{"id":29,"date":"2005-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2009-12-28T23:34:38","modified_gmt":"2009-12-29T04:34:38","slug":"matts-tips-on-getting-your-plays-produced","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/?page_id=29","title":{"rendered":"A Few Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDIT: I wrote this in 2004 or so. While I was young and semi-foolish and wouldn’t necessarily some of the same advice today, I think some of it holds true. Someday I shall update this page with some nuggets I’ve learned in my old age. Today is not that day.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been lucky. Except for one short play (a skit, really), I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t start writing plays until 2001. As of this writing, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had seven of them produced \u00e2\u20ac\u201c two of them Off-Off-Broadway. While my plays haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t made me anything even slightly resembling wealthy, I have been paid enough to be able to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a professional playwright\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (note that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I make my living as a playwright\u00e2\u20ac\u009d).<\/p>\n

Some of the best short plays I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen debuted at the 10-Minute Play Festival by City Theater<\/a> in my hometown of Wilmington. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always stunned to learn that some of these plays are never performed again. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Voodoo Barbie\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by George Tietze is a wicked and hilarious tale of a young girl who finds she can manipulate her mother using her Barbie Doll. Unless you went to one of the City Theater productions (they did it once in 1997 and again at the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Best Plays Ever\u00e2\u20ac\u009d festival in 2001), or you happen to be George Tietze (in which case, hey, George, how\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it going?), you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen it. Why? Because George, a hilarious, insanely talented, and totally likable person, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the sense God gave a mechanical pencil. He never submitted his play anywhere except City Theater. Now how silly is that?<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve decided to become a playwright, hopefully you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not in it for the money. Even those folks with plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily write for a living. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not about money. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about something much more important than money: it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about bragging rights and ego. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve created a play out of thin air. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you want people to SEE what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you want to be the god who manipulates actors into saying the words you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you want to be in the audience and turn to the person next to you and say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wrote this\u00e2\u20ac\u009d while she gives you an uneasy smile and moves three seats away?<\/p>\n

Of course you do.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to give you any advice on how to write your play. Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not true. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my advice: don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take anyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advice. You do what you need to do. Want to make an outline? Fine. Want to write freehand for three hours a day? Go right ahead. Want to start every morning by squatting naked on a bowl of green Jello and writing the first thing that pops into your head? Sounds good to me! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fine to listen to other writers tell you what works for them (and believe me, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be happy to do so), but don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take their thoughts as anything more than mere suggestions. If you have a creative mind and you write long enough, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll figure out what works for you.<\/p>\n

What I can offer you is advice on getting you play produced. Again, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been pretty successful on this front. So following are some fairly basic tips that you might want to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

Write Short Plays.<\/h2>\n

We all want to be full-length playwrights. I know I sure do. However, lots of theaters, professional and community, hold 10-, 15-, and one-act play festivals, so they need to accept a lot of plays. Sometimes the plays only get one performance, which kind of sucks for the actors, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great for you – this increases your chances enormously of getting your play produced. City Theater\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s annual festival shows 25 plays. One of my plays was just in Turnip Theatre\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s New York 15-Minute Play Festival\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6they accepted 33 plays. Most of these places get 300-400 submissions, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a shoo-in, but your chances for building a resume are much greater with these short-play festivals. Besides, short plays use less paper, so postage is cheaper.<\/p>\n

Google Is Your Friend.<\/h2>\n

Do this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Open up another browser window (you wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to lose your place here!)<\/li>\n
  2. Go to google.com.<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Type in (without the quotes) \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one act play submission\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/li>\n
  4. See what happens.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    With a little patience, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find dozens of theaters that accept unsolicited one-acts! Go to their sites and check them out. Even if the deadline for submissions has passed, bookmark them. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be doing this again 8 months from now. Once every couple of weeks, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll go through all the theatres I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve bookmarked to see if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve announced anything.<\/p>\n

    Every week, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll search for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one act play submission,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u015310 minute play submission,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ten minute play submission,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and anything else I can think of that might bring up the website of a theater with a contest for short plays. As soon as my full-length plays are better than the piles of goose dung they currently are, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll search for those as well. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a little frightened to see what happens if I just type \u00e2\u20ac\u0153play submission,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but hey, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m over 18.<\/p>\n

    The Rest of the Internet Is Your Friend Too.<\/h2>\n

    But don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop there. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve provided some links to pages that list submission opportunities\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and there are more out there.<\/p>\n

    Be creative in your searches! Every time I see a play I admire, I look up the author and try to find a resume online. Then, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll look up the theaters where his or her plays have been produced \u00e2\u20ac\u201c odds are, they had a contest of some kind, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be looking for more plays soon. Type and point and click on any lead you can find.<\/p>\n

    And once you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a play produced, join the Dramatists Guild<\/a>. Among other things, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll send you an invaluable booklet that outlines hundreds of submission opportunities, and their website keeps you up-to-date on new theaters, contests, and residencies.<\/p>\n

    Follow the Rules.<\/h2>\n

    I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stress this enough: when you find a theater that accepts scripts, READ THE SUBMISSION RULES. Follow them to the letter. Some theaters, for example, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want your name to appear anywhere except the title page, while some want it on the title page, in the margins, and in the dialogue. Some accept electronic submissions, while some need 2 or 3 copies of your worked, stapled in specific geometric patterns. Some don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about the formatting, while some have extremely complex standards for what your script should look like. No matter how annoyingly arcane their instructions, do what they say. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in charge (for now). Especially look for the SASE notice. I generally don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t include the SASE for the return of my plays, because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect my plays to be in great condition when they come back. Some theaters, however, require a normal sized SASE so they can send your acceptance\/rejection letter (someday, these theaters will realize that email is much easier).<\/p>\n

    Just because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re following the rules, however, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a little sneaky now and then\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

    Formatting Is Also Your Friend.<\/h2>\n

    So you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written a beautiful 17-page play, and you want to submit it to a theater that only accepts scripts that are 15 pages or shorter. No problem. Start playing with the margins, particularly the top\/bottom margin. Try making that font just a half-point smaller. Or, worse comes to worse, make those empty lines between lines of dialogue just a wee bit smaller. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re subtle, no one will notice these things.<\/p>\n

    I have a specific format that I like to use, with the name of the speaker in bold and centered with dialogue beneath it. I like a big left margin (actors do to, since they can write in notes), and I find Verdana 11 font clean and legible (even though my good friend Mike Sandler, who has created this site, thinks it looks crappy on paper). However, I realize that this means my scripts use more paper than they need to, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always prepared to change them up. Just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the font too small or the theater will be on to you.<\/p>\n

    Be Professional.<\/h2>\n

    I write a cover letter with every submission. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simple and clean, and usually starts out with something like:<\/p>\n

    Dear Purple People Eater Theatre:<\/p>\n

    Enclosed are three one-act plays for your consideration for the Naked Nuns One-Act Festival.<\/p>\n

    I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll then describe each play in a little blurb. Make these blurbs dynamic and active (and for god\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sake don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say anything like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153it needs work\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reasonably happy with it\u00e2\u20ac\u009d). I have a standard two-sentence blurb for each show, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy to re-write it to make sure it fits a contest or festival \u00e2\u20ac\u0153theme.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

    Find a Way To Make Your Play Fit Their Theme.<\/h2>\n

    While most contests don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fall under a certain \u00e2\u20ac\u0153theme,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d more and more seem to be using them. No problem. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a contest out there with the theme \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Unstill Life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Great theme, but what does it mean? Well, whatever you want it to mean. I think my play \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Boy Who was Born With a Tail\u00e2\u20ac\u009d fits this theme nicely, but I wrote them a cover letter that made the connection a little more clear. Be creative! A well-written cover letter will get the reader thinking about the connection before he or she starts to read your work.<\/p>\n

    Keep Track Of Your Submissions.<\/h2>\n

    If you write a cover letter for each submission, this is pretty easy: just save each letter as the name of the festival and the date. \u00e2\u20ac\u01535.8.03 EATheatre\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is one of mine. This gives you a good record of what you submitted and where. Even if you were sending an e-submission, go ahead and make a cover letter, just to keep your records straight. Of course, you can always create a spreadsheet or something, but I find keeping track of my cover letters suits me just fine.<\/p>\n

    This can help you make sure you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t miss any opportunities next year. Like an idiot, I missed the deadline for a festival that accepted my play last year because my records were shaky. Never again.<\/p>\n

    Be Gracious In Both Victory and Defeat.<\/h2>\n

    The absolute worst thing you can do is alienate a theater company by being a jerk when they reject your script. And they will\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6even the most successful playwrights get far more rejections than acceptances. Do NOT take it personally, and for heaven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sake don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t write them an angry email in response. In fact, if you do anything, send them a brief thank-you letter for considering your play. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite a task, deciding which plays to accept and which to reject, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be happy to know you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a good sport who plans to try again next year.<\/p>\n

    Amazingly, there are some sore winners out there as well. The awesome Gail Winar from Turnip Theatre told me that every year, some playwright has a huge hissyfit over some stupid detail in the New York 15-Minute Play Festival. I suppose the competitive nature can take over anyone, but come on! Not only does that ungrateful jerk mock all the efforts of their hosts, but he or she ruins his or her chances of ever entering the same festival next year. The truth is you might have to accept a compromise or two to get your play on the stage\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6as long as you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not altering the basic nature of your play, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about it. Once you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re famous, theatre companies will be happy to accept your multiple scene changes and creative swearing, but for now, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in charge.<\/p>\n

    Use a Little Discretion.<\/h2>\n

    In general, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to pass up any submission opportunities. But do a little research on the theater first. Google search it to see if they have a homepage. Try to find out if any other playwright has them listed on their online resume. I hate to avoid sending scripts to new companies (or companies just starting to showcase original material), but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a little paranoid about sending my script to a fly-by-night gang.<\/p>\n

    Hey, I hope this section helped and inspired some of you. Even though there are far fewer production opportunities than there are plays, playwrighting doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be competitive. We ought to be supporting and encouraging each other. So good luck, and if one of your plays is selected over mine, just remember who helped you out, you bastard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    EDIT: I wrote this in 2004 or so. While I was young and semi-foolish and wouldn’t necessarily some of the same advice today, I think some of it holds true. Someday I shall update this page with some nuggets I’ve learned in my old age. Today is not that day. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been lucky. Except for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":64,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/136"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}