 |
Hey Guys,
The New Voices plays have been announced! Friday was a great meeting,
followed by a great show at 8! Don't miss Tartuffe tonight if you haven't
seen it already, 8:00, Alden Hall, tickets $3 WPI/$5 general. It is sure
to be terrific.
Before I begin the announcements, I want to mention that the answer to the
trivia was
Noah: Spring 1993
Lissa: Spring 1994
and the winner was Will Woerter. He got a Care Bears inflatable chair.
Okay!
New Voices 21 Festival Announced
Performances in Alden Hall, April 16-19, 2003, times t.b.a.
Dramaturgs for NV 21
Associate Executive Dramaturg - Sarah Linderme - sarah16@wpi.edu
Executive Dramaturg - Susan Vick svick@wpi.edu
Executive Producer - Stephanie Carney - stef280@wpi.edu
THE FIRST EVER NEW VOICES POSTER DESIGN
Selected by the Executive Producer and Associate Executive
Dramaturg, with the Executive Dramaturg advising and announced on January
24, 2003:
DRAMATIC LICENSE By Benjamin Sandofsky
THE FESTIVAL
The dramaturgs have read 47 plays, for a total of approximately 767 pages
[down 144 from 911 last year] of scripts [number of plays submitted thus
up, number of pages downhmmm] and evaluated $ 2,564.18 of proposals for
the 6 scenic designs submitted, all of which had either models [5] or
detailed drawings or both. The turgs have chosen plays for the Festival
and a scenic design for the Festival. They have informed all who
submitted of the results. From now on they will each advocate for the
playwrights and designer whose work will be produced for NV 21. They will
help the playwright find a director, they will make sure the names and
titles are properly written in the program, they will make sure the set
reflects the modelthings big and things little will be their purview.
They will work to protect and to serve the playwrights and designer.
All the dramaturgs read each submission prior to deliberations. Only
Sarah and Susan had access to the playwrights' and designers' identities.
This preserves fairness with no favoritism or prejudice. In most cases,
in fact, the dramaturgs really had no idea who wrote the play. This
point should be stressed this year since dramaturgs have 4 [four] of the
slots among the plays and scenic design chosen. The six voting dramaturgs
truly did not know when their colleagues work was being discussed. Sarah
and I monitored this. AND Even though I repeatedly stated, remember, you
might be talking about someone here, you really should have been there to
hear what they said about each other's work!!! WOW. This sucks! Make it
stop hurting. Another part of this matter needs addressing also:
sometimes the job of working as a dramaturg inspires a person to
creativity in matters of playwrighting and design. We have seen this
again and again over the years. This year is no exception. I believe
that the process of becoming engaged as a dramaturg stimulates that
creative streak and brings on the writing.
The dramaturgs were together from 5:00 p.m. until 10:31 p.m., on the
evening of February 11, 2003. We actually deliberated almost all of that
time: 5 hours and 31 minutes [down 14 minutes from the 5 hours and 45
minutes of last years nv 20 selection/debate session].
Despite their appearance as nice, sweet, kindly people, these dramaturgs
were very very very very very picky. During the first part of the
deliberations it looked like we might not have a festival. We took
several breaks, but during these breaks there was no stopping this gang
from the business at handon and on about the plays and scenic designs.
I did observe one phenomenon: the eating degenerated. Where we had
started out eating smart, veggies, etc., as the night wore on more and
more candy was eaten. By the end of the night we had to confiscate all
the candy from ourselves just to avoid a hideous sugar hangover!!
Speaking of food, we consumed $ 95.48 of delicious Boomers food UP $19.09
FROM LAST YEARS $75.39], and half of it ordered and eaten by Petti. And
candy did I say that.
But make no mistake: we were a drug and alcohol free zone throughout the
deliberations.
Blood was shed during the meeting, but on closer inspection and after
Hilary's freak out, we discovered it was only ink. Red ink!! One person
left in a huff once. We deadlocked several times leading me to cancel the
festival briefly. Two crying episodes occurred, up one from last year.
As always, Sarah kept us sane. At some point we got ourselves together and
selected the plays and scenic design upon which we all unanimously agreed.
New Voices 21 has been very carefully selected and wondrously wrought.
At 10:49 Sarah and I closed the doors on the annual meeting to select the
New Voices Festival. I drove home convinced that we will have the best
New Voices ever. I did not get home in time to see any of the Westminster
Kennel Club final show night.
SOME NEW VOICES 21 STATISTICS
SUBMISSIONS:
47 Scripts were submitted [plays, monologues, or other] up from last
year's 46. NV 19 was the record breaker with 61; the norm is 45
representing 33 voices, 1 less than last year [34]
12 female playwrights submitted 2 down from last year [14]
21 male playwrights submitted 2 up from last year [19]
1 submission was co-written, down 1 from last year
and it was co-written by men 1 up from last year [0]
Scenic designs were truly extraordinary and NV 21 would look great on any of them
6 Submitted, 1 up from last year [5] [thats a big percentage up, if you think about it]
4 male designers same as last year
2 female designer 1 up from last year
Themes and styles of plays submitted were shockingly diverse. The most prominent themes were relationships, death, relationships, suicide, relationships, money, relationships, dating, dissection and relationships. There was no pornography this year, well none to speak of.
All work was taken seriously, I can assure you, although our deliberations must remain confidential. Our sincere gratitude to every playwright and designer who submitted work for the Festival.
To face the blank page and to fill it takes courage, commitment, hard work, inspiration, talent, and a certain je ne sais quoi!!!
By the end of the very long evening, we had chosen a great scenic design, and we had selected 14 [fourteen] fantastic plays for NV 21, 1 up from last year [13].
A total of 12 playwrights will be represented in NV21--exactly the same as last year. 1 scenic designer will be represented in NV 21.
Only one playwright has more than one play in this festival!!! While this is not an extraordinary statistic, that one playwright has 3 [three] plays in the festival. Thus 21% of this year's plays were written by one playwright. AND, here's the rather unusual stat, which is getting more and more usual in New Voices: that one playwright happens to be a dramaturg. Thus my clarification and explication at the beginning, in re the creative process. This has happened in the last 3 New Voices.
To remind you a final time, the dramaturgs did not know and were surprised to hear the name of the playwright or designer when it was read. Sometimes, even after the turgs heard the name, some of them still did not know the playwright or designer. I truly believe that that element of fairness WAS preserved. Many still cannot believe that the one among them wrote so many different plays.
So heres this year:
8 - playwrights make their New Voices debut [3 up from last years 5]
7 - playwrights are students at WPI
1 - is a first year WPI student, joining the ranks of only two freshmen to have plays in New Voices: the great Tucker, and the fabulous Mr. Will[um] Woerter
3 - playwrights teach at WPI
2 - playwrights are WPI Alumni
9 - plays have male playwrights [ 1 down from last year]
5 - plays have female playwrights [1 up from last year]
no play was co-written
6 plays, 7 if you dont count The, have two word titles, thus 50%
269 - pages of scripts will be produced, up 44 from last year's 225 pages
This will produce a well padded estimated 7 performing hours, with each play getting 2 showings we need 14 performing hours during Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday 5 p.m. matinee, Friday night, and Saturday night. Huzzah. We can do New Voices 21 !!!
longest play - 72 pages but with very snappy dialogue
shortest play - 2 pages
Roles written for:
[and this is very approximate and based upon character descriptions]
28 women - up 13
43 men - up 6
6 either -- down 11
at least 3 plays require extras
Total roles, 77 [up 8] plus extras
Very happily, this means that we can keep our long and wonderful tradition of assuring a role for everyone who auditions.
Largest cast is about 17 plus extras, smallest 1, and everything in between, many roles are not huge but most speaking roles are of substance.
The Scenic design is huge, expensive, and cannot be done but we're doing it. And yes I do say this every year!!
And finally:
Four of the plays selected originated as monologues written for Intro, EN 1221, and are from Intro in 2002, 2001, and 2000. Another play originated as a script in American Drama in 2000. We have every reason to believe that what we are doing here in theatre is just as important as anything happening anywhere in the world of theatre today. And so much of that starts in the classroom!!!!!
This information will be posted on the New Voices 21 web site, I hope as soon as possible.
I know that the Executive Producer has planned weekend events to read plays, etc., which will be announced at the end of this meeting. AND Beginning Monday, scripts will be on the main H & A table.
The poster design, 14 plays [in no particular order], and 1 scenic design are:
New Voices 21: Selected Poster, Plays, and Scenic Design with a brief description provided by the author.
POSTER DESIGN:
PLAYS:
Soft Targets
Steven S. Tayler
WPI Faculty Management Department
The end of the cold war brings peace, layoffs, a drill sergeant in pajamas, torturous massage, singing sprites, parables of power tools and humming birds and an answer to the question, "are you a polka kind of guy?" Paper Wings
Benjamin Sandofsky
WPI CS Class of 2004
A story about two guys in a car.
Knavish Normality
Marissa Cartwright
WPI BC Class of 2006
A power narrative of a girl gaining confidence on who she is and developing her own sense of family pride. Big Box
Fred Cassellius
WPI Alum, CE 2001
What happens when crayons think outside the box. Of Mice and Mensa
Jesse Parent
WPI Alum, CS 1996
A tale of one bad decision, one misjudgment that causes a man's world to crumble and ultimately costs him... everything. Hilariously funny and sure to make you laugh out loud! Premonition
Ryan Seney
WPI CS Class of 2005
A person witnesses a murder. British Invasion
Stephanie Carney
WPI ECE, Class of 2003
Why you wish you had a British accent. A Friend's Confession
Paul F. Messier
WPI ECE & H&A Class of 2005
A Friend's Confession, in the form of an "Enhanced Monologue," tells a story which challenges the definition of crime and guilt The Shrink Drink
Hilary Lohnes Hayes
WPI EE & H&A, Class of 2004
Some disturbing insight into what its like to lose control. Said, Not Said
Dean O'Donnell
WPI Faculty, H&A Department
A couple plays a game, some things get said that maybe shouldn't be, and other things don't get said that maybe should. A secret is revealed, and maybe everything turns out all right, or maybe not. a total chick flick
Hilary Lohnes Hayes
La la la, ever wonder what its really like to be a girl? Its not always rainbows, hearts, flowers and pillow fights. To Keep and Wear Forever
Michael J. Ciraldi
WPI Faculty, CS Department
In 50 years of marriage, some things stay the same. Build Me a Bridge
Hilary Lohnes Hayes
All about a girl who would rather be a figment of her own imagination than herself. Dining Out
Ryan Petti
WPI CS Class of 2003
One night at a restaurant changes the lives of nine people. Check, please!
SCENIC DESIGN:
Dichotomy
Dave Eger
WPI CE Class of 2004
The design is called "Dichotomy" because of the separation of the part of hte mind with which to choose what to show, and the part which we cannot choose not to show. The juxtaposition of the action on the stage and the complimentary lighting of hte background scenry embody this dichotomy.
Congratulations! This is sure to be a terrific festival, and thank you to everyone that submitted.
The selected plays will be in the Green Room 11-2 Saturday and Sunday for reading. They will be on the H&A table in Salisbury starting Monday morning at 9. There will be a meeting for any people interested in directing the plays and the playwrights this Wednesday at 5 in the Green Room. Playwrights will receive information from your dramaturg.
I will only be secretary for one more meeting, I am so sad. But I know that Sarah Pavis is gonna be even better!
Stef
|
