Playwrights
Script Submission New Ideas Festival
Alumnae Theatre Company’s New Ideas Festival (NIF) is an annual, three-week juried festival of new plays, works-in-progress and experimental theatre. Each week a different program of up to four plays, as well as a workshopped reading on Saturday at noon, is presented. The 2019 festival, NIF’s 31th season, will run from March 6 to 24, 2019.
NIF offers dramaturgical support, rehearsal and production space, technical support, access to Alumnae Theatre’s costume and props collections, publicity and sold-out houses.
When to submit
We are now accepting scripts and proposals for the 2019 festival. The deadline for submissions is September 5, 2018; September 10 for Alumnae members. Preference will be given to Canadian scripts and scripts with challenging roles for women of all ages. NIF welcomes voices from diverse communities. We invite you to submit your own play or pass this information along to a playwright you think may be interested.
Submission guidelines
Scripts or proposals should be submitted electronically in PDF format to NIFscripts@gmail.com. Scripts must be original works that have not been previously performed outside of a workshop. They may be in any genre or style, with a running time of 10 to 40 minutes; one act of a full-length play may also be accepted for production. Submissions longer than 40 minutes will be considered for a reading, which will showcase the script development accomplished during the rehearsal period. Each playwright may submit a maximum of two scripts.
No identifying information should be on the script/proposal; please include a cover page providing: • play title; • list and description of characters (including age); • short play synopsis (max 50 words).
Send a separate contact page with the play title, playwright’s name and contact information, and a short bio (75 words or less). NIF does not provide feedback on submissions.
NIF will confirm receipt of submissions within two weeks, and scripts/proposals will be sent to the NIF reading committee. The 2019 festival lineup will be announced in early November, followed by a creative exchange on November 3 to meet and choose directors, and cold reads of all chosen plays on December 3 to 6. Playwrights must be available for the creative exchange and for at least one of the December cold reads dates.
NIF offers dramaturgical support, rehearsal and production space, technical support, access to Alumnae Theatre’s costume and props collections, publicity and sold-out houses.
When to submit
We are now accepting scripts and proposals for the 2019 festival. The deadline for submissions is September 5, 2018; September 10 for Alumnae members. Preference will be given to Canadian scripts and scripts with challenging roles for women of all ages. NIF welcomes voices from diverse communities. We invite you to submit your own play or pass this information along to a playwright you think may be interested.
Submission guidelines
Scripts or proposals should be submitted electronically in PDF format to NIFscripts@gmail.com. Scripts must be original works that have not been previously performed outside of a workshop. They may be in any genre or style, with a running time of 10 to 40 minutes; one act of a full-length play may also be accepted for production. Submissions longer than 40 minutes will be considered for a reading, which will showcase the script development accomplished during the rehearsal period. Each playwright may submit a maximum of two scripts.
No identifying information should be on the script/proposal; please include a cover page providing: • play title; • list and description of characters (including age); • short play synopsis (max 50 words).
Send a separate contact page with the play title, playwright’s name and contact information, and a short bio (75 words or less). NIF does not provide feedback on submissions.
NIF will confirm receipt of submissions within two weeks, and scripts/proposals will be sent to the NIF reading committee. The 2019 festival lineup will be announced in early November, followed by a creative exchange on November 3 to meet and choose directors, and cold reads of all chosen plays on December 3 to 6. Playwrights must be available for the creative exchange and for at least one of the December cold reads dates.
2018 Writers' Intensive
The 2018 Writers' Intensive, led by Paula Wing, will be held on Saturdays September 8, 15 and 22 at the Alumnae Theatre
from 9:30 am -12:30 pm.
Space is limited to 20 so apply early!
Through the three workshops, participants will write two complete drafts of a brand new short play. The play may be original material or it may be adapted. The workshops will cover: creating characters, writing vivid scenes, using structure to amplify drama, and not only how to write a first draft but how to take feedback and incorporate it into a second draft. Writers will be expected to write during the workshops and to write during the week in preparation for the workshops.
Cost
$75.00 for Alumnae Members and $100.00 for non-members. A credit card administrative fee will also be charged.
How to Apply
Alumnae members can go to the website and under "show" click on Writers' Intensive and also enter your "passcode" on the right hand corner. Your cost will be $75 + admin fee.
Non-members please contact joan.burrows@sympatico.ca or phone 905 884 6825 to receive your passcode. Go to the Alumnae Theatre website and under "show" click on Writers' Intensive. Type in your given passcode. You will be charged $100 + admin fee.
About the Instructor
Paula Wing is a playwright, actor, teacher and translator. In September-October 2018 her translation of Stefano Massini’s Intractable Woman will have its U.S. premiere in New York City with The Play Company. This past spring her original play, Risky Phil, was produced on the mainstage at Young Peoples Theatre and garnered a Dora Award Nomination for Best New Play for Children's Theatre. She is also a Resident Artist at Soulpepper Theatre, and she teaches several playwriting courses at the Tarragon Theatre. Paula’s adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas in the Territory was featured in Soulpepper’s 2017 holiday podcast series. A musical adaptation of Margaret Mahy’s The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate, originally commissioned and produced by YPT, toured Eastern Ontario with Thousand Islands Playhouse (TIP) in spring 2018. She has written/adapted more than thirty plays for theatres across Canada and in the United States, for both young and more seasoned audiences. Perhaps her best-known play, the award-winning adaptation of Joy Kogawa's Naomi's Road, has been internationally produced. Her translations include Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo which was produced by Soulpepper and won the Dora Award in 2016 and Psychedelic Marlou by Pierre-Michel Tremblay in 2018 for Imago Theatre, Montréal. She is a sessional professor in drama at the University of Windsor.
from 9:30 am -12:30 pm.
Space is limited to 20 so apply early!
Through the three workshops, participants will write two complete drafts of a brand new short play. The play may be original material or it may be adapted. The workshops will cover: creating characters, writing vivid scenes, using structure to amplify drama, and not only how to write a first draft but how to take feedback and incorporate it into a second draft. Writers will be expected to write during the workshops and to write during the week in preparation for the workshops.
Cost
$75.00 for Alumnae Members and $100.00 for non-members. A credit card administrative fee will also be charged.
How to Apply
Alumnae members can go to the website and under "show" click on Writers' Intensive and also enter your "passcode" on the right hand corner. Your cost will be $75 + admin fee.
Non-members please contact joan.burrows@sympatico.ca or phone 905 884 6825 to receive your passcode. Go to the Alumnae Theatre website and under "show" click on Writers' Intensive. Type in your given passcode. You will be charged $100 + admin fee.
About the Instructor
Paula Wing is a playwright, actor, teacher and translator. In September-October 2018 her translation of Stefano Massini’s Intractable Woman will have its U.S. premiere in New York City with The Play Company. This past spring her original play, Risky Phil, was produced on the mainstage at Young Peoples Theatre and garnered a Dora Award Nomination for Best New Play for Children's Theatre. She is also a Resident Artist at Soulpepper Theatre, and she teaches several playwriting courses at the Tarragon Theatre. Paula’s adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas in the Territory was featured in Soulpepper’s 2017 holiday podcast series. A musical adaptation of Margaret Mahy’s The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate, originally commissioned and produced by YPT, toured Eastern Ontario with Thousand Islands Playhouse (TIP) in spring 2018. She has written/adapted more than thirty plays for theatres across Canada and in the United States, for both young and more seasoned audiences. Perhaps her best-known play, the award-winning adaptation of Joy Kogawa's Naomi's Road, has been internationally produced. Her translations include Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo which was produced by Soulpepper and won the Dora Award in 2016 and Psychedelic Marlou by Pierre-Michel Tremblay in 2018 for Imago Theatre, Montréal. She is a sessional professor in drama at the University of Windsor.
New Play Development Group
All Active, Lifetime and Senior Supporting Members of the Alumnae Theatre are invited to join the New Play Development (NPD) group. We’re a group of women playwrights and dramaturges, at all levels of experience, who meet once a month from September through June to read and share our work, give feedback to each other, and discuss playwriting issues. At times we also meet in smaller, weekly groups.
Partnering with directors, dramaturges, and actors, NPD organizes three annual showcases of new Canadian works:
Many NPD members submit plays to New Ideas Festival, Alumnae Theatre’s juried three-week festival of new plays held each March. Plays developed through NPD are also eligible for full production in November as part of Alumnae’s FireWorks, which features two to three new works and a series of panel discussions on topics related to the plays.
NPD always welcomes new members. For more information on how to join the NPD and the meeting dates/times, visit our Members Only section under Who's Who to contact the Director, New Play Development.
To join NPD, you must be a member of Alumnae Theatre. If you are not yet a member, please join us and indicate on your registration that you would like to be included in the NPD.
Partnering with directors, dramaturges, and actors, NPD organizes three annual showcases of new Canadian works:
- Write Now! - A weekend-long playwriting challenge held in October that culminates a week later in a presentation of rehearsed readings of all the entries;
- Big Ideas - A festival of longer works held each May that includes directed staged readings with actors, as well as table reads.
- Next Stage Reading Series - A series of "semi-cold" lobby readings open to the public that runs throughout the year and aids in the development of works-in-progress
Many NPD members submit plays to New Ideas Festival, Alumnae Theatre’s juried three-week festival of new plays held each March. Plays developed through NPD are also eligible for full production in November as part of Alumnae’s FireWorks, which features two to three new works and a series of panel discussions on topics related to the plays.
NPD always welcomes new members. For more information on how to join the NPD and the meeting dates/times, visit our Members Only section under Who's Who to contact the Director, New Play Development.
To join NPD, you must be a member of Alumnae Theatre. If you are not yet a member, please join us and indicate on your registration that you would like to be included in the NPD.
Main Stage Shows
The Main Stage plays are usually by established playwrights. However, any playwright is welcome to submit his/her script to our programming chair at any time for consideration. The Mainstage season programming process occurs between June and October each year, with a season usually announced in November or December. To submit a script, contact our Programming Chair at program@alumnaetheatre.com.
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