KPW's on FACE BOOK and other announcements

We're on Face Book now. Just search for Kentucky Playwrights Workshop (KPW) and check us out!

Have news of interest to Kentucky playwrigts? Post it on our Face Book page.

The next meeting of KPW will be Sunday January 8th from 2-5 pm at Common Grounds in Lexington.

Want to join KPW? Send a check for $10 made out to KPW to PO Box 55222 Lexington, KY 40555

Agenda for Annual Meeting, September 11

As of now the AGENDA for Kentucky Playwrights Workshop annual meeting of members to be held on Sunday September 11th, from 2-5 pm at Common Grounds in Lexington, KY is as follows:

I. Call to Order

II. Reading of Minutes of the Prior Meeting

III Treasurer's Report

IV. Determination of eligibility to vote

V. Election of Board members
Nominees to serve on the Board for the coming year are:
Trish Ayers
James Brown
Bill McCann
Heidi Saunders

VI. Schedule of Meetings

VII. Meeting Dates

VIII. Dues for 2011-2012

IX Report of the President

X Other Business

XI Adjournment

Announcements!

Saw CIVILIAN last night at the University of Kentucky's Guignol Theatre. Final dress was awesome! If you care going to be in New York for the NYC Fringe Festival then you absolutely have to go see CIVILIAN, it will absolutely blow you away.

The next meeting of KPW will be this Sunday, August 14th at Common Grounds in Lexington. The meeting will be from 2-4. Afterwards we'll go get some dinner.

The Kentucky Theatre Association's play contest closes August 31, 2011. Don't let the deadline slip up on you, Submit today.

Congratulations to Lawrence DuKore!

Lawrence DuKore's 20 minute one-act play, Stained Glass, ran in repertory at the off-Broadway Metropolitan Playhouse during June 2011. STAINED GLASS is the story of a disabled African American combat veteran and his lady friend, a white artist who works in stained glass. They live on the Lower East Side and have divergent attitudes about dealing with a destructive black teenager who continuously throws rocks at the artist’s stained glass windows. The problem solver turns out to be an unlikely third party with a practical, realistic solution to the problem: inclusion rather than exclusion.

Mr. DuKore's play The Day that Brando Died was produced by Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. as part of it's 2009 Midway Festival of New Plays.

AUGUST Meeting of KPW; Civilian TIX on Sale

The August meeting of the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. will be held Sunday August 14, 2011 at Common Grounds Coffee House, Lexington, from 2-5 pm. Anyone interested in the development of new work for the stage is invited to attend.


Tickets for CIVILIAN, which will be presented as part of the New York International Fringe Festival 2011-- at The Bleecker Theatre 45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012-- went on sale July 22, 2011. Get your tickets today! Don't miss this opportunity to see University of Kentucky students perform OFF BROADWAY!

Performances are: SUN, August 14 @ 7:30p; WED, August 17 @ 5:15p; SAT, August 20 @ 2:00p; TUE, August 23 @ 9:00p; SUN, August 28 @ 4:00p

Next Meeting of KPW

The next meeting of Kentucky Playwrights Workshop will be Sunday June 12th at the Highlands Kroger on Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY. The meeting will be from 2-5 pm in the public meeting room, 2nd floor, of the Kroger store. Please join us. All meetings are open to the public and anyone in attendance, member or not, may have a 10-minute or shorter work and critiqued. Meetings are open to anyone interested in the development of new works for the stage.

Membership in KPW is open to any Kentuckian, or any student of a Kentucky college or university. Dues are $10 per year for the program year September 1 - August 31. Join now-- just $10-- and get additional months of membership; join now and your membership will expire August 31, 2012!

For more information about KPW email us at ky.playwright@yahoo.com

If you would like to join send your check (or money order) to:
KPW
PO Box 55222
Lexington, KY 40555

Fusion Theatre's Interview with Brian Walker

The following interview was posted by Fusion Theatre on it's web site. It has been posted here because Brian Walker is a member of Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc.

How did you hear about “The Seven”?

I heard about The Seven through my Dramatist Guild Resource Directory and it was also listed on The Playwrights' Center's website.

What was the impetus/basis/inspiration for writing the piece?

The inspiration for the piece is pretty straightforward: it came when I realized that I had not received my girl scout cookies from the little girl I had ordered them from three houses down and started seeing them being sold at the entrances of local grocery stores. I was convinced that someone in my neighborhood must have stolen mine as I told her she could just leave them in my door if I wasn't home. Days past but instead of going door to door to interrogate my neighbors, I wrote the play and my cookies arrived the next week; the little girl had the flu and was late getting them out, which, by that time, was fine by me because I had gotten a play out of it.

Is this play representational of your writing style? Is it similar to or different from your other plays?

This play is very representational of my writing style. I like writing plays where the audience doesn't know exactly where they should be laughing; or if what they're watching is even supposed to be funny, or maybe half the audience thinks it's funny and the other half of the audience is mortified. I like writing characters that are flawed in some way?and that really need something (whatever it?is...cookies even...) in order to get out of bed in the morning to face the world.

What is the role of the short work in your playwriting career?

The short play has been so instrumental to my writing career as it has given me the opportunity to really hone my craft while getting my work out there into the world. I love that short play festivals are so popular because for me there are so many moments, so many instances or people or situations that I think, 'that would make a good play' but there would never be enough time to write them all down into full length scripts. So I'm always writing short plays and I'm always sending them out. The ten minute play allows me the opportunity to get those impulses out there; even when simultaneously working on a larger project I may be blocked with or just need a break from.

What is your favorite play? Who is your favorite playwright?

My favorite play is A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner because it makes me weep every time I read it and my favorite playwright would have to be Christopher Durang who just inspires me and his plays makes me laugh and think and want to have fun with my own truths.

What is your next playwriting venture?

In the last week I have just completed a full length play, CAGE (or the other side of tomorrow) which is about a society which eats its criminals instead of incarcerating them. Plus it's a love story. And there are dancing cows. I'm hoping to begin submitting it this summer.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Thank you so much to FUSION Theatre Company for producing my play and sharing my voice with this community; it is such an honor to be included with the other six playwrights and have my work brought to life by this group of artists.

Ooops! (Wrong Date)

Ooops! I didn't notice until today but I posted the wrong day for our next meeting. The next meeting of Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. will be held on Sunday June 12th in Louisville, KY, from 2-5 pm at the Highlands Kroger on Bardstown Road. Hope to see you there!

Update About KPW

Despite-- or perhaps because of-- a lack of posting on this blog Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. is busy. The meeting last week in Berea, at the Tourism Commission office, involved reading and discussing two short plays and a short scene from a third. Additionally, we gained yet another member which brings us, I believe, to 17 members.

Upcoming meetings will be in Louisville on June 10th and in Lexington August 14th and September 11th. The Louisville meetings will be held at the Highland Krogers on Bardstown Road. The Lexington meetings will be held at Common Grounds Coffee House. All meetings begin at 2:00 pm and are open to the public.

The September meeting will be the organization's Annual Membership meeting when members of the Board of Directors are selected and we will discuss a meeting locations and schedule for the coming programmatic year (September 1 through August 31).

Beginning next fall KPW hopes to begin sponsoring or co-sponsoring classes in playwriting. First up will likely be a course on writing either the solo performance piece or the one minute play. As more information becomes available it will be posted here on the blog and/or discussed at meetings. Suggestions of other playwriting topics may be sent to ky.playwright@yahoo.com

We are Now IRS Approved!

The Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. is now approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 nonprofit with all the obligations and opportunities that that entails.

For you, the lover of new works of theatre now reading this, that means that you can now donate some of your hard earned lucre to support our organization that gives opportunities to aspiring playwrights. If you would like to donate, contributions in any amount (now tax deductible! yeah.) may be sent to:

KPW Donation
PO Box 55222
Lexington, KY 40555.

Membership in KPW is open to any Kentuckian who wishes to join. Membership is $10 per year. If you would like to join KPW you may send your dues (which are not generally tax deductible) to:

KPW Dues
PO Box 55222
Lexington, KY 40555

NOTE: Individual circumstances may vary so please consult your tax professional about the tax implications of membership in or donations to the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc.

A Few Good Men Stars a Playwright!

KPW's very own James Brown is featured as Major Markinson in Bluegrass Community and Technical College's production of A FEW GOOD MEN June 24-26th at 7:30 and June 27th at 2:00 pm. All perfomances are at the Downtown Arts Center in Lexington.

Aaron Sorkin's A FEW GOOD MEN is the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder. The play is co-directed by Tim X. Davis and Jared K. Sloan. Tickets are $12.00. All performances will be at the Downtown Arts Center, 141 E. Main Street, Lexington , KY 40507. For reservations call 859 225-0370.

Glass Menagerie Revealed in a 'Brilliant New Light'

KPW, Inc. member and director Kathi E. B. Ellis' version of Tennessee Williams' play Glass Mengerie recently opened to critical acclaim: theatrelouisville.org said "ShoeString Productions and Ellis deserve thanks for bringing us this production that joins fine performances with one of America’s greatest dramatic works, and for revealing all in a brilliant new light.”

Don’t miss The Glass Menagerie! – four more performances at the historic Water Tower: June 20 and 29 and July 2 and 5. Performances at 8:30p.m. Gallery with Ne10: Louisville, illuminated glass art, exhibit open at 7:30p.m. Reservations at 502-741-8392 or shoestringproductionsky@gmail.com.

“Director Kathi E.B. Ellis casts four strong and accomplished performers — Megan Burnett (Amanda), Laura Ellis (Laura), Lee Look (Tom) and Doug Sumey (the Gentleman Caller) — to carry out her vision. All four give honor to their roles, illuminating and interpreting without resorting to type. New facets emerge throughout the evening, and none will disappoint; but to say more would be to rob you of the pleasure of uncovering the subtleties for yourself.” Lighting design by John Newman and sound design by Laura Ellis.

Check out the full review at http://theatre-louisville.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-shoestring-productions-glass.html