NYCPlaywrights August 31, 2024
28 views
Skip to first unread message
NYCPlaywrights
Aug 31, 2024, 5:26:05 PMAug 31
to NYCPlaywrights
Greetings NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
The Harlem Musical Theater Festival 2024
Join Harlem Presents as we celebrate the next generation of great musical theater singers.
Wayne Arthur, Baritone
Isa Blues, Mezzo Soprano
Jalen Ford, Tenor
Randall Holloway, Bari-Tenor
Allyn Faith Jones, Mezzo Soprano
Jasmine Manley, Soprano
Lawrence Craig, Guest Artistic Director
Music Director/Accompanist, Danté Harrell
The Harlem Musical Theater Festival is free and open to the public. You don't have to register to attend. You do have to register to reserve a free seat in your name.
Sunday, September 8, 7:30 - 9pm EDT
Jackie Robinson Park
319 West 145th Street New York, NY 10039
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-harlem-musical-theater-festival-2024-registration-1004499554207?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The Richard Rodgers Awards were created and endowed in 1978 by composer and member Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) for the development of new works of musical theater. These awards support readings and productions of musicals by emerging composers and writers at nonprofit theaters in New York City. The winners are selected by a jury of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Previous recipients include Jonathan Larson, for Rent; Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley, for Violet; Kirsten Childs, for The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin; Anaïs Mitchell for Hadestown; and Jason Kim, Helen Park, Max Vernon, and Woodshed Collective, for KPOP.
***
The New Play Lab at the annual William Inge Theatre Festival is a partnership between the Kansas Arts Commission of the Kansas Department of Commerce and the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College, Kansas. The 8th Annual New Play Lab seeks to connect national established and emerging playwrights to participate at the 42nd William Inge Theatre Festival, April 17-19, 2025. Each year, 12 to 14 Playwrights are connected with professional playwrights, directors, dramaturgs and actors.
***
Due Dissidence seeks one-act plays
Submissions should have political themes and a strong point of view. We are open to a wide range of ideological perspectives-final selections will be based on quality, not ideology. Accepted plays will receive a stipend of no less than $50, and run 2-3 performances. Planned dates are mid-March.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** GETTING PROPS ***
While the worlds created on the Broadway stage can be larger life, many times a show can be identified by just a single prop. From the cast in Dear Evan Hansen to "The Handbook for the Recently Deceased" from Beetlejuice, these items take on a life of their own, and their impact on a theatre audience lasts long after the curtain comes down.
More...
https://playbill.com/article/we-asked-you-answered-30-broadway-props-theatre-fans-wish-they-owned
***
While the line dividing stage props, costumes, and sets can often be murky, the fourteen categories explained below clearly define the different types of props used in modern theatre.
Some are objects an actor holds in their hand, while others merely form part of the overall stage set. Some items hang from walls, a few may exist on the floor or ceiling, and yet there are also items that are eaten by actors and replaced after each performance.
As technology continues to advance, so does every aspect of the theatre including objects that create special effects. A real candle, torch, or fire in a fireplace is rarely permitted in the theatre for safety reasons, so specialised electrical objects known as ‘practicals’ are purpose-made.
More...
https://thedramateacher.com/types-of-stage-props/
***
In the realm of Broadway's most memorable props, Little Shop of Horrors’ Audrey II, the man-eating plant, holds a special place. This monstrous green plant is not just a prop, but a leading character in the musical, central to the narrative and its macabre humor. The plant starts as a small potted oddity and grows into a massive, menacing creature, demanding to be fed with human blood.
Designing and operating Audrey II presented unique challenges. The prop had to be visually impressive, capable of movement, and large enough to "swallow" characters whole. Nicholas Mahon, the puppeteer behind Audrey II, crafted a series of four progressively larger puppets to represent the plant's growth throughout the show. The design was a work of art, a combination of foam rubber, latex, and fabric, painted in lush, vivid shades of green. Despite its technical complexity, Audrey II became an iconic prop and a beloved character, earning a place in the annals of Broadway history.
More...
https://www.broadwayinbound.com/blog/broadways-most-iconic-props-a-behind-the-scenes-look
***
A turn-of-the-20th century sewing machine. A 1960s era radio. Balloons timed and weighed to rise in a certain fashion from a box. Ebenezer Scrooge’s “blankie” and Tiny Tim’s toy horse. Even the food and drink you see consumed on stage.
All of it comes from the Props Department, which is responsible for supplying and creating all the props on stage.
Our next stop behind the curtain takes us to the Props Department. Here are some fun facts:
The number of props in storage is more than 200,000, from sofas and chairs to dishware and weapons.
Jenna Scordino, the interim props supervisor, said the difference between props and scenery is defined as “everything you take with you when you move out of your house is a prop; everything that stays put is scenery.”
***
The suitcases in “The Grapes of Wrath.” The gun in the climactic scene of “West Side Story.” The small glass animals in “The Glass Menagerie.” The bottles of alcohol in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Props are often vital to a play’s storyline, but no one ever really thinks about them — until the gun doesn’t fire at the right time.
“We tend to not pay much attention to props until they’re not working,” said Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre JK Curry, who has edited a recent book on props. “But props enhance performances in interesting ways. Props convey messages that may not be in the dialogue.”
More...
https://inside.wfu.edu/2011/02/the-props-the-thing-for-stage-shows/
***
Props can add so much to a production, but they can also be challenging to work with. Here are five common props challenges, rapid-fire style, with suggestions about how to deal with them!
1. Dealing with a huge list of props
***
In live theater, the work of prop masters and set designers is often given scant notice compared to the attention paid to actors, directors and choreographers. But never have props and sets been more at the forefront than in the stage anarchy of “The Play That Goes Wrong,” which is onstage now at Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks
Theater veterans dread things like missing props or set malfunctions; just one of these can transform a performance into a nightmare. But imagine hundreds of these things going wrong in rapid-fire succession and you get the gist of what “The Play That Goes Wrong” is all about as a troupe of actors attempts to stage a whodunit called “The Murder at Haversham Manor” only to have the production fall completely and spectacularly apart in the wake of a series of mortifying onstage disasters.
More...
https://www.theacorn.com/articles/as-walls-fall-down-youll-collapse-with-laughter/
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
The Harlem Musical Theater Festival 2024
Join Harlem Presents as we celebrate the next generation of great musical theater singers.
Wayne Arthur, Baritone
Isa Blues, Mezzo Soprano
Jalen Ford, Tenor
Randall Holloway, Bari-Tenor
Allyn Faith Jones, Mezzo Soprano
Jasmine Manley, Soprano
Lawrence Craig, Guest Artistic Director
Music Director/Accompanist, Danté Harrell
The Harlem Musical Theater Festival is free and open to the public. You don't have to register to attend. You do have to register to reserve a free seat in your name.
Sunday, September 8, 7:30 - 9pm EDT
Jackie Robinson Park
319 West 145th Street New York, NY 10039
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-harlem-musical-theater-festival-2024-registration-1004499554207?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The Richard Rodgers Awards were created and endowed in 1978 by composer and member Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) for the development of new works of musical theater. These awards support readings and productions of musicals by emerging composers and writers at nonprofit theaters in New York City. The winners are selected by a jury of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Previous recipients include Jonathan Larson, for Rent; Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley, for Violet; Kirsten Childs, for The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin; Anaïs Mitchell for Hadestown; and Jason Kim, Helen Park, Max Vernon, and Woodshed Collective, for KPOP.
***
The New Play Lab at the annual William Inge Theatre Festival is a partnership between the Kansas Arts Commission of the Kansas Department of Commerce and the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College, Kansas. The 8th Annual New Play Lab seeks to connect national established and emerging playwrights to participate at the 42nd William Inge Theatre Festival, April 17-19, 2025. Each year, 12 to 14 Playwrights are connected with professional playwrights, directors, dramaturgs and actors.
***
Due Dissidence seeks one-act plays
Submissions should have political themes and a strong point of view. We are open to a wide range of ideological perspectives-final selections will be based on quality, not ideology. Accepted plays will receive a stipend of no less than $50, and run 2-3 performances. Planned dates are mid-March.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** GETTING PROPS ***
While the worlds created on the Broadway stage can be larger life, many times a show can be identified by just a single prop. From the cast in Dear Evan Hansen to "The Handbook for the Recently Deceased" from Beetlejuice, these items take on a life of their own, and their impact on a theatre audience lasts long after the curtain comes down.
More...
https://playbill.com/article/we-asked-you-answered-30-broadway-props-theatre-fans-wish-they-owned
***
While the line dividing stage props, costumes, and sets can often be murky, the fourteen categories explained below clearly define the different types of props used in modern theatre.
Some are objects an actor holds in their hand, while others merely form part of the overall stage set. Some items hang from walls, a few may exist on the floor or ceiling, and yet there are also items that are eaten by actors and replaced after each performance.
As technology continues to advance, so does every aspect of the theatre including objects that create special effects. A real candle, torch, or fire in a fireplace is rarely permitted in the theatre for safety reasons, so specialised electrical objects known as ‘practicals’ are purpose-made.
More...
https://thedramateacher.com/types-of-stage-props/
***
In the realm of Broadway's most memorable props, Little Shop of Horrors’ Audrey II, the man-eating plant, holds a special place. This monstrous green plant is not just a prop, but a leading character in the musical, central to the narrative and its macabre humor. The plant starts as a small potted oddity and grows into a massive, menacing creature, demanding to be fed with human blood.
Designing and operating Audrey II presented unique challenges. The prop had to be visually impressive, capable of movement, and large enough to "swallow" characters whole. Nicholas Mahon, the puppeteer behind Audrey II, crafted a series of four progressively larger puppets to represent the plant's growth throughout the show. The design was a work of art, a combination of foam rubber, latex, and fabric, painted in lush, vivid shades of green. Despite its technical complexity, Audrey II became an iconic prop and a beloved character, earning a place in the annals of Broadway history.
More...
https://www.broadwayinbound.com/blog/broadways-most-iconic-props-a-behind-the-scenes-look
***
A turn-of-the-20th century sewing machine. A 1960s era radio. Balloons timed and weighed to rise in a certain fashion from a box. Ebenezer Scrooge’s “blankie” and Tiny Tim’s toy horse. Even the food and drink you see consumed on stage.
All of it comes from the Props Department, which is responsible for supplying and creating all the props on stage.
Our next stop behind the curtain takes us to the Props Department. Here are some fun facts:
The number of props in storage is more than 200,000, from sofas and chairs to dishware and weapons.
Jenna Scordino, the interim props supervisor, said the difference between props and scenery is defined as “everything you take with you when you move out of your house is a prop; everything that stays put is scenery.”
Some of the more interesting props in storage are a 16-foot tall Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton built for Pterodactyls (1995), a corpse coffin for A Christmas Carol, a pair of bird puppets built from found objects for The Birds (1998) and a 1920s French fashion magazine from Private Lives (1977).
More...
https://www.scr.org/scr-blog/posts/fun-facts-from-the-props-department
More...
https://www.scr.org/scr-blog/posts/fun-facts-from-the-props-department
***
The suitcases in “The Grapes of Wrath.” The gun in the climactic scene of “West Side Story.” The small glass animals in “The Glass Menagerie.” The bottles of alcohol in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Props are often vital to a play’s storyline, but no one ever really thinks about them — until the gun doesn’t fire at the right time.
“We tend to not pay much attention to props until they’re not working,” said Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre JK Curry, who has edited a recent book on props. “But props enhance performances in interesting ways. Props convey messages that may not be in the dialogue.”
More...
https://inside.wfu.edu/2011/02/the-props-the-thing-for-stage-shows/
***
Props can add so much to a production, but they can also be challenging to work with. Here are five common props challenges, rapid-fire style, with suggestions about how to deal with them!
1. Dealing with a huge list of props
Always – start early! Start amassing props as early as possible, to avoid stress and overlooking needed items.
Double-check the props list to see if every prop is absolutely essential. Cut out those props that aren’t necessary to your production.
Divide and conquer: assign the acquisition of different props to individual team members. Have the rest of the cast and crew assist – maybe there are items they can loan/acquire.
More...
https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/5-props-challenges-overcome
Double-check the props list to see if every prop is absolutely essential. Cut out those props that aren’t necessary to your production.
Divide and conquer: assign the acquisition of different props to individual team members. Have the rest of the cast and crew assist – maybe there are items they can loan/acquire.
More...
https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/5-props-challenges-overcome
***
In live theater, the work of prop masters and set designers is often given scant notice compared to the attention paid to actors, directors and choreographers. But never have props and sets been more at the forefront than in the stage anarchy of “The Play That Goes Wrong,” which is onstage now at Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks
Theater veterans dread things like missing props or set malfunctions; just one of these can transform a performance into a nightmare. But imagine hundreds of these things going wrong in rapid-fire succession and you get the gist of what “The Play That Goes Wrong” is all about as a troupe of actors attempts to stage a whodunit called “The Murder at Haversham Manor” only to have the production fall completely and spectacularly apart in the wake of a series of mortifying onstage disasters.
More...
https://www.theacorn.com/articles/as-walls-fall-down-youll-collapse-with-laughter/
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages