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Act One - One on One Dramaturgy

Submit a script in development to receive one-on-one feedback, support and analysis. APN's Dramaturgical Committee and one Dramaturgical "Guest Star" (a notable Canadian theatre professional) read all of the submitted plays. Notes and feedback are generated and a representative from APN will meet with you personally to discuss your work, provide you with the feedback and generate a development strategy tailored to you and the needs of your play. For a $100.00 fee, your play will be assisted in its development through two drafts. 

Annual Submission Deadlines:

  • January 31
  • March 31
  • May 31
  • July 31
  • September 30
  • November 30

After the submission deadline, you can expect to be contacted within a month to schedule your meeting with your dramaturg from APN. 

For more information email Catherine. To submit your play and pay for the service, please go to our registration page, and read the submission guidelines below. 

Dramaturgical Committee: Trevor Rueger, Heather Inglis, Catherine Vielguth & Special Guest Star

Before you submit your script for the Act One Committee, please read the submission guidelines carefully. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Submission Requirements

1. Submissions are to be submitted electronically (.pdf is preferred, .doc is acceptable) to Catherine Vielguth.

2. Each submission should include a cover letter answering the following questions.  These questions will enable us to give you exactly the kind of help you are looking for:

  • How long have you been working on this play?
  • How many drafts have you been through?
  • In three sentences, what is the play about?
  • Do you have any questions/concerns about the play? List any and all, and be specific as possible.

3. The Script:

  • General: 8.5 x 11 paper, 1 inch margins, black ink, page numbers on each page (except cover), font is 12 pnt in an easy to read font like Times New Roman.
  • Cover Page: including title, Playwright’s name, Mailing Address, Phone number, Email, Agent contact information (if you have one), and Copyright notice (if applicable).
  • Cast and Setting list: Briefly describing the characters as well as including time and place notes.
  • All text should be single spaced, separating characters’ lines or stage directions with a double space.
  • Song lyrics should be in ALL CAPS with one indent.
  • When a character is speaking, his/her name should be either centred or set 3.5” from the left of the paper in ALL CAPS. 
  • Any brief direction (one word) at the start, middle, or end of a character’s line can be in the line in parentheses. Longer directions belong on a separate single spaced line in parentheses or italics.
  • Please remember to check your spelling before you submit a script.  Incorrect spelling can make it difficult for the committee to read your script and could result in some misunderstandings.
  • Stage directions are appropriate but should used sparingly; they set the atmosphere and denote important actions or movements.

 

Wordshed - Play Development Workshops

What is Wordshed? WORDSHED is a workshop program open to all playwrights and all plays, no matter what stage of development they are at. You can bring 10 pages or a complete draft. It's up to you and what your needs are in the development of your work. Members are asked to submit their plays which are read by an APN dramaturg who then meets with you to discuss and strategize how best to use the 3.5 hour session. Again, this strategy is based upon what each playwright needs. Is there a character journey that you want to focus on? Do you want to look at plot? Theme? Subplots? Structure? Do you just want to hear the play out loud? It's up to you.

APN hires 3 to 4 actors to participate in WORDSHED. These actors will read all of the parts of all of the participating plays. We cannot guarantee that the actors will be the right gender, age or ethnicity for the roles in your play, but we can guarantee that we will hire the best workshop actors for the process. Most of the time, the importance of a workshop is simply hearing the words on the page spoken out loud.

Upcoming dates: Calgary - TBA        Edmonton - November 9&10, 2015

 

What is a Play Development Workshop? A Play Development Workshop is an opportunity for a writer with a completed draft of a play to have the work read by professional actors under the direction of a professional director/dramaturg and to have feedback generated by these professionals. The writer is provided an opportunity to hear their work read out loud and to receive guided feedback and response from other artistic voices. This process is meant to answer questions and provide clarity for the writer of the work.

 

Valerie Planche & Tony Eyamie reading The Wall by Jonathan Chapman

Valerie Planche & Tony Eyamie reading The Wall by Jonathan Chapman



Prologue - The Building Blocks of Dramatic Writing

This one-day intensive workshop focuses on the building blocks of dramatic writing. Using the classic texts of Hamlet and Death of a Salesman as examples, participants will be engaged in an active discussion about narrative structure, plot, character, conflict/crisis, dialogue and theme among many other topics. For all beginning and novice playwrights or anyone looking for a refresher or a greater understanding of what it takes to write a play. Hone your skills and discover more about the art & craft of playwriting.

This class is available by request. To book a session or for more information email Trevor.

 

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