when_opportunity_knocks_answer_the_door

It’s summer. Oh. But you hate the outdoors. With it’s stinging sun and it’s short shorts and it’s heatstroke. Prefer to stay indoors? Looking around for something to do? Restless? Feeling like you have missed the boat on everything programmed 12 months in advance? Want to do nothing but eat biscuits until that feeling goes away?
Why not just check out these opportunities that have flown into my inbox? I can’t use ’em, I’m too old. But you might want to check it out…
Oh and for the oldies like me – there’s some play writerly opportunities down the bottom of the post.
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ARTSLAB RESIDENCY – SHOPFRONT – CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

ArtsLab is a six month artist in residence program from late April to early November of each year. The program enables emerging artists to immerse themselves in the life of an innovative arts community and to develop and challenge their own artistic practices. Working closely with a resident mentor/season director and guest mentors, artists in residence work individually and as a collective in producing a season of work.

The program is structured into 3 phases. It begins with an 8 week development of new work related to the artist’s specific enquiry. At the end of this development a work in progress is shown to an invited audience, ideas are tested and includes a Q&A forum with the artists. Phase 2 involves the artists stepping away from their individual work and immersing themselves in a large scale project relating to their particular area of interest – be it performance, design, dramaturgy, multimedia, movement, producing, stage management etc. The program concludes with the final development stage of each artist’s new work. All ArtsLab artists-in-residence work together to produce a shared season/installation of work.

Applications close December 10th, 2010.

There are 7 positions open to artists aged 18-25 who are interested in developing new work in the areas of writing, directing, performance, multimedia, visual arts and design.

There is a weekly commitment of around 15-20 hours. Fee: $675
There is one scholarship position open to an artist who is experiencing financial hardship.

Develop your artistic practice through the following three areas:
1. New Work
2. Integrated Major Project
3. Training and Mentoring

For more information and for expressions of interest in ArtsLab 2011, contact the Producer, Saskia Vromans on +61 2 9588 3948 | email admin@shopfront.org.au More info: http://www.shopfront.org.au/page/artslab

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ATYP FRESH INK PROGRAM

With atyp’s strong record of nurturing young writers, we know what it takes to help you break through. Fresh Ink is for writers hungry for a career in theatre. The program helps you build skills and the confidence to step into the industry.

Fresh Ink matches emerging writers with experienced mentors who help bring out your own voice. We also offer a range of writing workshops and residencies to meet other like-minded creatives and skill up. When your scripts are ready, we support you through creative development workshops and public readings to link you to other companies and artists in the theatre industry. Fresh Ink identifies, nurtures and spotlights the next generation of Australian writers. You can click on the left hand side of the tab to help you get started writing!

Fresh Ink is divided into:
Fresh Ink: Ages 14-17
Fresh Ink: Ages 18-26
Fresh Ink: National Young Writers’ Studio

more information and application forms: www.atyp.com.au/index.php/fresh-ink
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2011 YAK SUMMER RESIDENCY

YAK Events is offering groups and individuals the opportunity to develop new or existing work during a two week residency at Shopfront Contemporary Arts Centre. There are no restrictions on the style, genre or nature of the work you want to make. The YAK Summer Residency is about giving artists the freedom to do as they please.

The residency will take place at Shopfront in Carlton NSW from 3 – 16 January 2011, culminating in a public showing of your work on the 15th. Spaces are limited, so move fast. Download the 2011 YAK Summer Residency application guidelines and email your application back to us by Monday, 6th December 2010.

If you’d like more information have a look through last year’s YAK Summer Residency Journal, visit YAK Events online or contact YAK Events via yak.events@gmail.com. Good luck!
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AUDITION NOTICE – “Bridie” from “The Shoe-Horn Sonata” by John Misto Female aged 55+

WHO: Director: Ian Zammit, Emu Heights Productions Inc
Emu Heights Productions Inc. is a newly formed company based in Penrith. Our objective is to support the education of young people in Western Sydney through performance of drama texts they are studying at school. 2011 our inaugural year of work with the production of two HSC English texts: “The Shoe-Horn Sonata” by John Misto and “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare.
SEASON: 5 performances 4th – 7th May 2011 (Wed, Thu & Sat Matinees/ Fri & Sat Evenings)
WHERE: Q Theatre, Penrith NSW
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: An experienced female actor who can easily learn and remember a large amount of dialogue. Singing and movement ability would be highly favourable.

THE PLAY: In 1945 Shelia and Bridie were freed from a Japanese POW camp deep in the jungles of Sumatra, where thousands of women and children had lived and died virtually forgotten by their own governments. Now, after being separated for half a century, the filming of a television documentary force them to relive the past, contact the present and question the future. Woven into their fifty years of separation are a shoe-horn and the threads of loyalty and love which form their ‘uncommon bond’. (excerpt taken from back cover, ‘The Shoe-Horn Sonata’ by John Misto, Currency Press, Sydney 2010)

THE CHARACTER– Bridie Cartwright was an Australian army nurse from Chatswood, stationed in Singapore at the time of the Japanese occupation during WWII, and survived the POW camps with the young English civilian girl, Sheila. Today – the play is set in 1995 – Bridie is about to reunite with Sheila, some fifty years later. Bridie has a dry wit and Catholic upbringing, and is happy to voice her strong opinions.

AUDITIONS: We will be holding auditions in Penrith on Friday 10th December 2010. Auditions will require a short prepared monologue plus a dialogue workshop opposite an actress playing Sheila. Please indicate which session you would prefer for your audition: 12pm-2.30pm / 3pm-5.30pm / 6pm-8pm
Please forward your headshot, resume and information to emuheightsprd@gmail.com
We will be in touch to confirm receipt of your details, along with session, timeslot and audition information.

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AUDITION – NEW AUSTRALIAN PLAY BY JAY DUNCAN

Sticks & Stones is a two handed, contemporary, Australian play that delves into issues of the modern man. Our two protagonists are set to be strangers and caught in a very un-familiar situation that is until a degree of separation is discovered. This new found grounds, ignites them both as they challenge and test one another with neither left wondering. Beliefs are broken and new realities are made.
DRIVER: 30’s male Caucasian, Australian.
– Keeps his hand very close to his chest.
– Old school mentality.
– Alpha male. Physically the character is ruff around the edges, works in construction.
– He is married and has a young family.
The role is demanding and requires an experienced actor who will step up to the plate, invest and lay it down!
Production Dates: @ TAP Gallery 7th Feb – 7th March. Rehearsals start Dec but to be discussed with cast.
Paid work!
Please email headshot & c.v to by 24/11: onthereel@live.com.au
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PLAY WRITERLY OPPORTUNITIES

17th Annual New York City 15 Minute Play Festival
Submission Guidelines for Playwrights

Turnip Theatre Company in association with American Globe Theatre will accept submissions for the 17th Annual New York City 15-Minute Play Festival through December 15, 2010.

This short play competition will be presented at American Globe’s 75 seat theatre on West 46th Street in the heart of Times Square April 25 through May 7, 2011. Turnip Theatre Company established the 15-Minute Play Festival in 1995 to present audiences with short, well-crafted plays while at the same time offering a professional venue for theater
artists. American Globe Theatre became a Festival co-presenter in 2001. Over the past 16 years more than 500 new short plays have been presented, with many going on to subsequent productions and several to publication.

Each year approximately 35 original short plays are selected from submissions from all over the United States and several foreign countries. Four to five plays are presented each of the first eight evenings of the semi-finals with one play chosen each night to move on to the finals and two additional performances. Finalists compete for
$100 cash prizes for Best Play, Best Direction, Best Performance, and Audience Favorite. Finalists are also eligible for The Alan Minieri Memorial Playwriting Award in honor of Turnip Theatre Company’s late Co-Artistic Director who died of cancer in 1997. The $300 Minieri Award is presented to a playwright whose work challenges convention in both content and form. Each semi-finalist whose work is presented in the Festival receives a $25 royalty.

– Playwrights and/or their representatives are responsible for the production of their play including casting, rehearsals, props, etc. The Festival presenters provide basic set pieces and lighting, sound equipment, and production staff.

– Plays are selected solely on the script submitted. Please do not include a playwright resume or play production history. Plays should have a beginning, middle, and end (though not necessarily in that order). Plays that create a unique world, are unpredictable, and can stand alone without complex production values are favored by the presenters. Monologues and published plays will not be considered.

– Submissions must be typed in play script format and be no more than 15 pages and in a font size no smaller than 12 point Times Roman or Courier/Courier New. Only plays with a running time of 15 minutes or less are eligible.

– Only one submission per writer will be accepted. If several plays are submitted by a single author, only one will be chosen at random to be read by the play reading committee.

– Submissions should be sent by regular mail to 15 Minute Play Festival,
c/o American Globe Theatre, 145 W. 46th Street, New York, NY 10036.
Submissions are not accepted by email, fax, or express/ overnight mail. Submissions must be postmarked by December 15, 2010. Playwrights whose plays are selected will be notified in mid-February 2011. Plays will not be returned, so please do not send a return envelope.

– There will be a mandatory meeting for all playwrights or their representatives on March 6, 2011 and a production meeting for all participating artists on April 24, 2011.

– Visit www.15minuteplayfestival.org or www.americanglobe.org for
additional information.

– A SIGNED COPY OF THESE GUIDELINES MUST BE RETURNED WITH YOUR PLAY TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION. Download a print version on the festival’s website.

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Short Play Festival – Open Submissions
New plays! Heightened language! Epic circumstances! 10 minutes long!
The Drill: Write a short play of no more than 10 minutes in length that contains
heightened language, verse, classical themes, or adaptations of either. Take a look through
www.redbulltheater.com to see the kind of work we do. Respond to a play we’ve produced, or
choose a classic of your own. Adapt one, Riff on a character, Create a whole new Jacobean-like
world – you choose!

The Rules
Each playwright may submit no more than ONE SCRIPT.
Each play may be no more than ten pages.
We do not accept electronic submissions.
Please include writer contact information on the title page.
These should be self-contained pieces with a beginning, middle and end. No excerpts of full-length works.

The Timeline
Submissions will be accepted through December 31st, 2010. (That is a received-by deadline,
NOT a postmark deadline.) Electronic submissions can not be accepted.
Selected plays will be announced by March 31st, 2011. New Play Festival is June 13th, 2011.

Mail submissions to:
Red Bull Theater, 10-Minute Play Festival
P.O. Box 250863, New York, NY 10025

***Due to the volume of scripts, we will be unable to comment on submissions****

The Deal
Red Bull Theater is inaugurating a NEW PLAY FESTIVAL during Revelation
Readings. Four short plays will be selected from this open-submission process and
presented in staged readings with four short plays by writers we have selected (Elizabeth
Egloff, David Grimm, and two more TBA). Plays will be selected based on relevance to Red Bull
Theater’s mission and excellence of the work. Directors for the event will include Wendy
Goldberg and one other TBA.
Questions? Contact Wendy McClellan, Director of Artistic and Strategic Development, via email
at wendy@redbulltheater.com. Thank you!
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The working theatre collective presents 20 Erotic Shorts 2.0 (twice as sexy)

Last year’s Valentine’s Day Extravaganza was such a huge success, that we’ve brought it back again this year (and extended the run)!

20 short plays from all sorts of fancy folks, PDX and beyond!
To be directed by Eva Suter and performed by a company of actors.
Dirty? Thoughtful? Sexy? Funny? Sexy? There’s only one way to find out… Write one.

The WTC is accepting submissions of original short erotically themed
plays to be part of their third annual Valentine’s Day Extravaganza.

Guidelines:
Five minutes or less
Erotically themed (not necessarily erotic)
Four or fewer actors
Awesomeness

Include in the script at least one of the following:
-a hammer tattoo
-”where did you sleep last night”
-the best jukebox in town
-kneesocks
-“the last living polar bear”
Submission are due 12/1/2010
Feel free to submit several pieces
We will inform you if we select your work
Recompense will be free tickets and our undying love and affection

send original scripts to theworkingtheatrecollective@ gmail.com (indicate “20 Erotic Shorts 2.0” in the subject line)
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Heartland Theatre Annual Play Writing Competition
2011 10-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL
PLAY WRITING COMPETITION TO COLLECT ORIGINAL SHORT PLAYS FOR 10-MINUTE
PLAY FESTIVAL

1. Your play must fit the theme – THE BACK PORCH – or it will not be considered.
2. Your play must follow the scenic requirements.
3. We require internet submissions in MS Word. Please follow our style sheet.
4. We are looking for NEW plays. Please do not send us anything that has previously been produced.
5. Please use no more than 4 characters and no less than 2.
6. We have a pool of actors ranging in age from 18 to 70. Please make sure that your characters can be played by actors within that range.
7. Your play should consist mainly of dialogue. Ten-minute monologues will not be accepted.
8. No children’s plays, musicals or plays previously staged by Heartland Theatre will be considered.
9. Do not put your name on the play itself, as all submissions are judged blind. Make sure your title appears on every page of the play, however.
10. If your play cannot be considered for any reason, we will notify you as soon as possible. If, in the judges’ opinion, the problem is easily fixable and the play otherwise has merit, we may ask you for revisions. Asking for revisions is completely up to the judges and depends a great deal on timing. No plays submitted after January 1 will be considered for revisions.
11. Those plays which win and are staged will be videotaped for archival purposes.
12. No contracts beyond the guidelines mentioned here will be offered.
13. Only one entry per playwright, please.
14. Your play must be written in English.
15. Keep your play under ten minutes.
16. Remember that something has to happen in those ten minutes.
17. MAKE IT GOOD!

If you’d like to see what criteria the judges consider, please read the Judging Sheet.

All entrants must complete and submit the Heartland Theatre 10-Minute Play Festival Entry Form in order to submit a play. You must attach your script in MS Word format when you send the entry form.

Deadline for entries considered for revisions is January 1, 2011.
IF YOU WANT THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO REVISIONS, GET YOUR PLAY IN BY JANUARY 1.
Deadline for entries is February 1, 2011
Semifinalists will be notified approximately February 21.
Finalists will be notified approximately March 21.
Winners will be announced approximately April 11.