Playwrights Lab

A chance to hear your work out loud

When: Exact dates and times TBD
Where: Online via Zoom
Admission: Free.

Clamour Theatre Company is happy to offer the students of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts an opportunity to participate in our new virtual Playwrights Lab. We will be doing a series of online readings of new plays to give writers a chance to hear their work read out loud. Casts will be assembled from student actors, local community actors, and/or professional actors.

See the FAQ below for guidelines.

FAQ

What are your looking for?

We’re looking for your new play. If you’ve got material that you would like to hear read out loud by actors, send it along. There are no restrictions on subject matter. We do reserve the right to request edits for the purposes of the online reading.

How long should my play be?

Let’s say it should be a minimum of 3 typed pages and a maximum of 90. Shorter material probably works better for an online reading. If you have more than 60 pages, we might have to break it into two separate reading sessions.

Are there limitations on cast size?

Yes and no. Practically speaking, smaller casts are easier to get together at the same time. But we can try if you’ve got a larger cast. It might require some doubling (1 actor reading more than 1 role). Let’s say that from 2 to 6 actors would be the sweet spot. If you’ve got more, we’ll see what we can do.

What format should my play be in?

Standard play format would be great, if you can. Don’t let formatting stop you from participating.

What is standard play formatting?

Typed in a 12-point font (Times New Roman is a good choice)
A title page with title, author’s name, and author’s contact information
A character breakdown page. List all characters, gender, age and any helpful description
1 inch margins all around
Center the character’s names above their lines
Dialogue left-justified and single spaced below the character’s name
Leave a blank line after one character speaks before the next speaker’s name.
Indent any stage directions to the middle of the page and put parentheses around them. Again, skip lines above and below stage directions.
Number your pages in the top right corner. Use consecutive numbering. Please do not start over with a new scene or new act.

Don’t get hung up on this. Do your best, and feel free to ask any questions.

What's the deadline?

Good question! No one knows how long the stay-at-home orders will be in place. Once they are lifted, we will have to make adjustments to our online reading schedule. So, we suggest you get your work in sooner rather than later. If you’ve got it ready, send it now. Early submission gives you a better chance of being included in the schedule.

How do I submit a play?

Please email a PDF of your play to Elaine Smith. (If you don’t know how to create a PDF, we will accept Word documents.)

Please use “SUBMISSION – your name – DA student” in your subject line.

THE SCHEDULE

Sunday, January 26 | GO DOWN, MOSES by Dana Leslie Goldstein

Monday, January 27 | SECOND DEATH OF A MAD WIFE by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos

Tuesday, January 28 | THE MIMOSA WAR by Maximillian Gill

Wednesday, January 29| ONE MONTH ALONG by Franky D. Gonzalez

Thursday, January 30 | #CASEYANDTOMMYGETHITCHED by Molly Wagner

COMMUNITY RESPONSE

The Retreat playwrights visited a class at the Green Cove Springs Junior High School. The beautiful thank you notes below came from the students. We removed their names to protect their privacy and scanned them so we could share them with you.