Big thank you to all who participated in 365 Women a Year at Bennington! This wouldn’t have been possible without your help! Thank you for making the show a success! Maia Villa, Shellen Lubin, Catherine Weingarten, Jade Pope, Lauren Cagnetta, Molly Krishner, Ada Guzman, Joana Santos, Jessie Berliner, Sarah Jack, Marshall McGraw, Celene Barrera, Chris Defillip, Haley McGough, Matt Scott, HowlRound, Media Relations, Alumni Relations, Student Life, and the Drama Department, and all who cam out for the reading, congratulations and thank you!
Author Archives
Interview with Natalie Osborne
Natalie Osborne discusses her new play MAKING FRANKENSTEIN. This is the third in a series of four posts featuring the playwrights of the Bennington 365 Women a Year Festival.
Q: How did you hear about 365 Women a Year?
A: I found it on Facebook while I was searching the interwebs one day and signed up immediately! I think this project shows what a great tool social media can be for connecting artists (or anyone really) and allowing them to reach a common goal.
Q: Why did you choose Mary Shelley as your historic woman? What drew you to her?
A: I’ve actually wanted to write a piece about Mary Shelley for a long time, but I was worried about doing her justice. This chick was still a teenager, and she managed to not only finish a novel, but write a masterpiece, and create an entirely new genre of literature! She had already co-written and published several books with Percy Shelley before writing Frankenstein, which is something I don’t think most people know about. When I first started seriously writing fiction as a teenager, knowing that she had been able to do so much at such a young age became a huge inspiration/motivation for me (it still is)! Writing a play about her, however, was still intimidating.
I had it in my head that there were all these books I had to read and research I had to do before I could start. Then one summer I signed up for 31 Plays in 31 Days, which is similar to NaNoWriMo for playwrights (you have to write one new play every day of the month). By the end of the month, I was running out of ideas, and decided, “sure, why not write that play about Mary Shelley.” That ended up being the first draft of Making Frankenstein.
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: The biggest challenge for me was getting started. I had to let go of the idea that I needed to know absolutely everything about Mary Shelley before I could write. After that, I was able to let myself explore, and the rest of the play came pretty quickly. With this play, I knew I wanted to focus on the night when she wrote the first draft of Frankenstein. I wanted to explore what could have possibly been going through this women’s head when she came up with this idea! I directed most of my research towards the “moment before,” so I could know what place the characters were in the night Frankenstein was born. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I will say that Mary and Percy’s relationship was not an easy one, the couple faced more than their fair share of tragedy. Although Mary was still a teenager when she wrote the novel, she had already experience more of life than a person twice her age.
Q: What are you most excited about for the reading on the 27th? What are you most nervous about?
A: I can’t wait to see the play read aloud by actors! I’m really lucky to have four very talented performers in the piece, and I’ve enjoyed working with them. I don’t think I could have asked for a better cast.
That being said, I always feel nervous before a play reading. There’s the question of, did I do enough? Did did I do enough rewrites? Will people understand this? Is it funny enough? And my personal favorite, but what if no one shows up….but what if they DO show up?! It’s nerve-wracking to have worked on a piece and then having to throw it out into the world and see how people react to it.
Q: Are there any playwrights that inspired you while you were working on this piece, or who inspire you in general?
A: Five Lesbian Brothers, Sarah Ruhl, Carol Churchill, and Lisa D’amore are writers who’s plays I’m currently obsessed with
Q: What has been your favorite aspect of working with 365 Women a Year?
A: I just love being part of this awesome group of ladies (and gents) and seeing the amazing work that’s come out of this collaboration. We have 200 plus plays written and dozens of productions happening around the world! That’s pretty incredible.
Q: Do you have any advice for the playwrights joining 365 Women a Year in 2015?
A: WRITE! YOU MUST WRITE! (Ok, so that might have been a little overdramatic, can you tell I do theater?) In all seriousness, you need to take that first step into writing, don’t let the fear of not knowing enough hold you back. I learned a great quote this winter from a fellow playwright, “researching is a great way to procrastinate from writing without feeling like you’re procrastinating.” In other words, don’t do what I did, because it took me years to finally bring myself to put the words on the page. Once I did, I realized I had the story there all along, I just needed to do the work.
Natalie Osborne is a Senior at Bennington College studying Theatre and Anthropology. She likes to tell weird, fun, feminist, queer friendly, and fantastical stories (sometimes all at once). She’s had two readings at Classic Theatre of Harlem in their Playwright’s Playground Program, and has worked with La Mama Theatre in New York City, The Kattaikkuttu Sangam in Punjarasantankal India, and The Athena Project in Denver, Colorado. She’s now super excited about being involved in this project with all these other fabulous playwright ladies! You can see her play MAKING FRANKENSTEIN at the Bennington College Student Center on March 27th, at 7:40pm. Or watch the online stream on HowlRound TV
To see the other post in this series, click on one of the links below:
365 Women a Year THIS FRIDAY!
This is the week! On March 27th, World Theater Day, we will celebrate the lives of historical women who changed our world, with play-readings from Madrid to New York to Bennington, Vermont.
We hope you will join us at 7:40pm in the Bennington College Student Center, in person or through the livestream on HowlRound TV!
Interview with Shellen Lubin
Shellen Lubin discusses her new play AFTER THE THIN MAN. This is the second in a series of four posts featuring the playwrights of the Bennington 365 Women a Year Festival.
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: What are you most excited about for the reading on the 27th? What are you most nervous about?
A: I am excited about seeing where the director and actors take these women–these characters–having nothing but the words I have written in front of them to start from on their expedition. That has only happened a few times in my life (where I got to see the production but was not a part of the process), and it is always somewhat breathtaking.
Nervous? Hmmm … I guess only that maybe I didn’t write what I thought I did, and it doesn’t get where I wanted it to … yet … because there are always re-writes.
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. You can see her play AFTER THE THIN MAN at the Bennington College Student Center on March 27th, at 7:40pm. Or watch the online stream on HowlRound TV
Announcing the Cast of 365 Women a Year at Bennington!
NOplays is very excited to announce the cast for the 365 Women a Year Festival at Bennington College!
Making Frankenstein, written and directed by Natalie Osborne
Mary Shelley – Sarah Jack
Percy Shelley/Frankenstein – Marshall McGraw
Clare Shelley – Maia Villa
Stage Directions – Celene Barrera
En El Medio, written and directed by Maia Villa
Ria – Ada Guzman
Glo – Joana Santos
Stage Directions – Jessie Berliner
Feelin’ Lonely, written by Catherine Weingarten, directed by Natalie Osborne
Elizabeth – Lauren Cagnetta
John – Jade Pope
Stage Directions – Molly Forgaard
After the Thin Man, written by Shellen Lubin, directed by Maia Villa
Stella Adler – Singer Moora
Sylvia Gassel – Victoria Nation
Stage Directions – Molly Kirschner
Unfortunately, the play White Cotton is no longer a part of the festival, but we are very excited about our four plays and our fantastic cast! The performance will take place on March 27th at 7:40pm in the Bennington College Student Center. The performance will also be livestreamed on HowlRoundTV, starting at 8pm EST.
The Object Plays
The annual Bennington tradition continues. Four writers spent the winter writing original ten minute plays, and now their fellow students have only 12 hours to direct, design, and perform them!
This years theme is Closet plays, featuring new works by Audre Bennett, Will Larson, Michael Ash, and yours truly!
Sunday March 9th at 8:00pm in the Deane Carriage Barn
If you’re looking for some fun theatre in Southern Vermont this weekend, look no further!
Interview with Catherine Weingarten
Catherine Weingarten discusses her new play FEELIN LONELY. This is the first in a series of four posts featuring the playwrights of the Bennington 365 Women a Year Festival.
Interviewer: Natalie Osborne
Q: How did you hear about 365 Women a Year?
A: Last year I got in touch with Jesslynn Chamblee because we both were selected for a few of the same short play festivals. She was super fun to talk to and we ended up commiserating about grad school, being a female playwright and submission opportunities. Then she told me about her awesome project “365 Women” and I decided to join the Facebook group and give it a go!
Q: Why did you choose Elizabeth Bishop as your historical woman? What drew you to her?
A: At Bennington College I took a poetry class my freshman year about intense friendships between poets; and we studied Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Ever since then she has stuck in my head. I love how observant, crisp and surprisingly funny her poetry is. Also she was a lesbian and so edgy and strong! Can I be her now!
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 knew that I didn’t want to be too literal when it came to adaptation. I wanted to take details from her life that did it for me; and then give myself the freedom to imagine my own version of how things could have played out. The challenge is the pressure of being historically accurate/depicting things as they probably occurred; but to tell you the truth that sounds supa boring, so I tried to avoid that and let myself have weird Elizabeth Bishop odd fantasy sequences.
I had a lot of fun creating Elizabeth Bishop as a character because she is so spunky and smart and repressed; what cool qualities for a woman!
Q: The play takes place during Bishop’s time at Vassar College, what inspired you to focus on this part of her life?
A: Ever since I have been writing plays I have been obsessed with stories about younger people trying to figure out adulthood. The idea of writing about Elizabeth Bishop still trying to figure out her voice and her swag, really did it for me. Also I was a playwriting apprentice at Vassar’s Summer Theater in 2012, so I had a clear image in my mind about the buildings she probably studied in.
Q: What are you most excited about for the reading on the 27th? What are you most nervous about?
A: I am such a Bennington chick, so I am thrilled whenever my alma mater decides to put up my work! I am nervous that people will throw hipster vegan drinks at the stage and cry and say that my play is not historically accurate(which it probs is not).
Q: Are there any playwrights that inspired you while you were working on this piece, or who inspire you in general?
A: Things that inspire me: coconut cake, Sherry Kramer, Sam Hunter, pink cupcakes.
Q: What has been your favorite aspect of working with 365 Women a Year?
A: I am a big proponent of female playwrights and minority playwrights having more of a voice on the American stage; so this project is right up my alley. I love feeling like I’m apart of this sketchy secret Facebook group mission that involves a ton of female playwrights.
Q: Do you have any advice for the playwrights joining 365 Women a Year in 2015?
Don’t worry too much about getting every detail of the person’s life correct. Just try to take what’s interesting to you and then give yourself room to be crae and have fun!
Catherine Weingarten is a recent Bennington College graduate in Vermont and an incoming playwriting MFA candidate at Ohio University. Her short works have been done at such theaters as Ugly Rhino Productions, Fresh Ground Pepper, and Nylon Fusion Collective. Her full length plays include: Are you ready to get PAMPERED!?, Recycling Sexy, A Roller Rink Temptation and Pineapple Upside Down Cake: a virgin play. She is the Playwright in Residence for “Realize your Beauty inc” which promotes positive body image for kids by way of theater arts. She was previously a member of Abingdon Theater’s playwrights group and New Perspective “women’s work” short play lab 2014. You can see her play FEELIN LONELY at the Bennington College Student Center on March 27th, at 7:40pm. Or watch the online stream on HowlRound TV
See You Later Athena
As rehearsals for HARM’S WAY are gearing up in Denver, I’m getting cozy in Vermont, preparing for NOplays’ first production in collaboration with 365 Women a Year. This March is going to be an amazing month for women in theatre; from the 2015 Athena Project Festival in Colorado, to 365 Women a Year in Vermont and around the world.
No matter where you are, make sure you see some of the incredible new works by female artists!
Thank you Athena Project for an amazing seven weeks, and here’s to future collaboration between us!
The Athena Project Festival
Where in the world is Natalie Osborne? She’s in the Mile High City (Denver, Colorado) working with the fantastic group of ladies at the Athena Project! If you don’t know about the Athena Project, YOU SHOULD! Their mission is to embrace, encourage, and empower female artist across the disciplines. Including; dance, music, visual arts, and of course, theatre. I’ve had an amazing few weeks working with The Athena Project, helping them to prepare for their third annual arts festival in March, and I can’t believe my time here is already coming to an end! Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see the festival, but if any of you are around Denver, attend one of their many amazing events. And for you female playwrights, here’s a great place to submit to!
Read more about the Athena Project here!
And check out their website:
365 Women a Year Website
If you haven’t had the chance to check out the 365 Women a Year website, please do!
NOplays 