KPW New Play Contest Announced

The Kentucky Playwrights Workshop is holding a KPW New Play Contest. Deadline for submissions is midnight February 15, 2012. Up to seven new plays will be selected for a community reading in June of 2012 as a part of the Second Friday program at Berea Arts Council. In September 2012 a staged reading of the winning plays will be produced at Berea Arena Theater.

Any Kentucky Playwright Workshop(KPW) member is eligible to submit one ten-minute play. Any Kentucky resident or student attending a Kentucky college may become a member by including a $10 check, made out to KPW, with their submission.

According to contest coordinator, Trish Ayers, "One of the primary reasons for holding the contest is so that we can attract new members. Consequently, we are seeking outside judges and have arranged for public readings of the winning plays."


KPW New Play Contest Rules, 2012

1. Each member may submit one new ten-minute play with two to four characters which has not been published or fully staged. The entry should be emailed or postmarked by February 15, 2012. Each submission should include:
a. A cover page attached with a paper clip to the script which includes title of play, playwright name and contact information. Electronic submissions include this as a separate attachment.
b. One page with character descriptions
c. Maximum of ten pages of dialogue in standard play submission format (12 pt. Courier) the title of the play included on each page.
d. The title of the play included on each page of dialogue
e. Page numbers on each page of dialogue with the exception of the first page.
f. Only include name and contact information on cover page
2. Electronic or postal submissions will be accepted
a. Please submit electronic submissions in PDF or Microsoft Word to: ky.playwright@yahoo.com
b. Please submit postal submissions to: KPW, PO Box 5522, Lexington, KY 4055
3. Scripts will not be returned
4. Submissions that do not follow these rules will not be considered.
5. Decisions of the judges are final.

Kentucky Theatre Association Semi-Finalists Announced

The Kentucky Theatre Association has announced the semi-finalists in its annual play contest:

And I Love You Richard by Osunnike Robin Scott
SUMBAHDEE by Donna Phillips
Taking Stock by Trish Ayers
View From the Pews by Clara Harris
The Mantau Maker by Elizabeth Orendorf
Feral Cats by Heidi Saunders
Crossing the Line by Toni Wiley
The Pictures by Gary Eldridge
Jonah the Reluctant Prophet by Richard Neumayer
Soldier's Christmas by Philip Paradis

Donna Phillips, Heidi Saunders and Trish Ayers are all members of the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop.

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

CAGE to be given staged reading in NYC

Brian Walker's full length play Cage (or the other side of tomorrow)
was selected for a staged reading as part of Truffle Theatre Company's
1st Annual Truffle Hunt August 30th-September 4th, 61 Local, 61 Bergen

CAGE is a full-length paly, set in a Midwest city which does things exactly like
every other city in the United States does in the future and is
controlled by an organization called the Continental Operative Warrant
who have been responsible for lobbying the government and changing the
laws and running the new farms. All cows and pigs and chickens have
become extinct and the human race has turned to cannibalism in order
to satiate their need for meat. Laws have been enacted and prisons
transformed into new farms and anyone who breaks the law becomes food.

Wlaker is a member of the Dramatist Guild and the Kentucky Playwright Workshop. He lives and works in Louisville, KY.

EstroGenius-In-Progress to Feature Play by Trish Ayers

Trish Ayers' short play, "Painting the Egress," (written as part of a KFW (Kentucky Foundation for Women ) grant) has been selected to be read as part of EstroGenius-In-Progress in NYC on July 9th. If it is voted an audience favorite, the play will have a full performance in the fifth week of the EstroGenius Festival.

The Estrogenius Festival is an annual celebration of female voices, and is one of New York City’s largest women’s arts festivals. Estrogenius takes open submissions from around the world and is committed to providing opportunities to female artists in a variety of disciplines. For more information about the festival see http://www.estrogenius.org.

Trish Ayers is a member of the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop.

Crish Barth Play Named Semi-finalist

Crish Barth's play, General Admissions, has advanced from the 1st round to the semi-finals of the Strawberry One Act Fest in New York. The next performance will be Tuesday, August 18 at 7pm at Theatre St. Clements. To obtain tickets go to Barth's facebook page or go to http://www.facebook.com/l/;theatremania.com and search for Strawberry One Act Festival.

Barth is one of seven winners of this year's 517 Playwrights' 10-Minute Play Contest; his play Hill Cattle will be produced at the Thoroughbred Community Theatre in Midway, KY October 9, 10, and 11, 2009 by the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc.

Audition Notice: A Night of 10-Minute Plays

Auditions for the seven 10-minute plays to be produced by the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. will be held on Tuesday August 18 and Wednesday August 19, 2009 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm in CONFERENCE ROOM B, fourth floor, of the Main Branch, Lexington, Public Library. Directors of all seven plays will be present to select actors for their plays. A total of 9W and 8 M are needed. Actors may audition to appear in multiple plays/play multiple parts.

Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. is producing the seven winners of 517 Playwrights' 10-Minute Play Contest. Production of the plays will be the second weekend of October, 2009 (9, 10, 11) at the Thoroughbred Theatre in Midway, KY:

Crish Barth, Hill Cattle, 2 F (30s - 40s)
Will the man of her dreams show up to carry her away, as she contends?

Len Cuthbert Enigmatic Lucidity 1M 1F (20s to 50s)
Is the woman he loves trying to kill him? Or is he dreaming?

Lawrence DuKore, The Day Brando Died 2M (40s to 50s)
Two tennis players meeting for tennis learn about the common girl friend in their pasts

Leon Kaye More Pasta 1 M (20's) 1 M 1F (50s)
More is at stake than pasta when a family sits down together.

Thomas Pierce, Almost Connect 2 M 2W (20s to 40s)
A couple almost meet over coffee.

Kay Rhoads, Last Church of Lost Souls, 2 F (20s to 40s)
A female inmate and a guard look for the inmate's mother's grave.

Steven Schutzman, The Weight 1 F (16-18) 1 M (20's)
A girl runs away from home and shows up at the apt. of an older musician she admires.

The plays allow for great casting flexibility; nearly all plays can be cast with people of any race, ethnicity or age. So if you have an interest in acting this is a great opportunity to be showcased in new, interesting and challenging new work.

Come audition August 18 or 19 at the main branch, Lexington Public Library, 4th Floor, Conference room B, from 6 to 9 pm. Join in the fun of being in a play, or two, or maybe more! For additional information contact Jim Betts at (859) 321-2852.

MEETING Sunday August 16, 2009

The meeting scheduled for August 9th was cancelled at the last moment due to a death. So, this coming Sunday, August 16, 2009, 517 Playwrights and Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc. will be meeting at the Thoroughbred Community Theatre 127 Main Street in Midway, beginning at 2:00 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to allow 10-minute play directors an opportunity to view the venue where the plays will be produced, take measurements, determine sight lines etc.

We CAN accept donations but....

517 Playwrights is an unincorporated entity: basically, though we hold public meetings, we are a private group. We charge no dues and have no expectations of our members except that they come to meetings and share in them either as a playwright or as a supportive individual who is trying to help playwright members improve their scripts. That's all we do. The organization can accept no donations; it has no bank account, officers or official "existence."

On the other hand, just this past week, a group of us have incorporated the KENTUCKY PLAYWRIGHTS' WORKSHOP (KPW), Inc. as a nonprofit and registered that name with the Kentucky Secretary of State's Office in Frankfort. We are NOT registered with the US Dept. of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)3 tax exempt organization; I do not know if we will ever do that, though we may.

The KPW is the producing group that is putting on the evening of 10-Minute Plays that will be produced at the Thoroughbred Community Theatre in Midway in October of this year. If you wish to make a donation to help us underwrite production costs for that event, that would be appreciated. At this point though the future of the KPW is simply unknown.

We have not made plans beyond the October production. After that production, presumably sometime in late October we will work on doing the things necessary to get the organization organized: writing a mission statement, electing officers, setting dues, establishing an annual meeting date and all such similar matters. In the meantime, we will be raising funds solely for the purpose of underwriting production costs that are ANICIPATED to be in the neighborhood of $1,000.00

It is anticipated that there will be two primary sources of funding for the production: selling advertising in the program; donations. We will be charging admission for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows. What we don't know is whether people will drive to Midway for an evening of 10-Minute shows since the community is roughly 10 miles or more from the nearest other towns: Lexington, Georgetown, Frankfort and Versailles.

If you would like information about how you can support the Kentucky Playwright's Workshop and the production of the 517 Playwrights' 10-Minute Play Contest please either leave a comment or write to us at ky.playwright@yahoo.com

Check with your accountant or other knowledgeable person about whether not, to what degree (if ANY) your donation to KPW is tax deductible.

If you would like to take out an ad in the program for the 10-Minute plays to be produced in October please leave a comment or write us at ky.playwright@yahoo.com

Thank you for your interest in supporting our work and the playwrights whose works we are producing.