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eBULLETIN
MAY 2015
“...public funding for the arts has fallen further and faster than ever before. We’ve got into the habit of thinking that public spending is bad. There’s plenty of money; it’s just that too much of it is in the Cayman Islands. The arts spread joy and encourage empathy. They’re not a luxury. Ill-health, prejudice, extremism – all these can be helped by the arts. Affordable access should be part of a civilised country’s life. That means proper investment."
Samuel West, actor and chair of the National Campaign for the Arts
Once on Chunuk Bair by Maurice Shadbolt. Invercagill Repertory Society, 2015
Kia ora <<First Name>>
Playwrights b4 25, our second competition for the year, has now been shortlisted (full list below) and what a strong line up it is. Congratulations to the young playwrights selected from a terrific collection of plays. This competition (unlike the Adam NZ Play Award) allows submission of plays that have already been produced meaning that some of the plays on this list may be familiar to theatregoers. As I mentioned last month, we will be having a function on 4 June in partnership with Auckland Live to announce the winning play. I am pleased to have this focus on the competition and I encourage you to join us. We hope to gather all of the shortlisted playwrights for this celebration of young playwrights to see scenes from the shortlisted plays and to network. Details to RSVP below.
Next we’re looking for all of those Brown and Asian Ink submissions. In the last four years eight of the plays that have received development in these programmes have gone on to be seen in full productions. Our Plays for the Young competition is also now open for entries. Many of the previous winners and finalists have been produced and we have published several of them.
We’ve received a few applications for the wonderful Scotland residency opportunity (Creative New Zealand with Playmarket and Playwrights Studio Scotland). If you have a project you think fits the brief we’d love you to throw your hat in the ring. An opportunity like this doesn’t come along very often so take advantage of the chance to be commissioned and be in residence with a Scottish company. I have heard that Scottish playwrights are envious and are hoping there will be a reciprocal project in the future.
In the past there has been confusion about playwright eligibility for residencies and writing awards that Creative New Zealand manages. All of the writing residencies and awards are open to application from playwrights. Production of a play is counted as publication of that work.
I neglected to mention last month that I had attended the Musical Theatre New Zealand conference in Christchurch. A highlight for me among the festivities was the pleasure of meeting up again with copyright holder companies from Australia (Hal Leonard, Origin, David Spicer) and New Zealand (Play Bureau). Networking is the order of the day at conferences and promoting New Zealand work to the 260 delegates was the priority. Members of MTNZ are increasingly staging titles we represent.
Last weekend saw the presentation of several Anzac themed works on stage throughout the country. There have been new plays staged so far this year such as The War Play, The War Artist, and Anzac Eve; and several revivals such as ANZAC (John Broughton), Once On Chunuk Bair, King and Country, The Private War of Corporal Cooper, Soldier’s Song, and Sister Anzac. Far from crowding the mind, these shows have been making an impact on their communities, proving the power of live theatre, and drawing a few tears. It is exciting that works like these can gather audiences to learn and remember.
Nga mihi mahana
Murray Lynch - Director of Playmarket
NEWS
 PLAYWRIGHTS b4 25
Playmarket is excited to announce the shortlist of our Playwrights b4 25 competition.
Sam Brooks - Stutterpop, Wine Lips and The Girl and the Gay
Rose Cann - The Wellington Hill Drinking Society
Abbey Howells - Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die
Nathan Joe - Hippolytus Veiled or: Eros Beware!
Jess Sayer - SHAM
Finnius Teppett - The Non-Surgeon's Guide to the Appendectomy (and other games)
Cassandra Tse - Long Ago, Long Ago
Ben Wilson - I'll Be Fine
The winners of the competition will be announced at a function at The Herald Theatre, Auckland Live on Thursday 4 June 2015.
We'll be sending out invitations for the event shortly - if you'd like to attend please email us here and we'll get you on the list.
PLAYS FOR THE YOUNG COMPETITION
Do you have an original and inventive play written for young people, whether you are new or experienced in writing for the young? We are seeking the best of all plays that fall into this category, including plays written by teachers especially for the classroom, adaptations of fairy tales and legends, and the most searing explorations of adolescence written by teenagers themselves.
There are three categories and a winner will be awarded in each category.
Plays written for:
- 3 - 8 year-olds
- 8 - 12 year-olds
- teenagers
Submissions close Friday 31 July 2015
See our website here for more details.
AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL
The Festival runs from Wednesday 13 to Sunday 17 May 2015. Client events include:
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PLAYWRITING
2pm Friday 15 May 2015
Roger Hall presents a workshop on the skills required to craft a script for the stage. In particular: dialogue, characterisation, time, plots and sub-plots. Participants will take part in discussion and activities, and should prepare for the session by completing a short piece of written work. Read more here
  
THE ART OF THE PLAY - 9am Saturday May 16 2015
What makes for a good play and marks the successes out from the flops? How do accomplished practitioners approach their craft, and what rules of plot, dialogue and character do they observe? Roger Hall, Victor Rodger and Fiona Samuel join chair Kathryn Burnett. Read more here
YOUR LIFE, YOUR STORY - 4pm Saturday 16 May 2015
“If you haven’t recorded your story, then history is not complete.” So says veteran NZ writer Renée whose life’s work has been to record stories through plays, fiction and memoir. This workshop is for anyone who wants to write their own story, be it for themselves, their families or a wider audience. Read more here
A WRITING LIFE: RENÉE - 3 pm Sunday May 17 2015
Playwright, novelist, poet, memoirist and blogger Renée has documented New Zealand’s social history in the latter part of the twentieth century in acclaimed work including Wednesday To Come and Setting The Table. Of Scots and Ngati Kahungunu descent, Renée blogs weekly, and publishes her new novel – a trilogy – chapter by chapter online. Read more here
CREATIVE IDEAS FAST - 3.30pm Sunday 17 May 2015
Whether you’re hunting for a new idea or just need a creative boost, this short, sharp workout led by Kathryn Burnett will get your ideas fizzing. Workshop participants generate ideas using dynamic writing exercises and then trial their favourites. Sharing optional. Read more here.
There are also appearances by Whiti Hereaka, Julie Hill, Witi Ihimaera, Greg McGee, Phil Mann, Courtney Sina Meredith, Elspeth Sandys, and Philippa Werry.
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ARTICLES
ON SOME QUALITIES OF RESPECT
Philip Catton for The Pantograph Punch
Enlightenment thinking embodied (among other convictions) that, for democracy to be possible, the State’s own first responsibility is to help the reasoning powers of individual citizens to grow. Is New Zealand in its current nationhood square with these values?
Read more here
PLAYWRIGHTS IN L.A AND THE WHOLE 99-SEAT THING
John Caren for HowlRound
Playwright Jon Caren discusses the theatrical Renaissance that’s currently happening in Los Angeles regardless of the 99-seat theatre debate.
Read more here
HOW A COMPLETE FLOP BECAME THE MOST POPULAR PLAY IN AMERICA
Chris Chafin for Fast Company
When John Cariani’s Almost, Maine made its Off-Broadway premiere in 2006, it closed after a month due to poor ticket sales. Charles Isherwood, reviewing it for The New York Times, wrote that it "may leave the cloying aftertaste of an overly sweetened Sno-Cone." However the play survived a death-sentence review to become one of the biggest hits in contemporary global theatre.
Read more here
IN SEARCH OF A NEW AESTHETIC
Chantal Bilodeau for HowlRound
An account of Chantal Bilodeau’s trip to the Canadian Arctic and how that changed how she wanted to write plays.
Read more here
EMILY PERKINS TURNS FROM PAGE TO STAGE
Emily Perkins for The Sunday Star Times
Author Emily Perkins on writing her adaptation of A Doll’s House for the Auckland Theatre Company.
Read more here
FYI, FWIW: ANZACS AND WHAT MAKES ACRONYMS TICK
Dean Koorey for Australian Writers’ Centre
Is it ANZAC or Anzac? The Australian Writers’ Centre answers this important lexical issue as part of their legendary Q&A series.
Read more here |
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KATHRYN BURNETT WORKSHOPS
ROBERT BURNS FELLOWSHIP 2016
BEST PLAYWRITING BOOK EVER
