SAN DIEGO–Cygnet Theatre, in collaboration with Playwrights Project, will present the second annual Playwrights in Process: New Play Festival.
Cygnet Theatre has long been committed to celebrating human stories through the medium of live theatre. In addition to presenting four readings of new plays, the three-day festival will include workshops for audiences, playwrights, and theatre artists.
The series of workshops is designed to introduce curious audiences to the art of new play development. An additional engaging feature for attendees will be facilitated talk-backs with each playwright following the readings.
Playwrights in Process 2013: Workshops Host: Derek Livingston, Production Program Manager, Playwrights Project
I Like it! Why? – Articulating Constructive Feedback on November 2 at 6:30 p.m. This interactive discussion will encourage and train audience members to look at the elements of a play with an eye for understanding how these attributes contributed to the audience’s enjoyment of a play. Participants will fine-tune skills to help articulate why a play “worked” for them. They will also learn how to give helpful feedback using appropriate theatre terms (e.g. pacing, subtext, tone, etc.).
Workshop Panelists Pat Launer, Theatre Critic
Many Voices: One New Play November 3 at 4:15 p.m. It really does take a village. In this workshop, a designer, an actor, a director, and a dramaturge will share their experiences and discuss their contribution to the production of new work. Each artist will provide personal insight into his or her role and approach to a new play. Each panelist will be encouraged to share a specific element provided by the playwright, and discuss how he or she realized it through his or her role as member of the creative team.
Workshop Panelists Monique Gaffney, Actor D. Candis Paule, Director Shirley Pierson, Designer
What Are They Looking For? -Theater Leaders And The Hunt For New Plays on November 3 at 6 p.m. Decision makers discuss what they look for when choosing a new play to produce or present. How do they consider the core audience while still surprising them? How do they know if it will sell? They will also discuss other information they consider helpful for playwrights to know.
Workshop Panelists Sean Murray, Artistic Director, Cygnet Theatre Robert May, New Play Program Director, Scripps Ranch Theatre Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Artistic Director, Moxie Theatre John Alexander, Executive Director, Diversionary Theatre.
Playwrights and Synopses
Sleeping Dogs by Robert John Ford directed by Derek Charles Livingston on November 1 at 8 p.m. Two mothers work to uncover the facts surrounding a car accident that has left one woman’s son dead and the other woman’s son comatose. Their investigation, which reveals disturbing circumstances surrounding the accident, ultimately forces the mothers to re-examine both their own identities and those of the sons they thought they knew so well.
Pleasure and Pain by Ross Tedford Kendall directed by D. Candis Paule and Robert May on November 2 at 8 p.m. While his wife is away on a trip, a meek hotel manager enlists the services of a young dominatrix to deliver the sexual satisfaction he’s missing; when his wife unexpectedly returns early, a firestorm of expectations, beliefs, and desire erupts. Off the Map by Todd Goodlett directed by Derek Charles Livingston on November 3 at 2 p.m. Frightened by disasters and tragedies headlining the news, heavily-armed senior citizens, Eunice and Arlen, retreat to the desert with a stockpile of water, ammunition, and SPAM to prepare for the end of the world.
Death of a Late Summer Songbird by Rachael VanWormer directed by Francis Gercke on November 3 at 7:30 p.m Inspired by situations depicted in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the play explores relationships in the rural south in an effort to answer why a young girl would send an innocent man to his death.
