Nevertheless,
She Persisted
Women have made strides throughout history and keep marching forward, changing the world in countless ways.
This Women's History Month, we're celebrating her story, your story, our individual stories and collective impact, women who have and continue to fight against discrimination in all its forms.
Announcements!
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FEST NEWS
FringeTV's theme for HFF18 is Superheroes. Have ideas for coverage? Contact
fringetv@hollywoodfringe.org.
Registration deadline to be included in the printed version of this year's guide is April 1.
Twitter Chats for #hff18
Get advice, ask questions, share experiences and mingle online with fellow Fringers and Fringe staff before the festival begins. Chat moderated by @HollywoodFringe.
Chat times:
March 27, 7-8pm
April 11, 2-3pm
April 24, 7-8pm
May 16, 2-3pm
May 29, 7-8pm
Upcoming Events
TOWN HALL 2: MARKETING
Tuesday, April 3, 8-10pm @ Assistance League Playhouse
WORKSHOP 3: FESTIVAL EXPECTATIONS
Saturday, April 21, 2-4pm @ Studio/Stage
Full townhall/workshop schedule
here.
OFFICE HOURS (casual meet-ups with staff & participants)
Wednesday, March 28, 7-10pm @ St. Felix
SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES
To avoid repetition and keep the EBlast readable, check out the EBlast Archive for previously posted submission opportunities! Please send new ones you come across to be included in the EBlast to Submission Opportunities.
Emerging Arts Leader/Los Angeles is seeking 10-minute plays for our April 12th FRESH BREW new play-reading event, to be held at Angel City Brewery in partnership with Skylight Theatre Company. Plays may be on any theme and previously produced/workshopped pieces are ok. Actors and directors are also being sought to participate in the event. For more info or to submit yourself or your play, contact Jenny Marlowe at
jenny@ealla.org by
March 20.
Gateways from
Redgates Theatre in Hackney, East London is open for submissions of a monologue, poem, duologue or scene lasting no longer than THREE MINUTES. Open to all content matter. Send submissions to
casting@redgatestheatre.co.uk with the subject GATEWAYS. Email
andy@redgatestheatre.co.uk for any special requirements.
Deadline: March 25.
LA's
Australian Theatre Company invites submissions of new full-length plays for their annual reading series in June at the Zephyr Theatre. ATC's mission is to create a meaningful cultural exchange with American artist and audiences. Although an Australian voice should be present in each piece, that voice could be represented by the character, the location or an overarching theme. Readings will take place every Monday in June at 7pm. More info and online form
here.
Deadline: March 30.
Chesil Theatre invites submissions of ten-minute plays based on the theme, HIDDEN WORLDS, for the 10x10 New Writing Festival in October 2018. Submit script, synopsis and
application form to
10x10@chesiltheatre.org.uk.
Deadline: March 30.
Applications are open for the
5th Annual Solo Creation Festival at Son of Semele. Proposed works should not have had a performance in any form in LA County in the six months preceding the festival and should be 5-45 minutes in duration. More info and application
here.
Deadline: April 1.
Fade To Black is Houston's first national play festival to showcase new works of African-American playwrights. Each year ten finalist will be selected to be produced. One the last day of the festival a grand prize winning playwright will be announced (by audience vote).
Submission info at
fadetoblackfest.com.
Deadline: April 1.
One Act Play Festival (OAPF) in Cranston, RI is accepting short play submissions for their 13th annual festival this summer. Submission
guidelines and more info at
artists-exchange.org/oneactfest.html.
Deadline: April 14.
Athena Project is accepting submissions for its
Plays In Progress (PIP) Series, taking place in Denver approximately March-April 2019, as part of a larger arts festival celebrating the voices of women artists. Selected plays will be given a dramaturg, director, cast and workshop level production during the festival, and will be considered for mainstage production in September 2019. Submission guidelines and additional info at
athenaprojectarts.org/get-involved/submit.
Deadline: April 15.
SHINE Storytelling is now accepting submissions for its show on Thursday, May 17th at the Santa Monica Playhouse. The theme is
"Far and Away.
" We're looking for stories of when you traveled far from home—or the familiar—to follow your unique path. Stories may be about you or about someone else when you were first-person witness.
Submission deadline is Thursday, April 19th. For full submission guidelines, please see
www.StoreyProductions.com/Shine_Storytelling.
WomenArts is now accepting submissions for their second annual SWAN Day Song Contest. They are looking for inspiring songs about women that can be sung at SWAN Day events and other community gatherings.
Submission info and
form at womenarts.org.
Deadline: April 30.
8x10 TheatreFest in Akron, OH will be selecting the "final eight" plays to be performed on their Weathervane stage in July 2018, with first, second, and third places being selected by the audience. This year's inspirational prop, to be included in each play, is a sock monkey. Short plays, 10 minutes or less, with cast of 2-3. Submission info
here. Contact is
sdavis@weathervaneplayhouse.com.
Deadline: May 4.
WOMEN at WORK
on Stage
Celebrate Women's History Month with
She's History!—a play and school program about women who MAKE and MADE history, playing
Sunday, March 18, 5pm at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood.
Written and performed by Amy Simon.
FABULOUS FEMALE FACT: Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) — "I am sick and tire of being sick and tired." A sharecropper's daughter and civil rights icon, having a surgeon give her a hysterectomy without her knowledge or consent was just one incident that inspired her 1964 televised
testimony at the Democratic National Convention, which brought the torture and abuse she experienced into American living rooms. Visit
sheshistory.com for more info.
Look What SHE Did! presents an evening of taped stories and Q&A with inspiring women. Event will take place on
Wednesday, March 21, with light reception and cash bar at 6:30pm and 7:30pm show. Look What SHE Did! is a non-profit organization that celebrates unknown female powerhouses by asking accomplished women to talk about the women who have inspired them with their achievements, their fearlessness, their dedication to making the world better.
March 23-May 13: Through the Eye of a Needle by Jami Brandli, directed by Ann Hearn. The Keen family is dealing with the recent tragedy concerning their daughter, Dana, a navy corpsman in the Iraq War, with scotch, an extra plate setting, and a protest on Twitter. Then Nasser, an Iraqi refugee, arrives at their door unannounced on Christmas Eve. As the family fights over whether or not to keep Nasser's "gift", tempers fly and secrets are revealed.
Through March 25,
Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group presents
STOMACH CONTENTS: An Evening of Plays Set in the Desert by Sharon Yablon. Three all-new mini-plays portraying haunting and surreal stories of Angelinos who find themselves in the unique and primal world of the nearby desert, thriving by its own rules. For ages 14 and up. Tickets at 818-202-4120 or
zombiejoes.tix.com.
Through March 25 @ South Coast Repertory:
CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND by Lauren Yee. Part comedy, part mystery, part rock concert, this thrilling story toggles back and forth in time, as father and daughter face the music of the past. When Dad shows up unannounced—his first return to Cambodia since fleeing 30 years ago—it's clear this isn't just a pleasure trip. Use code LAFPICRB for discount.
Sunday, March 25 @ 5pm—a reading of
The Last Seder by Jennifer Maisel, directed by Jessica Kubzansky. The four grown Price daughters return home for the final Passover in their childhood home. At The Ebell of Los Angeles, with supper immediately following the reading. Info/tix: 323-931-1277 ext 131,
tickets@ebelloflosangeles.com.
Ashland New Plays Festival will open with a staged reading of
Your Best One by Meridith Friedman, on
Sunday, March 25, 7:30pm at Southern Oregon University's Music Recital Hall. In this family drama, when one of their own faces a serious health crisis, they rally together—and against each other—with their trademark wit and inherited neurosis, contending with health insurance, child custody, inheritance, and superfoods.
April 13-May 12: L.O.V.E.R., written by and starring Lois Robbins, directed by Sonia Sebastian at the Zephyr Theatre on Melrose. A poignant and comic journey through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood from a grown-up woman's point of view. For tickets and more info, call 323-960-5770 or visit
www.plays411.com/lover.
Through April 15: Unemployed Elephants—A Love Story by Wendy Graf, directed by Maria Gobetti, at The Victory Theatre Center in Burbank. A chance meeting in an airport lounge leads to a Burmese adventure and a search for a missing monk...and maybe love. For more info and tickets, call 818-840-5422 or visit
thevictorytheatrecenter.org.
May 4-20, with previews May 2 & 3: West coast premiere of
CARDBOARD PIANO by Hansol Jung, directed by Caryn Desai, at
International City Theatre in Long Beach. Chris, the spirited daughter of an American missionary, falls head-over-heels in love with a local teenage girl in Northern Uganda. Late night on the eve of the millennium, they secretly meet in a church to exchange vows and plot their escape. But when the surrounding war zone encroaches on their fragile union, they cannot escape its reach. Confronting the religious and cultural roots of intolerance, CARDBOARD PIANO explores violence and its aftermath, as well as the human capacity for hatred, forgiveness, and love. Get tickets for the
show only or
Opening Night Gala with pre-show dinner with director and community leaders and after party with the actors. For group discounts, contact
amber@ictlongbeach.org or 562-495-4595 ext 103.
Judy and Me: Check out this web series about a 20-something Philly girl and her dysfunctional relationship with her loose canon empty-nester mother. Created by Pauline Schantzer and Nathan Swain. Performed by Pauline Schantzer.
Watch now.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INSTIGATORS!
The New Original Works (NOW) Festival is a three-week interdisciplinary program offering a variety of short works and some longer projects in their Los Angeles premieres, happening late July through early August. Artists are given development support through rehearsal space, technical assistance, access to equipment and a honorarium. Apply online at
https://www.redcat.org/about/artist-opportunities. Send questions to
nowfestival.redcat@calarts.edu.
Deadline: March 21 by 5pm.
Applications for the
2018 Faversham Fringe are open for new writing, musicals, stand-up, sketch comedy, cabaret, poetry, mentalism, improvisation, and others.
More info and
application form at
favershamfringe.co.uk.
Deadline: March 31.
2018 Statera National Conference invites proposals from theatre professionals of all ages and genders that reflect the diversity of female theatre professionals and explore issues of gender parity female identity, work-life-balance and personal fulfillment. Conference to be held at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI from October 4-7. Submission info at
www.staterafoundation.org/proposals.
Deadline: April 1.
Royal Court Theatre created a series of workshops to further empower women in the arts, champion the growth of female leadership and interrogate the current state of creative industries. The objective is for women to take up space. Workshops include: 100 years, Play in a day, Women offstage, Empowerment and Taking Up Space, Script Club, a networking event for Women of Color in Theatre, and Are Quotas Helpful or Harmful? Workshops are free and for anyone who is non binary or who identifies as a woman, of any age and experience. Booking for the first series of workshops will open the week of March 19.
Playwriting Workshop with John Burgess in Poitiers, France to be held in a beautiful priory in lovely gardens from
May 4-8, 2018. The three days will cover basic building blocks: words of one syllable, rhythm, exits and entrances, building a page, surprise, stichomythia, images, actions, silence. All food, drinks and airport transfers are included. Email
jftmorley@hotmail.com for more details.
WGGB has launched a free
musical theatre kit, covering creation, development and production. At each stage, the writer and working partners are given information and sources to smooth their path. Available for download
here.
Papatango's GoWrite will deliver an ambitious year-round program of in-depth playwriting workshops and education opportunities, completely free. See
website for details.
July 9-August 2: International City Theatre's
Summer Youth Conservatory 2018 is a 4-week-long instruction in acting, music, dance and movement taught by industry professionals, culminating in a special presentation for parents and friends. For kids ages 7-15. Early Bird Special if you register before April 15. Registration form
here.
Essential Reading
Articles related to our mission: To ensure that women playwrights are fairly represented on local stages, and beyond.
From
London Playwrights Blog:
Other articles/stats about diversity/gender parity:
"Let woman's claim be as broad in the concrete as the abstract. We take our stand on the solidarity of humanity, the oneness of life, the unnaturalness and injustice of all special favoritism, whether of sex, race, country, or condition. If one link of the chain is broken, the chain is broken."
—
Anna Julia Cooper
