NYCPlaywrights July 12, 2025
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NYCPlaywrights
Jul 12, 2025, 5:16:24 PMJul 12
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Greetings NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Hamilton Sing-A-Long
Part of the Revolutionary Brooklyn collection
Sing-A-Long to this Broadway phenomenon on the site of the Battle of Brooklyn
Thursday, August 14 · 7:30 - 10pm EDT
Old Stone House of Brooklyn
336 3rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hamilton-sing-a-long-tickets-1443935091729?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
On November 22, 2025, we will host the 7th Annual Faces of America Monologue Festival at The Marjorie S. Deane Theater in NYC.
Each year we celebrate the diverse stories that make up America by inviting writers to submit two minute monologues that showcase the broad spectrum of what it is to live, work and play in America. Our aim is to collect unique, captivating and beautiful stories and share them so that we learn, grow and hear each other.
***
The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers supports projects that draw on the research collections of The New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (formerly the Humanities and Social Sciences Library). The Center seeks top-quality writing from academics as well as from creative writers and independent scholars.
***
Stage Frights 2025 seeks short scripts
For 2025, the live event is planned for October 11 (hopefully no hurricane this time) at Le Chat Noir in Augusta, GA and will be followed by a release of the audio plays on the Gather by the Ghost Light podcast. So send us your scary scripts!
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** CURTAIN CALL ***
In this day and age, directors, producers and designers know that the curtain call has to land. It’s no longer just a moment for the audience to express their gratitude to those on-, or off-stage, in many ways, it’s a show’s greatest marketing asset. It’s hard to forget the image of Nicole Scherzinger’s blood-drenched Norma Desmond, snapped by a blogger during the first Sunset Boulevard preview and plastered across the tabloids within hours.
More...
https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-art-of-the-perfect-curtain-call_1665970/
***
The theatrical curtain call is more than just bows
HEARD ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
You're at the theater, the last scene ends, and the cast comes out for applause. It's pretty standard today. But curtain calls once were eccentric, revealing, funny and just plain effective.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And now a curtain call. You're at the theater. The last scene finishes. The cast comes out for applause in reverse order of importance. It's all pretty standard today. But critic Bob Mondello remembers more elaborate curtain calls, and he misses them.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: My first grown-up show - "Oliver!"
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #1: (Singing) Food, glorious food...
MONDELLO: Mom and me way up high in the upper balcony, watching all those kids down below. One older character, Nancy, who looked a little like my mom, died in the second act, which I found pretty shocking. And at the curtain, it hadn't occurred to me yet that the actress hadn't died. So everybody else comes out for applause, reprising the songs they'd sung earlier, as was the custom, including little Oliver, who sang a song that Nancy had taught him earlier.
More...
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/01/1160457163/the-theatrical-curtain-call-is-more-than-just-bows
***
A colleague of mine once told me that he always waits until the technical or dress rehearsal to choreograph the curtain call. His reasoning was that the curtain call should be the absolute last thing added to the show because it signifies that the show is done, and to choreograph the curtain call before the final rehearsal would be bad luck.
It’s true that theatre people tend to be a superstitious lot (“the Scottish play,” anyone?), but I disagree with my colleague’s statement. While the curtain call should be among the last things added to the show, it should not be choreographed during tech or dress rehearsal, and it should not be crammed in at the last minute as an afterthought. Good curtain calls are planned in advance and well-rehearsed so they are smooth, flowing, and polished. They are practiced as part of the show – because they are part of the show. Think of the curtain call as your last opportunity to really wow the audience!
More...
https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/curtain-call-already
***
It's a pain to stage, and often is left until the last possible moment. But your production's curtain call is far too important to be treated as an afterthought. On the contrary, it deserves the same creative thought and planning as the play that precedes it. After all, it is the final stage picture the audience sees before it leaves the theater. It also signals the end of this particular theatergoing experience, acting as an important transition between the world of the play and the real world to which the audience is returning.
And, of course, it gives the audience a chance to show its appreciation for the performance as a whole, and to individual performers in particular.
Understanding these three elements is essential to creating an effective curtain call. So are these five rules of thumb: keep it brief, keep it moving, keep it building to a climax, keep it interesting, then clear the stage. Here's how you can put these rules into action.
More...
https://aact.org/sites/default/files/Resource%20Library/Curtain_Calls.pdf
***
I think another problem is that some theaters have dampened the enthusiasm by only having curtain calls at the end of an opera rather than at the end of each act, as used to be done. Not so long ago, singers took group bows after each act, and if one singer was done for the night — such as the baritone singing Scarpia in Tosca — he got a solo bow at the end of act two rather than having to wait around until the end. This issue is particularly acute at the Met, where audiences stream out as the opera ends rather than stay to give an ovation. The applause for the fabulous Lucia I heard was all of six minutes.
More...
https://www.wqxr.org/story/curtains-and-curtain-calls/
***
For many actors, the curtain call makes all of the stressful auditions, tedious rehearsals, and manic performance schedules worth the experience. Most actors crave audience approval. In fact, I have yet to meet a thespian who has told me, "You know what? I can't stand applause."
But how does one accept the standing ovations? Is there an etiquette to curtain calls? Not exactly. Each show may have its own way of presenting the actors after the conclusion of a play or musical. Generally, the director decides which actors bow first, second, third, and all the way up until the starring members of the cast take their final bows. It's up to each individual actor as to how one behaves during the curtain call.
Over the years, I have collected advice from both performers and audience members about what makes a good (and bad) curtain call.
DO: Rehearse the Curtain Call
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Even if the director does not seem to care about it. Practice a few times so that the curtain call is a smooth process and everyone knows their entrances. A sloppy curtain call with confused actors bumping into one another is not how you want to conclude your opening night.
More...
https://www.liveabout.com/curtain-call-dos-and-donts-2713056
***
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
last Bwy performance with curtain call numbers and speeches, 6/29/25
Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga and company singing Old Friend and Side by Side at curtain call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7XuVKsu1I
“Oh, Mary!” - Curtain Call (Original Broadway Cast)
Curtain call with Tony Winner Cole Escola and the Broadway cast of “Oh, Mary!” September 27, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njj3ZwkCr7g
THE MUSIC MAN FINAL PERFORMANCE (pt 3/3) FULL CURTAIN REMARKS by HUGH JACKMAN, SUTTON FOSTER 1-15-23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWAubkjbSh0
Last Curtain call for Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Leslie Odom Jr and Ariana DeBose on July 9, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqrvVBwopE
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Hamilton Sing-A-Long
Part of the Revolutionary Brooklyn collection
Sing-A-Long to this Broadway phenomenon on the site of the Battle of Brooklyn
Thursday, August 14 · 7:30 - 10pm EDT
Old Stone House of Brooklyn
336 3rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hamilton-sing-a-long-tickets-1443935091729?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
On November 22, 2025, we will host the 7th Annual Faces of America Monologue Festival at The Marjorie S. Deane Theater in NYC.
Each year we celebrate the diverse stories that make up America by inviting writers to submit two minute monologues that showcase the broad spectrum of what it is to live, work and play in America. Our aim is to collect unique, captivating and beautiful stories and share them so that we learn, grow and hear each other.
***
The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers supports projects that draw on the research collections of The New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (formerly the Humanities and Social Sciences Library). The Center seeks top-quality writing from academics as well as from creative writers and independent scholars.
***
Stage Frights 2025 seeks short scripts
For 2025, the live event is planned for October 11 (hopefully no hurricane this time) at Le Chat Noir in Augusta, GA and will be followed by a release of the audio plays on the Gather by the Ghost Light podcast. So send us your scary scripts!
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** CURTAIN CALL ***
In this day and age, directors, producers and designers know that the curtain call has to land. It’s no longer just a moment for the audience to express their gratitude to those on-, or off-stage, in many ways, it’s a show’s greatest marketing asset. It’s hard to forget the image of Nicole Scherzinger’s blood-drenched Norma Desmond, snapped by a blogger during the first Sunset Boulevard preview and plastered across the tabloids within hours.
More...
https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-art-of-the-perfect-curtain-call_1665970/
***
The theatrical curtain call is more than just bows
HEARD ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
You're at the theater, the last scene ends, and the cast comes out for applause. It's pretty standard today. But curtain calls once were eccentric, revealing, funny and just plain effective.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And now a curtain call. You're at the theater. The last scene finishes. The cast comes out for applause in reverse order of importance. It's all pretty standard today. But critic Bob Mondello remembers more elaborate curtain calls, and he misses them.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: My first grown-up show - "Oliver!"
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #1: (Singing) Food, glorious food...
MONDELLO: Mom and me way up high in the upper balcony, watching all those kids down below. One older character, Nancy, who looked a little like my mom, died in the second act, which I found pretty shocking. And at the curtain, it hadn't occurred to me yet that the actress hadn't died. So everybody else comes out for applause, reprising the songs they'd sung earlier, as was the custom, including little Oliver, who sang a song that Nancy had taught him earlier.
More...
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/01/1160457163/the-theatrical-curtain-call-is-more-than-just-bows
***
A colleague of mine once told me that he always waits until the technical or dress rehearsal to choreograph the curtain call. His reasoning was that the curtain call should be the absolute last thing added to the show because it signifies that the show is done, and to choreograph the curtain call before the final rehearsal would be bad luck.
It’s true that theatre people tend to be a superstitious lot (“the Scottish play,” anyone?), but I disagree with my colleague’s statement. While the curtain call should be among the last things added to the show, it should not be choreographed during tech or dress rehearsal, and it should not be crammed in at the last minute as an afterthought. Good curtain calls are planned in advance and well-rehearsed so they are smooth, flowing, and polished. They are practiced as part of the show – because they are part of the show. Think of the curtain call as your last opportunity to really wow the audience!
More...
https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/curtain-call-already
***
It's a pain to stage, and often is left until the last possible moment. But your production's curtain call is far too important to be treated as an afterthought. On the contrary, it deserves the same creative thought and planning as the play that precedes it. After all, it is the final stage picture the audience sees before it leaves the theater. It also signals the end of this particular theatergoing experience, acting as an important transition between the world of the play and the real world to which the audience is returning.
And, of course, it gives the audience a chance to show its appreciation for the performance as a whole, and to individual performers in particular.
Understanding these three elements is essential to creating an effective curtain call. So are these five rules of thumb: keep it brief, keep it moving, keep it building to a climax, keep it interesting, then clear the stage. Here's how you can put these rules into action.
More...
https://aact.org/sites/default/files/Resource%20Library/Curtain_Calls.pdf
***
I think another problem is that some theaters have dampened the enthusiasm by only having curtain calls at the end of an opera rather than at the end of each act, as used to be done. Not so long ago, singers took group bows after each act, and if one singer was done for the night — such as the baritone singing Scarpia in Tosca — he got a solo bow at the end of act two rather than having to wait around until the end. This issue is particularly acute at the Met, where audiences stream out as the opera ends rather than stay to give an ovation. The applause for the fabulous Lucia I heard was all of six minutes.
More...
https://www.wqxr.org/story/curtains-and-curtain-calls/
***
For many actors, the curtain call makes all of the stressful auditions, tedious rehearsals, and manic performance schedules worth the experience. Most actors crave audience approval. In fact, I have yet to meet a thespian who has told me, "You know what? I can't stand applause."
But how does one accept the standing ovations? Is there an etiquette to curtain calls? Not exactly. Each show may have its own way of presenting the actors after the conclusion of a play or musical. Generally, the director decides which actors bow first, second, third, and all the way up until the starring members of the cast take their final bows. It's up to each individual actor as to how one behaves during the curtain call.
Over the years, I have collected advice from both performers and audience members about what makes a good (and bad) curtain call.
DO: Rehearse the Curtain Call
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Even if the director does not seem to care about it. Practice a few times so that the curtain call is a smooth process and everyone knows their entrances. A sloppy curtain call with confused actors bumping into one another is not how you want to conclude your opening night.
More...
https://www.liveabout.com/curtain-call-dos-and-donts-2713056
***
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
last Bwy performance with curtain call numbers and speeches, 6/29/25
Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga and company singing Old Friend and Side by Side at curtain call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7XuVKsu1I
“Oh, Mary!” - Curtain Call (Original Broadway Cast)
Curtain call with Tony Winner Cole Escola and the Broadway cast of “Oh, Mary!” September 27, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njj3ZwkCr7g
THE MUSIC MAN FINAL PERFORMANCE (pt 3/3) FULL CURTAIN REMARKS by HUGH JACKMAN, SUTTON FOSTER 1-15-23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWAubkjbSh0
Last Curtain call for Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Leslie Odom Jr and Ariana DeBose on July 9, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqrvVBwopE
Hello Dolly! - Curtain Call 05/24/17
Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, Gavin Creel, Kate Baldwin, Taylor Trensch, Beanie Feldstein, Will Burton, Melanie Moore, Jennifer Simard, Kevin Ligon, Linda Mugleston, Michael McCormick, Justin Bowen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMzRenxr134
Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, Gavin Creel, Kate Baldwin, Taylor Trensch, Beanie Feldstein, Will Burton, Melanie Moore, Jennifer Simard, Kevin Ligon, Linda Mugleston, Michael McCormick, Justin Bowen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMzRenxr134
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