Publications/On-Line Help

Market Insight for Playwrights (http://www.writersinsight.com) is a monthly newsletter which can be received by email or snail mail (the email version comes out 10 days earlier). It lists theatres interested in seeing new work, publishers, development programs, contests, profiles, and other kinds of contact information. P.O. Box 127778, San Diego, CA 92112-7778.

E-script (http://www.singlelane.com/escript/) brings writers from around the world together with top film, television and theatre professionals in unique online courses and workshops. Whatever your level of accomplishment, we'll help you polish your dramatic writing skills, get started on a screenplay, TV script or stage play, or finish the one you've got going.

Screenwriters & Playwrights Home Page (http://www.teleport.com/~cdeemer/scrwriter.html), which is frequently updated, is designed to meet the special needs of screenwriters and playwrights. It is maintained by Charles Deemer. It has a variety of resources, including resources, courses, books, discussion groups, and so on.

The Playwriting Seminars by Richard Toscan (http://www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/) is a full-scale course, which covers these areas: Content: Story & Themes, Characters & Dialogue; Film: The Screenwriting Craft vs. Playwriting; Structure: The "-wright" of The Playwright's Craft; Working: Writing Techniques, Rewriting & Editing; Format: For Manuscripts & More Interesting Things; Business: Submitting Scripts, Copyright, Royalties, & Resources.

Web-Rings

La Ronde (http://www.pipeline.com/%7Ejude/AboutLaRonde.htm) is a Web-ring that connects playwrights throughout the world. La Ronde provides an alternative to search engines and links pages, giving a new way to organize content on the World Wide Web--a "ring." A ring lets users group sites with a like purpose--in this case, playwrights' sites--by linking them together in a circle. Its value to playwrights lies in the connection one playwright can have with others and thus a greater ability to share information.

The Thespian Theatre Webring (http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/1425/thespian.html) is another web-ring that connect theatre people.

The Art of Theatre Webring (http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/9496/aotwr.html) is intended to bring together the various theater-oriented web-sites.

Resources/Links

Artslynx International Theatre Resources (http://www.artslynx.org/theatre) has 50-odd subject headings, such as acting, directing, employment, journals, listservs, musical theatre, organizations, playwright listings, playwriting resources, theatre company listings, and theatre education.

Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online: Present Web Links (http://www2.scescape.com/heniford/links.htm) provides links to Web sites of interest to people involved in drama/theatre. Most of these sites relate to the creation, production, and distribution of small-cast, one-act scripts in all media; they include playwriting resources, production resources, publishers of print scripts, and publishers of electronic scripts.

Theatre-link.com (http://www.theatre-link.com/) helps you find what you are looking for regarding theatre. The site is organized to help you efficiently find theatre-related information. In addition, there are specific links to resources for playwrights as well as a free-ranging discussion group.

More Theatre Links (http://www.bway.net/~alper/ThLinks.html), a lso known as Suite 101, is a cross between a massive list of links, an e-zine, a mailing list, a newsgroup, and an organizer. It has over 80 categories and is growing rapidly. It is valuable to playwrights because it has links to resources for writers as well as to information about various aspects of productions, theatres with websites, and so on.

The Web site of Northwest Playwrights Guild (http://www.nwpg.org/), although designed for playwrights in the Pacific Northwest, has a link to competitions and festivals.

This site on the dmoz search engine (http://dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Drama/Contemporary/Playwrights/) has a list of playwrights and other resources.

The Playwrights' Center (http://www.pwcenter.org/) in Minnesota is a regional and national resource for script development. It caters to writers at all stages of their careers and provides a range of services including: public readings, private workshops, classes, conferences, roundtables, residencies, and fellowships.

The National New Play Network (http://www.newplaynetwork.com/index.htm) is an alliance of nonprofit theaters dedicated to the development and production of new works of theater. Its mission is to strengthen member theaters' ability to develop and produce new work in their own communities and to provide a structure within which to facilitate the exchange of new works among the members and theaters across America and around the world.

Write Angle Productions (http://www.writeangle.org/) is a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting playwrights and developing new scripts for production. Most theaters are developed by producers, artistic directors, or actors, but not playwrights; Write Angle Productions is trying to correct this oversight. It sponsors a monthly 10-minute play contest.

Script Submissions

One-Act Plays (http://www.heniford.net/1234/citeform.htm) has a form for submitting new citations of one-act plays involving four or fewer performers. The site also accesses playwrights worldwide, over 600 of their one-act scripts for four or fewer actors in many languages, and related sundries. It is a rich resource for playwrights, actors, dramaturgs, agents, publishers, students, and librarians.

Playwrights on the Web (http://www.stageplays.com/writers.htm) is an international database of playwrights and their Web sites, offering directors, producers, and publishers a free and unique way to discover new plays and fresh talent.

ELAC Theatre Writer's Workshop (http://www.perspicacity.com/elactheatre/workshop/workshop.htm), a self-described "Internet watering hole for the vast unwashed herds of writers," has opportunities for publishing your own plays, reading other people's plays, and immersing yourself in the art, craft and business of playwriting.

The Dramatic Exchange (http://www.dramex.org/) is a Web resource for playwrights, producers, and anybody interested in plays. We aim to provide a place where playwrights can make their plays available, and where producers and readers can look to find plays uploaded here by the playwrights. Submission procedure for plays is outlined on the site.

On the Yahoo search engine, this site, http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Literature/Genres/Drama/Playwrights__Resources/, gives a variety of resources for playwrights.

Miscellaneous

New Dramatists (http://newdramatists.org/ndintro.html) is a unique resource for the American theatre. The company is dedicated to the playwright and serves as an artistic home, theatre research and development center, and writers' colony for the national theatre just a few steps from Broadway. It finds and nurtures new talent through a competitive, membership selection process and a seven-year playwright development program. (Membership is restricted to the New York City area or to playwrights who can spend an extensive amount of time in New York.

The Playwrights' Platform (http://www.tiac.net/users/ghorton/playplat.htm) is a non-profit cooperative of Boston-area playwrights dedicated to mutual assistance in the work of developing new plays. Three or four times a month, from October through April, the group presents readings of new works that are free and open to the public.

About Actors ( http://actors.about.com/musicperform/actors/msubplayam.htm) is maintained by actor Evan Robinson, and he has included information of use to playwrights and people in theatre. I am listed in his "Playwrights" section, right after Edward Albee!

Women of Words, Women of Color ( http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~cybers/home.html) is a site dedicated to African American women who have gifted/shaken up/disturbed the theatre world with their powerful words. It is a testament to their courage and perseverance. Hopefully, this site will encourage other sister storytellers to make their words heard. Women of Color, Women of Words is sponsoring an e-group for African American female playwrights. If you are an African American female playwright or African American female theatre artist or technician, please take a moment to join.

African Repertory Troupe: the Other ART ( http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/crescent/799/) has a mission is to stage the works of Black playwrights, poets and storytellers, and to showcase performers of African descent.

Bridges Web Services (http://bridgesweb.com/) provides links to black theatre, education, general theatre, and related computer technology and resources.

Favorites

WNEP Theatre (http://www.wneptheater.org) is a theatre started in Chicago by my friends Don Hall and Jen Ellison. If you like brave theatre, "cheerfully tasteless" (as one Chicago critic called it), you will like WNEP.

Larry Stark's Theater Mirror (http://www.theatermirror.com/) is a compilation of theater information in and around the Boston area, with reviews, announcements, auditions, messages, and links to theater sites around New England among its many offerings.

New Hampshire Theatre Project (http://www.nhtheatreproject.org) is run by my friend Gen Achielle. The Project does many theatre productions that use wonderful combinations of music, fables, and movement, especially in working with children. A real gem in cold north of rock-ribbed Republicanism.

Combovers (http://www.combovers.co.uk) has, in addition to many funny pictures about this peculiar male ritual of self-denial, a link to my short play Combover.