We recently read that former New Jersey Young Playwright Festival winner Mary Hamilton (2000 and 2001) was named as one of six finalists for the 2012 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship. Congratulations, Mary!
http://www.p73.org/2011/12/14/finalists-for-the-2012-p73-playwriting-fellowship-2/
(11 days to go until scripts are due!)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Deadline approaching
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a creative and inspiring holiday season.
Today begins our official countdown to the submission deadlines for the 2012 New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest & Festival. While there are two deadlines for scripts, the countdown will mark the days until January 14, which is the date that High School division (grades 10-12) plays are due. So...
12 days remaining to submit your script!
Be sure to visit the program website at http://www.njypf.org/ for details on how to send us your play. Please remember that this is a two-step process. Many of you have registered via our online survey form over the last few months, but have not yet submitted your play. I will follow up via email with everyone who has done this by the end of this Friday (January 6). After that time, the reminders will stop. So, get that play in now!
(The information below contains a correction from the original post)
Also, if you are planning to submit your work to the national Young Playwrights Conference (a separate program conducted by Young Playwrights, Inc.), that deadline was yesterday, January 2; however, Young Playwrights, Inc. has indicated on their website that they will accept scripts with a POSTMARK of January 3 since yesterday was a Federal holiday and the post office was closed. Please see their website for details about that contest at http://www.youngplaywrights.org/. YOU CAN SUBMIT TO BOTH CONTESTS, so you are highly encouraged to do so.
Happy writing!
Today begins our official countdown to the submission deadlines for the 2012 New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest & Festival. While there are two deadlines for scripts, the countdown will mark the days until January 14, which is the date that High School division (grades 10-12) plays are due. So...
12 days remaining to submit your script!
Be sure to visit the program website at http://www.njypf.org/ for details on how to send us your play. Please remember that this is a two-step process. Many of you have registered via our online survey form over the last few months, but have not yet submitted your play. I will follow up via email with everyone who has done this by the end of this Friday (January 6). After that time, the reminders will stop. So, get that play in now!
(The information below contains a correction from the original post)
Also, if you are planning to submit your work to the national Young Playwrights Conference (a separate program conducted by Young Playwrights, Inc.), that deadline was yesterday, January 2; however, Young Playwrights, Inc. has indicated on their website that they will accept scripts with a POSTMARK of January 3 since yesterday was a Federal holiday and the post office was closed. Please see their website for details about that contest at http://www.youngplaywrights.org/. YOU CAN SUBMIT TO BOTH CONTESTS, so you are highly encouraged to do so.
Happy writing!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Words of wisdom
A few days before Thanksgiving, I sat in on a playwriting residency being taught by Ben Clawson, one of our teaching artists. He was leading the class in a session where each student pitched an idea for their story and discussed the possibilities (and any questions) with the class. Ben gave some great advice to the students that may be helpful throughout the writing process, but especially so if you are experiencing a block, or still do not know where to begin. I asked Ben if I can share these with you. Here are a few...
"You're telling a story that you want to hear. You are your first audience member."
Often some of the first questions and inevitable uncertainties expressed by our young playwrights include what to write about and whether their idea will be "good enough". The answer to that depends upon the intended audience. If you work from the view that you are the first and most important audience for your play, write one that you enjoy and it will certainly be "good enough". Plus...
"There's the story and then how you present it."
Chances are that when you first sit down to write, you already have a story idea in mind. For example, you might describe the idea by saying: "This a story about a girl who..." or "This is a story that takes place in..."
No matter what idea you start with there are likely to be infinate directions that it can take. This can feel daunting, which may lead to burnout, or writer's block, or an anxiety that you won't be able to start... or finish. If you set some parameters for yourself with number of characters, scenes, locations, then you begin to establish some limitations and focus your writing. I'm not surprised to hear some grumbling here as I don't like an outline any more than the next person does, but the way in which Ben put this idea to the class makes it something more of a framework for how you want to tell you story than a rock-solid outline.
This can also be a fun challenge and may provide some interesting story ideas that you may not have thought about previously.
Still not convinced that a framework can be helpful? Consider this...
"You can take a walk in the woods. It's not too dangerous... if you know where you are going. If you just start walking that's when you get lost."
and
"[Its] always good to leave room for your story to surprise you."
Have a good sense of where you want to go and be open to some diversions along the way. Just keep in mind the end goal and you'll make it though alright.
Happy writing!
"You're telling a story that you want to hear. You are your first audience member."
Often some of the first questions and inevitable uncertainties expressed by our young playwrights include what to write about and whether their idea will be "good enough". The answer to that depends upon the intended audience. If you work from the view that you are the first and most important audience for your play, write one that you enjoy and it will certainly be "good enough". Plus...
"There's the story and then how you present it."
Chances are that when you first sit down to write, you already have a story idea in mind. For example, you might describe the idea by saying: "This a story about a girl who..." or "This is a story that takes place in..."
No matter what idea you start with there are likely to be infinate directions that it can take. This can feel daunting, which may lead to burnout, or writer's block, or an anxiety that you won't be able to start... or finish. If you set some parameters for yourself with number of characters, scenes, locations, then you begin to establish some limitations and focus your writing. I'm not surprised to hear some grumbling here as I don't like an outline any more than the next person does, but the way in which Ben put this idea to the class makes it something more of a framework for how you want to tell you story than a rock-solid outline.
This can also be a fun challenge and may provide some interesting story ideas that you may not have thought about previously.
Still not convinced that a framework can be helpful? Consider this...
"You can take a walk in the woods. It's not too dangerous... if you know where you are going. If you just start walking that's when you get lost."
and
"[Its] always good to leave room for your story to surprise you."
Have a good sense of where you want to go and be open to some diversions along the way. Just keep in mind the end goal and you'll make it though alright.
Happy writing!
Friday, December 9, 2011
In search of actors and readers
Playwrights Theatre is looking for ACTORS and READERS for the upcoming Madison and New Jersey Young Playwrights Festivals. Interested persons should complete the online survey found at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PTNJFestivals2012.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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