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March 2018 Newsletter

01 Mar 2018 9:55 PM | Mona Curtis

March Spotlight:  ICWP

Hear what ICWP members say about our great organization.

The value of ICWP on my life?  As a writer I often work in a vacuum.  The organization has opened that door out to opportunities, personalities, and a wider look at writing and the women who write.  I wish that we could not worry about gender in writing, but since we must, I am proud to know glimpses of other women and their work.    

Christine Emmert, USA

ICWP has been a wonderful community to be part of. The advice from my peers across the globe has been invaluable in the impact it has had in my perspective as a woman playwright. As an emerging writer, I’m just learning the ins and outs of the professional playwriting and theatre world, and hearing the experiences that more savvy writers have already had, as well as actual critiques on my plays, has been so helpful!

Amy Oestreicher, USA

ICWP is a wonderful network that, not only publicises opportunities, but links us directly to women writers with whom we can share experience and ongoing  questions about our practice. It also encourages generosity which makes us all more pro-active and thoughtful. I have entered in to correspondence with those who have similar passions and I have prompted conversations, as have they, which have provoked new writing projects.

Julia Pascal, UK

From overseas, a distant land, I joined ICWP where none of my compatriots had ever been a member. After my short article was placed on ICWP website, about a year ago, I received multiple messages with positive comments, and thus a window of communication with other playwrights opened to me. Joining the feedback group was an additional opportunity for me to exchange my viewpoints with others. I drew the attention of some colleagues to this subject that the unique culture of a playwright could affect the play. ICWP also motivated me to have my plays translated into English.

Overall, ICWP has provided me with an excellent opportunity to communicate with other women playwrights in various parts of the world that means a lot to me.

Mahin Mohasseb, Iran

ICWP is a sanctuary for a playwright like me who is writing in English as a foreign language from Bangladesh. Not only the opportunities to produce, write or stage English plays are very limited here but also the use of English as a creative language is quite recent and carries the burdens of colonial history. I have managed to stage my plays due to funding from the British Council and the American Center, most of which were amateur productions. So I wasn't sure about my work and what I could do about my interest in writing plays. Joining ICWP has allowed me to hear from women playwrights all over the world and I learned about their individual struggles. Veteran playwrights provided guidance and shared the story of their journey while the fledgling writers shared their passion and tenacity which uplifted my spirit and pushed me to once again go back to the work of imagining possibilities. The writer forum critiqued my new script and the feedback was so inspiring that I decided to plan for an academic career centered around creative writing. The regular updates about opportunities pushed me to produce three new scripts last year, two of which got published in the literary page of a national daily and a literary journal. So ICWP in a way has breathed new life into my play writing dreams and I am truly nurtured by this community.

Sabrina Masud, Bangladesh

Results of the Annual Meeting
                      

Board of Trustees

Lucia Verona, our long time Vice President, is stepping down. Mona Curtis, our long time Newsletter Editor, is also stepping down. We have enough returning Trustees to provide continuity and new members to give fresh insights and talent.

Sophia Romma (returning)
Rita Barkey
(returning)
Amy Drake
(returning)
Wendy-Marie Martin
(new)
Patricia L. Morin
(returning)
Debbie Ann Tan
(new)
Sharon Wallace (returning)

Karin Williams
(returning)
Thoku Zulu (new)


Reports

Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer Rita Barkey reported on the expenditures for the year 2017, including PayPal fees, annual software fees, website support and communications support. 

Membership Committee 
Surveying members to assess needs and opportunities.

50/50 Applause Award Team 
58 recipients received the 2017 Award.

Social Networking Group
Patricia Morin gave social media statistics for Twitter and Facebook.

Newsletter Team 
Current team members are Amy Drake, Karin Williams, and Debbie L. Miller.  There are several applicants for the new Editor position.

Script Feedback Group
Nina Gooch continues to moderate this group.

Communication Committee
The Communication Committee has identified the goals of an enhanced website, making it more user friendly, and enhanced email communication with members.


Welcome New Members


Vicki Meagher, USA
I live in Nashua, New Hampshire. I’ve lived in the Greater Boston area since 1988. I was born and raised in Tennessee and also lived in California many years. I’ve written short stories, screenplays, and an unfinished novel, but playwriting is my true love. I’ve been enthralled by stage plays since I saw my first play as a teenager: Inherit the Wind. I was gobsmacked.

I’m a long time volunteer usher for Greater Boston theaters. I’m a member of the Dramatist Guild of America, Playwright’s Platform (Boston area), Merrimack Valley Playwrights (Lowell, Mass.), Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, and New Hampshire Writers Project.


Emily Adler, USA

I am a playwright, screenwriter and published author from New York City. My plays include: The Frog in the Flipper (full production at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, St. Paul, MN; staged reading at The Playwright’s Center, Minneapolis, MN), The Trumpet of the Swan (adaptation, full production at Hartford Children’s Theater), Supernatural Playboy (staged reading at The Danny Kaye Playhouse, NYC), Andromeda Speaks (full production at the New York New Works Theater Festival), and Face (staged reading at The Cell Theater, NYC; full production at the Overtime Theater, San Antonio, TX).


Justine Gelfman, USA

Donna Gordon, USA

I have put on five productions in San Diego. I am a playwright and University at Berkeley graduate, PhiBetaKappa. I am also an actor and costumer. I have been a teacher and caregiver in the past. I have played a lead in two of my plays, a minor role in my murder mystery reading, and I was a costumer for a dance studio. I am a native of San Diego still living there, with a roommate who is a published poet and artist.


Christie Perfetti Williams, USA

Patti Wray, USA





Now Playing & Coming Soon

If you have a play or a reading between April  1 – April 30, please email Amy  (amydrake1018@aol.com) before February 15 and it will be featured in the NOW PLAYING column of the April newsletter.  Any play or reading  in May will appear in the COMING SOON column.


MAIZE, by Judith Pratt: a play about the genius geneticist Barbara McClintock, at Risley Theatre, Ithaca NY, Feb 23-25, Mar 2-4. Includes discussion by women scientists from Cornell and Ithaca College. https://www.facebook.com/MaizeMcClintock

Gentlemen’s Pact by Karen Howes Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton, CT 06442, presented as part of the Women's Project Initiative. A staged reading directed by Addie Gorlin and presented on Saturday March 3 at 8PM. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $10 for students, and $15 for seniors. Box office 860-707-7318, hours M-F 10 am to 4 pm. Here is the link for the WPI page on the playhouse website.
http://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/2nd-annual-women-playwrights-initiative-march-2-3-tickets-sale-now

Is there an app for that? by Paddy Gillard-Bentley, directed by Colleen Daley, performed by Suzanne Langdon, Robin Bennett & Tracy Biggar
FLUSH INK PRODUCTIONS
presents staged readings of short plays, monologues & poetry on the theme of #MeToo because #TimesUp.
Emmanuel United Church - 22 Bridgeport Rd. W. - Waterloo, On. Canada
March 3 at 8:00 pm
Donations at the door will go toVera's Place & Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region.
Please note:
Paddy is directing other plays for this event.

The Melting Pot by Carol Lashof Everyday Inferno Theater  at The Access Theater, 380 Broadway, NYC 
March 16-24, 2018




Revelation by Shirley Barrie, will be produced in Shifting Spaces, a program of 3 one-act plays by Those Women Productions at Live Oak Theatre, Berkeley CA from March 23 - April 8, 2018 http://www.liveoaktheater.org/

Queen Marie  by Shirley Barrie, directed by Rosemary Doyle, will be produced at the Alumnae Theatre in Toronto, April 13 - 28, 2018 as the finale of the theatre's 100th anniversary season.  Visit www.alumnaetheatre.com for ticket information.s





Yours for innovative, engaging, and equitable theater.

Mona Curtis
Newsletter Editor


The image used in this newsletter is the work of Ellen Chan. It was downloaded from Pixabay on February 19, 2018.

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