Singing Loudly

I'm sometimes asked by friends or family how playwrights get their work performed. Do I run around asking actors to do me favors? Am I listed in a book of playwrights that will work for comparisons to Shakespeare? Did I stumble down the wrong alley one night and fall in with the wrong crowd? The answer is yes.

I can speak of my experiences in writing. I'm not sure how you make the leap from a minor playwright to someone of the caliber of Sam Shepard, Tom Stoppard, or Neil Simon. Once you're at that level the rules are, I'm sure, very different. I'll let you know how you can become a playwright.

In my opinion there are three ways you can become a minor playwright: knowing people, submitting your work to places requesting entries, and going through a playwrighting or theater program. Of course, you can mix those three in whatever way you want. I'm lazy and I don't like to lose so I refuse to submit my work to many competitions. I could have gone to a playwrighting program, but I chose not to as I've explained in a post. That left me with knowing people.

The first time a play was performed it was directed at a college by a friend who was an actor. This sounds easy but in reality it isn't. Most of the actors I knew who were in the program wanted to make a statement directing a play. They wanted to impress their classmates and professors by chosing something that really showed them off as directors. Therefore, they would rather perform a play that their friends and professors know than a play by a very un-theater like guy.

At first she refused to perform the play. I guess she read the play a number of times and each time feel more and more in love with what I was doing. Eventually she decided that she wanted to tackle it. That is how I got my start. The city newspaper ended up seeing it and writing something about me. Then I was asked by some other students if I would show them more of my writing. Eventually a one act was performed. They graduated and moved to other cities like Chicago, Madison, and Seattle to join or create theater companies. A year or so later most of them had asked if I had any new work.

That's basically how I do it. I sit around and write in my free time and wait for a phone call or email. It doesn't happen often, but once or twice a year it seems like someone wants to know what I'm up to. This evening I received an email from someone in Santa Fe who had heard of me. He thinks that my style of plays would be good in his companies first season. I asked for a little more information about the company, but I'm pretty sure I'll write a fresh play for them.

Typically small theater companies like to do work by regional or local playwrights. Maybe not filling their seasons with such work but it is fun to have one or two unique plays. Also, the performance rights for such a play is usually a lot less. Instead of charging a fee per ticket I generally offer my play at a flat rate for the use in one season. They can run it as long as they want in a year period. They can't change anything without my permission and have to give me credit. Those are the only requirements. Usually the companies are happy to not have as many restrictions and rules to follow. For instance, many playwrights require that their name appear a certain size on the posters.

Anyhow, that is one way that a person is able to get into playwrighting. Network and be willing to be generous and not have too big of a head. Those are my suggestions. Oh, of course, always be writing. If you have the gift of writing plays (understanding how people speak is more difficult than most people believe) than you ought to cultivate that. You can do something most people are unable to do. Don't waste a talent like that. Good luck with your playwrighting pursuits.