Contact: Greta Hays/Kirstin M. Franko
[email protected], 202-600-4056
June 10, 2014
ARENA STAGE ANNOUNCES NATIONAL CALL FOR MONOLOGUE SUBMISSIONS
IN CONJUNCTION WITH UPCOMING WORLD PREMIERE OUR WAR
AS PART OF THE NATIONAL CIVIL WAR PROJECT
(Washington, D.C.) Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces a national call for monologue submissions inspired by the world-premiere theatrical event Our War, a commission of 25 American playwrights as part of The National Civil War Project. Monologues should address or react to the American Civil War and how it reverberates in America today, and up to three winners will be selected to receive a performance of their monologue at Arena Stage by members of the cast of Our War at a post-show public reading on November 6 following the 8:00 p.m. performance. Directed by Anita Maynard-Losh, Our War runs October 21 – November 9, 2014 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.
Selected writers will also receive a session with American Voices New Play Institute Dramaturg Jocelyn Clarke, a listing in the Our War program and an award certificate. Video clips of the performed monologues will be posted on Arena Stage’s website and shared via social media.
“A driving force behind The National Civil War Project is to create a dialogue around war and its reverberations, and what better way to start a conversation than by representing many different points of view from around the country,” shares Artistic Director Molly Smith.
Monologues must be no more than three minutes (approximately 600 words in length), may befictitious or based on family history and should be told from the point of view of a character associated with the American Civil War. Published and amateur writers, as well as students ages 18 and up, are encouraged to participate. The monologue may not have been previously published and must be written by one writer. No previous theater experience is required.
Applicants must submit their written monologue, name, address, phone number, email address and, if applicable, school name and grade to [email protected] by August 11, 2014. Submissions will be read by Arena Stage staff and board members, local theater artists and community partners. Monologues will be judged based on originality, character, storytelling, structure and theatricality. Winners will be announced in September and a list of winning monologues will be posted at arenastage.org.
For additional details and competition guidelines visitarenastage.org/ourwar.
For additional information on Our War and Arena Stage’s 2014-15 season visitarenastage.org/shows-tickets/the-season.
About Our War: An esteemed collection of some of America’s finest playwrights, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Olivier Award, has been assembled to create a dynamic new theatrical event reflecting on the repercussions of the U.S. Civil War. Through a rich tapestry of short monologues, a core ensemble of gifted actors, accompanied by notable Washingtonians, give voice to far-reaching questions about the war, its aftermath and its reverberations in our lives today. Our War, commissioned by Arena Stage for The National Civil War Project, uses the power of live theater to bring new understanding to the shades of Blue and Gray that define one of the most significant periods of American history.
Our War commissioned writers:
Maria Agui Carter, Lydia Diamond, Amy Freed, Diane Glancy, Joy Harjo, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Aditi Kapil, Dan LeFranc, David Lindsay-Abaire, Ken Ludwig, Taylor Mac, Ken Narasaki, Lynn Nottage, Robert O’Hara, Heather Raffo, Charles Randolph-Wright, Tanya Saracho, Betty Shamieh, John Strand, Tazewell Thompson, William S. Yellow Robe, Jr., Karen Zacarías and two students from George Washington University: Zinhle Essamuah and Nicholas Ong
Our War is part ofThe National Civil War Project, a radical multi-city, multi-year collaboration between four universities and five performing arts organizations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. The National Civil War Project includes the commissioning of 12 original works for the stage as well as the creation of new arts-integrated academic programs. Locally, Arena Stage is in partnership with Liz Lerman and The George Washington University. The overarching goal of the project is to find ways to continually interweave performance and scholarship, crossing traditional boundaries by bringing together the perspectives and resources of the artistic and academic communities in a wide-ranging, humanities-based exploration of civil conflict. For more information visit civilwarproject.org.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays through the American Voices New Play Institute. Arena Stage impacts the lives of more than 20,000 students annually through its work in community engagement. Now in its seventh decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. arenastage.org.
Follow Arena Stage on Twitter @arenastage or twitter.com/arenastage and mention Our War with #OurWar. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/arenastage.
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