Next Meeting: Sunday June 28th, 2:00 pm

The next meeting of 517 Playwrights will be Sunday June 28th at 2:00 pm at the main branch of the Lexington Public Library. We will meet on the second floor near the elevators and then find a quiet table where we can finalize play selections and a production venue, discuss a name for the organization and how to more formally organize, and most exciting Greta Fields' plans for a playwrights retreat. As always our meeting will conclude not later than 5:00 pm (when the library closes). Hope you can join us.

May 17th Agenda

Our May 17th meeting is likely to a bit different than most of our meetings: in an effort to try and find the semifinalist plays we'll focus on reading and discussing submissions to the play contest. This of course will not be our last opportunity to judge submissions, or to discuss them. But, at least from my perspective, judging the submissions has been difficult work; the quality of scripts entered in the contest has been high, cutting down to only nine semi-finalists is going to be a hard job. We need this opportunity to discuss the plays that have been submitted.

So, even if you've never been to a meeting of 517 Playwrights, plan to come to this month's meeting. We will meet near the elevators on the second floor of the downtown (main) branch of the Lexington Public Library then find a quiet table where we can read and discuss submitted scripts. Please join us in finding the best nine (9) semifinalist plays possible.

May meeting

Just a reminder: the May meeting will be on Sunday May 17th at the main branch of the Lexington Public Library. The meeting will run from 2 to 5 pm. We'll meet on the second floor, near the elevators, then find a table to read scripts, discuss the play contest and conduct any other business. Please join us!

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

I do not have everyone's email address. Please respond to ky.playwright@yahoo.com and let me know if you want to help in judging the play contest so that I can forward some of the scripts for initial judging. We will discuss HOW to judge the scripts (criteria and how many rounds of judging should be undertaken to select the winners, etc.) at our April 5th meeting. Thanks.

CONTEST CLOSED

Well, for reasons unknown (could it be the full moon?) we received 41 entries to the play contest in the last 24 hours. This means that 122 submissions have been received. The rules said we would accept and judge only the first 100 entries. Therefore no other entries will be accepted. I am sorry to be a bearer of bad news for those who wanted to submit, but hadn't done so yet. To those who did submit-- we are pleased that you submitted and wish you good luck.

Reminders:

The next meeting of 517 Playwrights will be Sunday March 1, 2009 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm at the Northside Branch of the Lexington Pulic Library. You do not need to be a playwright to attend; you only need to be interested in encouraging new play development. If you are a playwright-- whether you've come to our meetings before or not-- feel free to bring a play you're working on and we'll read it and give you feedback. The goal is to be supportive of others like ourselves who are working hard to develop new works for the theatre.

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Speaking of new play development: the play contest is booming. So far we have received well over 50 submissions. We will cut off submissions at 100 for this year's contest. So if you haven't already submitted do so soon. Presently we are receiving scripts at a rate of one or two a day. That rate is rather like a trickle-- but a trickle of water can fill a sink pretty fast. And a trickle of plays can end a contest's submission period long before it is set to officially end. Don't lose out on your chance for your 10 minute play to be considered for this year's contest!

10 Minute Play Contest Clarifications

I have already received a submission to the 10 minute play contest-- which is wonderful, except that the contest is not accepting submissions until February 1, 2009. Please do not submit until on or after February 1st.

Keep in mind that this is a 10 minute play contest. It is not a one page contest. Nor is it a five minute contest. Please submit 10 minute plays (on or after Feb. 1st). Thank you.