35years - Capital Repertory Theatre

STAGES 35 YEARS theREP
EILEEN SCHUYLER
Joe Schuyler
Joe Schuyler
Doug Liebig
Joe Schuyler
BRENNY RABINE
DAVID KENNER
KEVIN MCGUIRE
READY, SET, READ! THE DIARY OF A MAD PLAY READER
14 WEEKS … 98 DAYS … 450 PLAYS
Every May, it begins. A call for entries goes out
to playwrights across the country to submit a
script to theREP’s Next Act New Play Summit.
In four years, submissions have increased, from
100 at the start to more than 400 this year.
Anyone can submit. All are welcome, as long
as:
1 - the play has not been produced
2 - the play requires no more than seven
actors
3 - the actors do not play multiple roles
4 - the play is not about the “theatre”
—give us the world
HOW ARE THE FIRST 10 PAGES?
In the first round, there are 12 play readers
divided into three groups—Oh, and did I
mention, we are only going to read the first 10
to 15 pages of the script to decide if we want
to read the entire play?
NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT 4
OCTOBER 30 - at theREP
7:30pm - SLEEPY HOLLOW by Maggie
Mancinelli-Cahill
OCTOBER 31 - GE THEATRE AT PROCTORS
11:30am - FIRST 15 (first 15 min of four
new plays)
3pm - SECOND LOOK The reading of
ASSISTED LOVING by Bob Morris
NOVEMBER 1 - GE THEATRE AT PROCTORS
2pm - NEW VOICES (new works by young
playwrights)
5pm - Reading of FAR FROM THE TREES
by Christina Gorman
NOVEMBER 2 - at theREP
7pm - Reading of WHAT PASSES FOR
COMEDY by G.D. Kimble
CAROLYN ANDERSON
Margaret and Carolyn return to Next Act 4 as Directors
I ask for a week’s extension. Others ask too.
Whew! I am not alone.
DAY 60
OK, we can meet and will select our Top 25
plays. The discussion is good—fun, heated. We
listen to the passionate “yes” votes and some
passionate, “No, never!” voices. We wrestle,
but at the end of a three-hour session, we have
our Top 25. New readers come into the mix and
Margaret and I will read the full scripts of these
semi-finalists.
DO THE MATH: 25 plays, x 100 pages=2,500
pages in 10 days. OK, Go!
DAY 70
I’ve read the Top 25 and am amazed at the
process. So many genuinely interesting works.
Not all perfect plays, but interesting ideas and
some excellent writing. I’m feeling optimistic.
Top 25 becomes the Top 10. Moves on to a final
reading group.
DAY 98
The results start coming into our emails. The
readers’ lists are fascinating and two plays
consistently get high marks. I like many of the
Top 10 plays, and am feeling good about the
process, our integrity, the future of theatre!
DAY 100—TUESDAY, AFTER LABOR DAY
It’s done. The top two plays have emerged from
the rigors of the summer reading.
I am grateful for our wonderful volunteer
readers and the Theatre Gods for shining down
on us!
AND THE WINNERS ARE …
(Submissions are first read by three groups of
readers drawn from actors, directors, educators
and theatre administrators. The title and
author’s name are removed so there is no bias
should one of the readers know the playwright.)
NEXT ACT
SCHEDULE
photos - Richard Lovrich
DOING THE MATH
So, 450 plays, 15 pages each, that’s only …
6,750 pages … in eight weeks. Well, that’s
only about 840 pages a week to meet the first
deadline of choosing the Top 25. Piece of cake!
DAY 1
Desk clear, check … coffee, check … glasses,
check … Visine, check … Ready, set, READ!
Very proud, I’ve completed the first eight plays.
Every play will be read by at least four readers,
and any play that gets two “yes” votes moves
on to another reading group. I have no “yes”
votes. I’m concerned, not worried … concerned.
DAY 7
Now, I’ve read the first 60 plays. Three receive
“yes.” I’m concerned … not worried.
DAY 20
I’ve read about half. My eyes are red, but I’ve
read the first 200 plus. Five total “yes” votes
… OK, I’m worried. These are not just pages.
They are writers’ dreams. Am I being too tough?
Have I left a gem behind? I have to go with my
gut and keep going! 250 to go!
DAY 30
Check in with the readers in the other groups.
One is half way through the submissions and
has not given a “yes” vote yet—a sign of
stress, I think. Others have many affirmatives.
I start sweating. We are reading these plays to
fall in love! We want to find a play to produce,
but that’s a $300,000 investment for theREP.
The stakes are high … I am sweating.
DAY 45
Family wedding … I have my own writing for
Sleepy Hollow … I’m behind. But I have to give
these plays attention! 300 read … seven “yes”
votes.
DAY 50
At 310 plays, I ask, what do I want to find? A
story … compelling characters … something
I can care about. I have to be fresh to read
these, but, wow, a lot of playwrights are
lecturing—characters sound like the writer, not
a character—and I fear some playwrights are
trying to write for what they think we want,
and what is trendy. This year it’s everything
transgender. Many stage directions, “character
can be any race—any gender.” Really? I don’t
believe it. People are complicated—so is
dialogue that reveals who we are. We are not
generic … I’m worried.
MARGARET HALL
OCT 31 – NOV 2
STAGES 35 YEARS theREP
NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT 4
FOUR DAYS FULL OF ENGAGING FESTIVITIES AT THEREP AND PROCTORS OCT 30 – NOV. 2
OCTOBER 30 - at theREP
World Premiere SLEEPY HOLLOW: In this adaptation of Washington Irving’s famous story, audiences meet the Knickerbocker Brothers, and are
treated to the brothers podcast (The Knickerbocker Brother’s Sublime and Scintillating Story Hour) of Irving’s tale. Penned by Producing Artistic
Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, this play within a play features an original music score by musician-actors Justin Friello and Lecco Morris
(who play Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones respectively). The show, written for theREP’s On the Go tours, is perfect for anyone 8 to 80.
OCTOBER 31 - GE Theatre at PROCTORS
First 15: Readings of the first 15 minutes of four new plays. Each reading will be followed by a brief conversation where you, the audience
member, get to play the role of the literary manager.
Second Look: ASSISTED LOVING by Bob Morris. Writer and longtime columnist for the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times, Morris based
the play on his memoir that chronicles the story of his relationship with his widower father. Join us for this delightful tale of how father and
son embarked on a journey to find lasting love via computer dating.
NOVEMBER 1 - GE Theatre at PROCTORS
Next Act’s New Voices event will feature readings of several 15-minute plays by young playwrights between the ages of thirteen and twentytwo.
FAR FROM THE TREES, by Christina Gorman. The discovery of a grove of petrified trees may hold the economic answer for a struggling family
that owns the land. But no answer is ever that easy as the family soon discovers, when their town is invaded by a feisty archeologist with a
very different perspective. The already dysfunctional family is further divided, as everyone must face the dilemma of doing what’s right for the
family or the world.
NOVEMBER 2 - at theREP
WHAT PASSES FOR COMEDY, by G.D. Kimble. In the “golden age” of early television a trio of racially diverse writers find themselves faced
with some serious consequences of a backstage prank gone bad when they put America’s #1 Talk Show Host in the hot seat. The writers are
challenged to write themselves and their boss out of the mire – dealing with their own biases along the way.
Remember! Events take place at both theREP and at Proctors in the GE Theatre.
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NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT 4
OCT 31 – NOV 2
The NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT 4 is made possible, in part, by a legacy gift from Samson O. A. Ullman, professor in English at Union College, 1957 - 1992.