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Post by greenbeing on Mar 21, 2006 20:45:10 GMT -5
As some of you already know, I submitted a play to the Great Plains Regional Theatre Conference about a month ago. They looked through the entries and picked about seventy people, I think, to workshop 20 minutes of a script in front of a panel of professional theatre people, and offer suggestions.
Besides the workshop, the point is to learn, meet people, network, make connections with bigwigs... It's an 8-day conference the end of May. Edward Albee (guy who wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) and several other major playwrights will be hosting and teaching seminars. I don't even have to travel, as it's in my hometown. So that's where I'll be hiding myself the end of May/beginning of June.
--GB
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Post by bjobsessed on Mar 21, 2006 21:01:10 GMT -5
So they picked you?? That's great! I bet you're excited.
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Post by Eyphur on Mar 21, 2006 21:58:46 GMT -5
Thats awesome GB! I'm sure you're gonna have a great time.
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Post by rducasey on Mar 21, 2006 22:37:09 GMT -5
Wow, how fun is that. Keep us informed. We will be rooting for you.
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Post by anna on Mar 21, 2006 22:45:06 GMT -5
That's great! What does "workshop a script" mean? Is it like doing a reading? Do you do it, or do they have actors to read it?
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Post by greenbeing on Mar 21, 2006 23:06:43 GMT -5
That's great! What does "workshop a script" mean? Is it like doing a reading? Do you do it, or do they have actors to read it? I'm not exactly sure how they're going to do it, but my basic understanding is: they have actors from various theatre groups in the area all lined up. They get the scripts ahead of time and do a few mini-rehearsals. Then, day of, they sit up there with scripts (or perhaps they actually do stage directions??), and read, basically doing voice acting for the most part. (In the letter they sent me, it said I'd have to meet with them, so maybe they'll go more in-depth than I originally thought?) At the end, the panel of "experts" comment on each piece. Offer suggestions and such, I guess. Ask questions, maybe. The public is welcome, but I dunno if they get to ask questions, too. I had e-mailed someone about the nitty-gritty details, but since this is the first year they're having it here (the past 12 years it's been in Alaska), he couldn't be too specific. So I still have a lot of questions. The workshopping will be in the morning, and then every afternoon will be some sort of seminar, I think. And a play lab where these professional playwrights can test out new material on us and see what we think as an audience. That'll be really cool, to see what other people are working on. And every evening (this runs from about 9am-10pm every day) we'll go to a different theatre for either a play or some banquet or a lecture or something. Dust off the eveningwear! --GB |
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Post by greenbeing on Apr 30, 2006 19:07:30 GMT -5
Well, it's official! They've even posted the full schedule. Of course, they're making me wait until the very last day to have my play read. Here's a link to the playwrights (the little people), who are going to have their plays read in the mornings. I'm currently busying myself reading plays by Mr. Albee and Mr. Kopit. Mr. Albee has won a few Pulitzers (how intimidating is that?), and Mr. Kopit has been nominated for a few... www.mccneb.edu/theatreconference/gptc.aspI thought it was rather interesting to see all the different places people are coming from. I figured it would be a more regional thing, but the most people are coming from the East coast. Imagine! Usually they say you have to be in NYC to succeed, but here, all these peeps from NYC are coming here... Pretty snazzy. It was also interesting to read the little synopses of their plays. Sadly, I got a letter from the conference telling me to get a hold of the theatre in charge of reading my script, so I e-mailed the person. The first time the guy ignored me, so I tried again, and the second time, he was nice enough at first, to tell me he was not the one in charge, and he had forwarded it to the lady in charge. But then he got rather snarky and said, But I don't know what you want from us. Well, gee! Neither do I, actually. I was just told to talk to them, in case they had any questions or anything, but he went on and on about how they're a college group, and couldn't be bothered with outside activities until after school got out, and what exactly did I want from them? Frew! I feel a little better now that I've ranted. So except for Mr. Snark things are on track, and the conference falls over a holiday, so I don't have to use as much vacation time as I'd thought. Yippee! They even listed all the local authors in the newspaper, which was actually a little annoying  as I then had to tell my parents and grandparents that I'd been interviewed  and that the interview had gone so badly  being my first and all  that I couldn't think and was thankfully not quoted in the article! ;D But hey, now I have my first surprise interview out of the way, and hopefully the NEXT one will go a little better  It might have helped if the girl next to me at work hadn't been shooting me looks that clearly said she thought I was engaged in a little phone dating! Eep! --GB |
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Post by bjobsessed on Apr 30, 2006 19:21:30 GMT -5
Too bad about Mr. Snark, but my fingers are crossed that all goes well for you!!
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Post by Dreamfire on May 21, 2006 4:20:26 GMT -5
"Make Your Own Soup
By Dawn Wilson
The Café des Erreurs is not the ideal family restaurant, nor is it a good place to take your girlfriend on a date. Shady characters hang out here and bad things tend to happen to the customers and the employees alike. In Make Your Own Soup, the Waiter and the Cook thwart an attempt by the owner to bring in more evil customers. While they fight the owner, another battle takes place in the Café between a mild-mannered accountant and three criminals hell-bent to kill a kiwi-hating thug who has recently had to fake his own death."
Wow! Is this a comedy? A thriller? Saturday June 3, I will be thinking of you!
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Post by greenbeing on May 21, 2006 23:51:45 GMT -5
Wow! Is this a comedy? A thriller? Saturday June 3, I will be thinking of you! Actually, it's a farce. High farce. Where everyone is completely serious, and the most bizarre things keep happening. --GB |
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Post by hoosier on May 22, 2006 16:36:15 GMT -5
Good Luck! Sounds exciting but I know I would be an absolute nervous wreck  You are such a great writer I am sure they will love it .Let us know how it goes! |
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Post by anna on Jun 4, 2006 13:46:46 GMT -5
How was the conference? How did your reading go?
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Post by greenbeing on Jun 4, 2006 13:58:06 GMT -5
I'll have to post stories about the conference later, as I am sooooo tired. We just didn't sleep all week long and I'm about to fall over. One of the highlights? Patricia Neal (who was married to Roald Dahl! gah! so cool!) liked my dress! As she was leaving, one of my friends thanked her for coming and giving her speech, and she turned to me and said, "Love that dress." She was grand, as was Joel Vig--he's one of those people who's so entertaining, and has such a great style sense  that you just want to keep him. He's a Broadway guy. All I can say in my sleep-deprived state right now is: wow. This was an amazing conference. Wow. I just need a day to collect my thoughts and regroup. Wow. --gb |
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Post by rducasey on Jun 7, 2006 16:53:39 GMT -5
GB , thanks for your stories. It sounds like it was a great learning experience. Meathead reminded me of that Simon guy on American Idol- just can't say anything nice I guess. And that panalist who left before your play, "Do you want me to go slap her around a little bit?"
How hard that must have been though to see your play performed and yet it was not read the way you meant it to be read. You must almost want to jump up and shout "Stop, do it this way." Were you able at all to work with the actors or just through your notes about the characters they were portraying?
And as for that other competition, and the piece you want to submit, I say go for it. You wrote yours a while ago, and as you say, it is all about competition. In school once I was up for a class officer position and I voted for the other guy just to be nice. Guess who won? Not me. I remember going home in tears and my mother telling me, "Do you think Kennedy voted for Nixon? " (Boy that dates me) I never forgot that. So blow your own horn, GB and submit that piece that you love.
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Post by bjobsessed on Jun 7, 2006 17:00:33 GMT -5
I agree with Mary. You should submit it. You wrote it first and you know you didn't 'borrow' her idea.
As for the guy that left, what a jerk! He was paid to be there I'm sure. He should have had the courtesy to finish the job he said he'd do. I guess dealing with actors is part of the fun too.
As long as you had fun and learned some things along the way--that's what's important.
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as I then had to tell my parents and grandparents that I'd been interviewed 
and that the interview had gone so badly 
being my first and all 
that I couldn't think and was thankfully not quoted in the article! ;D But hey, now I have my first surprise interview out of the way, and hopefully the NEXT one will go a little better 
It might have helped if the girl next to me at work hadn't been shooting me looks that clearly said she thought I was engaged in a little phone dating! Eep!
You are such a great writer I am sure they will love it .Let us know how it goes!
that you just want to keep him. He's a Broadway guy.