PROMPT 1 Write a play that moves backward in time.
PROMPT 2
SWAG SHOP REMINDER!
Reminder: This year all the money made off of the 31/31 Swag Shop will go to the National New Play Network! The National New Play Network supports playwrights and theaters across the country and internationally with a bevy of wonderful programs like Rolling World Premieres, the New Play Exchange, the National Showcase, and so so so much more. We are proud to support an organization that’s dedicated to new plays so ferociously. We just ran an awesome little piece about NPX by our co-founder Rachel Bublitz. Check it out!
(Photo: OF SERPENTS & SEA SPRAY by Rachel Bublitz -Custom Made Theatre Company production from 2016)
As you’re getting through the month, you might be wondering what you can do with all the work you’ll be generating over the days of August, and I’m here to tell you about one possible place for you to share them: The New Play Exchange.
The New Play Exchange, also called NPX or @NewPlayX on Twitter, was created by the folks over at the National New Play Network, and is a new avenue to get your work read and to connect with new play advocates. As the National New Play Network puts it, the New Play Exchange is, “A cloud-based script database, enhanced with a robust search-and-filter mechanism, crowd-sourced recommendations of plays, and personal script and coverage information storage, plus the connectivity of a social networking site.”
Once you create a profile and upload scripts, you’ll be emailed opportunities as your plays qualify and you’ll have the chance to “tag” your work. Once your play is tagged, the theater or festival that put out the call can include that script in what they’re considering for the project. Gwydion Suilebhan, project director of the New Play Exchange and fierce new play advocate, wanted to give some of the power back to playwrights when it came to submissions. To create a space in which playwrights had more options for production and development, where theaters found us, instead of the other way around.
And, while all of that sounds pretty great, it took me a bit to figure out how to use the site to its maximum benefit. I’ve had a membership with the New Play Exchange for years, and it wasn’t until last Fall that I felt I’d really cracked into its true potential. Because, while it is a place for theaters to find plays, it’s also a place where new play lovers to read thousands of scripts and promote the work of other artists. And that to me, is the biggest boon of the New Play Exchange, with their recommendation system they have created a vibrant new play loving community.
Anyone with a membership has access to all the plays on the site. You can download and read as many as you’d like, and recommend any that strike your fancy. Reading a ton of new work has been so beneficial to my own writing. It’s inspiring, thought-provoking, and even when I don’t love the play, I feel like I learn something new about the craft of writing for the stage. Through the New Play Exchange I’ve been introduced to a ton of new artists, and new styles, and the funny thing about writing recommendations is that once I started writing them for other plays, I started to get them on my plays. The New Play Exchange is a magic place of karma, apparently, and, for me at least, the more I put in, the more I get out.
(Photo: CHEERLEADERS VS. ALIENS by Rachel Bublitz at the Egyptian Youtheatre 2018)
But that’s enough from me…. Here are some other wonderful playwrights and their thoughts on why the New Play Exchange is the cat’s pajamas:
Hannah C Langley (playwright): “The community. I’ve met so many amazing writers and artists from around the country that I now consider friends and colleagues.”
Emily Hageman (playwright and educator): “Having incredible current playwrights posting their work to be read, admired, and studied! New friendships, networking opportunities, and being able to get your work out there.”
Shaun Leisher (producer, director, dramaturg, and nominator for The Kilroys): “NPX has made it clear to me that Broadway is not representative of the state of today’s theatre. New York isn’t representative of today’s theatre. Without NPX I would have no true grasp of how rich, diverse and vibrant the state of theatre is today.”
Andrew Roblyer (director, acting coach, playwright, and actor): “My favorite thing is that it levels the playing field a bit in several ways. First, ease of discovery and access makes it more appealing for small theatres to produce new work. Second, search parameters make it harder to argue that lack of exposure is the reason playwrights from marginalized communities don’t get exposure. And third, it just makes it fun to read new plays!”
Diana Burbano (playwright, actor, and teaching artist): “Feeling heard and paying it forward. It’s a golden age of new plays and the @NewPlayX is leading the way.”
Rachael Carnes (playwright and educator): “NPX is a wonderful way to read new work, and build community. Through sharing my plays on NPX, and reading other writers’ work there, I’ve developed meaningful and supportive collegial connections with writers all over the country. I’ve made friends through NPX! So much so, that when I’ve seen these same playwrights in real life, it feels like we already know each other. NPX has been an incredible resource for me — I take better care of updating and archiving on my NPX profile than I do my personal website.”
Jessica Austgen (playwright and actor): “Not only is it a great way to make your work available to a national network of theaters, but it’s a powerful tool for community building among playwrights. On NPX, I can read and recommend the work of my peers, make connections with playwrights around the county, and feel like part of a community.”
Caroline Cao (playwright): “Getting stuff done, playing with content.”
Hope Villanueva (playwright and stage manager): You don’t need to be famous or established to be on NPX. All playwrights are welcome and, if you show dedication to the craft, you will be embraced.
Jordan Elizabeth Henry (playwright): 1. COMMUNITY – 2. reading brave/strange/wild work encourages me to make brave/strange/wild choices with my own work – 3. totally changed the way I think about scarcity and abundance re: submitting/rejection/etc
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I could go on and on and on, seriously, I got a LOT of messages from folks telling me how excited they were about the New Play Exchange. So head on over to the New Play Exchange, get a profile, put up your plays, and dive in, the water is fine!
