@dramatistsguild

Jo Howarth (Noonan) was a beloved and highly-respected Atlanta-based actor who was also an important role model for other, particularly women, theatre professionals. As her close friend, actor-writer Topher Payne put it, “she was the comeback kid” – a woman who left a blossoming acting career to raise children and then returned as an “over-forty” to face the “double headwinds of age and gender.” But she made it work, with accolades and awards including recognition in 2015 as one of Atlanta’s ten best local actresses. Despite that, Howarth would lament to her husband Patrick Noonan about the insecurities of finding roles for “older women” and the sense that her career might soon be over. His response that people would continue wanting to work with her because she was “a professional who respected what it means to be an actor” was borne out by the mixture of momentous grief and high praise that poured out when she passed away unexpectedly in June 2015, at the age of 58.

Out of this devastating loss, Patrick Noonan was determined to find a way to remember and honor his wife of 30 years. The result is The Jo Howarth Noonan Foundation for the Performing Arts and the first of what is intended to be an annual Mojo Fest of commissioned new work “with substantial roles for older women.” The non-profit foundation is also more broadly “dedicated to promoting and celebrating women theater artists over the age of 40.” In talking about this foundation, Noonan mentioned that “what Jo brought to a project or conversation was life experience(s).” So it made sense to start something that provided both “the work –not just roles but good roles” and “the richness of stories about older women.” The intended future of the foundation and Mojo Fest is ambitious: they hope the yearly commissions will develop a pool of good work that will be in demand across the country and become a treasured source “for a great selection of plays.” Noonan intends to nudge this along with outreach to actors and artistic directors.

With all of the excitement generated by the first Mojo Fest event last March, it was especially gratifying to see a strong presence by Guild members. Jill Patrick is a member (and former Managing Artistic Director of Working Title Playwrights) and served as producer for the Fest. Sherry Camp Paulsen, Penny Mickelbury, and I wrote three of the five commissioned ten-minute plays presented as staged readings and the evening reading was a pre-existing full-length script by Margaret Baldwin. The other two commissioned playwrights were Suehyla El-Attar and Payne. Patrick reported that Out-of-Box Theatre AD Carolyn Choe has decided to produce all of the ten-minute pieces later in the year.

The commissioned pieces were required to have the primary character be a woman over 40. The result was five plays with all-female casts of diverse ages. The directors were all women as well and nearly as diverse in age as the casts. As Paulsen remarked, “Working exclusively with women on a project about women was exhilarating. A spirited shorthand developed between us as we rehearsed and revised the script.” She also mentioned that the reading and feedback session made her realize what her play (set in a Nordstrom’s Lingerie Department) was really about and immediately changed the title from Catch and Release to TMI. That seemed especially appropriate with a play about a straying husband and “the technological age gap between baby boomer and millennial women.”

Guiding the feedback was DG member Daphne Mintz, who made her own discovery. “In prep for moderating the talkbacks…I focused on finding both shared and unique themes pertinent to what I could only describe as the predicament of being a woman. When this phrase entered my head, I bristled… But as I focused on how these plays fit into the [foundation] mission…the term took hold. If being a woman is something to celebrate, to honor…there must be challenges resulting in both victories and failures associated with that condition.”

More info: https://www.johowarthnoonan.org/

pturner@dramatistsguild.com

Actors and playwrights in Mojo Fest. Photo credit Patrick Noonan

Sherry Camp Paulsen. Photo credit Larry Paulsen

Jo Howarth Noonan in The Flying Carpet Theatre Company’s 2010 production of The Medicine Showdown

Four Possible Pathways to Production in L.A.’s Post-Equity-Waiver Landscape

@dramatistsguild @SexyGayAgenda

After a bitter, protracted struggle between Actors Equity Association and the actor-driven Pro-99 movement, LA writers have been left wondering where, what and with whom they can now produce.

The bottom line is this: LA’s 99-Seat Theatre Plan, which for decades had allowed Equity actors to pursue their art at their own discretion (for little or no pay) in houses of 99 seats or fewer, is dead.

Though many may mourn the passing of the old plan, this is where we are. It is what it is.

But there may be a silver lining: This new reality could force playwrights to be stronger advocates for our own work, mandating that we immerse ourselves in the bloody, sausage-making aspects of theatre, including how capital is raised. Some of us are doing this already.

From this writer’s studied perspective, there now are four clear paths to production.

1. Produce under the new Equity LA Showcase Code, which allows for up to a 50-seat house, a $20K budget and sixteen performances.

The Cons here are many.

First, $20,000 in LA is very likely the cost of theatre space alone – unless you own your own space. Anyone who produces theatre in LA knows this. Secondly, at $25/ticket, at full capacity every night – never mind comps, Goldstar and reality itself – you could conceivably recoup your investment, but it’s not likely. Loss is built into this option.

Further, sixteen shows are too few to build momentum, even with a PR-intense front-loading of the show. Yes, the opening weekend you’ll fill with friends, family and longtime fans.  Thereafter, you’re building on word-of-mouth, press coverage and other outreach, but the clock is ticking and the incline is steep. Yes, you’ll want to hire a keen PR person who’ll bang the drum weeks in advance – but with a $20K cap on the budget, can you really afford to?

However, there is a Pro.

If your show is a solo endeavor, with little or no physical set, relying principally on a simple narrative, force of personality and some light tech, this might be an option.

2. Produce entirely non-Equity.

I believe in Unions. History has shown that, humankind, being what it is, cannot always be relied upon to do the right and honorable thing. However, a non-Equity production need not be a sweatshop, and producing a non-Equity show does not make one evil incarnate.

There is a big Pro here: LA is full of new, well-trained actors waiting for that big break – your show might give it to them.

There also are some major Cons.

First, producing non-Equity, you can’t use your favorite Equity actors, people with whom you may have long relationships and who, by virtue of their stature, may draw press and an audience.

Two, producing non-Equity, you can’t use your favorite Equity stage managers. A crack stage manager is key to a successful show. The SM is your sergeant major on the battlefield, your Top Kick supporting the troops. (However, one’s favorite Equity SM may have an as-yet non-Union mentee who’d like some first-class experience en route to an Equity card. Prayer may be helpful here.)

3. Write something brilliant for an actor who’s affiliated with a membership company.

Under the LA Membership Company Rule, any Equity member may participate (without contract) with any membership company as long as that company was in existence prior to Feb. 6, 2015, had registered their company by April 1, 2015, and had previously produced under the old 99-Seat Theatre Plan.

Some LA membership companies – especially those with a history of launching new work that moves to contract – are overwhelmed by over-the-transom submissions. These companies may produce only those scripts recommended by a member. So get busy! Write something for an actor you love – one who’s a part of a thrilling, innovative theatre company. Sweeten the deal by bringing an Angel so that you become a co-producer.

4. Raise the funds and produce under Equity’s new 99-Seat Theatre Agreement.

Under the old 99-Seat Plan, actors often worked for a small stipend covering rehearsal, plus a per-performance fee, negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Some actors, motivated purely by the material, worked on an entirely free basis. Under the new 99-Seat Theatre Agreement, Equity actors must be paid minimum wage for all rehearsal and performance time. Producing under this agreement requires planning. It’s not Andy Hardy, “Hey, kids! Let’s put on a show!” But it is do-able.

Production costs under the new 99-Seat Theatre Agreement can mount quickly. For example, here’s the breakdown for a five-person cast (with no understudies or double-casting, practically a necessity in LA):

Table reading (15 hours) + Rehearsal (30 hours) + Tech (20 hours) + Run (26 performances, including 2 previews at 3 hours/night) = 143 actor hours

143 actor hours x 5 actors = 715 hours x $12/hour = $8,580

At first glance, this one budget line item (CAST = $8,580) may produce a gasp. But, again, it is do-able, with planning. Through an intentional, well-conceived fund-raising effort, including a judicious crowd-sourcing campaign, careful cultivation of individual donors, the writing of grants, and the hosting of sundry bingo bashes and cake sales, the money can be raised. Further, writer/producers might also affiliate with a 501c3 as a fiscal sponsor, or seek fiscal sponsorship through a national, fee-based organization such as Fractured Atlas, which, according to its mission statement, seeks to “empower artists…by eliminating practical barriers to artistic expression.”

There are other Equity paths to production, such as the LA Self-Produced Project Code, which allows Equity actors “to collaborate as a group to self-produce theatre without the requirement of an Equity contract,” and the Small Professional Theatre Agreement (SPT), new to LA, for venues of up to 349 seats. Under the SPT, there is no budget-cap per production and no restriction on the length of the run. Actor salaries range from $229 to $664 per week, based on the number of weekly performances. (The Temblors, the Southland’s audacious new playwriting collective, is producing under the SPT contract.)

Mark Twain allegedly once said, “Only a fool or a genius rushes into print.” The same can be said of production. LA’s new Equity rules needn’t be an obstacle. Take your time. Choose your path. Plan properly. Assemble a crack team. Affiliate yourself with like-minded artists. Create a fundraising plan. And raise that cash.

Only three words remain to be said: Get it on!

For more info on Equity’s new rules, go to equityworksla.com.

@dramatistsguild

When playwright Sherry Landrum left New York City to return to her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, it was 2002 and she was riding high in the city of New York. She had become a teacher at the New Actors Workshop, a two-year acting conservatory founded by Master Teachers George Morrison, Mike Nichols and Paul Sills. She had been asked to step in for the semi-retiring Sills at a school that offered a unique, dual-track curriculum combining Stanislavski techniques with Viola Spolin Theater Games. So—why leave New York? Talking to Sherry the answer is quickly apparent and is, in essence, the answer to every question while discussing Sherry’s varied and impressive career with her. Sherry is a true theater artist with a mission—to share, inspire, teach and evolve and where ever that mission takes her, she is going to go.

While sitting in a restaurant facing the river on a warm February day, Sherry shares the details of her artistic journey. She’s animated, profoundly positive and alight with energy. Watching her is like watching a musical; her body moves fluidly and rhythmically, her face glows as though lit from within, and her hands accentuate her recollections as if choreographed to a melody heard by her alone. When asked how she became the Artistic Director of the Chattanooga State Repertory Theatre and the head of the Professional Acting Training Program at Chattanooga State Community College, she recounts her story vividly starting in childhood when she would stand on the kitchen table pretending it was her stage.

In 1965 her theatrical aspiration became reality when as a young actor she was cast in her first role in Home is the Hunter in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. It’s also when she met Rex Knowles who was cast in the same production. They married in 1969 and were soon touring together in a national production of Godspell in the early 70s. The tour began in New York and ended at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles where they stayed for 15 years. While there, Sherry not only acted but also began to direct and write. Then in 1988, she and Rex moved closer to her hometown of Chattanooga when she was commissioned to write a musical with George S. Clinton, Smoky Mountain Suite, and direct it for the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, Tennessee.

They relocated to New York in 1992 where Sherry would earn her masters degree. It was there that both she and Rex were offered teaching positions at New Actors Workshop. Ten years later when the president of Chattanooga State asked if they could replicate the New Actors Workshop at the college, Sherry spoke with the founders who gave them their blessing – she then responded to the inquiry with a resounding yes. Sherry and Rex have been teaching there ever since.

Sherry hunts doggedly for new plays reading dozens a year. She’s determined to find plays that fit her student body and looks for theatre pieces containing characters that match the ages and abilities of her student actors. When seeking new works, she first looks at a detailed synopsis, then a character breakdown with a cast containing four to twelve actors. Then if she can’t find an appropriate play, she and her students will write one.

The winner of two best director awards from Los Angeles Drama Critics and a best director award from the Tennessee Theatre Association, Sherry could rest on her laurels and accomplishments. Instead she’s determined to take theatre to people no matter where they are. She moved to Chattanooga because she wants to share theatre with those who might not ever get to New York. She teaches at the community college because she knows theatre will impact her hometown and her students. She introduces her actors to both new writers and established playwrights because she finds both the traditions of theatre and the creation of new work equally valuable.

When asked why Chattanooga, she gushes about the beauty around her. When asked why theatre, she gestures theatrically and says it’s the ultimate art form. Her favorite genre? Sherry writes music and adores musicals.

She doesn’t have to think for a second to recall her favorite melding of music and lyrics. She practically sings the line from Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell, “The Lord to thee is kind.” Sherry has made a lifetime commitment to generously share that kindness. And anyone who encounters her will be the better for it.

For more on Sherry Landrum go to: www.SherryLandrum.com

Sherry Landrum

alandis@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild

Andrew Lee Creech is a multifaceted young artist who, one senses, has a rich if uncertain journey ahead of him. Andrew first came to my attention when Guild member Elizabeth Heffron told me about this outstanding student she had at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where Andrew was earning his BFA. Several years ago the Guild instituted a Regional Ambassador program with goals of engaging more young and diverse writers, and providing support for the Regional reps. Andrew readily stepped in as Seattle’s Ambassador and has been gradually taking on more responsibility.

A triple threat, Andrew is an actor and hip-hop artist as well as writer and composer. Last winter he performed in Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun on the mainstage at Seattle Repertory Theatre. His writing work recently led to a role in the season finale episode of a new horror/comedy web series Don’t Do It! Horror Shorts. (www.andrewleecreech.weebly.com is his website.)

Acting feeds his writing, he has found. In rehearsals he keeps a keen eye on how the director works with actors and designers to bring the script to life. After the play has closed, he often discovers that those observations have unwittingly strengthened scripts he has in progress. He increasingly sees how all aspects of making theatre are interrelated.

He’s an avid journal-keeper and makes extensive use of a “Notes” app on his phone. When we met for coffee he showed me where he had 1,200 notes stored on his phone.

His first musical instrument was a recorder in elementary school; then a brief, unhappy affair with the clarinet in junior high, followed by a rewarding relationship with the piano in high school. He wrote his first play in high school, a musical for which he wore all three writers’ hats. College courses included music theory and composition. He enjoys playing piano, which is what he also composes on. One reason he is partial to the piano is, he tells me, is that being left-handed, the bass parts are easy to play and that’s where the funk and the soul live.

The creative experiences he has found most satisfying are making audiences laugh, whether as performer or author. Lately he is feeling a need to tighten his artistic focus. He recalls a professor saying, “Andrew, I can tell you’re very good at a lot of things, but I just can’t tell what you’re supposed to be doing right now.” He worries that the multifaceted nature of his skills and interests may be diffusing his artistic efforts too much. Looking ahead, he sees his theatre career gravitating more toward writing than acting. A saying he is fond of is “Tend to the roots and enjoy the fruits,” and he’s thinking his deepest roots are in writing.

The biggest source of stress in his life, as is sadly the case for far too many young adults in the U.S., is student debt. His student loan payments each month exceed what he pays for rent. He cannot see a way to ever get out from under that debt, which has a 25-year term. That financial pressure has further consequences because he doesn’t know how he’ll be able to provide a stable enough financial environment for responsibly raising a family. If you extrapolate from Andrew’s specific situation to his cohort, society has placed an impossible burden on an entire generation.

On to some good news. Spring 2018 will bring the world premiere of his new full-length musical, Journey West, about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Producing is Copious Love Productions in Seattle. Like his musical in high school (and like Meredith Wilson for The Music Man and Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton), Andrew wrote it all – book, lyrics and music. The score tends toward folksy mixed with a contemporary “Broadway” sound. Two of the songs are hip-hop. Andrew describes Journey West as an American origin story that happens to shed light on the recent American election. I’ll be there opening night.

Andrew Lee Creech 

dkelly@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild​

My first ever event for the Dramatists Guild, as the Guild representative for the Bay Area, was at Thick House Theatre where the beloved Gary Garrison, Roland Tec and Seth Cotterman came to San Francisco for a weekend of programing. Roland taught his Composer and Song Writers workshop and I was impressed and delighted to be introduced to some of the many creative people in the Bay Area’s strong and exploding musical theatre community. It was there that I met composer Richard Jennings of Musical Cafe, a developmental organization for Northern California-based writers and composers. Musical Cafe is part of Play Cafe in Berkeley.

Richard, Jerome Joseph Gentes, and Sandy Kasten, all founding members, are at the helm of this vital organization, which is in its third year.

In the words of past Play Cafe Executive Director, Tracy Held Potter, “…the popular and vibrant Musical Cafe Showcase Series, founded by Sandy Kasten, Richard Jennings, Jerome Joseph Gentes and others, [has] quickly became a solid Play Cafe program and recognized launch pad for local Bay Area musical creation.” (Congratulations to Jerome Joseph Gentes on being the new Play Cafe Executive Director.)

The genesis of Jerome, Sandy, and Richard working together came out of their collaboration with Anne Nygren Dougherty at Alcove Theatre, writing and staging musical revues. When the theatre unfortunately closed, they wanted to keep working together to get valuable feedback that would be lacking without the Alcove as a unifying force.

Richard Jennings: “We met on an informal but regular basis and then the suggestion came forth about starting a showcase series, which would highlight our own work and open up to the community as well. Musicals are extremely hard to get developed. For every ten opportunities for a play to get developed there is one or maybe zero for a musical. We wanted to create a situation where people could see their work in front of an audience and learn from that.”

Sandy Kasten: “Once we decided to go forward, I found us a grant from the Sam Mazza Foundation in Pacifica. We feel greatly indebted and grateful to the Sam Mazza Foundation for helping Musical Cafe get off the ground.”

After receiving the grant, the first Musical Cafe Showcase came into fruition in January 2015. It took place in Oakland at a children’s music school and while the show went well the venue was limited.

Jerome Joseph Gentes: “I’m not sure if it is only a Bay Area issue but finding a black box venue with the right appointments and a working piano is very difficult. It provides a challenge for us.”

Despite the limitations of the venue, the overall inaugural went extremely well.

Richard Jennings: “It was a packed house. We had some very good invited talent like Min Kahng with his musical The Four Immigrants Manga.”

Subsequently, Mr. Kahng went on to have a staged reading of The Four Immigrants Manga last fall at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and is slated to have a full production on the main stage.

Currently there are two Musical Cafe showcases a year, which alternate between San Francisco and the East Bay in various 99-seat theatres. And here’s what you can expect!

“Each Showcase is a public presentation of new, original, locally-sourced musical theatre works-in-progress. The creatives behind projects selected for the Showcase cast local actors and singers then collaborate with Musical Cafe to prepare and perform twenty minutes of dramatic and musical material.”

A challenge for the group is how to give feedback on only twenty minutes of material, but they are working on it.

Jerome Joseph Gentes: “For the first time, we are trying to layer in more early feedback to the creative teams by having a table read with a dramaturg present to get some more eyes and ears on the project.”

Here are the nuts and bolts of submitting to the showcase series: someone on the creative team must be a resident of Northern California. Send twenty minutes of material from either completed scripts or works in progress. All submissions are vetted by a writer, composer, and director from the community with either Jerome, Richard or Sandy overseeing the selection process. Some past Musical Cafe Showcase selection panel participants include: Joe Blodgett, Pamela Winfrey, Nathan Card, L Zephyr, Barbara Jwanouskos, Paul Frantz, Brian Allan Hobbs, and Rice Majors.

It is perfectly clear that Musical Cafe has deeply enriched the lives and work of all three founders. They have received over 50 submissions in the last three years and the diversity of the projects and enthusiasm of the participants is extremely rewarding.

Jerome Joseph Gentes: “If I may be so bold, I feel that Musical Cafe has really connected the Bay Area musical theatre community. I have the ability to advocate for myself but I see so many people who don’t have the opportunities or platform for their work. It is an honor to provide that for writers, composers, and singers and get to work with them all.”

Sandy Kasten: “One of many great things we get out of producing Musical Cafe is the networking—meeting people to collaborate with. Writing is a lonely business and it is fun to work with other people. I am a member of New Musicals Inc. in Los Angeles and I have seen what kind of opportunities they offer and I wanted the same in the Bay Area.”

Richard Jennings: “I have had a very long career and I have to say this is just fun. And our audiences really make it.”

As DG Bay Area Rep, I am excited to announce that I am currently working with Musical Cafe to put together an SF Footlight for musical theatre.

Jerome Joseph Gentes: “We don’t have the bandwidth at this point to present a whole work for an audience so I believe a musical SF Footlights will be a much needed chance for creatives to experience their musical in its entirety”.

If you have some ideas for Musical SF Footlights, be sure to contact me.

And don’t miss the Spring Musical Cafe Showcase Series:
Saturday, May 20 @ 3:00 pm; Monday, May 22 @ 7:30 pm; and Tuesday, May 23 @ 7:30 pm The Ashby Stage, home of Shotgun Players, 1901 Ashby Ave, Berkeley, www.musicalcafe.org

sallen@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild @gabcody

Our region has been in the news repeatedly over the last year for casting choices that impinge on the playwright’s intentions, wishes and rights. On December 12, 2016, The Dramatists Guild, The University of Pittsburgh, The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Bricolage Production Company, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and over 140 members of the Pittsburgh theater community convened to discuss, share and problem-solve around the issue of equitable casting.

Diep Tran, associate editor of American Theatre Magazine—and frequent writer and firebrand on the topic of equitable casting—facilitated the evening. She delivered a rundown of recent controversies in our region: notably, university productions that featured a white man playing Martin Luther King, Jr. in Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop in Ohio, and white students playing Indian characters in Lloyd Suh’s Jesus in India in Pennsylvania. Tran also shared her own experiences as a woman of color in the theater world. She then moderated a panel that included local director Adil Mansoor, dramatist and director Monteze Freeland and actors Siovhan Christensen and Sol Crespo. As Pittsburgh Regional Rep, I participated on the panel, representing the writer’s view and sharing the tenets for authors’ rights set forward by the Dramatists Guild.

Reginald Douglas, Artistic Producer of City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, led us into breakout groups. In these groups, defined by our positions in theatre (playwrights, directors, actors, etc.), participants had the opportunity to discuss, share and question. We began a larger conversation about finding solutions together to create more equitable casting in the Pittsburgh region, and to insure that authors’ rights are respected.

Inspired by Dramatists Guild president Doug Wright’s statement on this subject (http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Dramatists-Guild-President-Doug-Wright-Releases-Statement-Regarding-Recent-Casting-Controversies-20151118), the DG writers in the room huddled in our breakout group to discuss the playwright’s position in casting. Acknowledging that the Dramatists Guild’s Author’s Bill of Rights reminds us that we have approval over casting, we also dug deeper into the ideas of authorial intent, writing explicit character descriptions, and how much power playwrights have to influence equitable casting. We also discussed thornier issues: Whose stories do we tell? And whose stories do we have the right to tell? How do we, as writers, encourage the creation of more stories from a wider range of voices?

The event was the beginning of a conversation about equitable casting and authorial intent that will no doubt be ongoing. Thanks to all of the Dramatists Guild members who participated.

gcody@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild @bystephenkaplan

One of my favorite things about being part of the Guild is being part of a larger community that features such diversity. In my last update I had the privilege of introducing three of our longest-running members and this time I wanted to highlight three of our newest members.

Not only is Lia Romeo a fantastic writer herself (her play The Grand Tour just won the NJ Playwrights Contest), but she is also a fierce advocate for other writers.

1. Why do you love playwriting?

My favorite thing is how collaborative it is. I’m an introvert, and I need my alone time, just me and my computer and whatever world I’m creating - but I love that when I’m ready, I can work with a whole team of amazing talented people to realize that world and bring it to life onstage.

2. What does it mean to be part of the Dramatists Guild?

I waited a while to join the Guild, but I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger. There are a lot of great benefits - like the Playwrights Welcome program, which I’m so excited about! - and I love knowing that I’m part of an organization that exists specifically to protect and help playwrights.

3. Can you talk a bit about your work advocating for other writers?

I work as the literary manager with Project Y Theatre Company in NYC, and I’ve started a playwrights group under the auspices of the company. We bring in twelve or thirteen writers each year, and it’s a really high-level group - we have Pulitzer nominees and alums of the O’Neill, Juilliard, Sundance, etc. I try to match up writers in the group with opportunities through Project Y as well as other companies I’ve worked with - they’re all doing such good work, and I’ve become really passionate about being a playwright advocate and helping to get that work out into the world.

For the past two years the Guild has graciously offered free student memberships to winners of the NJ Young Playwrights Contest. Here are two of this past year’s winners. Myriam Burger won the contest with her play The Continuum of Infinity.

1. Why do you love playwriting?

It’s a thought-provoking, intimate way to explore my questions, and the aspects of the world/human nature that intrigue or bother me. It’s a way to affect a group of people, help move society, and connect with others.

2. What does it mean to be part of the Dramatists Guild?

It’s truly an honor to be a part of a group of creators, innovators, thinkers – the kinds of people I want to work for and with.

3. How did you start playwriting?

I started writing plays in fourth grade and founded a theatre company with my friend for neighborhood children. I started writing plays for actors above the age of 10 two years ago, when a concept in math class frustrated me, and I wanted to explore it further, so I wrote a play about it.

Jasmine Sharma won the contest with her play Death Rows.

1. Why do you love playwriting?

It’s cathartic and gives me the ability to do a ton of cool things like exploring several sides to one argument or idea. I like being able to defend one side, counter it, and reframe it again in a creative way. Any time I can blame controversial thoughts on my characters instead of taking responsibility for having them myself is swanky.

2. What does it mean to be part of the Dramatists Guild?

It’s an honor I don’t feel like I earned. I look at the other members, and I feel really lucky to be among them.

3. How did you start playwriting?

I was fortunate enough to have had a great teacher who nudged me to write. He cared about my class’s ability to recreate our everyday life in interesting ways. Thanks Mr. Hathaway!!!

L-R Myriam Burger, Lia Romeo, Jasmine Sharma

skaplan@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild @HartPlaywright

Playwrights in this region gathered last fall to learn from Chicago-based playwright and Dramatists Guild member Jim Henry. As part of the Show-Me Writers Masterclass in Columbia, Jim provided support, education and encouragement by facilitating a reading workshop, leading tutorials on playwriting and story structure, and sharing what he’s learned about the business side of writing for the stage and screen. Playwrights who are in the Mid-Missouri region have an opportunity to attend similar hands-on, practical collaboration through a scriptwriting seminar occurring next month. There will also be more opportunities provided at the Masterclass event later this year.

Dramatists Guild members in Kansas City were recently seen “Crowding the Crossroads” with local playwright Ron Simonian. This event, highlighting Simonian’s newest play entitled Trigger Happy, was the first of many providing our Guild members the opportunity to have a conversation with and attend the play of one of our members being produced in Kansas City’s Crossroads Art District. With this mention of conversations with special guests, you need to know we are only a few weeks away from a major event planned to highlight Kansas City’s first ever production of Assassins. Those responsible for this event were still plotting and conspiring the details when this issue of The Dramatist went to print. Continue reading to discover how you can find out more about the scheming and become part of the hit.

The recently adopted DG’s Best Practices: Contests and Festivals [available soon] will serve this region well. Certainly, this will support Guild members desiring to use standard DG definitions in relation to productions of their work in the Kansas City and St Louis Fringe Festivals. I have made certain the Best Practices statement has been given to the artistic directors of our state festivals, but feel this information will also help to educate and communicate with specific organizations who currently operate in less than acceptable practices when soliciting new work for future performance seasons. Let’s work together in identifying such challenges, and please let me know if you have any concerns or problems along the way.  

There is a pressing need to give attention to those who are unable to attend events due to the distance of their location in relation to Kansas City or St. Louis. Three events this summer have been planned with consideration for dramatists living in the theatre-driven settings centrally located and close to Missouri’s borders. In July, we’ll host a Town Hall meeting in Ozark, Missouri. The meeting will conclude with a staged reading of 5^th of July by Missouri born playwright Lanford Wilson. This will offer an opportunity for Dramatists Guild members in the greater Branson area, as well as several new DG members living in Northern Arkansas, to meet and support fellow artists who are part of our community. Later in the month, we’ll have a playwright’s picnic in mid-Missouri, and host an online meet and greet for dramatists in the north and northeastern portions of this region.

One of the best things I can report about is the new website of our Dramatists Guild. If you haven’t visited our online presence in a while, you ought to take some time to see for yourself how drama friendly and vitally resourceful it has become. I invite you to update your member profile, review the many ways we advocate for you, and discover the opportunities within our community. If you would like to find out more information about the events I’ve described here, and keep connected to our regional news events and updates, and other members of our region through social media, simply access the social network links provided within our regional page and my member profile on www.dramatistsguild.com. I hope to hear from all of you and see you soon in our newest online community page.

hwright@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild @AoiseStratford

Aoise Stratford: The Kitchen Theatre Company has a long history of producing new work. You’ve worked with many playwrights: Wendy Dann, Adam Bock, Tanya Barfield, Brian Dykstra, Anne Garcia-Romero, Rob Ackerman and Darian Dauchan, to name a few. How many world premieres do you think you’ve done over the years?

Rachel Lampert: I count 34 on our Main Stage including plays by those writers and several others, as well as several plays and musicals I have written with my composer-partner Larry Pressgrove. We’ve also produced new work on our Kitchen Counter Culture Series and our Family Fare Series has produced over a dozen original plays.

AS: You also have an impressive record championing the work of women and artists of color. Have you noticed any changes in the last twenty years in the need or opportunities to have diverse voices in our theatre?

RL: I wish I could say “all is right with the world”—no—but we are making some progress. I do see a recent upsurge in plays written by women being produced, which is terrific. I was thrilled when we got a 50/50 Award last season.

AS: Well deserved.

RL: Writers of color are still under represented and all thinking producers/artistic directors need to remain vigilant and conscious of choices. In the current political climate it will become increasingly important.

AS: Events like the Ghostlight Project and the Bad and Nasty Caberet, which you hosted at KTC, certainly speak to that. I have a particular affection for the Kitchen Sink Series, where we first workshopped my play, The Unfortunates. How would you describe the range of projects playwrights and artists developed there?

RL: The Kitchen Sink Series has been exactly what its name implies: everything “and the kitchen sink.” We get project pitched all the time. There are lots of people making theater without a home in our community, and, as long as nobody asks for an open fire pit, or to launch a rocket through the roof, we’ve been able to find space for everything from a student’s first directing project, to established playwrights sharing work, to dance, music, stand-up, and more. Being flexible has allowed us to commit resources (such as they are) to a variety of artists and we’ve been able to keep it affordable because a business in town agreed to be our Community Engagement Sponsor.

AS: What have been some of the greatest joys of putting a piece up for the first time?

RL: I love all the discoveries! We just produced Wendy Dann’s beautiful and moving play Birds of East Africa. She and I are longtime friends and colleagues and it was a shared joy to produce her play at KTC. We collaborated on incorporating dance into the storytelling.

AS: Yes, that was a lovely element.

RL: It was so exciting to see how this mix of text and movement enriched the piece and how the audiences embraced the non-linear structure. There are so many unknowns putting up a new play. I love the adventure of it. And, when the writer is part of the process, it can be an enormously satisfying journey of give and take, discovery and execution.

AS: What kind of hurdles have you had to jump in the process of producing new plays?

RL: We have limited resources and that means no additional rehearsal time for a new play. With only three weeks to bring the play to the stage, we must do a lot of work in advance. This can result in not fully addressing everything; some scripts need more time. Of course, everything learned in seeing the play in front of an audience contributes to the writers understanding of the next steps. Doesn’t it often come down to time and resources?

AS: And they are so scarce and precious! But you nonetheless manage to get a lot done. As well as being the Kitchen’s artistic director, you’re also a performer, a director, and a writer with an extensive body of plays and musicals. Do you think your own experiences as an artist have helped your work with writers and librettists over twenty years?

RL: I have total faith in the process. If the right people are in the room, something worthy is likely going to happen. I love figuring out the mindset/gestalt of another writer and then working to bring that to the stage. I love the psychology required for theatrical collaboration. I’m also continually in awe of how other people arrive at their plays. Some people make 180 degree turns with ease, while others are one-step-at-a-time rewriters. Being in the rehearsal room with so many different theatre artists over the years has been such a gift!

AS: Stepping down after 20 years you must have a lot to reflect on. But what’s next?

RL: I hope more writing. No excuses now. I also have some ideas for broader community-wide arts advocacy I can foster after I step down from KTC. More time with my husband. Travel. Friends I haven’t seen. Clearing out the garage? It’s been on the list forever. I will also get better on the fiddle which I started playing two years ago—as if I didn’t have enough challenges in my life, I added trying to make music out of a piece of wood and horse hair!

AS: And I look forward to hearing you do it.

astratford@dramatistsguild.com

@dramatistsguild @duellwilliam

Dramatists, please welcome our new Houston Young Ambassador, Elizabeth A.M. Keel! Elizabeth obtained her BA at the University of Houston, where she studied with Lanford Wilson and Edward Albee. Her plays have been produced by The Landing Theatre, Cone Man Running, This Is Water Theatre, University of Houston, Mildred’s Umbrella, Nova Arts Project, Scriptwriters/Houston, Bootown, Fresh Produce’d (NYC), and 14 Pews while she was their Artist-in-Residence. She has published two novels, and currently works as a teaching artist and coach for Stages Repertory Theatre and Writers in the Schools. She is earning her graduate degree in Theatre Studies at University of Houston.

Will Duell: What would you most like DG members to know about you?

Elizabeth A.M. Keel: I would love to say thank you for the warm welcome! José Rivera tells us to find our tribe, and I am honored to be in such good company.

WD: What inspires/ possesses you to write plays?

EK: Plays for me start with usually a voice in the middle distance. I hear a character talking and suddenly want to listen in to see what’s happening in that Other World. One of my most recent plays, Cherry Muffins, was a comedy about a demon who wanted to leave Hell because she had fallen in love with a mortal. The first thing I “heard” was her halting apology for breaking the rules.

I’m a huge fangirl of fantasy on stage because it allows for infinite freedom. (Tired of linear time? Ever wondered what’d happen if lizards washed up on your beach, hankering for a chat? You’re not alone.) For example, in the hilarious Hand to God, Rob Askins manages to turn the attack of a demonic church puppet into a much-needed conversation between mother and son. I consider fantasy akin to running out of the house, climbing in the sewer, tunneling your way back through the yard, and blasting a hole in the floor of the room you wanted to go to in the first place. It’s the same bag of tricks as realist playwriting, but with fantasy, you’re somehow more immediately and unpredictably alive. Go nuts.

WD: What’s the most fantastical play you’ve written?

EK: I suppose my most textbook fantastic play to date is one that is still in pre-production. It’s a swashbuckler called Tooth & Tail, and it’s in the classic line of The Princess Bride, complete with witches, dragons, and spells. What I like best about it is that despite all the magic and flair, at its heart it’s still a tale of the intricacies of female friendships, and how difficult they can be to form and maintain.

WD: Any incisive advice to young playwrights?

EK: The absolute hands-down best thing that young playwrights can do is make friends with other actors, designers, and directors. And for heaven’s sake, be nice to stage managers. Find the artists who are just as hungry as you. Stage readings in your living room, on roofs, in parking lots. Create those opportunities no one will give you yet. Never wait to be chosen from the slush pile to get your work on its feet.

WD: You produced three of your plays. Some playwrights avoid this.

EK: I’ve been lucky enough to have had financial/artistic partners on all of my productions. But there have been chances along the way to work as the producer and, yes, I seized them. Donning that other hat required me to reevaluate my scripts from the point of view of those who “Get. It. Done.” I enjoy producing, and the game of completing many strange tasks in a limited amount of time.

The only reasons to avoid self-production are: one, you might be terrible at it, and it’s your name all over everything, or two, you want to hang on to that “World Premiere” too many theatres are obsessed with. (This is a personal irritation of mine. I think plays are enhanced by productions and made stronger, particularly new work. The desire of many festivals solely for shows that have never been done limits a lot of plays that would slay in a sophomore run.)

In the end, you want someone you trust to take the helm. A certain play may come along, dear dramatist, when you feel like no one could do it better than you. At that point, I hope you do elect to produce. It’s a rush.

wduell@dramatistsguild.com