A Better Picture

Another picture from the June 13th meeting of
517 Playwrights. Left to Right are: James Brown,
Bill McCann, Jr., Steve Taylor, and Kathi E. B.
Ellis. Bill Forsyth was the photographer. (An un-
known coffee drinker/blogger is in the background.) Please come join us for our next meeting on July 11th, 2:00 pm at Common
Grounds Coffee House.

Picture Us: 517 Playwrights

Members of 517 Playwrights gathered at Common Grounds Coffee House on Sunday June 13th included: (l to r) Bill McCann, Jr, Steve Taylor, Kathi E. B. Ellis, and James Brown. The photo was taken by yet another member, Bill Forsyth. Missing are Shan and Trish Ayres and Jim Betts. New members are always welcome. The next meeting will be Sunday July 11th at Common Grounds at 2:00 pm. Anyone who has an interest in encouraging the development of new works for the stage is welcome to join us.

Join us....

If your house is like mine you are on the third day of leftover turkey, you've been shopping and you've had enough of the house guests who haven't left. So... its time for you to leave and join 517 Playwrights as we read two one act plays be Steve Taylor and plan for the organization's future! That's right 517 Playwrights will be one year old tommorow and we'd like you to join us at COMMON GROUNDS (coffee house) on High Street in Lexington, KY. The meeting will begin at 2:00 and end at 5:00 so sneak away from the football and the relatives and join us. See you there!

1st Anniversary will Soon be Here!

The first anniversary of 517 Playwrights is coming up! On the Sunday following Thanksgiving last year-- November 30, 2008-- the first meeting of 517 Playwrights was held in the kitchen of a house on Georgetown Road outside Lexington, KY. At that first meeting-- hosted by Greta Fields-- Bruce Williams, Steve Taylor, Bill McCann, Jr. and Greta Fields read through Bruce William's delightful full-length play TIM: A CHRISTMAS STORY while enjoying snacks and drinks provided by Greta Fields.

Members of 517 Playwrights took the month of December 2008 off. In January 2009, at a meeting of the group at the Beaumont Branch of the Lexington Public Library, Jim Betts joined the group. As the meeting was winding down Betts suggested that the group should hold a 10 minute play contest. There was enthusiasim for the idea so a day or two later Bill McCann, Jr., who had been serving as moderator of 517 meetings announced on line that the group was holding a play contest for 10 minute plays beginning February 1, 2009 and ending July 30th or whenever it "received 100 entries."

At the February meeting of 517 Playwrights Bill McCann announced that he had done as the membership had asked and posted the rules inviting entries for the 517 Playwrights 10 Minute Play Contest. However, it quickly became evident that the posting was a mistake; noone had meant to begin a play contest. Misunderstanding or not though members agreed that since the contest had been posted the contest should be held. So, the contest continued, and entries continued to arrive in Bill's email mail box.

Who would have guessed that the 100th entry would be received March 11th 2009; the contest was "closed" that same day. The play contest had been advertised in only two places: this blog and Playwrights Forum! According to the contest rules the submission period ended with the 100th entry. But getting that word out was more difficult than that there was a contest. Entries continued to arrive, more than 150 total!

At the March meeting it was evident 517 might have bitten off more than it could chew. We had more than 100 plays to read and judge, what now?

Busy, busy, busy fall

As a teacher my definition of the season includes that fall has arrived when students are back on campus and the yellow school busses are again prowling neighborhood streets picking up and disgorging children. Fall is here: school is back in session!

Fall finds members of 517 Playwrights very busy indeed. Jim Betts is producing our evening of 10 minute plays, even as he is busy directing one of them: Steven Schutzman's The Weight. Jim is also producing another play, Shakespeare Abridged for a different local community theatre. And, full-time Jim is the owner, chief baker, and bottle washer at Bluegrass Baking Company at 3101 Claysmill Road, Lexington: 859 296-0581. (The Chocolate Mousse Cake is fabulous!)

Bill McCann, Jr. is getting his play, Its Who You Know: A Play about Identity and Opportunity, ready for its first (table) reading on September 13th; after the reading he is planning to make some additional revisions before submitting it to Sundance. Bill is in rehearsal for On Golden Pond in which he plays Charlie Martin. The curtain on On Golden Pond, produced by the Little Colonel Players in Pewee Valley, KY, will rise on Sept 24th for seven performances. (Reservations at 502 588-1557). Luckily for Bill he has few responsibilities for the Evening of 10-Minute Plays or he'd be burned out long before the second weekend in October!

Steve Taylor, a lawyer by profession a playwright by aspiration, is working on a larger stage than the rest of us. Steve is preparing briefs and arguments for a case he is arguing before the Kentucky Supreme Court later this fall.

Last, but certainly not least, Bruce Williams is seeking a second production by actively promoting his full-length play Tim: A Christmas Story; he is also awaiting word from Baker Plays as to whether or not they will publish it. Additionally, Bruce is appearing in Leon Kaye's More Pasta.

We're a diverse group with lots of talent. What we lack though is the talent YOU could bring to our little but ambitious group. Join us on September 13th for the next meeting of 517 Playwrights at the Beaumont Branch of the Lexington Public Library. The meeting will begin at 2:00 pm in the small conference room where we will read a members' work and then discuss it. Join us. 517 Playwrights is open to anyone-- actors, directors, playwrights, theatregoers-- with an interest in helping develop new works for the stage.

How to get tickets

Tickets for the production of Steve Taylor's three one act plays (which includes dessert) can be arranged by contacting Joe Johnson at (502) 695-4560. Call today!

Edgar Allan Poe Revisited

Steve Taylor's one act plays based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe are "Lost Lenore," which is based on "The Raven." The play looks at the meaning of the poem from the perspective of Lenore. "The Cask of Amontillado" and "Hop-Frog" are adapted from the Poe short stories of the same titles; Both deal with revenge.

The performances are Friday, January 16th, and Saturday, January 17th, at 7:30 p.m. at Frankfort High School on Shelby Street in Frankfort.

The production is sponsored by the Frankfort LIFE House animal charity. (Frankfort LIFE House does not have a website.) Along with the production there are a dessert theatre and a silent auction which will go on at Frankfort High School from 6 to 7:30 both nights.

Premieres Coming

Three one act plays by Steve Taylor-- "Lost Lenore," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "Hop-Frog"---will be presented Friday, January 16th, and Saturday, January 17th, as a dessert theatre fundraiser for Frankfort's LIFE House, an animal rescue organization.

Plays Read

The plays read at the recent play reading included:

Excerpts from Tim: A Christmas Story by D.B. Williams and Wild Card by Greta Fields. Both of these plays are full-length works so only one or a few selected scenes were read.

Plays read in their entireties were: The Summer It Rained Every Day by Steve Taylor, a ten minute play and two more ten minnute plays, both by Bill McCann, Jr. The Devil's Christmas Party and There Was No Wrigley Field: A Tragedy for Two, A Comedy for the Rest of Us.

If you have an interest in learning more about any of the plays listed above please leave a comment and the playwright can get back to you.