Metropolitan
Playhouse
The American Legacy
The American Legacy
220
East Fourth Street ~ New York,
New York 10009
(212) 995 8410
(212) 995 8410
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Metropolitan
Playhouse
The American Legacy 220
East Fourth Street ~ New York,
New York 10009
(212) 995 8410 |
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| East Village
Chronicles, Volume 6 August 2009 Deadline - Friday, May 22, 2009 |
| Metropolitan Playhouse, New York's
renowned explorer of America's
Theatrical Heritage, is currently accepting submissions for new
plays inspired by the life and history of New York's Lower East
Side. Submissions will be evaluated by Metropolitan's artistic staff, and we will produce up to 10 of the submitted plays in August 2009, as part of our 6th Annual East Village Chronicles festival. As in prior years, the plays selected will pertain to a chosen theme. For Volume 6, plays should examine the reality of Getting By in the East Village of today and in eras past. (See below for more information.) Submission Deadline: Completed scripts must be RECEIVED, by mail or e-mail, by 5:00 pm Friday, May 22, 2009. Metropolitan Playhouse 220 E 4th Street New York, NY 10009 EVC6@metropolitanplayhouse.org |
| The Festival |
| East Village Chronicles, Vol. 6 is
the 6th annual
festival of new, one-act plays that celebrate and explore the varied
history
and eclectic culture that have defined Manhattan's Lower East Side (in
all its
permutations). Combined into two, distinct evenings of
short plays, which run on alternating nights over three weeks, the
plays will include a variety of styles and tones, unified by their
being clearly related to life in the theater's neighborhood. Metropolitan Playhouse will produce the plays on our 3/4 thrust stage in our 51 seat theater at 220 E 4th Street. The plays will be directed by directors engaged by Metropolitan to coordinate and rehearse the entire festival. The plays will be performed by a core company of actors, cast specifically for the festival, each of whom will perform in at least two festival plays. The cast of any given play will be drawn from this core company, and therefore anyone cast must be suitable for more than one play. Because we are forming a company, while playwrights' input is welcome (that is, highly desired!), final decisions must remain with Metropolitan's artistic staff. |
| The
Theme for 2009: Getting By |
| The Chronicles plays have been
connected each year in that they have
focused
on a certain topic, theme, or timeline. Selecting plays that are
inspired by some such organizing principle helps to give the festival
shape and to enrich the experience for audience members. (See *
below
for further discussion of the theme idea.) This year, the Chronicles will be devoted to Getting By. We believe this theme is especially resonant within the context of our national economic crisis and the shifting social pardigms within the neighborhood which have worked to shape a new dynamic of life. More and more, these pressures are becoming a trecherous force as longstanding family businesses and residents continue to leave the neighborhood they once created. In the past year alone, such icons as Love Saves the Day and Kim's Video (to mention but 2!) have closed their doors. Changes like these cause us to consider what makes living here so special, and in remembering, to preserve and fight for the character of the East Village. But this year is not so much about what the neighborhood has lost as it is about those things still here, whether they be triving or withering. For it is in those whose roots dig deep in the ground, who cling to the driftwood in the open sea, and who choose to get by where stories of hope and life can be found. Playwrights are encouraged to respond as directly or creatively as they wish to this idea; how the plays relate to the phrase "Getting By" is up to the playwright. |
| Technical Guidelines |
| We are seeking plays of no more
than 20 minutes that can be played by 4
or fewer actors. The plays will be presented with at least three others in a given evening, and as a consequence, should not require elaborate set or properties. Performance Dates: August 7 - 23, 2009 Theater: Metropolitan Playhouse 220 E 4th Street |
| Questions: Alex Roe Artistic Director, Metropolitan Playhouse 212 995 8410 connect@metropolitanplayhouse.org * Interviews from nytheatre.com regarding the festival and the selection of themes may be found at: http://www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/Interviewevc1.htm and http://www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/Interviewevc2.htm |