ADK Shakespeare will be working with the New York chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to present a series of workshops and discussions addressing mental health issues and the use of Theatre as a tool in dealing with them as part of its first annual Hamlet Conference in upstate New York in Autumn, 2016. The Company will produce staged readings of the competition finalists for conference attendees. In this way, we hope to accomplish some good for those suffering with mental illness and the people that care for them.

Please feel to share the details of the competition with the students, faculty, and staff in your program, as well as whomever else you think may be interested; the more voices we hear from the more good we will be able to do. I have attached a flyer with the details of the competition to this message. If you are able to print the flyer and post it somewhere in your department, we'd appreciate it.

If you have any questions, please send them to:
info@adkshakes.org
ATTN: Patrick Siler, Executive Director

Study Abroad Information - THIS WEEK!

Grad School in NOLA?

As the University of New Orleans grows the playwriting track of our creative writing MFA, we would love to see students from Drexel apply. Hopefully, you can help us connect with your students. Attached is an electronic copy of our program’s new promotional poster, which should be easy to distribute to your faculty and students. A physical poster will arrive in your mailbox in the very near future, and I hope you’ll be able to hang it somewhere prominent.

With a combination of competitive graduate assistantships and university scholarships available for writers, UNO is one of the most affordable programs in the nation, http://www.uno.edu/about/at-a-glance.aspx. Recently named a “Program to Watch” by Publisher’s Weekly, we’re also listed in the top 25 underrated MFA programs in country by The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/underrated-mfa-programs_b_850147.html. Our students also have access to a unique, summer study abroad program that we’ve developed with the University College Cork, in Ireland. In town, our playwriting students have multiple opportunities to engage with the mushrooming theatre community of New Orleans.

If you would like more information about the creative writing MFA at the University of New Orleans, feel free to contact me at your convenience; I’m happy to chat. I’d also encourage you to check out our web page at http://www.uno.edu/creative-writing-mfa/index.aspx. Thank you very much for your time. Hopefully, we’ll be able to provide a good home for a few of your more ambitious students.

All best,


Justin Maxwell

Assistant Professor of English
The Creative Writing Workshop
The University of New Orleans
jmaxwell@uno.edu
651.238.2913

Sports Film Contest -- Real$$

Seeking Short Plays

My name is Paige Toft and I am a Theater Production and Design major at Bryn Mawr College. A fellow major, Maya Neville, and I are doing a senior theater capstone project together next semester and are starting the preparation for it now. We are reaching out to you in search of playwriting students who would be interested in writing short plays for our project. If you could please send these details along to students you think might be interested, it would be greatly appreciated. Here are the details:

Looking for short 3-5 minute plays about modern dating culture on college campuses, including the theme of sexual assault. We are interested in exploring the "grey" areas of dating culture, including the themes of consent, love, communication, the media's perception and all else that feels vague or confusing in this context. We are interested in representing all experiences and all sides of the topic. Our goal is to create a mosaic/landscape piece representing the topic by choosing approximately 10 of the submissions to perform as part of our senior theater capstone project, NOT for profit.

The parameters of the plays:
-- 3-5 minutes long
-- No more than 3 women and 2 men per play
-- Submissions should be emailed to us NO LATER than NOVEMBER 14th.

Once the play is handed over to us, we would like to have ownership of the piece to be able to perform. We will read through all submissions and inform the playwrights as to whether or not we have chosen their play to perform.

Lastly, we are considering creating a website on which to upload all submissions. This would be to create an archive of plays of this theme. The plays will then be subject to the rules of Creative Commons, and unless otherwise specified, once handed over to us we will have rights to the submissions.
PLEASE indicate YES or NO whether or not your submission may be posted to this archival website. We will keep you informed on it as it progresses.

Thank you so much for your help!

Best,
Paige Toft

--
Paige Toft
Theater Production and Design
Bryn Mawr College 2016
ptoft@brynmawr.edu | 215-595-7512

Seniors -- Keeping Tabs

It's week 6, gang. Check your syllabus and make sure you're caught up on the work you owe me. If not, .

Screenwriting Competition with Feedback

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is now accepting entries for the 2016 Catalyst Screenplay Competition. SIFF has launched a feature-length screenplay competition (in association with SIFF's Catalyst program) to help support and discover emerging storytellers. Knowing the struggle that all unrepresented writers face to get their script read by someone in the industry, we've focused our prizes on helping make those connections in real, tangible ways. See Indiewire’s writeup of the announcement here: http://bit.ly/1RknI2M From now through January 16, 2016, SIFF is looking forward to receiving creative and original screenplay submissions. Each submitted screenplay will receive at least one page of written feedback from SIFF's team of trained screenplay readers. The top 10 scripts will be read (and further adjudicated) by a panel of film industry members and personally passed along (by SIFF Catalyst program manager Brad Wilke) to Catalyst alumni (producers, filmmakers, and actors), all of whom have screened feature films at SIFF in the past and who maintain an active and engaged role in the indie film community. Earlybird deadline is November 15, 2015 and Final Deadline is January 16, 2016. Submit your script through WithoutABox (http://bit.ly/1MPEBTV). More information is available at http://bit.ly/1UqqlWC.

Audio Theater!

Chatterbox Audio Theater is looking for scripts. Click here to see info about their open call.

The Holy Grail

A positive tale of taking a feature idea and making a short to get funding.

Ah, fall.

The changing leaves, the crisp air, the pumpkin-spiced everything. New projects underway, the holidays on the horizon. How to keep track of it all? Did you know that all those e-mail blasts I send, full of pumpkin-flavored information, are archived on the Past News Blast Archive page of this very blog? Now you do!

Helping out the Administration

Drexel's upper administration is looking for alumni connections to help with some broad-based research. The request is below, if you're an alumni and would like to participate:

Westphal College is participating in the 2015 Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) survey. You can help us understand how your education shaped your experience, and how you’ve used what you learned in your work and life. We are gathering current email addresses to ensure that all alumni receive an invitation to respond. Make sure that you are on the list by sending your contact information to us at SNAAP@drexel.edu . Please pass this along to anyone you think would be interested in participating in the survey. Thank you!

New Rounds of Competitions Starting

2016 BlueCat Screenplay Competition Call For Entries

Every entry receives script analysis.

Submit by Sept 1st to receive analysis by Oct 1st.

Entry Fee: $40 Shorts | $60 Features

Submit: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/2016-call-for-entries

AWARDS

BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY: $15,000 Grand Prize

Four Finalists: $2,500 Prize

BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY: $10,000 Grand Prize

Three Finalists: $2,000 Prize

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

THE CORDELIA

Best Feature Screenplay from the UK

$2,000 Prize

THE ROSHAN 

Best Feature Screenplay from India

$2,000 Prize

THE JOPLIN

Best Feature Screenplay from outside the USA, Canada or the UK

$2,000 Prize

OFFICIAL RULES & GUIDELINES: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/rules-guidelines

MEET OUR 2015 WINNERS & FINALISTS: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/2015-winners-and-finalists/

Call for Extras

 From Rachel Slotky, a friend of the Theater Department:

My production company (RADD Theatre Co.) is filming a short film in Philly this month. 

We’re looking for…

5 female extras - 8/15 during the day (4.5 hour shoot)

5-10 female & male extras - 8/15 at night (4.5 hour shoot)

We will be providing food/drink for the day, and the pay is $25.

If they're interested they should email girlwatchercasting@gmail.com 

The more the merrier!!

Some Succinct Writing Advice

Writing advice abounds on the internet and you can spend all your time reading the advice and never doing any actual writing, so I always enjoy it when I find some succinct, practical advice.

This came from Medium:

3 Tips to Increase Your Writing Productivity

Zoetrope contest open!

I find this... intriguing.

I'm not ever 100% sure about open-source internet collaborative communities, but I keep coming back to this site and Joseph Gordon Levitt's mission and vision.

They're running a monthly screenwriting project that't worth looking at.

Blue Cat Open For Entries

2016 BlueCat Screenplay Competition

Now accepting Feature and Short screenplays

Every entry receives script analysis

Entry Fee: $40 Shorts | $60 Features

Submit Your Screenplay: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/2016-call-for-entries

AWARDS

BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY: $15,000 Grand Prize

Four Finalists: $2,500 Prize

BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY: $10,000 Grand Prize

Three Finalists: $2,000 Prize

MOVIE TITLE CONTEST

Best Movie Title: Three Winners: $250 each

*All screenplays entered by August 1st are eligible

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

THE CORDELIA

Best Feature Screenplay from the UK

$2,000 Prize

THE ROSHAN 

Best Feature Screenplay from India

$2,000 Prize

THE JOPLIN

Best Feature Screenplay from outside the USA, Canada or the UK

$2,000 Prize

OFFICIAL RULES & GUIDELINES: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/rules-guidelines

MEET OUR 2015 WINNERS & FINALISTS: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/2015-winners-and-finalists/

BlueCat Screenplay Competition

www.bluecatscreenplay.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/BlueCatScreenplayCompetition

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlueCatPictures

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluecatscreenplay

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/bluecatscreenplay

Screenwriting Newsletter: http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/bluecat-newsletter

Hey! A fellowship!

Sharpen up your spec scripts, Universal is looking for you!

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/universal-pictures-brings-back-emerging-writers-fellowship-screenwriting-program-1201317449/

Congratulations!

Congratulations to all the graduated seniors from the Screenwriting & Playwriting class of 2015!

It was fantastic to work with all of you over the year and you should all be very proud of your creative achievements.

You should also be very proud of the Senior Show! This first-ever event came off beautifully, with attendance by fellow students, faculty, alumni, parents and friends.  There is video of the readings and as soon as I get it into some kind of order, I'll be posting it to vimeo so you can share with other friends and family.

Enjoy your first summer as graduates!

Behind the scenes...

Behind the scenes as Bill McNulty supervises the lighting for tomorrow night's FIRST-EVER SCRP Senior Show!

It's ON!

Posters for the Senior Show went up around crossings today. Tell your friends, and start getting excited.

SCRP Final Meetings and Exit Interviews

I've posted the meeting schedule for next week. Please check your e-mail and use the embedded link to access the google doc for signup.

Down to the Nitty Gritty

Seniors!  The end approaches.

In your last few weeks, there are a number of deadlines and special dates to keep in mind as you narrow in on graduation and completion of your studies at Drexel.

1. All senior project scripts must be submitted to me no later than Next Wednesday, June 3rd, at 5PM.

2. If you agreed to participate in the Senior Show, I need your 10-15 page script excerpt in a separate MovieMagic file no later than 5:00 PM Friday, June 5th.

3. Also for Senior Show, I need a brief bio from each of you, plus a short pitch for your script.  I will use both to create a program for the evening.  I also need that by 5PM on June 5th.

4. Monday and Tuesday, June 8th and 9th, you will need to sign up for a mandatory 1 hour meeting with me.  We will spend half the time talking about your script and next steps with it, and half the time on a senior exit interview. These meetings are not optional. I will post the schedule sometime tomorrow (Wednesday) so you can access the calendar and sign up.

5. Senior Show will take place June 11th. I will have actors on campus in the afternoon to rehearse with you on the table reads. Plan to be available from 1:30 on that day to arrange the show, rehearse with the actors, and generally get everything organized.

6. The Senior Show will run at 7:00 PM, with a reception immediately afterwards.

E-mail me immediately if you have any questions or concerns.

New Opportunities

If you're going to LA this summer, you might be interested in The Hollywood Pitch Festival.

Playwrights! New Jersey residents, there's an upcoming commission opportunity you might be interested in: Liberty Live is open to emerging writers.

Origin Theater is also offering the W.B. Yeats Emerging Playwright Competition. Get a staged reading of your play!

Austin Film Festival Opportunities!

www.austinfilmfestival.com

Rewriting...ugh.

Seniors, you're in the midst of the hardest work you may ever do, from a writing perspective.  Yes, it's hard to get that first draft script done, but nothing compares to the difficult reality of rewrites. Your senior project, the capstone of your studies at Drexel, tests your rewriting chops like no other class in the roster.

Any professional writer will agree with the maxim that "writing is rewriting" but it's difficult to get yourself into the frame of mind that you need to change those hard-crafted words from draft to draft. For screenwriting, like no other writing discipline, it's essential that you develop the tough skin and critical thinking that allows you to rewrite, because scripts get changed for all kinds of reasons, some valid, some not.

All of that is to say, keep working. I'm looking for second drafts from everyone.

A little contest info...

IndieWire collected info on six upcoming contests worth checking out.  Many of these have late April deadlines and many of you seniors should have at least a second, if not third draft of your senior project completed.  At that point, you should pick at least one of these and cast your fate to the winds.

They also report on HBO's Access Writer's Fellowship writing master class opportunity for emerging diverse and women writers.

Let me know if you have any questions or want to talk about entering.

What are you afraid of?

Come see FMVD grad Rory Abel when he visits campus tomorrow evening, Friday February 27th to screen his feature debut, Phobia.  Rory wrote and directed this psychological horror piece and he'll be on hand to do a Q&A afterwards.  7:00 PM, UCross Large Screening Room.

Senior Project Status

If there are any seniors who have not met with me in the past two weeks, please check in with me directly or update your own blogs so I can track progress on your scripts.  If you still owe me work, let me know how I can help you complete it.  If you're struggling with your third acts, let's talk.

Mobile Screenwriting

I don't advocate working this way, but if you do, here's a couple of apps you may want to check out.

Mobile Screenwriting Apps

Those January Blues

As I sit with my back to a window, ignoring the view of leaden grey skies and ground covered with the slushy remnants of last night's show, I find it hard to summon the creative energy to actually write.  There are so many other things suited to this kind of day: sleeping, binge-watching netflix, playing video games, baking cookies.  And yet, those pages aren't going to write themselves.  It's why writing is often referred to as a discipline.  That's what it takes, a will to focus when that's absolutely the last thing you want to do.

For students working independently, the challenge is even more pronounced, because you have other deadlines in classes that meet on a regular basis and reinforce the need for consistent effort.  I can say that one of the hardest steps to take in becoming a professional writer is keeping the discipline of writing even when you don't have to.  It won't get any easier when you leave school, when the additional pressures of life, family, day jobs, rent, and who knows what else take on so much more weight.

All of you are working on exciting pieces in various genres.  Keep your eye on that excitement, and sit down to write some pages.

Reminder - Initial Term Meeting

Our first meeting of the term will take place tomorrow, 10-12 in the seminar room, #027.  I'll be listening to pitches and discussing the goals for the term as well as Spring events.

Something to Think About

Welcome to a brand new year.  After the hats have crumpled and the confetti has been swept away and the last dregs of holiday partying have sludged down the drain of history, you may be asking yourself, what next?  Funny you should ask...

The whole year lays spread before you, a road unwalked.  Now is the time to find the path to get you to your desired destination.  If that destination is a completed script, re-commit yourself to the path, begin work afresh.

Did you know the deadline for submission to the Nicholl Fellowships is April 10?  Think about it.  I'd like to see some of you submit, if your scripts are ready.

Let's make it a great year.