It’s time for our annual Partner Producer #RollCall!
via GIPHY
Little Black Dress INK is thrilled to invite TheatreMakers to participate in our 8th annual Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Project!
History
in 2011, LBDI invited female playwrights to submit short works for consideration in our inaugural Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Festival. Playwrights submitted 10 minute (or shorter) plays and monologues, with winning plays selected via our innovative peer-review system (more on that in a moment). In an effort to also support women in its local community, LBDI partnered with a local women’s charity organization to donate a portion of the proceeds to their programs. The success of our first year set the stage for what has become an annual, nation-wide, event involving hundreds of theatre artists.
Our 2019 ONSTAGE festival is now underway, and we’re on the look out for theatre companies and independent theatremakers interested in bringing ONSTAGE to their community!
Festival Themes
LBDI believes that festival themes should align with our mission of giving voice to female playwrights while also inspiring the very playwrights we hope to work with. We also strive to select festival themes that speak to our growing list of partner producers and their audiences as well. This year’s theme is Swimming with Giants.
How it Works
LBDI utilizes a unique peer review process to select plays for the fest. Playwrights who wish to have their work considered for production must agree to also read and evaluate plays using LBDI’s online evaluation forms. Every play gets read a minimum of 8 times. In addition to playwrights, plays are read by partner producers and directors, and a handful of other theater professionals that donate their time to this project.
- Top-scoring plays (Finalists) will be listed on our website, their plays made available to each partner producer, who will then be able to select a line-up of plays/monologues to read or produce at their location.
- Every location is free to select their own line-up from our list of finalists!
- We ask that ONSTAGE readings take place in the month of March in honor of Women’s History Month, but if you want to target a different month, just let us know!
- Partners can also decide to produce selections from our list of finalists!
- If a partner producer decides to present a production of the ONSTAGE Festival, we ask that they honor Little Black Dress INK’s commitment to pay a royalty of $20 per playwright, or a split of 5% of box office (whichever is greater)with the selected playwrights.
- Little Black Dress INK does NOT ask for any royalties or income from your production.
- LBDI provides poster art, customizable press releases, and social media support to all partner producers. We also support fundraising efforts with theaters who want to use ONSTAGE readings to raise funds for women-focused non-profits in your area!
- Over the course of the festival, participating playwrights, producers, directors, and actors are encouraged to blog about their experiences on our website, so that audiences and artists can follow the ONSTAGE Festival at every step. Additionally, LBDI aims to foster communication amongst artists, provide dramaturgical support to playwrights, and nurture new and continued partnerships with participating theatre artists.
Rebecca Olmsted, Angi Bryan, and Linda Fine in Barbara Blumenthal Ehrlich’s FRUIT SALAD OF SHAME, 2017
Where We’re Going
It is LBDI’s hope that the ONSTAGE Project continue to grow, expanding to include readings in every state, with finalists receiving multiple rolling productions through partner organizations across the country. LBDI believes that its unique mission of producing peer-selected works by female playwrights is something everyone can get behind.
Several of our semi-finalist and winning ONSTAGE Playwrights have had other work read or produced by ONSTAGE Partner Producers or outside theatremakers who attended readings! This advancement of work by female playwrights is what the ONSTAGE network is all about.
How to Get Involved
Theatres and Theatremakers who want to support Little Black Dress INK ’s mission can do so in a couple of ways:
- Produce a Reading – Producing Partners make our hearts happy! LBDI relies heavily on like-minded producers and organizations to help our ONSTAGE Project grow. If you are interested in producing a reading in your city, contact LBDI today! We are asking that 2019 readings take place in the month of March in honor of Women’s History Month.
- Produce the Plays – LBDI will continues to produce a selection of winning plays, but our goal is rolling ONSTAGE premiers! If you’d like to bring the festival to your city, please contact LBDI as soon as possible. We will sing your praises from the rooftop, and our playwrights will too!
- Spread the Word – Every female playwright you reach out to has the potential to reach new audiences through our ONSTAGE Project!
Please join us in putting more work by Female Playwrights ONSTAGE!
Sincerely,
Tiffany Antone
Artistic Director – Little Black Dress INK
