Playwrights chosen for WLPG Sparks (Linz) – Catalysts for Discovery

WLPG is pleased and honored to announce the 21 writers from 13 countries selected for WLPG Sparks (Linz) – Catalysts for Discovery

We put out a call for 500-word original monologues following a ‘prompt’ relating to the overall theme of catalysts for discovery.  Austrian playwright Holger Schober joined WLPG co-editors Tony Mack, Deirdre Kelly Lavrakas and Kim Peter Kovac in making the selection from several dozen entries.  The monologues will be read at the ASSITEJ International Meeting in Linz – playwrights will read in their first language and English translations will be provided.

The playwrights:

• Mohammad Aghebati, Iran, When You Don’t Watch Me
• Beatriz Besteiro, Argentina, Feet Up
• Paula Carballeiria, Spain, Katal
• Sonia Daniel, Argentina, Michaela’s Mouse
• Lisa Evans, UK, Cubes of Light
• Hosein Fadai Hosein, Iran, I Want to Grow Now, Now
• Geert Genbrugge, Belgium, Under the Pouring Light
• Amanda Hill, USA, One
• Afeif Ismail, Sudan/Australia, Eureka
• Tristan Jacobs, South Africa, Stoepkakertjie
• Zainabu Jallo, Nigeria, These Feelings
• Walter Kohl, Austria. It’s Alright, I’m Only Bleeding
• Gabriel Pastorini, Uruguay, A Window
• Natasha Poluyshkina, Russia, Red Poppies
• Johannes Rhomberg, Austria, Hasta Siempre
• Karin Serres, France, Burning Eyes
• Flo Staffelmeyr, Austria, Inschallah
• Bernhard Studler, Austria, Stopover
• Reinhold Stumpf, Austria, Kids in the Wind
• Silvia Gabrela Vazquez, Argentina, Only Trifles
• Asya Voloshina, Russia, Dad

 Languages – Arabic, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Russian, Spanish

Playwriting for young audiences in Poland (Part One)

Below are links to three terrific articles about playwriting for young audiences in Poland.  Three more coming shortly. 

Many thanks to Zbigniew Rudzinski for working with WLPG to find these articles, obtain permission to reproduce them, and having them translated.

Investigating  the World
Katarzyna Grajewska talks with Tadeusz  Pajdała and Zbigniew Rudziński about contemporary playwriting in Poland, seen through the lens of the very important new play competition sponsored by the Children's Art Center in Poznań. Read the full interview.

Magnifying Glass and Ear, by Liliana Bardijewska.  One of Poland's best-known playwrights for young audiences reflects on adaptation, puppet theatre, wordless plays, and the state of playwriting in her country.  Read the full article.

Young, Polish, Naive by Malina Przesluga.  A writer often referred to in the media as a 'young Polish playwright reflects on the field and her approach to writing.  Read the full article.

'And Then Came Tango' by Emily Freeman named Outstanding TYA Play by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, which coordinates programs among some 800 college and university theater departments, has named 'And Then Came Tango' by WLPG member playwright Emily Freeman, as outstanding theater for young audiences play.

Freeman is finishing her third year in the MFA in Drama and Theatre for Young and Communities at the University of Texas at Austin.  All of the Write Local Play Global community joins in congratulating Emily.

Announcing WLPG Sparks (Linz): Catalysts for Discovery

We are delighted to announce a new partnership and a new initiative.  WLPG Sparks (Linz): Catalysts for Discovery is a collaborative project between Write Local. Play Global, the international TYA playwrights network, and ASSITEJ Austria toward the creation of original 500 word monologues on the theme of creative catalysts.  The selected pieces will be read by the playwrights at the ASSITEJ International Meeting which is being held from June 21-29, 2013 during the International Theater Festival SCHÄXPIR in Linz, Austria.

Download guidelines aand application in a writeable PDF.

Download guidelines and application (Word).

Descargar bases y formularios de inscripción.

Australia's National Play Festival with a major focus on writing for young audiences

The National Play Festival 2013, produced by PlayWriting Australia, is in Perth 21-24 February.  This is important to WLPG members both because it's all about new work, and even more so this year, because there's a major focus on writing for young audiences.

New PlayWriting Australia Artistic Director Tim Roseman: "This year there are 7 showcase readings, 4 emerging WA playwrights in our Re-gen presentation, 2 readings of plays by US writers as part of our exchange with the National New Play Network and a retrospective of the work of the sorely-missed Deckchair Theatre. There are three public forums and four industry sessions where we’ll be getting passionate, gut-punchy and inspired. We’ve international guests from the USA, Singapore, New Zealand and the UK. And on top of all this, we’re part of the Perth International Arts Festival."

Three of the readings are new plays for young audiences:

Close, by Kit Brookman
Love Boy, by Casey Nicholls
M Rock, by Lachlan Philpott

Read all about the festival.

Announcing the plays and playwrights for WLPG Shorts (Cleveland) : Unexpected connections

Write Local. Play Global. is delighted to announce the plays that will be read at TYA/USA’s One Theatre World conference in May, held in collaboration with the Cleveland International Children’s Festival.   We received over two dozen submissions of original plays from playwrights in seven countries.  The following will be read on the evening of May 9, 2013: 

• ·       Rachel Atkins, USA, Can You Hear the Mermaids Singing?
• ·       Amanda Hill, USA, Dancing
• ·       Afeif Ismail, Sudan/Australia, Unsuitable Hats
• ·       Jeff Jenkins, USA, Timmon and the Magic Shoes
• ·       Nathan Lachenmeyer, USA, The Singing Rock
• ·       Marti Meeker, USA, Disappearance
• ·       Vynnie Meli, USA, The Bargain
• ·       Anna Nygren, Sweden, Against the Wall
• ·       Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, USA, Festival of Lights
• ·       Daphnie Sicre, USA, Variations
• ·       Jason Tremblay, USA, Vampire Princess and the Volcano
• ·       Dace Micane Zalite, Latvia/USA, Where To Find Shambhala

Backseat Drivers: Music Driven - David Megarrity (Australia)

Liz Skitch and David Megarrity, 2000'Building music into a creative process gives your unfinished work a ‘finish’. It’s fun to work with and makes you feel less like a doofus when you’re a performer doing silly things onstage in rehearsal. It’s like jumping around on a springy bed – it lifts you up, but is there to catch you.'

In this blog, Australian theatremaker and composer David Megarrity, describes how music can be a vital part of developing a performance:

http://lifeinthelongtail.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/backseat-drivers-music-driven/

Click to read more ...

Completing the trilogy: Suzan Zeder's 'The Edge of Peace'

Playwright Suzan Zeder, Director Linda Hartzell, and Deaf Actor/ASL Master Billy Seago have been working for thirty years on 'The Ware Trilogy': Mother Hicks, A Taste of Sunrise, and now, The Edge of Peace soon to premiere at the University of Texas at Austin.

Interviews with Suzan and director Linda Hartzell here

Click to read more ...

The Shifting Landscape of TYA: Searching for (and Creating) New Maps by Kim Peter Kovac

In the world of theater for young audiences, the ground is shifting under our feet: unstable and unfamiliar, far less funding, and the zeitgeist is way different than just a few years ago. As we look ahead, we have little idea what the future will look like. This is very scary.

And very exciting.

Click to read more ...

LAb 24 in Los Angeles - new company doing sophisticated theater that parents can share with kids

LAb24 is 24th ST Theatre’s new experimental resident theatre company dedicated to creating sophisticated, provocative theatre that parents can share with their kids. LAb24 is led by the award-winning 24th ST creators, Deb Devine and Jay McAdams and includes actors, designers, playwrights and video artists.

The purpose of LAb24 is to push the envelope of children’s theatre by creating daring theatre for the whole family that breaks the boundaries of age, looking and feeling like adult theatre, while also appealing to kids.

Read more about it on the theater's web site

Read more in Arts Beat LA

Read more in Broadway World