Hello Friends and Supporters of NOplays!

We’re proud to announce the Cozy Play Reading Series! Every Thursday and Sunday at 7pm we’ll read a new play by an emerging writer.

Live-streams will be available here.

If you have a play you’d like to submit to be read, email cozyreadingsubmissions@gmail.com.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any funding right now, but any donations we receive will be shared with the playwright who’s work is being featured that night.

This series will be on going until……ehhh?

Donate here if you can and would like to support our work!

Dear Friends and Supporters of NOplays,

You may have noticed the unusual amount of silence coming from this blog, especially this time of year when we are normally in the mist of our annual HERSTORY Festival of new works by emerging female writers. After much careful thinking, I had decided to take a step away from NOplays for this year to focus on other projects. This decision did not come lightly, as NOplays has been a major part of my life for the past five years.

For better or worse, life had other plans. Like so many of you my livelihood was upended by the recent coronavirus outbreak. So I’m taking a step back into NOplays to help the community in whatever way I can and to continue using this platform to promote underrepresented artists, which we need now more than ever! NOplays will be creating theatrical experiences again, this time online. We’ll be doing our first virtual reading this Friday at 7pm, you’ll be able to find the link to the live-stream here.

OTHER RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS!

For promoting your work online:

The Stay at Home Festival has a calendar of events you can submit to.

The Social Distancing Festival is also taking submissions.

For financial aid:

Here’s a great list of resources posted by WomenArts.

New York Foundation for the Arts also has a list of emergency grants NOT JUST FOR NYC RESIDENTS.

Ko-Fi is similar to Patreon, but it’s free, you can sign up and leave a virtual tip jar with all of the art you post online.

Take care of yourselves. Stay safe. Wash your hands. Feel free to reach out if you need anything at all. Know that you are not alone.

Sincerely,

Natalie Osborne

LADIES FIRST is a list of new productions, workshops, readings, and publications by female playwrights. Our goal is to create greater gender parity in theatre by highlighting the works of female writers and the organizations that promote and produce their works.

May 1st and 2nd –  Dori Levit in association with The Tank presents
You Are Not Alone, a festival of short plays centered around the
anguish, stigma and difficulties of coping with mental illness.

Directed by Dori Levit
Assistant Directed by Sydney Wilson
Written works by Allie Costa, Rachael Carnes, Remington Moses, Joe
Starzyk, Joshua Crone, Maggie Wilson, and Eric Walkuski

Set and Lights by Jacob Prince
Stage managed by Natalie Streiter

Featuring Sydney Wilson, Jacob Saxton, Emily DeSotelle, Judith
Feingold, Alexander Chilton, Jason Sofge, Jaelyn Gavin, Andre Vauthey,
Kenneth Weinstein, Damien Palacios, Barbara Kinter, Valerie Donaldson,
Alexandra Sabina, and Howard Margulies

Proceeds go to the organization Active Minds

Tickets: https://you-are-not-alone.brownpapertickets.com/

Uncle John and The Men’s Room
by Maxine Kern#
Directed by Lynn Marie Macy
With Jane Rubinsky & Susan Skosko
Inspired by Hoboken Station by Philip Seltzer

Josie Divine

by Coni Ciongoli Koepfinger#

Directed by Glenora Blackshire
With Beth Griffith
Inspired by Energy Shadows by Liz Amadio#

The One & Only Amanda Palmer
by Kat Mustatea#
Directed by Katherine Elliot#
With Kendra Augustin, Cheryl Bear & Katherine Elliot
Inspired by Victim Impact Statement by Melanie Barksdale

An AEA Showcase production of:
Guardian of the Field
by Liz Amadio#
Directed by Shellen Lubin+#
With Amy Fulgham* & Lori Sinclair Minor*
(and Kendra Augustin, Cheryl Bear & Katherine Elliot)
Inspired by Birds by Carol Martinez

*Members: Actors Equity Association
+ Member: SDC
#LPTW members

Cindi Cericola – Art Curation Advisor
Jonah Farley – Video Artist
Joe Izen – Composer
Jak Prince – Lighting Designer
Art Opening – Thursday 5/09/19 @ 6PM

with 8 Theatrical Performances:

Thursday, 5/09 – Saturday, 5/11 @ 8PM

Sunday, 5/12 @ 3PM

Thursday, 5/16 – Saturday, 5/18 @ 8PM

Sunday, 5/19 @ 3PM

Link for tickets: https://www.artful.ly/cosmicorchid-vdp4-0

May 10th-19th Eden Prairie Players presents the Women’s One Acts
Festival. Come prepared for laughs and tears as we celebrate women in
theater!  Featuring:

Between Dollywood and Disney
by Robin Rice
directed by Taryn Verley

STAN: Mike Reardon
SUSIE: Kisten Thompson

Exceeding The Purchasable Calories
by Rhea MacCallum
directed by Kayla Hambek

WOMAN: Jen Cordes
MANAGER: Wendy Hathaway
CLERK: Christy Jones

Back Cover
by Emily Hageman
directed by Lori Alsdurf

MADISON NOW: Amanda Johnson
MADISON THEN: Reese Johnson
JESSICA: Samantha King
MOM: Tedra Bonner
DAD: Steven Ramirez
FATHER: David Durkee
MR. LEE: Mike Reardon
MATT: Sergio Aguado Drake
KATIE/ALYSSA: Kylie Borchardt
KATIE/ALYSSA: Caitlin Warshaw

Creating: The Enticing Esmeralda
by Tabitha Kerr
directed by Tabitha Kerr and Kelly Rohde

BEA: Shelley Wolf
ESMERALDA: Morgan Gray
JULIAN: Steven Ramirez
SURPRISE GUEST(S): David Durkee

Who She Could Have Been
by Allie Costa
directed by Elizabeth Michaelson

RHYS: Chris Maresca
SIMI: Jenny Robinson

The Morning Menage
by Tracey Jane
directed by Jessica Passaro

DAWN: Sher Unruh-Friesen
ALARM CLOCK: Ankita Ashrit
BED: Andrew Scipioni
COFFEE: Tim Williams

Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/epp/4216249

May 18th-26th Ixion Theatre Ensemble presents Hope, a festival of
eight plays selected from over two hundred submissions. Each offers a
unique take on what it means to have hope. At the helm of this
production is Rose Jangmi Cooper, making her directorial debut.

The eight scripts being performed are:

Hijab by Andrea Clardy
Low Light by Allie Costa
Be More 282 by Rich Espey
Winter in the House by Lauren Ferebee
Scripted by Mark Harvey Levine
172 Push-Ups by Scott Mullen
Classics for Kids by Ellen Sullivan
One, Three, Two by Michael Weems

The performers will be: Sadonna Croff, Jacquelyn Marks, Leo
Poroshin,Paul J Schmidt, Ellen Weise, Lekeathon Wilson and Muthu
Jayatissa.

Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hope-a-collection-of-short-plays-tickets-60574917208

To submit to the June issue of LADIES FIRST, email natalie.noplays@gmail.com before the end of the month. Send us your name, the name of your play, the name of the theatre producing your work, a sentence or two about the play, the where and when, and an image. Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s LADIES FIRST newsletter.

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported this years Best of HERSTORY at the New Haven Free Public Library!

Thank you also to The Arts Council of Greater New Haven for writing this fantastic article on HERSTORY! If you missed the show or if you just want to remember a great afternoon, you can read the article right here.

The Best of HERSTORY Festival is only a few hours away! Please join us this Saturday at 3:30pm, at the New Haven Free Public Library, one show only!

To learn more about this years HERSTORY and NOplays Theatre, check out this interview with Artistic Director Natalie Osborne:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we’ve had to cancel our Thursday performance of HERSTORY. We will still have a performance on Saturday at 3:30pm. Thank you for your continued support.

Allie Costa’s new play A Moment of Silence was originally featured in the HERSTORY 2: WE RISE Festival in 2017. It was one of the plays selected for a revival in the Best of HERSTORY Festival 2019. In this interview with Artistic Director Natalie Osborne, Allie Costa discusses Leelah Alcorn, LGBT representation, and what we as theatre-makers can and should do to raise our voices. You can see this play, along with the other winners, on March 28th at 6:30pm and March 30th at 3:30pm at the New Haven Free Public Library. 

Trigger Warning: Suicide, Abuse, and Misgendering

1.) How long have you been with 365 Women a Year?

I have been involved with 365 Women a Year since the first year, 2014. I connected with Jess Eisenberg on Twitter, and when she spoke of collecting new plays about historical women, I immediately threw my hat in the ring. I have contributed plays to 365 Women a Year every year.

2.) Has your approach to writing about these historical women changed at all?

Whether it’s for stage or screen, I approach each new script in a similar way: stubbornly and honestly. Stubbornly because 99% of the time, I have to think of the ending before I start typing. Before I start typing, yes, but not necessarily before I start scribbling; I still like to write scenes/drafts longhand, and I often scribble down ideas and snatches of dialogue in my notebook and on scratch paper. And honestly because I intend to communicate the truth of the characters and the story.

When I am writing something inspired by real people and real events, I do a great deal of research. I want to honor the person’s real life and experiences. In many of my 365 Women a Year plays, I have incorporated quotes, things that were said or written by the women.

3.) Can you tell me more about the inspiration behind A Moment of Silence?

A Moment of Silence was inspired by Leelah Alcorn. Leelah was 17 years old when she took her own life in December 2014. She posted a suicide note on Tumblr which went viral. Leelah was a transgender girl whose parents refused to accept her identity and her chosen name. In her note, Leelah expressed, “The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say ‘that’s *&^%ed up’ and fix it. Fix society. Please.”

Leelah’s suicide note was subsequently removed by her parents, but is accessible via the Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20150101052635/http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/post/106447705738/suicide-note It was also shared by City Councilamn Chris Seelbach: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisSeelbach/posts/10152890372978559:0

4.) What was a big challenge for you while you were writing this play?

I decided early on that I would base the story on what I had learned about Leelah, but I named the main character Hailey in order to allow myself to fictionalize some things, to fill in the blanks and create a similar story without feeling as if anything I wrote was false or disrespectful.

5.) Why do you think it’s important for people to hear stories about the LGBT community now?

Love is love is love. The current political climate certainly means we need to keep fighting for inclusion for all, for not only tolerance but true understanding, for open-mindedness and acceptance.

Leelah felt like she was not being heard. In death, more people know her story than ever did while she was alive. That is heartbreaking.

6.) What do you think we as artists can do given the current challenges faced by the LGBT community?

Speak up. Speak out. Support others. Include others. For example, if you are an artistic director or producer who realizes your entire season is programmed with heteronormative stories, make an effort to consider and include scripts that have LGBTQ characters. If you are a writer, add LGBTQ characters to your next script. The same can be said for producing/writing scripts that feature minorities and characters who have disabilities, and stories with an equal number of male and female roles (or more female roles, or all female roles!) Do not write stereotypes. Write something real. Create and find new works that reflect the world’s true population and situations. Use your art and your heart to give voice to people who feel like they have been silenced, who feel like they have to be silent.

7.) What would you like the audience to walk away with after watching this play?

I hope it moves them, and that they make positive moves: “Give me emotion into action,” as Sara Bareilles says in her song Parking Lot.

I hope people will reach out to those they know who might be in a similar situation and offer them their support. Having someone listen to you, having a shoulder to cry on, can make a world of difference.

8.) What 365 plays are you working on now? 

This year, I’ll be writing plays about Margarita “Peggy” Schuyler Van Rensselaer; author Zilpha Keatley Snyder; and singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles.

9.) Are there any other thoughts or pieces of advice you have for your fellow writers or the theatre community at large? 

Keep writing.
Keep sharing.
Keep listening.
Keep showing up.
Keep speaking up.

If you would like to make a donation to support the project and win some awesome prizes, click here! All money goes to support the artists in the Festival. We need to raise another $250 before the 30th, and you can help!

Lylanne Musselman discusses her new play Frida Khalo: Heartbreaker, part of the HERSTORY 3: JOURNEY WOMEN. This interview was originally published in 2018 leading up to the HERSTORY 3: Journeywomen Festival. The play with be performed again as part of the The Best of HERSTORY Festival at the New Haven Free Public Library on March 28th at 6:30pm and March 30th at 3:30pm. Interview by Natalie Osborne.

Q: Can you tell us more about your experience writing for 365 Women a Year? 

A: I’ve been on-board from the beginning. Jess Eisenberg is doing a great thing where women are concerned with this project to get women, well-known and obscure, on stage. I’ve met a few of the other playwrights from the project, and I was even Festival Director for the 365 Women a Year Festival in Detroit in 2016. I can’t say enough good things about 365 Women a Year!

Q: What drew you to Frida Khalo?

A: Well, I’m a visual artist too and I’ve always loved Khalo’s work – she’s so colorful! I especially love her “Self-portrait with Cropped Hair.” I was so happy to write a play featuring her for the 365 Women a Year project…I was afraid someone else would request her before I did!

Q:  What was a major challenge you had to overcome while writing this play?

A: I really didn’t want Frida to come off as shallow. I also wanted to give the play humor, but not make fun of the situation at hand. I feel that I still gave Frida respect, and I feel that there are some humorous moments without being “mean.” I also didn’t want it to be a takeoff of the movie about her life either…so I wanted to focus on other aspects than were highlighted there.

Q: Your play focuses on a side of Frida Khalo most people are unaware of, what lead you down this path?

A: As a lesbian, that didn’t come out until later in life, I was fascinated when I found out that Khalo had dalliances with women, even though she was always “with” Diego. I felt that writing this play would allow others to see that she had that side to her as well.

Q:  People seem almost as fascinated by Frida Khalo’s personal life as they are by her artwork, if not more so, why do you think that is?

A: As I said, her art is “colorful” and I think we could say her life was pretty “colorful” as well. She certainly lived her life, had a forceful personality, gave Diego as good as he sent, she was politically active at a time women weren’t known to be, and then she had such pain from the bus accident…so I think there’s a lot there for all types of people to be fascinated by!

Q:  During her life, Frida Khalo’s work was overshadowed by her husband Diego, do you see this as a problem women creators still face today?

A: Yes, she certainly was overshadowed by Diego, wasn’t she! Yes, I feel that many women still take a backseat to their partners/husbands today. And, unfortunately, being creative isn’t always seen as an integral part of our society…so if you’re a woman, and you’re creative, you’ve got two hills to climb already, then if you have a man who is not supportive…or is also in the arts, as Diego was, there’s another obstacle! I do hope that with the women’s movement picking back up again, that this will all even out for all of us.

Q:  What are you hoping audience members will be left with after seeing your play?

A: I hope it makes them think that people are attracted to who they’re attracted to…we shouldn’t be so quick to judge and put people in a box. By the same token, I feel that the play shows that if you love someone…they do have a hold over you…for better…or worse.

Q:  What’s next for you? What are you working on now?

A: I’m working on more plays for 365 Women a Year! The immediate play I’m working on is a play about another woman artist, Francoise Gilot.  I find her fascinating because she’s in her 90s now, and she still paints! In addition, she had an affair with  Picasso for 10 years and is the mother of two of his children. She also was married to Jonas Salk until he died in 1995…so I feel like she’s got a lot of interesting twists that I can write a play about! I’m also going to write a play about the poet Ruth Stone after I finish this one. Additionally, I’m always writing poems and painting!

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

A: I have a full-length collection of poetry coming out this spring, It’s Not Love, Unfortunately, which will be published by Chatter House Press. I’d also like to express my appreciation for being a part of HERSTORY 3! I’m so honored, and especially happy that it is with my Frida Kahlo play. Thank you! (End of interview).

If you would like to make a donation to support the project and win some awesome prizes, click here! All money goes to support the artists in the Festival. We need to raise another $250 before the 30th, and you can help!

Allie discusses her play LITTLE SWAN. This interview was originally done in 2016 for the first HERSTORY Festival. This is a four part series of interviews with playwrights who’s work will be featured in The Best of HERSTORY on March 28th and 30th at the New Haven Free Public Library. The event is FREE! Click here to rsvp to our facebook event.

Q: How did you hear about 365 Women a Year?

A: I first crossed paths with Jess Eisenberg on Twitter when the 365 Women a Year project was in its early stages and she was seeking submissions. I immediately asked how I could be involved, and the rest is history.

Q: Why did you choose Anna Pavlova as one of your historical woman? What drew you to her?

A: The idea for Little Swan came to me in March 2013 as I was preparing to write a new play for PlayGround-LA in honor of Women’s History Month. I wanted to write about someone who made an impact on society and history, and as that was all percolating in my brain, I was at an audition studio where I saw a replica of a piece of art I like – the statue Little Dancer Aged Fourteen by Degas – and thought, “Perhaps a dancer.” Anna Pavlova came to mind. I researched her life and discovered her last words, and I knew her story was one I had to tell.

Q: Can you walk me through the process of adapting a person’s life for the stage? What were some of the challenges? What parts really clicked together?

A: Little Swan is set backstage before the first performance of The Dying Swan, a ballet choreographed by Mikhail Fokine as a solo piece for Anna Pavlova. Without giving too much away, the encounter she has in this piece is imagined, but some of the lines in this play were spoken by the real Anna Pavlova. I wanted to incorporate real quotes because the statements she made about life and about dancing were so powerful, so telling, and I couldn’t say it better than she said it herself. Those quotes really inspired the story, from start to finish.

Q: You’ve been involved with 365 Women a Year since the original incarnation. Has your experience in the first year influenced your writing the second time around?

A: So far, I have written five pieces for 365 Women a Year:
Little Swan, a Pas de Deux (Anna Pavlova)
The View From Here (Anna Christina Olson, subject of Andrew Wyeth’s painting Christina’s World)
She Walks (Ada Lovelace)
She Was Never Lost (Alice Liddell, inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
A Moment of Silence (Leelah Alcorn)
….and this year, I will be writing about Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn.

The first year, I submitted pieces to the project that I had already written, whereas for the second year and now the third, the project was what motivated me to write the pieces. I enjoy doing research because I’d like to be as accurate as possible and truly honor their lives and accomplishments.

Q: What are you most excited about for the reading on the 29th and 30th?

A: I am so flattered that Little Swan was chosen for this reading! I hope you all enjoy it. It will be the first time my work has been presented in Connecticut, so that is exciting.

Q: Are there any playwrights that inspired you while you were working on this piece, or who inspire you in general?

A: I love a good story. I appreciate good storytellers. I am an actress, a playwright, a screenwriter, a singer, and a director. When I’m not performing someone else’s work, I’m writing my own. I am constantly reading books, scripts, and screenplays, watching TV, films, going to the theatre, listening to music – those are my favorite story streams.

Lin-Manuel Miranda inspires me. I’m going to work with that man someday. I am so glad that Hamilton is getting the recognition is deserves. #yayhamlet

Q: What has been your favorite aspect of working with 365 Women a Year?

A: I enjoy seeing, hearing, and reading all of these stories and learning about women I didn’t know about before as well as learning new things about familiar names. I also like meeting new playwrights, directors, and actors in the process!

Q: Do you have any advice for the playwrights joining 365 Women a Year for the first time?

Pick someone you think is awesome. It doesn’t matter if she is famous, if she’s a household name or not. All that matters is that you think she’s story-worthy – so jump right in and tell her story!

Allie Costa works in film, TV, theatre, and voiceover as a writer, director, actress, and singer. Her original works have been produced internationally, including Femme Noir (Best Script, 2015 One-Act Festival), Safe Distance, Who She Could Have Been (LBDI semi-finalist), A Taste of the Future (Lakeshore Players semi-finalist) and Can You Keep a Secret? Her play Little Swan, a Pas de Deux, inspired by the life of ballerina Anna Pavlova, was named Best of PlayGround-LA 2014 and subsequently published. Tofurkey Day has been staged in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, the UK, and Florida, where it was named Best of the Fest, Audience Choice.

Allie is an accomplished stage and screen actor whose credits include Spring Awakening, Hamlet, 90210, Wake, and You Me & Her. She has lent her voice to video games, appeared in commercials, and narrated audio books. She is a proud member of the Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative, the 365 Women a Year Playwriting Project, PlayGround-LA, and SAG-AFTRA. She always has energy to burn and a song to sing. Occasionally, she sleeps.

If you would like to make a donation to support the project and win some awesome prizes, click here! All money goes to support the artists in the Festival. We need to raise another $250 before the 30th, and you can help!

Shellen Lubin discusses her new play AFTER THE THIN MAN. The interview was originally done in 2015 for the 365 Women a Year at Bennington College Festival. This is a four part series of interviews with playwrights who’s work will be featured in The Best of HERSTORY on March 28th and 30th at the New Haven Free Public Library.

Interviewer: Natalie Osborne

Q: How did you hear about 365 Women a Year? 

A: On facebook — not even sure whether it was a post in the Playwriting group there — or just noticing one of Jessica’s posts — but I immediately became involved.

Q: Why did you choose Stella Adler and Sylvia Gassell as your historic women? What drew you to them? 

A: I studied with Stella Adler when I was younger, and she was in her 70s. Sylvia Gassell was in a play of mine when she was in her late 60s. Sylvia told me about Stella coming back from Hollywood and telling her not to go out there as a “character actress” because there are no parts for them. It’s something that has stayed with me all these years. I decided to imagine the moment when Stella gave up on acting as a profession and decided to teach, and that decision became the center of this play. (Also the fact that she was right, because, as brilliant as Sylvia was, how much did she really get to work in New York?)

Q: Can you walk me through the process of adapting a persons life for the stage? What were some of the challenges? What parts really clicked together? 

A: I read and read until something about their path excited me, sparked me, and then focused my research on that aspect, fleshing out “information” where I needed it. The biggest challenges are 1) knowing that truth is more important than life, and so you have to write what makes the play work, not worry about what actually “happened”; 2) knowing that whatever you write about them, there is so much more, and the more ground you try to cover the less depth the piece will have.

The clicks were mostly found in the writing itself, the discoveries that come up when you create characters in your mind and set up the scene and discover where it goes. Some of the greatest clicks were: when I discovered why Stella became a teacher, something that she never discussed publicly and I’ve never heard anyone say about her, but I’m sure is true; when I discovered why she set up her classroom the way she did, not just to aggrandize herself.

Q: Are there any playwrights that inspired you while you were working on this piece, or who inspire you in general? 

A: Lanford Wilson. Secrets. Discoveries. August Wilson. Athol Fugard. And Shakespeare. Keeping things active.

Q: What has been your favorite aspect of working with 365 Women a Year? 

A: I have only once before written a biographical piece, and working on these two pieces has really helped me with that one (still in the middle of re-writes). I have also only written a few short plays. Most of my work has been full-length. It has been very exciting to just pick women I want to write about and then read all about them, become absorbed in their lives, and discover what it is I want to say, the angle I want to come from, how I want to say it.

Q: Do you have any advice for the playwrights joining 365 Women a Year in 2015? 

A: Don’t think you have to decide what you want to write about the person first. Go deep into them and find where they touch you deepest.

And don’t try to cover too much ground. The illumination of one moment or a sequence of a few moments is actually much more interesting than a bio-pic (as it were) of their lives. It’s not a history lesson. It’s a play.

Shellen Lubin is a playwright, songwriter, and director, most recently writing music & lyrics for Susan Merson’s BETWEEN PRETTY PLACES and THE QUALITY OF RESPECT, her take on Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Other produced plays include: IMPERFECT FLOWERS, WAITING, COFFEE ONCE A YEAR, ELEVATOR INVENTIONS. Musicals include: MOLLY’S DAUGHTERS, MY BRAVE FACE, and DEAR ALEX, DEAR HARRIET. She is currently working on the musical WHAT ZEESIE SAW ON DELANCEY STREET (with Elsa Rael and Matthew Gandolfo) and THE SARAH PROJECT. Co-President – Women in the Arts & Media Coalition; Co-Secretary – League of Professional Theatre Women; DG, BMI, SDC, AEA  @shlubin @MonMornQuote.

If you would like to make a donation to support the project and win some awesome prizes, click here!