The November challenge sparked little interest, so maybe you’ll find the December challenge more interesting. The December challenge is to write a review, no longer than one page, of a play you have seen or read. It can be a positive review or a negative review, but make it an honest review. No comedic or satirical reviews please. Write it with the respect you would like to be shown your work whether it be positive or not.
DO NOT POST YOUR ENTRIES. SEND THEM DIRECTLY TO ME AT edwardcrosbywells@yahoo.com WITH THE SUBJECT LINE: EDD'S CONTEST ENTRY. ENTRIES POSTED IN THE FORUM WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. WHY? BECAUSE THIS WAY PADDY AND MAC CAN JUDGE THEM BLINDLY AND FAIRLY, WHILE ONLY I HAVE THE BENEFIT OF KNOWING WHO WROTE WHAT. AT LEAST TWO OF THE JUDGES WILL BE COMPLETLY IMPARTIAL. IF THERE ARE LESS THAN 6 ENTRIES NO WINNER WILL BE DECLARED ON ANY GIVEN MONTH.
There will be two runners-up who will receive Honorable Mention, but only the author of the 1st place entry will win a prize.
The following prizes (all hard cover) are available for the November winner:
"DA" by Hugh Leonard
ROAD TO NIRVANA by Arthur Kopit
MOON OVER BUFFALO by Ken Ludwig
THE FATHER by August Strindberg
A LESSON FROM ALOES by Athol Fugard
THOR’S DAY by ECW (2 DVD set of my homoerotic thriller and an interview. This is not for the squeamish or easily offended.)
LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! by Terrence McNally
AND NOW FOR THE NOVEMBER 2006 WINNER!
This month’s winner was written by our upcoming January 2007 Green Room Salon guest, Mary Steelsmith. Congratulations. Mary, pick out your prize from the list above and contact me so we can arrange getting it to you.
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Dear _______
Enclosed is a copy of my one act play, TRUE BLUE, to be considered for your upcoming Playwrights Showcase.
TRUE BLUE tells the tale of two young soldiers guarding a neutral zone as a savage war swirls around them. In their cabin, set squarely on the border, Fred, from the earthy Green army and his opposite, Blue blood's Jeffrey, have created their own little peaceful society of sorts. All will change with Jeffrey's tour of duty ending today. Jeffrey's relief at the prospect of going home and to his self-centered life of leisure is short-lived, when Fred turns the tables, forcing him to understand the world from his very different point of view.
It has a simple set-- 1 table, 2 chairs and a length of duct tape, and a cast of two young men, along with an off-stage authoritative voice. TRUE BLUE has a running time of approximately 25 minutes.
While TRUE BLUE has not been published yet, this play did have three performances at the Fritzblitz festival for the Fritz, an amateur theatre in San Diego, September, 2006 and had a staged reading in Boulder, Colorado in October. It is scheduled for a amateur production in Baltimore, January, 2007
Happy news– my full length play, "Isaac, I am," a sordid tale of love, life and death in chatrooms, just won the Helford Prize for playwriting. It was personally selected by Bruce Helford, creator of "The Drew Carey Show" and "George Lopez." "Isaac, I am" had its world premiere at Jacksonville University on October 19. If you'd like, I'll be glad to send you the full script of "Isaac, I am."
I am including my writing resume', a review of TRUE BLUE from the San Diego Union Tribune, and of course, the play, itself. A SASE has NOT been enclosed. Thanks for recycling.
Thank you.
Mary Steelsmith
ENC.
P.S. Thanks so much for not charging a submission fee. Truly appreciated!
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Since there were only four entries there will be no second or third place winners this month. The following are in no especial order.
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Kato’s entry:
Hello:
Enclosed is the play To Die for Want of Lobster along with some
additional materials about our workshop production at the Secret
Theater in New London, Connecticut. The play is a comedy with tragic consequences about the cost of apathy, lost love, and the search for meaning in the lives of people who exist in the wake of the post baby-boomers. It requires 2 women, 1 man and a flexible space (but not a lotta set).
The recent production at Secret Theatre was one of sparse design. We performed in the middle of a room on a raised 12 x 12 area with no wing space and very little lighting. The set consisted of a book case with books, a small end table that occasionally served as the coffee table, a telephone and my futon made its stage debut. The two entrances to the theater served as the front door and the way to the kitchen. An aisle along the wall led to the “upstairs”, and the two entrance aisles
served as the “grocery store aisle”. The “beach” was created by
tossing some painting tarps over the two pieces of furniture and
spilling a sheet and towels over the front area. The “bathroom & tub” was created by using two folding curtains upstage, turning the futon around and placing a small panel to one side making the tub. By the Friday performance the bathtub seen had already become famous with the audience whispering “this must be the tub scene…”
Last fall Lobster won the Gorilla Theater New Works Festival in Kansas City, Mo and was presented as a staged reading.
It is a challenging play for both audiences and actors. That’s why I wrote it. That’s what I want it to be-- challenging and fun and
wicked.
In between the several years of giving up on this play and then being inexplicably drawn back to it, I managed to take a few classes, started talking with working playwrights and began to acquaint myself with the process. I took full advantage of the fact that I worked at the Xxxxx Theater and began watching, studying and listening. I began working with playwrights from New London County and we would stage each other’s work. I learned to be a much better playwright. And I came back to this play. I even got some invaluable dramaturgy from a Croatian playwright visiting the Xxxxx Theater… which gave the play a harder edged ending (less American-style & much more theatrical). The play had found its identity.
Now I am sending it to you.
Should you have any questions or wish to contact me, please call
xxx-xxx-xxxx or e-mail at xxxxxxxx@xxx.com. Also, you can check out photos from the Secret Theatre production on my web site http:// xxxxx.xxxl.com/xxxxlobster and click on “Photo Galleries”. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Xxx Xxxxxxx
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Sue’s Entry:
Dear Stolen Fire,
Attached please find "Uncharted Territory," a one-act play that I would like considered for your upcoming season. While the play HAS been produced, I must preface this by saying:
1) I have made some changes to it as a result of the production; and
2) The production of the piece itself was very unsatisfactory. In fact, it was as if I were seeing an entirely different play than I had written. I envision this as a very character driven piece, between two emotionally distant but aching individuals, a 40-something female poetry teacher and her 30-something male student whose relationship is severely tested as a result of a near-fatal accident. I have written it so that the production would most likely be fairly sparse (though of course it is up to the director), and I hoped that said director would respect the play's integrity. However, what was performed was exactly the opposite. The play was almost presented as a parody. The female was dressed in pigtails, bobby socks, and played jacks. She was a child posing as a woman. The stage was covered with big, black boxes, making it nearly impossible to physically navigate the space, and the push and pull relationship of the characters and their struggle to communicate w ith one another was entirely lost within the director's intent to create an "impressive set" (entirely different than he had proposed).
This is my first one-act play--I primarily write shorter works--and I was very eager to see what could be done with the work. Instead, I came away extremely disappointed that the language and character development were lost beneath the actor's "vision." My friends who saw the production concurred with my assessment. I greatly hope that the play might have another chance to be presented in a way such that the audience can actually feel for the characters and their plight.
I hope that you will take this into consideration when evaluating whether or not the play might be suitable for your theatre's needs. All contact information is listed on the title page.
Thank you in advance for your response, and best regards,
Sue Brody
Brookline, MA
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BillySundae’s entry
Hello:
Attached is a submission of Billy Sundae: a multimedia, improvisational play in three acts. This submission is considerably longer than the typical 10-15 page dialogue submission. But then this is not your typical play. As one reader has described Billy Sundae-- "it is audacious!" So I must be too if my script is to receive the attention it deserves.
Billy Sundae is about the last days of a man who has been sentenced to death for allegedly killing his lover's husband. It is a large cast play with large ambitions technically. It is in fact so broad a canvas that only those who truly want to paint a masterpiece should consider it. Having said that-- from your web site it sounds like your group is up to the challenge.
The attachment contains excerpts from each of the play's three acts, plus an optional scene. I have done this because only if you can see part of how it fits together is it possible for you to decide whether the play might be one you want to attempt. Otherwise, I suspect you may walk away believing that Billy Sundae is like every other prison play you've read. It's not.
In fact, Billy Sundae is unlike any other script you've ever read: it's not all there. This is the case not only because I've sent you 30 odd pages (out of about 80 pages) but because-- depending on the individual performance-- it is possible that even the full script represents only 40-70% of the lines that will be spoken! This improvisational element, along with the fact that some of the play is telecast (live) with actors who NEVER physically appear in the auditorium make this a play unlike any other.
If you stop reading after 10 pages or so, I will understand. But if you will soldier on and read the entire portion of the manuscript I've attached I believe that you and your theatre will want to take on the challenge of giving Billy Sundae it's world premiere.
Bill McCann
Playwright
(859) XXX-XXXX
Last edited on Sun Dec 17th, 2006 12:10 pm by Edd
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