After a person writes a play what are their options? Of course they could take it to their local theater and see if someone's interested in presenting it...but are there any other options besides that?
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Just a few questions.
- Thread starter curious1980
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Same approach as with a publisher or agent search. Get online or use a theatre/writers guide and look up theatres that present new work, work that reflects your own style of writing and themes etc. Become familiar with the market, see lots of theatre productions, read reviews, keep up with who is doing what. Check out each (the ones that are suitable) individual theatre's guide to submitting new work (usually found on website), follow those guidelines, put script in envelope and send it to the appropriate person in the format requested, usually the literary manager. Not all theatres produce new writing so become familiar with who produces what. Most mid size theatres produce some work in house, some exclusively so, the type of theatres who will not be interested are those who always buy in touring work.
You could also try getting an agent but most new writing theatres have no problem accepting unsolicited scripts and have a team of readers to deal with the work that comes in, all an agent does is get you to the top of the reading pile or to a literary manager without a huge wait. Become familiar with what is on in your area, local theatres tend to favour local writers. Keep an eye out for competitions, my first full production and first play was as a result of entering a competition and it lead to two further commissions. Join a theatre writers group in your area as they are a good source of feedback and opportunities. Attend events at local theatres such as post show discussions, go on courses (often run by theatres) get to know who the good directors are in your area and what they are looking for, get connected and informed.
You could also try getting an agent but most new writing theatres have no problem accepting unsolicited scripts and have a team of readers to deal with the work that comes in, all an agent does is get you to the top of the reading pile or to a literary manager without a huge wait. Become familiar with what is on in your area, local theatres tend to favour local writers. Keep an eye out for competitions, my first full production and first play was as a result of entering a competition and it lead to two further commissions. Join a theatre writers group in your area as they are a good source of feedback and opportunities. Attend events at local theatres such as post show discussions, go on courses (often run by theatres) get to know who the good directors are in your area and what they are looking for, get connected and informed.
Google ain't my friend. All it wants to do is talk dirty.
Just the other day, I was looking for a new way to cook chicken, so I typed "breast" into the search engine.
I could not believe what I was seeing.
I had to keep clicking through, just to make sure I wasn't imagining all the filth that was pouring out onto my screen. Then I had to bookmark all those websites so I could report them to the proper authorities.
I haven't sent my report yet because I want to make sure I've documented all the websites. It's taking a while, but I'll finish that report soon.
There are many, many festivals that present new works. The problem is that I don't know of any single place where they are listed. Most of them have specific requirements as to length, content and even the sex of the playwright. Many of the festivals require the playwright to be in residence during rehearsals for rewrites.
Almost every major theater has a literary department that is looking for new works. Even smaller theaters produce new works from time to time. Our theater presents six productions a year. By far the most popular show we do is our festival of ten minute plays by local playwrights.
Here are just a few links
http://www.livegirlstheater.org/
http://www.pwscc.edu/conference/
http://www.actorstheatre.org/humana.htm
There are also dozens of "Fringe Festivals" that present plays for other organizations.
Here is one large one:
http://www.midtownfestival.org/index.htm
or Google "Fringe Festivals Theater" if you are willing to produce (or have someone do it for you) your own show.
It's a start.
Doug
Almost every major theater has a literary department that is looking for new works. Even smaller theaters produce new works from time to time. Our theater presents six productions a year. By far the most popular show we do is our festival of ten minute plays by local playwrights.
Here are just a few links
http://www.livegirlstheater.org/
http://www.pwscc.edu/conference/
http://www.actorstheatre.org/humana.htm
There are also dozens of "Fringe Festivals" that present plays for other organizations.
Here is one large one:
http://www.midtownfestival.org/index.htm
or Google "Fringe Festivals Theater" if you are willing to produce (or have someone do it for you) your own show.
It's a start.
Doug
The book DRAMATISTS SOURCEBOOK, published yearly by Theatre Communications Group, is a good single-stop reference for new play festivals, competitions, regional theatres, new plays, etc.
Lots of places
When you start investigating, you are overwhelmed by the number and variety of places where you can submit a play, even as an unpublished, unproduced writer.
Writer's Digest 2009 ($30) has over twenty pages of listings, with descriptions of what the various theaters are looking for. These listings do not even include all the many community theaters (we have two in the distinctly nonurban county where I live in Tennessee).
Writer's Digest is worth the investment. You can probably find it, too, in the public library if you live in a moderately large city.
When you start investigating, you are overwhelmed by the number and variety of places where you can submit a play, even as an unpublished, unproduced writer.
Writer's Digest 2009 ($30) has over twenty pages of listings, with descriptions of what the various theaters are looking for. These listings do not even include all the many community theaters (we have two in the distinctly nonurban county where I live in Tennessee).
Writer's Digest is worth the investment. You can probably find it, too, in the public library if you live in a moderately large city.
Here are some websites to check out:
http://www.burryman.com/submissions.html
http://www.nycplaywrights.org/
http://enavantplaywrights.yuku.com/directory
http://www.playwritingopportunities.com/ (on hiatus, but hopefully it will be back up soon.)
If anyone has other suggestions, please post them, as I am always looking for opportunities.
http://www.burryman.com/submissions.html
http://www.nycplaywrights.org/
http://enavantplaywrights.yuku.com/directory
http://www.playwritingopportunities.com/ (on hiatus, but hopefully it will be back up soon.)
If anyone has other suggestions, please post them, as I am always looking for opportunities.
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Some more (hopefully useful) links:
http://www.santacruzactorstheatre.org/play-contests-festivals/
http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/contest_and_festivals.php
http://www.santacruzactorstheatre.org/play-contests-festivals/
http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/contest_and_festivals.php