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Centre Stage

A blog for women-related theatre issues worldwide.



  • 18 Mar 2014 12:39 PM | Deleted user
    Playwright and ICWP board member, Kris Bauske will have her play "Whispers to the Moon" read by Dezart Performs as part of their 6th Annual Play Reading Series on April 12, 2014 at 7:30 PM.  Dezart Performs will hold the reading at the Women's Club of Palm Springs. 
    Dezart Performs, Downtown Palm Springs
    (View)
    314 South Cahuilla Road
    Palm Springs, CA 92262
    United States

    The play is one of four finalists.  The winner will receive a full production during the 2014-15 season.  Winner will be selected by popular vote of audience members.  If you're in the Palm Springs area, please attend and support this touching romantic comedy!
  • 11 Oct 2013 5:40 AM | Anonymous
    ICWP & Playscripts Contest

    Hilarious New Play at Bonanza Village Playhouse Sends Shockwaves Through Community When It is Revealed to be Written by a Woman


    Bonanza, OR –  Audience members that had been rolling in the aisles at Saturday night’s premiere of Aunt Gertie’s Road Trip were stunned into silence when local mother Dana O’Malley took the stage after the 6th curtain call and claimed credit for penning the play.


    “I don’t know what to think,” said Bonanza Councilwoman Mandy Heller. “I’ve read those thoughtful articles by Christopher Hitchens and Adam Carolla and they all say women aren’t funny. But during the scene where Aunt Gertie gets stranded at the top of the Washington Monument, I almost fell out of my chair.  Could Adam Carolla be wrong?”


    Other patrons felt equally perplexed. “I knew the play was written by a Dana,” said business owner, George Sherman. “I just assumed it was a boy-Dana.” Walter Johnson, long-time Bonanza resident, offered another theory, “I think it actually
    was a boy-Dana.”


    The success of the Bonanza production calls into question the veracity of countless studies and Yahoo Answers that, until now, most people accepted as fact. Long time humor experts, Peter Chen and Jim Polaski, stand by their research, however. “Over the years, we’ve shown over 1,000 subjects clips of male and female comedians,” said Chen. “Chris Rock, Meryl Streep, Jerry Seinfeld, Hillary Clinton…Each time, we hope for different results, but everybody laughs harder at the guys.”


    Playscripts, Inc. and the International Center for Women Playwrights have joined forces to figure out if what happened in Bonanza could possibly be a global trend. The Are Women Funny? One-Act Play Contest invites playwrights who:


    a) are women

    b) think they might be funny


    to submit large cast, one-act comedies ideal for performance by high school students. The winning play will be published by Playscripts and promoted throughout the world. “If there are more Dana O’Malleys out there, we want to find them.” said a Playscripts representative. “Our goal is to connect those fresh, funny, females voices with the next generation of theater makers.”

    Detailed contest information can be found on the Playscripts, Inc. blog. http://blog.playscripts.com/blog/


    Contact

    Lane Bernes, Playscripts, Inc. Marketing Director

    lbernes@playscripts.com

    1-866-639-7529 ext 88


  • 24 Sep 2013 2:38 AM | Anonymous

    ICWP “applauds” theatre companies for producing women playwrights.

    Standing ovation! The International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) is delighted with the increased number of recipients for this year’s 50/50 Applause Awards, which sets out to recognize theatres which produce 50% or more women playwrights in their season of shows.  In the spring, members of ICWP nominated theatres that were producing the work of women playwrights throughout the world.


    This year there are 29 recipients, nearly 6 times as many as our inaugural awards in 2012. The list includes theatres in the United States, India, Norway, Italy, and Canada. There are two repeat recipients: Playwrights Horizons in New York and Symmetry Theatre in California.  President of ICWP, Dr. Jennifer Munday, says, “We are delighted with the response from both theatres and members who see this award as a demonstration of their commitment to women’s writing.”


    Even though the indications are promising, ICWP recognizes there is a long way to go to 50/50 status. A study report from the Gender Equity Task Force in Chicago found that “Plays written by women (either one woman or a group of all women) constituted 18.8% of plays produced in Chicago….roughly in line with recent statistics from New York theaters and from Theatre Communications Group member theatres, which found that between 17% and 20% of plays produced by those groups are written by women.” (Chicago Storefront Summit, March 22, 2010) In two studies on the 2012-2013 season, Washington DC productions showed a slight uptick to 21% (DC Theater: A Demographic Analysis, 2013) and women playwrights were faring even better in Canada with 23%. (Playwrights Guild of Canada, 2013).


    The 50/50 Applause Awards are now an annual event for ICWP, with nominations being stringently checked by a strong volunteer committee.  More information about the awards can be found at: http://www.womenplaywrights.org/award


    Contacts: Elana Gartner and Deborah Magid, co-chairs ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards Committee

    Contact email address awards@womenplaywrights.org


    Congratulations to the Recipients of the 2013 ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards:


    Alter Theater (San Rafael, California, USA)
    Black Coffee Productions (Bangalore, India)
    Children's Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
    Clubbed Thumb (New York, New York, USA)
    Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre (South Orange, New Jersey, USA)
    Factory Theatre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
    Haugesund Teater (Rogaland, Haugesand, Norway)
    HERE (New York, New York, USA)
    Hollins University (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)

    Indian Ensemble Theatre (Bangalore, India)
    Looking for Lilith Theatre Company (Louisville, Kentucky, USA)
    Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)
    New York Theatre Workshop (New York, New York, USA)
    Orlando Repertory Theatre (Orlando, Florida, USA)
    Playwrights Horizons (New York, New York, USA)
    Prairie Theatre Exchange (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)
    Prologue Theatre Company (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
    Ragged Wing Ensemble (El Cerrito, California, USA)
    Road Less Traveled Productions (Buffalo, New York, USA)
    Shameless Hussy Productions (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
    Stage Left Theatre (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
    Stageworks Theatre (Tampa, Florida, USA)
    Symmetry Theatre (Berkeley, California, USA)
    Synchronicity Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
    Teatro Luna (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
    Tennessee Women's Theatre Project (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)
    The Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, New York, USA)
    The English Theatre of Rome (Rome, Italy)
    Theatre Pro Rata (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)

  • 10 Sep 2013 7:34 AM | Anonymous
    Members of ICWP were shocked and saddened to learn of the recent death of Member Natalya Churlyaeva, aged 58, from her husband Sergey Yakhimovich.

    This extract from Sergey's message to us lists a few of her achievements and expresses an admiration shared by ICWP members.

    From Sergey

    "She was very outstanding and courageous woman.  She was not afraid of death and struggled for life until the end.  Besides her many other advantages and talents, she was known both in the theatre world and among academics.  In April Jan Ogden, the director, staged in New York her 10-min play "THE MYSTERIOUS SUITCASE" at John Chatterton's Short Play Lab, and one extract from her full-length play was published in «Scenes from a Diverse World. Also, last year she published 5 scientific papers in international academic journals and many more in the Russian ones.  She is still a member of 3 Canadian, 1 US, and 1 New Zealand pedagogical journal editorial boards."

    Many ICWP members have emailed us to mention her qualities of courage, forthrightness and formidable intellect.

    A special Memorial Page will be created with more information and examples of her work.
  • 30 Apr 2013 2:48 PM | Anonymous
    Girls in Pakistan are taking up acting and putting on theatre shows in their communities to change the practice of child marriage.
    Read more here ....

    http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/culture-in-action-street-theatre-raises-awareness-of-child-marriage-in-pakistan/
  • 05 Feb 2013 3:26 PM | Anonymous

    News Coverage of the ICWP Applause Awards for Theatres that meet the 50/50 gender equality for women playwrights. 

    Board member Elana Gartner answers questions about the award. These links will take you to the named websites to read the articles and interviews.


     the Twitter post is up at: www.Twitter.com/WomenArts .
  • 04 Dec 2012 11:35 PM | Deleted user
    Welcome to Stockholm

    Stockholm is the stuff fairytales are made of, which made me realize for the first time in my life that most of the fairytales tell the story of extraordinary experience in reality. WPIC Conference in Stockholm was an extraordinary experience. From the first day to the last everything was extraordinaire. Flowersundefinedextra vibrant. Friendly smilesundefinedextra-sweet. Euphoric energyundefinedextra bright. Parlance amongst playwrights flowed, bubbled, spilled over and splashed everywhere amidst long lines on the first day of registration. The lines disappearing as swiftly as they would in Disneyland. And that is true of cleanliness also. Nothing littered the streets or lakes in the entire city of Stockholm as far as I had seen since I arrived a day early prior to the conference.

    The reception in City Hall the first evening in Stockholm was a blend of magic and mystery. Magic that such a private and glorious hall could be reserved for the reception of playwrights, and mystery that such a grand feast could be whipped by volunteers alone since WPI had no funds to begin with and not even a bank account to beg or borrow for staging such an evening of opulence and hospitality. Tall floral arrangements in crystal vases on long tables with white table cloths and laden with Swedish delights were nothing short of a gourmet galore. The Gold Hall with eighty billion mosaic pieces of twenty-two carrot gold was a shimmering castle of folklore and scenic splendor, awesome and breathtaking.

    The sense of euphoria kept mounting each day. Play readings from morning till noon in different rooms the entire week, workshops and seminars, evening performances, everything worked like clockwork. A great team of volunteers serving coffee and snacks till late afternoon every day at Sodra Theatre. Lunches were served at Sodra Bar by volunteers most happily and efficiently. Swedish actors and actresses volunteered their time and talents to read plays, juggling from one room to the other punctiliously and cheerfully. Sodra Theatre indeed was turned into a global arena, hosting playwrights from all over the world.

    Second day of the conference was marked by Key Note speeches from the Arab World. In the evening a playundefineda woman’s journey of creating new meaning and finding autonomy, In the Lost and Found Red Suitcase was performed by Lana Nasser of Jordan, the winner of two thousand eleven Etal Achman Award. There were several workshops during day three, of which I attended Red Riding Hood presented by Cornelia Hoogland. This workshop was a great success amongst the playwrights who attended, due to the creative input which was highly inspiring and enlightening with its new angle of dark underpinnings of the fairytale.

    Another Key Note Speech was given on fourth day by Kay Nicole, Theatre Impact on Children. In the evening an awesome theatrical presentation, Afghan Voices, was performed by the Afghani students, coordinated by Lia Gladstone* the former professor of Drama at American University in Kabul. Several outstanding workshops were hosted day five, out of which I attended Performing Words, very enlightening. The evening play Autumn Dance had a stunning performanceundefinedthe story of three Iranian women resisting Iranian Government Pressure and living through incarceration in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison.

    The last day’s Key Note Speech was Women Writing Africa, both enlightening and entertaining. Closing ceremony in Green Room was a bit emotional, an evening of tears and farewells. Tears of joy and emotions running high in remembrance of a perfect week in Eden. As for me I thought I had died and gone to heaven? Before our leave-taking, Swedish playwrights were sharing with us Swedish chocolates/marzipans out of their precious boxes purchased with precious money, happily and generously.

    The magic world had ended too soon, yet from many great memories two special ones would always capture the essence of Stockholm with its spirit of joy and carefree abandon. Landing at Stockholm airport my husband asked the man in the booth if we needed to go through Custom Checks?
    No! The man laughed, waving merrily. This is Stockholm, not USA. You are free. Welcome to Stockholm. Have fun, enjoy. The first evening of reception in Gold Room at the City Hall there were a host of volunteers impeccably dressed, holding out wine glasses to us as soon as we entered. I declined saying I don’t drink wine.
    Go to the next table and get non-alcoholic wine, the volunteer waved genially.

    Realization dawned upon me with a sudden wave of joy and gratitude that Swedes want everyone to have a good time, happy to see everyone with a wine glass in their hands for the pleasure of making toasts to the hosts and the guests. On my flight back to USA I wrote a poem which I am taking the liberty of sharing.

    Twice adored

    Stockholm the land of smiles
    And carefree abandon
    A tapestry of mosaic
    In flowers, bazaars, architecture
    Silvery, shimmering lakes
    And islands aglow
    With the warmth of love and unity
    Welcome to Stockholm
    The man at the airport exclaims
    Waving away the question of customs
    This is not USA
    He laughs
    You are free
    His greetings follow us
    We enter the lanes of miracles
    Not harassed by check-points
    Or confronting faces pinched with fatigue
    Purity and freshness accompany us
    Sodra Theatre, Gamla Stan
    Rare wonders of the world
    Love in the air
    Subtle and perfumed
    Profoundly sweet


    For more work by Farzana Moon visit her blog and You Tube channel.

    * Lia Gladstone is a member of ICWP.
  • 03 Jul 2012 3:53 AM | Anonymous
    ICWP Member Tammy Ryan wins 2012 Francesca Primus Prize for her play Lost Boy Found In Whole Foods

    Read More Here....
    http://www.womenplaywrights.org/awards?mode=PostView&bmi=982141
  • 09 Mar 2012 8:42 PM | Anonymous

    SWAN Day Women Playwrights Celebration. Seattle

    DramaQueen
    presents readings of one-act plays by
    Puget Sound-area women playwrights in a two-day event.

    Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31
    A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle.
    Eulalie Scandiuzzi Space at ACT.

    Tickets are $10, available through the ACT box office 
    (206) 292-7676.

    DramaQueen is a Seattle-based non-profit theater organization dedicated to promoting women playwrights and their work.

  • 09 Mar 2012 8:14 PM | Anonymous

    5th annual DC SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day

    on Saturday, March 31

    Women Artists from DC and beyond offer
    FREE stage performances
    music
    storytelling
    poetry reading
    staged reading marathon
    film screenings

    all in celebration of SWAN Day.


    On Saturday, March 31, 2012, The Georgetown Theatre Company and Women in Film & Video will host the 5th Annual DC SWAN Day, an all-day event featuring FREE Music, Theatre and Storytelling Performances, Poetry Readings, Visual Arts and Film Screenings.


    For the past 4 years, DC SWAN Day has been a walk-able event in Georgetown featuring approximately 90 artists and serving hundreds of arts lovers. This year, DC SWAN Day is expanding beyond Georgetown.

    Events will include:

    • Staged Reading Marathon at National Museum of Women in the Arts (1250 New York Ave., NW)

      13 short plays, culled from over 50 submissions -- by women playwrights from all over the USA, and directed by DC s woman directors

    included in the program
    Cornacopia
    by Tammy Ryan , ICWP member
    • Storytelling at Mellow Mushroom (2436 18th St., NW)

    • Performance Art at District of Columbia Art Center (2438 18th St., NW)
    • Poetry Readings Grace Church: (1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW)
    • Art Exhibition at Baked and Wired (1052 Thomas Jefferson St., NW ), a solo exhibition by emerging artist Jenny Walton

    For More Information see the Georgetown Theatre website
    georgetowntheatre.org/current.html




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