May 12, 2008 : The Third Annual Great Plains Theatre Conference announced selected playwrights for this year's Conference from a competitive process submitted to the readers anonymously, and has accepted three Playwrights' Platform Members' plays for the Concurrent Play Lab in Omaha, Nebraska.

Platform members with new plays in the Conference include:

Hortense Gerardo: Weekend in St. Moritz
Ron Pullins : Enemies of the State
Lee Roscoe : At the Hollow

Congratulations, Hortense, Ron and Lee!

May 6, 2008 : The winners of the Tenth Boston Theater Marathon have been announced, and once again, Playwrights' Platform members are well-represented among the winners!

Platform members with new plays in the Marathon include:

Hortense Gerardo: Cigarette Boy
Christopher King: Short Cuts
Gail Phaneuf: Games and Puzzles

In addition to the three current members with plays in the BTM, two former members of the Platform are also represented: Teresa Rebeck, and Leslie Powell.

(See the full list of BTM plays here.)

Cigarette Boy by Hortense Gerardo will be produced by the Boston Playwrights' Theatre.

Short Cuts by Christopher King will be produced by the Playwrights' Platform and directed by the playwright.

Games and Puzzles by Gail Phaneuf will be produced by the Image Theater and directed by Playwrights' Platform member, Jerry Bisantz.

We are proud of the fact that year after year, Platform playwrights are well-represented at this signal event in Boston theater. Congratulations to the playwrights!

May 1, 2008 : Our Voices Together II,

A Showcase of Playwrights’ Platform Women Writers Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre, Wellesley College

May 17, 2008, 7:00 p.m. Free
Featured playwrights include:

Ludmilla Anselm
Kelly DuMar
Hortense Gerardo
Geralyn Horton
Holly Jensen
Regina Eliot Ramsay
Phyllis Rittner
Ellen Davis Sullivan
Lida McGirr

Following the plays, playwrights Chris King and Kelly DuMar will moderate a discussion with the audience about the plays.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served from 7:00 until 7:30 when the readings begin. The Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre is on the lower level of Alumnae Hall and is wheelchair accessible. There is ample free parking in the Davis covered parking structure adjacent to the theatre.
For more information, call or e-mail Regina Eliot-Ramsay at (617) 558-5554, elram0416@comcast.net, or call the box office (781) 283-2000.
*Sponsored by the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP)

Apr 21, 2008 :

On Wednesday, April 30 and May 4 in vivo Productions and Lasell College present the premiere of The Class Acts Project in which four original 10-minute plays by Boston-area playwrights are performed by professional actors and students.

The performances will take place at Lasell College's Rosen Auditorium in the Brennan Building on the corner of Woodland and Maple St in Newton.

The production will feature original works by Playwrights' Platform Members:

Two Words by George Masselam
Shakespeare 102 by Scott Welty
Final Project by Peter Floyd and
Model Behavior by Hortense Gerardo

Featured actors include: Penny Benson, Joe Orrigo, Bol Anyoun, Brianna Dibona, Stacey Gulyas and Kathy Montrevil
Directed by Lisa Hamel

Date: April 30, 2008 at 7PM and May 4, 2008 at 8PM
Location: Rosen Auditorium Brennan Building at Lasell College, Newton, MA 02466

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
For information and directions go to Lasell College.

Mar 31, 2008 :

On Wednesday, April 2, 2008, in vivo Productions and The Boston Center for the Arts present this year's third and final installment of The Echo of the Gecko play reading series.

The 7:30 p.m. reading will take place at the BCA's Artist Studio Building at 551 Tremont Street in the South End and will feature Playwrights' Platform Member, Hortense Gerardo.

This is the third reading that the BCA and in vivo Productions have hosted, each showcasing the work of Boston-area and emerging playwrights.

Charles Turner presents Molly Maddox, a one-act musical set in post-Civil-War Appalacia.

Hortense Gerardo presents a short dramatic play, Counterpoint, and a site-specific audio meta-play, Aural Fixation.

Featured artists include: Dan Benson, Penny Benson, Wayne Fritsche, Naomi Gurt Lind, William Doscher and Vincent Ernest Siders, with piano accompaniment by Nancy Rexford..

This reading is sponsored in part by Peet's Coffee. Free coffee and pastries are provided with the cost of admission, courtesy of the sponsors.

Tickets & Discounts: $10 / $5 for students, elders, and members of: Playwrights' Platform, New Opera and Musical Theatre Initiative (NOMTI), Stage Source, Boston Playwrights? Theatre, Dramatist Guild, International Centre for Women Playwrights, Writers' Guild of America. For information call 617-547-6789 x1 or go to The Boston Center for the Arts.

Mar 31, 2008 : The Council on Aging of Sherborn is proud to present An Evening of Plays—Life Stages: A Community Conversation through the Dramatic Arts, April 5, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the 1858 Town House, Sherborn, MA. The evening is free and open to the public. There is a complimentary pre-performance reception that begins at 6:30 p.m., and everyone is welcome.

Plays by Sherborn playwrights, and members of Playwrights' Platform, KELLY DUMAR and CHRIS KING will be performed as script-in-hand readings by local area actors, young and old. This intergenerational event will feature plays about family life and love from beginning to end; the humor and touching moments of growing up and growing older.

The evening will consist of one act plays (Rocky & Skye, Run for Your Life, Clay, The Cell, and Eating Oreo’s Cookie) from Ms. DuMar and three scenes from A Moving Day by Mr. King: The Silver Mirror, By the Books and Comfort Measures. The playwrights will also share their insights and encourage audience participation with an exciting dialogue between playwright, actor and attendees in a community conversation at the conclusion of the performance.

The 1858 Town House is located at 23 Washington Street (Rt. 16), Sherborn and is wheelchair accessible. Call 508-651-7858 for more information. Reservations ARE NOT required. The evening of dramatic arts is sponsored by the Council on Aging, with support from the Sherborn Cultural Council (a local agency which is supported by the MA Cultural Council, a state agency).

Mar 19, 2008 :

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, in vivo Productions and The Cambridge Center for Adult Education present this year's third and final installment of The Gecko in Winter play reading series.

The 8:00 p.m. reading will take place at CCAE's Blacksmith House at 56 Brattle Street in Harvard Square and will feature Playwrights' Platform Member, Hortense Gerardo, who conceived of the Gecko reading series.

The CCAE and in vivo Productions have presented three readings each season since 2005, each showcasing the work of Boston-area and emerging playwrights. The series casts local actors, and has received a steady following.

Charles Turner presents Molly Maddox, a one-act musical which began as an adaptation of the Noh play 'Matsukaze', but the new setting and time period (post-Civil-War Appalacia) eventually led to a completely different story. The wandering monk became a fast-talking preacher, the lonesome pine became an active character, and the two ghostly sisters congealed into the forceful and very corporeal protagonist. The music grows out of his life-long love for American shaped-note music, with additional cribs from 19th-Century popular song.

Hortense Gerardo presents Counterpoint, a poignant exploration of the “Empty Nest Syndrome” between a young artist and his mother. Also on the bill is an experimental, site-specific comic play, Aural Fixation, intended to challenge basic conventions of performers in performance as it takes you through an audio tour of a Boston art museum.

Featured artists include: Dan Benson, Penny Benson, Wayne Fritsche, Naomi Gurt Lind, William Doscher and Vincent Ernest Siders.

This reading is sponsored in part by Hi-Rise Bread Factory; Cambridge, 1; Peet's Coffee & Tea; and Trader Joe's. Free coffee and pastries are provided with the cost of admission, courtesy of the sponsors.

Tickets & Discounts: $10 / $5 for students, elders, and members of: Playwrights' Platform, New Opera and Musical Theatre Initiative (NOMTI), Stage Source, Boston Playwrights? Theatre, Dramatist Guild, International Centre for Women Playwrights, Writers' Guild of America. To register call 617-547-6789 x1 or go to The Cambridge Center for Adult Education.

Mar 18, 2008 : Readings and Performances of the work of Boston-area Women Playwrights and Artists at
Boston Playwrights' Theatre Saturday Afternoon, March 29 @ 2-5 PM

Come join us for a program of readings and performances of eleven theatre pieces created by local Boston playwrights and artists. This year there is a theme of relationships and all work treats the subject in some way. The work, all new and not previously presented, includes short plays and scenes (including one from a new musical!) plus a movement piece from area artists Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro, Ludmila Anselm, Sue Brody, Hortense Gerardo, Lyralen Kaye & Amy West, Lynn Liccardo, Miriam Raikin-Kolb & Geralyn Horton, Monica Raymond, Diane Ripstein, Phyllis Rittner and Debbie Wiess.

Some of the Boston theatre scene's favorite directors and actors will be involved such as Danny Gidron, Ken Baltin, June Lewin, Bobbi Steinbeck and Jerry Bisantz. After the program, there will be a party with light refreshments for mingling and socializing.

This event is part of a new international celebration of women artists called SWAN Day(Support Women Artists Now Day), and is being organized under the auspices of the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

March Madness takes place at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre located at 949 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, (Pleasant Street stop on B-line) on Saturday afternoon, March 29, from 2-5pm. There will be no ticket sales, but donations ($5 suggested) at the door are welcome.

All proceeds of the event will go to The Fund for Women Artists organization, one of the two groups, which conceived SWAN Day, to support its efforts.

For more information, please contact Debbie Wiess at 617-437-0352 or djwiess@msn.com

Mar 16, 2008 :
MONSTERS the musical will have it's second industry reading at the York Theatre in NYC on March 20th at 5pm. The YORK THEATRE DEVELOPMENTAL SERIES,

MONSTERS BOOK BY GAIL PHANEUF, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY ERNIE LIJOI AND GAIL PHANEUF Samantha’s 40th birthday stirs up a toxic blend of fears and insecurities – in the form of living, breathing monsters, who descend upon Samantha one by one in a hilarious musical romp. The monsters try to derail her ambitions and drag her into their paranoid world. But in the end, Samantha finds an unlikely ally in this battle of wills, in a twist that helps her put the demons in their place. Thursday, March 20, 2008 • 5:00 PM

The Reading is free to the public but a reservation is necessary.

MONSTERS the musical

Mar 8, 2008 : Nine Boston-area women will have their new plays featured in the 2nd Annual Our Voices Together Festival hosted by Wellesley Summer Theatre in the Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre, May 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

This evening of staged readings is co-sponsored by Playwrights’ Platform, Boston and the International Centre for Women Playwrights’ for the purpose of highlighting new plays by women. All the playwrights are members of Playwrights’ Platform, a Boston-based cooperative developmental theatre group. Featured playwrights include: Ludmilla Anselm (Boston), Kelly DuMar (Sherborn), Hortense Gerardo (Boston), Geralyn Horton (Newton), Holly Jensen (Providence, RI), Regina Eliot Ramsay (Newton), Phyllis Rittner (Watertown), Ellen Davis Sullivan (Andover), and Lida McGirr (Concord).

Following the plays, playwrights Chris King and Kelly DuMar will moderate a discussion with the audience about the development of the plays as well as how the theatrical culture can be influenced to be more receptive to producing plays by women.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served from 7:00 until 7:30 when the readings begin. The Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre is on the lower level of Alumnae Hall and is wheelchair accessible. There is ample free parking in the Davis covered parking structure adjacent to the theatre. Reservations are not required. For more information, call or e-mail Regina Eliot-Ramsay at (617) 558-5554, elram0416@comcast.net, or call the box office (781) 283-2000.

Web links for more info:
www.wellesleysummertheatre.com
http://www.netspace.org/~icwp/boston2007.html#march3
www.playwrightsplatform.org

Mar 5, 2008 : EXCLAMATION POINT! An Evening of Informal Readings of New Writing, will take place at 7:00 PM on March 14th, 2008 in Fort Point, Boston at Flour Bakery + Cafe, on the corner of Farnsworth Street and Congress Street in Fort Point behind the Children's Museum.

"OBJECTIVE" was written by Boston-based playwright and Playwright Platform Member, Peter Floyd.

FOR DIRECTIONS, CLICK HERE FLOUR BAKERY + CAFE

Admission is free.

Feb 24, 2008 :

in vivo Productions and The Boston Center for the Arts present

"The Echo of the Gecko" at 539 Tremont Street, February 27^th at 7:30pm

On February 27^th, 2008, in vivo Productions and The Boston Center of the Arts bring the next installment of the "Echo of the Gecko," a play-reading showcase, to Boston. The Echo of the Gecko is a spin-off of The Gecko In Winter play-reading series hosted by the Cambridge Center for Adult Education since 2005, and was inspired by a similar series based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it was referred to as The Monday Night Lizard.

The Lizard Claw Playwrights present "New Works on the Subject of Climate Change "

The Lizard Claw Playwrights is a band of tough-skinned playwrights who issue absurdly difficult playwriting challenges to each other on a regular basis, then submit and evaluate their entries anonymously. The plays that emerge are theatrical, inventive and provocative. These tough-skinned playwrights, many of whom met at the Kennedy Center in 2007, are hatching plays in cities all across the country, including Minneapolis, Boston, NY, Baltimore, Portland, Los Angeles, New Haven, and Washington, DC.

Featured Playwrights: Kathleen Akerley, Rich Espey, Hortense Gerardo, Callie Kimball, Kate Tarker and Stephanie Alison Walker.

Featured Actors: Dara Eagle, Peter Floyd, Christopher King, Phil Thompson and Lisa Woods.

Complimentary coffee and pastries kindly provided by sponsorship from The Boston Center for the Arts and by Peet’s Coffee and Tea. There will be one more reading in the series, held on Wednesday, April 2.

Date: February 27, 2008

Time: 7:30pm

Location: The Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

Rehearsal Room A

539 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116

Tickets: $10/$8 bostontheatrescene.com - 617-933-8600

URL’s: www.bcaonline.org

Feb 11, 2008 : Newsday reporter Patrick Fenton's new play Kerouac's Last Call will receive it's World Premier production in Mr. Kerouac's hometown of Lowell, MA on February 15th, in a limited run that includes Feb 15,16,22, and 23rd upstairs at The Old Court Tavern, 29-31 Central Street, downtown Lowell.

Image Theater is Lowell's newest professional theater company, and, since their first production in September of 2005, Image Theater has produced the original plays of over 40 playwrights and composers.

Playwright Patrick Fenton, a freelance writer from Massapequa, NY, and a frequent contributor to Newsday, The Post, and The Daily News has always been a keen observer of Mr. Kerouac's Long Island days. "Last Call" recalls a party held at a friend's home in Northport, NY in 1964, just before the writer's move to Florida with his mother. It is based on an actual reel to reel tape recording of that night recorded by neighborhood friends, a tape that Mr. Fenton is honored to have heard. It depicts the Jack at the end of his road, with glimpses of the forces that drove him, the people who moved him, and his own strong opinions on fame, his travels, and the "new" generations of readers who idolized him. Populating the play are characters from his past and present, and the play is filled with the music that accompanied his travels across America. Mr. Fenton's words are reminiscent of Kerouac's own writings, and the play has been work shopped last summer with the assistance of the Cultural Organization Of Lowell (COOL). The play will be directed by Ann Garvin.

Tickets for the play are $19 in advance and $20 at the door and seating is limited. Call 978-441-0102 or go to www.Imagetheater.com for information.

For more information about the play, or to reach Mr. Fenton or anyone at Image Theater, call Jerry at 978-866-2125. Image Theater productions are presented with the generous aid of the Lowell Cultural Council.

Feb 11, 2008 : At The Hollow, a drama in two acts written and directed by Playwrights' Platform Member Lee Roscoe will be part of THE NEW PROVINCETOWN PLAYERS WINTER READING SERIES, March 5, 7 pm, Wednesday, at The Provincetown Theater 238 Bradford Street, Pronvincetown, MA.


ABOUT At The Hollow: It is July 4th weekend at a cabin in the Catskills. When an estranged son visits his father in the company of his first cousin and his cousin’s woman—he triggers the dissolution of the whole family.

FOR INFORMATION CALL 508-487-7487 x4. Suggested Donation: $5, payable at door. Advance reservations NOT required.

Feb 8, 2008 : MONSTERS, a new musical, will have reading in NYC on Monday, February 18th as work continues on the development of the show. The Book and Lyrics are by Boston playwright Gail Phaneuf, and Music and Lyrics are by Ernie Lijoi. MONSTERS has been in development for several years with Lijoi penning a number of the songs at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. The show was a finalist in the Emerson College Rod Parker Playwriting Competition and went on to have a successful 2006 production at CentaStage in Boston, receiving favorable reviews.

Tony winner Cady Huffman (THE PRODUCERS) leads the cast of six as Samantha and is joined by Joy Franz (INTO THE WOODS), Ann Harada (AVENUE Q), Nicolette Hart (RENT), Kate Pazakis (JERRY SPRINGER) and Carlos Encinias (ALTAR BOYZ).

Steven Yuhasz directs and Jason Loffredo serves as musical director for the reading.

According to the creators, “The show allows us to laugh at our demons and put them in their place, while capturing the humor, agony and insight experienced at one of life’s milestones.”

ABOUT MONSTERS

On her 40th birthday, Samantha meets her demons. A successful, single, Wall Street stockbroker living in Manhattan, she has decided to quit her job and strike out on a soul-searching adventure. When she delivers this news to her visiting mother, including her plans to trek in Machu Picchu, mother moves into action. She tries desperately to convince Samantha to be sensible: to keep her job, to keep climbing the ladder, to trim up so she might find a husband. Firm in her resolve to strike out on a new path, Samantha tells her mother no and sends her on her way. But the echo of her mother's words stirs up a toxic blend of familiar fears and insecurities -- embodied by living, breathing monsters. Samantha spends a zany and frantic day defending her plan to overhaul her life, as the demons descend upon her one by one. In a hilarious musical romp, they try to derail her ambitions, sink her spirits, and drag her into their paranoid world. In the end, Samantha finds an unlikely ally in this battle of wills, in a twist that helps her put the demons in their place.

Feb 5, 2008 : Courtship Behavior, Playwrights' Platform member Hortense Gerardo's performance piece, will be featured in the upcoming celebration of the Valentine’s Day season produced by RI Independent Performers Network (RI2PN): Cheek 2 Cheek: Unexpected Duets, February 14, 15 and 16 at 8:00 p.m. at the Perishable Theatre, 95 Empire Street, Providence, Rhode Island.

Each artist has created a performance that utilizes the concept of “two” in some way. Many duets reflect on being in (and out of) love, and will be enjoyed by honeymooners and cynics of love alike. Thematic images throughout the show, including dozens of crimson roses, scarlet lipstick on bedroom mirrors, and reveries of lazy breezy summer days will surely put you in the mood for a duet or two of your own creation this Valentine’s Day weekend.

For Courtship Behavior, Hortense collaborated with graphic design artist, Tore Terrasi for visual effects, Daniel Thompson on sound design, and Charles Turner, who composed an original shakuhachi score highlighting a single dancer and a video projection engage in a duet of intricately ritualized gestures. Utilizing the art of BUTOH-inspired movement, video projection and live shakuhachi flute playing in vivo Productions presents a performance piece that provides the visual equivalent of tanka (Japanese romantic poetry).

For a complete schedule of each evening’s performance, please visit www.arttixri.com, www.ridance.com.

TICKETS: $15, general admission, and $12 students, seniors, military, and RI artists. Children under 8 admitted free. Reservations are strongly recommended. For reservations call ArtTix 401-621-6123 or visit www.arttixri.com. Group rates are available; please contact arttixri for rates and reservations. Credit cards are not accepted at the door.

Feb 5, 2008 : Playwrights Platform Actor-in-Residence, Carl Schwaber, will be featured in Plays on Tap, produced by www.centastage.org, February 15-March 1, 2008 at the BCA Black Box Theater. The show consists of 8 ten-minute plays, some funny, some serious, all entertaining and witty. Each piece is by a different writer, and each is set in a restaurant, bar, or eating establishment. The 8 plays are all performed in one sitting that runs about 2 hours. Combinations of a cast of 7 actors do the eight plays.

PLAYS ON TAP

February 15 - March 1st 2008, BCA Black Box Theater - 539 Tremont St. (near Clarendon St., South End) Boston, MA Fridays Feb 15, 22, 29 8PM, Saturdays Feb 16, 23, March 1 8PM, Sundays Feb 17, 24 3PM, Thursdays Feb 21, 28 730 PM, Monday Feb 25, 730PM ($15)

Jan 28, 2008 :

in vivo Productions and The Boston Center for the Arts present

"The Echo of the Gecko" at 527 Tremont Street, January 30^th at 7:30pm

On January 30^th, 2008, in vivo Productions and The Boston Center of the Arts bring the first installment of the "Echo of the Gecko," a play-reading showcase, to Boston. The Echo of the Gecko is a spin-off of The Gecko In Winter play-reading series hosted by the Cambridge Center for Adult Education since 2005, and was inspired by a similar series based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it was referred to as The Monday Night Lizard.

Patrick Brennan presents "Open Source" a short play about three friends who consider applying the concept of freely available, non-proprietary, computer code software to their intimate relations. Also presented will be an excerpt of Patrick’s new dramatic work, "No Matter," about a woman who’s terminally-ill husband wants to undergo a procedure he has developed, that may preserve his consciousness but destroy his body.

Hortense Gerardo presents "On the Strut," a short comedy about a young woman who decides to clear her conscience with her boyfriend just before they dive out of an airplane. Also on the bill is her latest one-act comedy, "Weekend in St. Moritz," about romantic trysts, betrayals, and the search for transcendence at a glamorous Swiss ski resort and spa.

Featuring: Penny Benson, Danny Bolton, Dara Eagle, Jonathan Popp, Phyllis Rittner and Dawn Tucker.

This reading is co-produced by The Boston Center for the Arts and sponsored in part by Peet’s Coffee and Tea. There will be two more readings in the series, held on Wednesday, February 26 and Wednesday, April 2.

Date: January 30, 2008

Time: 7:30pm

Location: The Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

Rehearsal Room A

527 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116

Tickets: $10 bostontheatrescene.com - 617-933-8600

URL’s: www.bcaonline.org

Jan 23, 2008 : Little Red Hen by Jon Myers opens this Friday, January 25th at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, presented by the Useless Theatre Company.  AiR actors Michael Haddad (Wooster Rooster) and Bob Mussett (Wise Old Chicken) play leading roles in this satirical comedy with a folksy Orwellian angle.  Please note that this is NOT children’s play, but a politically themed comedy, complete with a chicken chorus. Beware!  The show does contain fowl language.  The play was workshopped in the summer of 2006 by Shadowboxing Theatre Company.

EVENINGS:  Jan 25, 26, 31, Feb 1, 2 at 8 pm
MATINEES: Jan 27, Feb 3 at 3 pm

The show is approximately one hour with no intermission. The audience is invited to a post-performance process discussion with cast, playwright, director and choreographer on opening night.  The discussion will be moderated by dramaturg Dr. Scott R. Irelan.  The playwright will be in attendance during the first weekend only.

Tickets Visit the Boston Playwrights Theatre for more information or call 866-811-4111.

Jan 14, 2008 : As part of the new Writer-in-Residence Workshop Series at Playwrights' Platform, Jerry Bisantz and Gail Phaneuf presented an information packed, tightly organized, inspirational presentation for members on the Art and Business of Producing Plays on January 13, 2008 at Lasell College, Newton, MA. This workshop was second in the Writer-in-Residence Series for Playwrights' Platform members, preceded by an excellent workshop in Writing Dialogue offered by visiting playwright James McLindon in October. The next Writer-in-Residence workshop for members is Writing From the News facilitated by PP Advisory Board member Geralyn Horton on February 10, 2008 at 4:00 p.m., Lasell College, Newton.

Jerry and Gail, both experienced and talented playwrights, actors and producers, will also co-produce the Playwrights' Platform Annual Summer Festival 2008. For more information about the Writer-in-Residence Workshop Series, contact Kelly DuMar

Jan 8, 2008 :

Call for Scripts:
Playwrights' Platform 36th Annual Summer Festival!

June 12, 13, 14, and June 19, 20, 21 2008
Boston Playwrights' Theatre

For more information, contact
Gail Phaneuf gphaneuf@computerdoctor.org
Jerry Bisantz biz362@earthlink.net
Kelly DuMar diarydoor@aol.com
We are looking forward to reading your scripts!

Dec 11, 2007 : The Board of Directors made a gift of $500 to support the Boston Theatre Marathon. Kate Snodgrass writes: Sandy: I opened my mail today after being away last week with family in San Diego, and I founf your check from Playwrights' Platform. I'm getting a little weepy. THANK YOU sincerely from all of us here at BPT. This will bring us very close to the grant monies we had last year (and which we have lost this year, etc.) so we should be able to give, at the very least, what we gave last year to the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund. THANK YOU. Writers are the best people. With warm regards, Kate

Nov 27, 2007 : Jerry Bisantz has an excerpt from his award winning play, What I Did on My Summer Vacation, published in the Where the Road Begins Anthology, and he will be reading from it at the ANTHOLOGY RELEASE PARTY Thursday, December 6, 7-9pm at Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus, 61 Market Street in Lowell. 

Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the anthology is a tribute to Jack Kerouac’s legacy 50 years after his On the Road was first published. Twenty-seven writers and poets are published in the book, which, by the way, makes a great holiday gift for friends, relatives, and literary folks (affordably priced at $8.00/copy!) Brief readings from the anthology will start at 7pm, followed by an open mic at 8pm.

The event is free and open to the public—so come on down for an evening of good company and some terrific regional voices!

Nov 20, 2007 : Three plays by Platform member Patrick M Brennan: No Politics, Bits and Here Lies George, are to be published by JAC Publishing & Promotions of Burlington, Massachusetts.

No Politics, a one-act comedy about a family straddling the red-blue divide, has had a staged reading at the Arlington Center for the Arts New Theatre Works Series in 2003, and a sold-out workshop production at the Theatre Cooperative in 2006.

Bits, a ten-minute comedy about love and teleportation, was read at Playwrights' Platform and was performed at the Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival in 2005. Bits was also performed at the Devanaughn Theatre's Dragonfly Festival in Boston, the American Globe's 15-Minute Play Festival in New York, and the Samuel French XXX Off-Off Broadway Festival in New York.

Here Lies George has previously been read at Playwrights' Platform.

Patrick is a member of Playwrights' Platform's Advisory Board and has previously served as the Platform's president.

Nov 17, 2007 : Denise Trochi, a video production student at Santa Fe Community College, directed an adaptation of Geralyn Horton's Boston Theatre Marathon play, Beyond Measure. Her version will be shown at the Santa Fe Film Festival with three other shorts and the feature Susan Hero during the following days/locations: Sunday, November 25, 2007 at the Film Center at 3 p.m. Wednesday, November 28 at the NM Film Museum at 4 p.m. Congratulations Geralyn!

Nov 17, 2007 : IMAGE THEATER's Keep Your Kids At Home Naughty Readings ONE NIGHT ONLY November 17th at 8:00 p.m. upstairs at The Old Court Tavern, corner of Central and Middle Streets, downtown Lowell! Tickets on sale now!

Scheduled Readings:

HIGHER ED by Karla Sorenson directed by Ann Garvin Featuring Jennifer Condon, Jim Jordan, and Jack F. Dacey THE RAVAGES OF SUNLIGHT by Matthew Mayerchak directed by Ann Garvin Featuring Jonathon Popp and Linda SughrueSONG: DONE WITH DICK by Steve Gilbane, lyrics by Don Schuerman Performed by Allison Ritts and Monica NealPULL A COSTNER by Phyllis Rittner directed by Ann Garvin, Jerry Bisantz Featuring Ann Garvin, Jerry BisantzSONG: A TRIP TO MACY’S by Rene Pfister performed by Rene PfisterTHE CHANGE by Peter M. Floyd directed by Jerry Bisantz Featuring James Tallach and Jennifer EhlertSONG: A LITLE LIKE A WHORE by Steve Gilbane, lyrics by Don Schuerman Performed by Allison Ritts and Monica NealTHAT THING by John Shanahan directed by Jerry Bisantz Featuring Andrew Wetmore and Andrea DeFeo

Special thanks to Jerry and Finbar and the wonderful staff at The Old Court Tavern! 29-31 Central Street, Lowell, MA

Great food, great drink, great company in downtown Lowell!!

Nov 16, 2007 :

Regina Eliot-Ramsay's productions of Kelly DuMar's Bloom, and Sandy Burns' SPAM, produced by Newton Cable T.V., Studio Playhouse, Newton, MA, won the Fall Best Drama and Best Comedy Award from the Alliance for Community Media - Northeast Region. Bloom, which won the Playwrights' Choice Award for its June 2005 production at The Playwrights' Platform Annual Festival, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, is published by Heuer Publishing. SPAM won the Audience Choice Award at the Playwrights' Platform Annual Festival in 2005. Congratulations Regina!

Nov 6, 2007 : Seven of Gail Phaneuf’s short plays will be presented at Curry College as part of their "CLASS ACTS" production. The plays include Urban Gardens, Fruits and Nuts, Games and Puzzles, Clean-up on Aisle 6, The Trouble with Pistils, A Perfect Match, and I've Gotta Go! All of these plays have been read and reworked at Playwrights' Platform, and two have been produced at the Platform Summer festivals in past years. The plays will all feature Curry student directors as well as student actors. This production will be in the Keith Auditorium - Black Box in the Academic and Performance Center at Curry College. Show time is 7:30PM for each performance - admission is $10. Shows run on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings. For more information please visit: www.currytheatre.com For Directions: http://www.curry.edu/About+Us/Directions/

Nov 6, 2007 : Kelly DuMar's new 10-minute play, The Acolyte, will be read at www.fortpointtheatrechannel.org's upcoming EXCLAMATION POINT! Evening of Short Works, Wednesday, November 14, 7:00 p.m. at Midway Studios, 15 Channel Center Street, Fort Point, Boston. This event is free, but donations are welcome.

The Acolyte had its first reading at Playwrights' Platform in October, and a revised version will be presented featuring Playwrights' Platform Actors-in-Residence Dorothy (Dara) Eagle and Jon Popp .

Other plays and scenes included in the evening will feature Gina Bonati, James Mercuri Dooley, Silvia Graziano, Meron Langsner and Diane Steinkamp, with fiction by Michele Corkery and poetry by Cynthia Bargar, Kurt Cole Eidsvig, Amy Demas Grunder, and Cesar Vallejo.

For directions and info, see www.fortpointtheatrechannel.org or call 617.750.8900 or 617.721.8555.

Oct 11, 2007 : Platform Member Marika Barnett's award-winning play, The Eleventh Minute, will be produced by the ACToberFest at the Secret Rose Theater, Los Angeles, in Group B (October 25, 26, 27). The Eleventh Minute won the Audience Choice Award at our Playwrights' Platform Annual Festival, 2006, and is published by Heuer Publishing.

Congratulations, Marika!
 .

Sep 22, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform member Holly Jensen, 's 10-minute play, One Two Many , will be performed during MATCHSTICKS -- A Box of Brief Flare-ups on Friday, September 28 and Saturday September 29 at 7 p.m. in the Jackson Arts Center at BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE (BCC) in Fall River, MA. One Two Many won a Playwrights' Choice Award when it was produced by the Playwrights' Platform Summer festival 2006.

The evening will open the 22nd season of BCC's resident theatre company, BCC THEATRE REP. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for students and seniors. For more information, please call BCC THEATRE REP at 508-678-2811, ext. 2442.

Sep 20, 2007 : FUTURE TEN the annual 10-minute play festival produced by the alternative art space Future Tenant and local theater company Thank You, Felix in Pittsburgh has selected Kelly DuMar,'s contemporary drama for two teens, The Cell, for their fourth festival to be held November 2-3 and 9-10, 2007. Ten plays were selected and five plays will play each weekend.

The Cell is part of Kelly's Away Message series of plays. It was first read at Playwrights' Platform, fall 2006, and was produced by the Seven Deadly Sins Festival, Amazing Things Arts Center, Framingham, MA, June 2007.

Sep 12, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform Members Ron Pullins and Geralyn Horton, had readings of their plays at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre this past summer in a series sponsored by Shadowboxing Theatre's April Madness challenge to write a play in a month.

Ron's play, "Enemies of the State," deals with two events: the abduction, tortue and "disappearances that occurred in Argentina in the 1972s and the secrecy, shame and loss of women from 1945 to 1968 who gave up children to adoption and thus who likewise 'disappeared.'"

Geralyn Horton's play, "Against the Dying of the Light," also had a reading. Congratulations to both Ron and Geralyn.

Sep 6, 2007 : Image Theatre's annual Mill City Minutes Festival will take place at the McDonough Freshman Academy Theater, 40 Paige street, downtown Lowell on September 14,15,21,and 22nd 2007.

Produced by long-time Platform member, Jerry Bisantz, the festival will feature plays by Playwrights' Platform members Dan Bancroft, Regina Eliot Ramsey, and Jerry Bisantz. The Festival will also feature two exciting dance companies, The Catch 22 Dance Troupe, and an amazing Cambodian Hip Hop Troupe called "Team Rithim"... pure energy!

Come support the theater that supports Massachusetts playwrights Since Sept of 2005... over 40 local playwrights featured!

Tickets for Platform members are discounted to $17 a ticket, but ONLY in advance by calling 978-441-0102 or at Image Theater. All tickets at the door the night of the show will be $20.

Come on up to Kerouac's town and see a great show!

Sep 6, 2007 : On August 28, 2007, a few Playwrights' Platform Board members recorded an informal chat after the meeting about Playwrights' Platform that is now a published Podcast by Geralyn Horton. To download, go to http://glhorton.podomatic.com
G.L. Horton Podcast.

Sep 5, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform member Daniel Bancroft had his 10-minute play, What's Really Good, produced in NYC August 10-18 as part of the 2007 8-Minute Madness Festival in NYC. The play will also have staged readings on September 28 and 29 as part of the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival and on October 26 and 27 as part of the New Provincetown Players Fall Festival. Daniel's play, Five Guns, Four Bullets, will be in the Mill City Minutes Festival in Lowell, produced by Image Theater, on September 14, 15, 21 and 22. Congratulations, Dan!

Aug 31, 2007 : Dear Playwrights' Platform 2007/2008 Members:

There will be a general members meeting on Sunday, October 14th, 2007, at 7:00 pm, at Rosen Auditorium, Lasell College. At that time, we will hold a general election for the following Platform offices:

· President
· Chairman
· Vice President
· Secretary
· Treasurer

Any member in good standing (current with 2007-2008 dues by 9/15/07) may run for any of these offices. Any member in good standing (current with dues by 10/07/07) may vote in the general election.

Nominations: In order to run for any Platform office, please inform the Secretary, Regina Eliot Ramsay, elram0416@comcast.net, of your wish to run before 9/15/07. You must be a full member in good standing prior to 9/15/17, current with dues, in order to be nominated for Office. You may run for more than one office if you wish. Nominations will not be accepted after 9/15/07. The Secretary will distribute a list of the candidates by 10/1/07.

Who May Vote: Any member in good standing will be able to cast one vote for each office. The Secretary will establish rules for the election, including the criteria for winning and the procedures for holding runoffs and resolving ties. Our rules will be based on typical parliamentary procedure for elections set out in Robert's Rules of Order. The secretary will be responsible for implementing and ensuring that these rules are followed for our elections. The election rules will be distributed by 10/1/07 along with a copy of the ballot.

Proxy Voting: If you cannot attend the 10/14/07 meeting, but you still wish to vote, you may vote by proxy, by informing the Secretary that another member, who will attend the 10/14/07 meeting, will be your proxy. Your proxy assumes the right to vote in your stead, and may exercise it as he or she sees fit. Obviously, you should ask someone you trust. Any member in good standing may serve as a proxy.

Absentee Ballot: You may also cast your vote by absentee ballot by contacting the Secretary and informing her of your vote for each office. The Secretary will maintain the confidentiality of your vote. No absentee ballots will be accepted after 10/07/07. Absentee ballots will only count for first-round votes; if a runoff vote is required for any office, only in-person or proxy votes will be counted.

Procedure: At the 10/14/07 meeting, two members who are not Executive Board members and are not on the ballot will be selected to act as election tellers. The Secretary will distribute blank ballots and collect cast votes. Once votes are cast and collected, the Secretary and the tellers will privately count the votes and certify the results. In case runoffs are required, the process will be repeated until all offices are filled. At that point, the Secretary will officially announce all the election results.

Season of Service: Elected officers will assume their roles as of October 15, 2007 and will serve until new officers are elected for the 2008-2009 season, no sooner than Sept. 1, 2008 and no later than October 31, 2008. In the event that an Executive Board Officer needs to resign before their term is complete, that Officer will inform the President and the President will appoint an Interim Officer to replace her or him.

Deadlines:

Nominations due: 9/15/07 (nominees must be full paid member for 2007/2008)
Final nominations, election rules, and ballots distributed: 10/1/07
Absentee votes due: 10/7/07
Voting, counting, certification: 10/14/07
Results distributed: Before 10/20/07
Thank you,

Kelly DuMar
Interim President
Playwrights' Platform
www.playwrightsplatform.org

Aug 31, 2007 : DIRECTIONS TO ROSEN AUDITORIUM
Brennan Library
Lasell College
80-A Maple St., Newton, Ma. 02466

(PLEASE NOTE: THE ROSEN AUDITORIUM IS IN THE BASEMENT OF THE BRENNAN LIBRARY BUILDING)

The Brennan Library is No. 11 on the campus map (link attached) http://www.lasell.edu/images/userImages/fweil/Page_440/lasell_map05.pdf

Coming from 128: Take the Grove Street exit (they can see Holiday inn from 128), follow Grove Street for 2-2 1/2 miles until they reach Woodland Road. Take a right on Woodland and then a left (the next block down) on Maple Street. The Brennan Library (location of Rosen auditorium) is on the right.

Coming from Commonwealth Avenue: Follow Comm Ave down until you see a Lasell parking lot on the left. Take a left onto Central Street, follow that down for a couple of blocks and then take a left onto Maple Street. They will come to Brennan Library at about 1/4 of a mile.

If coming from Waltham or Watertown: Take Washington Street to Commonwealth Avenue, take the 3rd left onto Central Street, follow down for a couple of blocks, then take a left onto Maple Street.

Coming from Mass Pike: If getting off at Newton Corner, take Washington Street and follow it all the way down (past Whole Foods and past West Newton Square) until they get to Commonwealth Avenue, take the 3rd left onto Central Street, follow for a couple of blocks then take a left onto Maple Street. They can also get off at the West Newton exit, get on Washington St. from there, and then onto Commonwealth Avenue.

If getting off Pike in Newton Lower Falls, take Washington Street, pass the hospital and keep going until they see Woodland Avenue on the left. Take Woodland Ave and follow it down until they come to Maple Street on the right. Take Maple Street and Brennan Library is on the right.

Aug 30, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform will be the "producing organization" for a short play by Tennessee Williams called THE ONE EXCEPTION. . This play has been produced only one other time, and is the very last play that Tennessee Williams wrote before his death in 1983. Gail Phaneuf will handle production responsibilities, and will also be performing in the show with AIR actor Penny Benson and Patti Hathaway (who many of you saw in MONSTERS!). It will be directed by Antonio Ocampo-Guzman. The show will be performed at the Provincetown Theatre at 238 Bradford St. on September 29th and 30th. For more information on the festival and show times, please visit: www.twptown.org

Aug 27, 2007 : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Call for Plays Announced for Third Annual Great Plains Theatre Conference

(Omaha, Neb.) - Metropolitan Community College (MCC) is seeking plays for the 3rd annual Great Plains Theatre Conference featuring Edward Albee, May 24-31, 2008, on MCC’s Fort Omaha Campus. Selected playwrights will participate in Conference play labs, public readings and feedback sessions of these new works. Play submissions must be received by Dec. 10, 2007.

All submissions must be made electronically. Additional guidelines include:

• Individuals may submit one play only

• Scripts cannot be professionally produced (readings and amateur productions are acceptable)

• Submissions cannot be children’s plays of musicals

• The reading time of short play submission cannot exceed 30 minutes; long play submissions can be any length

• The submission must be a completed work, not a portion of a larger work

For a complete, detailed list of guidelines and submission inclusions, visit Great Plains Theatre Conference or email theatreconference@mccneb.edu.

The Great Plains Theatre Conference is a celebration and exploration of theatre, with emphasis on the work of new and emerging playwrights. The Conference will includes play labs, panel discussions, writers workshops, master classes and theatrical readings at which participants and attendees will have the opportunity to meet award-winning playwrights, directors, producers and actors, as well as critics and scholars. Evening events will include theatrical productions and re ceptions. Details, schedule and updates will be posted on www.mccneb.edu/theatreconference as they become available.

Aug 26, 2007 : We have a new mailing address. Please change the address in your records. Thank you:

Playwrights' Platform
398 Columbus Ave.
#604
Boston, MA 02116-6008

Aug 26, 2007 : Our first meeting of the Playwrights'Platform 2007-2008 season is scheduled for Sunday, September 9, 2007, at 7:00 pm at Lasell College in Newton, MA, in Rosen Auditorium, our new home for the 2007-2008 season. All meetings will take place in Rosen Auditorium unless otherwise noted.Directions can be found here.

Lasell is accessible by MBTA public transportation on the Green Line at the Riverside stop.Take the Green Line, D train, that says Riverside. Riverside is the last stop. It is within a one-mile walk or ride to the Lasell College Admission Office.

Our meetings are open to the public, free of charge.

For more information, see our calendar.

Aug 22, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform is pleased to announce that member Hortense Gerardo has had her short play, No Entry, accepted by the Desert Dramatists to be performed in Phoenix on November 2, 2007.

Congratulations, Hortense!

May 15, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform is pleased to announce that member Robert Boulrice has had his short play, Oy Yea, Oy Veh, accepted by the Stagecrafters New Works Festival at the Baldwin Theatre, Royal Oak, MI to be performed on July 28, 2007.

Congratulations, Bob!

May 7, 2007 : Kelly DuMar's one-act play, What We Save, will be produced by Boston Actors Theater's Summer Play Festival, August 2007. Each of the four selected one-act plays will have two performances and will be paired with another play. The Festival will be held at the Cambridge YMCA Family Theater on August 10 and 11, and 17 and 18.

What We Save has been developed in readings at Playwrights' Platform, Shadowboxing Theater and Image Theater, and has been produced by the Hovey Summer Arts Festival (2006). This production will be directed by Dan Webber. The other selected plays include: Members Only by AnneMarie Shea, directed by Jonathan Overby, Basil Pot by Caroline Gallo, directed by Danielle Leeber, and Yellow Lavender by Carl Rossi, (director TBD).

Now in its Third Season, the Boston Actors Theater has firmly established itself as a home for Boston area actors, writers and directors. Founded in 2004, Boston Actors Theater has attracted both critical acclaim and unique talent.

Auditions will be June 29 and 30. For more information, contact Danielle Leeber, Boston Actors Theater.

Apr 30, 2007 : Two plays by Playwrights' Platform member Peter Floyd, The Wish and Objective, will be performed at the Devanaughn Theatre's fifth annual Dragonfly Festival during the weekend of May 10 - 13. Performances will be at 8:00 pm on the 10th, 11th, and 12th, and at 3:00 on the 13th. The Devanaughn Theatre is located in the Piano Factory at 791 Tremont St., Boston. Tickets can be ordered at Devanaughn Theatre.

The Wish
Director: Lau Lapides
Cast: Zele Avradopoulos, Michael Nurse, Alan White

Objective
Director: Louisa Richards
Cast: Bob Mussett, Kara Dunne, Crystal Lisbon

Congratulations Peter!

Apr 12, 2007 : Jerry Bisantz' production of Distant Music, a new play by award winning Northampton playwright James McLindon, will appear on the perfect stage - upstairs at The Old Court, a wonderful Irish tavern at 2931 Central Street, downtown Lowell. Directed by Bisantz, Distant Music plays April 13, 14, 20 and 21 with two performances on the 14th and 21st, at 4:00PM and 8:00PM. Curtain on the 13th and 20 is at 8PM.

Distant Music is an ode to the power of faith, friendship and all things Guinness. While a blizzard howls outside, three extraordinary people seek emotional shelter in a Cambridge pub. As comfy as a warm, woolen- knitted sweater, Distant Music is an immensely literate play that weds the joys of the fine art of conversation with a distinct sprinkling of Irish humor, and possesses a quiet power that will remain with you long after the curtain falls.

Featuring:

Phil Thompson as Connor Curtin, Sally Nutt as Maeve Moore, and Jonathon Popp as Dev Hart. Stage- manager is Ann Garvin.

Image Theater is a not of profit theater company dedicated to the original plays and musicals of Massachusetts playwrights and composers. Since our first production, (Mill City Minutes), in 2005, we have presented the works of 29 playwrights and six composers. We are the founders of the popular “adult” series of plays, the “Keep Your Kids At Home Naughty Readings” and “Guy Stuff: Plays For Guys Who Hate Being Dragged To Plays”. Image Theater is the recipient of generous grants from the Lowell Cultural Council. We gladly accept any and all unpublished works by local writers.

For more information, go to Image Theater or call Jerry Bisantz at 978-866-2125.

Apr 12, 2007 : Gail Phaneuf’s short play, Urban Gardens, will enjoy a 3 week run at the South Camden Theatre Company’s spring show called “Facing Each Other” - An Evening of One-Act Plays ABOUT PREJUDICE beginning on April 20th.

This production will be directed by Tom Ehrhardt and will be performed at the SACRED HEART CHURCH, BROADWAY & FERRY AVE., CAMDEN, NJ April 20 to May 6, 2007. Friday & Saturday: 8 PM; Sunday: 1:30 PM. For Reservations: Call 856-456-2850 or E-Mail: info@southcamdentheatre.org

Urban Gardens was selected from a slate of one-act plays about prejudice. Set on an un-named city street, Urban Gardens explores the prickly subject of gentrification in an urban neighborhood. It was produced by Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival in 2005.

South Camden Theatre Company is a non-profit entity dedicated to revitalizing the city of Camden. Their mission embraces all people of race creed and culture using theatre and drama as a backdrop to bring history alive and encouraging a bright future for the neighborhood and surrounding area.

Apr 11, 2007 : Kelly DuMar's full-length drama, Weekend at the Dreaming Cloud, will have a staged reading on April 16, 2007, 7:30 p.m., in the Hunt Memorial Building, 6 Main Street, Nashua, NH.

This free public reading, directed by Leah Belanger, is sponsored by Yellow Taxi Productions, who selected Weekend at the Dreaming Cloud as one of four finalists for the Susan Mcyntyre Play Festival. The finalists will have staged readings and one will be selected for full production in 2008 by Yellow Taxi Productions based in Nashua. Playwrights' Platform member Jerry Bisantz is also a finalist for his play, The Straight Line, which will have a staged reading in Nashua on Sept. 17, 2007.

This is the third time Weekend at the Dreaming Cloud has been selected as a finalist in a play festival and the current version is a revision based on the staged reading sponsored by the Boston Actor's Theatre exactly one year ago.

"I've been developing this play since 2001, and it has been through countless re-writes and four developmental readings. Leah Belanger, the director of the Nashua reading, has invited me to her full-day rehearsal with the cast and this is a phenomenal opportunity for me to show up, collaborate with talented people, and really make the script production ready," DuMar said.

Set at a bed and breakfast in coastal Maine, Weekend at the Dreaming Cloud is "about first love, loss, addiction, grief, remorse, and recovering and healing from trauma,” DuMar said. The characters are “facing the impact of a tragedy in order to transform it. The journey of the play is how the ghost of a teenage boy who tragically died haunts the characters into adulthood and ultimately steers them toward redemption," DuMar said. "Does that sound dark? I hope not, because it's also tender, funny, sexy at times, and hopeful!"

This is Yellow Taxi’s third play contest in its five-year existence, and this is the second time Kelly has had a play selected. Her 15-minute play, Away Message, was given a staged reading as part of the New American Playwrights' Festival sponsored by Yellow Taxi Productions in 2003.

Apr 5, 2007 : 2007 SPRING NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT SERIES (WEEK 3)
Produced by the Footlight Club
In coordination with the efforts of members of the online discussion community -- Boston Playwrights Network

Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. from March 24 – April 14
At the Footlight Club
7A Eliot Street
Jamaica Plain, MA

FREE

THIS WEEK, Saturday, April 7
AMERICAN REX, by Patrick Brennan
Directed by Daniel Bourque

Featuring:
Peter Brown
Katheryne Holland
Hugh Beckett
Jonathon Myers
Art Hennessy
Elizabeth Rose
Joe Arbeeley
Shannon Daly
Eric Greimann

It's the biggest merger deal of all time, and a wedding to boot! Two great houses of American capitalism are joining forces, merging their companies and planning a CEO-to-CEO marriage. But as Rex, the prodigal son of one of the CEO's returns, he will have his own ideas about what should happen. American Rex is a super-sized, fast-forward satire about our media-saturated commercialized culture and the corporate crypto-royalty which rules it - and us. American Rex is all about poking a stick in the plasma-screen eye of our corporate overlords, and having a good laugh doing it.

Patrick M Brennan wrote and directed his first full-length play in 1983. Around Boston, his plays have been performed at the Boston Theater Marathon, Devanaughn Theatre, the Theatre Cooperative, Hovey Theater, Acme Theatre, Yellow Taxi Theatre, Arlington Center for the Arts, and Playwrights' Platform, while in New York, Patrick's plays have been produced at the Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival, the Pregnant Chad Theatre Festival, and the New York City 15-Minute Play Festival. Beyond the East Coast, several of his plays have been produced in Los Angeles, the Edinburgh Fringe, and in Australia. His full-length play First Person Shooter and several of his shorter plays have been published. Patrick is current president of Playwrights' Platform, a cooperative developmental theatre for new plays.

For more information on this series, go to the following webpage:
http://bostonplaywrightsnetwork.googlepages.com/2007springseries



2007 SPRING NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT SERIES (WEEK 4)
Produced by the Footlight Club
In coordination with the efforts of members of the online discussion community -- Boston Playwrights Network

Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. from March 24 - April 14
At the Footlight Club
7A Eliot Street
Jamaica Plain, MA

FREE

NEXT WEEK, Saturday, April 14
THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE, by Leslie Powell
Directed by Daniel Bourque

Elaine has waited for years to be called upon by her biological son Grady, whom she released for adoption at birth. She and her likewise liberal minded husband Jack are prepared to spend their Maine weekend hosting devout Free Will Baptist Grady and his shy girlfriend Mandy, but they are not prepared for Jack’s daughter, Dena, to arrive with her own lover Valerie the same weekend. When personalities collide alongside the present and the past, can the desire for connection between mother and son find its way through such a tangled web of relationships?

Leslie Powell lives and works in Newburyport, Massachusetts where she and Hailey Klein are co-founders of “Random Acts,” an annual play-in-a-day event. She is also co-founder with Ms. Klein of ‘Writers and Actors, INK,” a collaboration of writers and actors dedicated to the development of new plays. Leslie’s plays, often written with her co-writer Ron Pullins, have appeared in Newburyport, Boston, Portsmouth, in addition to Belfast, Maine and Tucson, Arizona.

For more information on this series, go to the following webpage:
http://bostonplaywrightsnetwork.googlepages.com/2007springseries

Mar 30, 2007 : Our Sunday Meeting is scheduled at DeWitt Hall in the Winslow Academic Center at Lasell College in Newton. Here is a map to Lasell, with links to get directions from your location:

DeWitt Hall at Lasell College

Here are directions from the Hovey Players.

Mar 24, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform has been asked to accommodate some last-minute scheduling problems at Hovey Players. We're sorry for the late notice, but please note that the following meeting dates are being moved to new venues:

April 1st : to be held at DeWitt Hall, Winslow Academic Center at Lasell College.

April 15 : to be held at the Yamawaki Auditorium at Lasell College.

April 22 : to be held at the Yamawaki Auditorium at Lasell College.

May 6 : to be held at the Yamawaki Auditorium at Lasell College.

We will get more detailed information, including directions, out to the membership this week.

Mar 23, 2007 : On Saturday, March 31, 2007, in vivo Productions and The Cambridge Center for Adult Education present the third and final installment of The Gecko in Winter play reading series. The 8:00 p.m. reading will take place at CCAE's Blacksmith House at 56 Brattle Street in Harvard Square and will feature Playwrights' Platform Member, Hortense Gerardo, who conceived of the Gecko reading series which has presented three readings each season, each showcasing a different playwright with Gerardo. The series casts local actors, and has received a steady following.

Saturday's reading will also showcase David Reiffel. Reiffel is a pianist, songwriter, and librettist, with work featured in the New Opera and Musical Theater Initiative?s Birth of a Musical Festival. He has also worked with Stoneham Theatre and the Cornelia Street Café in New York.

Reiffel will present excerpts from his new work Glory, a musical exploration of God, doubt, and politics in our time.

Hortense Gerardo and composer, Tony Carafone, will premiere their newest musical comedy, No Entry, based on the International Theological Commission's recent recommendations to do away with the concept of limbo.

Featured artists include: Abby Cordell, Bob deVivo, Katie Ford, John Graef, Jonny Lowell, Chris Mack and Shannon Muhs.

A question and answer period will follow the performance, with refreshments for audience members. Writers, composers, and actors will stay for questions.

This reading is co-produced by The Cambridge Center for Adult Education and sponsored in part by Hi-Rise Bread Factory; Cambridge, 1; Peet's Coffee & Tea; and Trader Joe's.

Tickets & Discounts: $10 / $5 for students, elders, and members of: Playwrights' Platform, New Opera and Musical Theatre Initiative (NOMTI), Stage Source, Boston Playwrights? Theatre, Dramatist Guild, International Centre for Women Playwrights, Writers' Guild of America.

To register call 617-547-6789 x1 or go to The Cambridge Center for Adult Education.

Mar 21, 2007 : Studio Playhouse, a program featuring short original plays by Boston area playwrights, will run throughout March and April on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., Mondays at 3:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., and Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. on NEWTV's Blue Channel (Comcast Channel 10, RCN Channel 15) and on NewTV's Green Channel (Comcast Channel 26 and RCN 3).

The play selected for March is Spam, a hilarious comedy written by Playwrights' Platform members Sandy Burns, and Lydia Plumleigh-Bruce, featuring Lida Mc Girr and Steve Lillis in the roles of Denise and Walter, and Allison Ritts and Chris Mack as the Spam characters. Spam won the Audience Choice Award at the Playwrights' Platform 2005 Festival of New Plays and has been produced in several theatrical venues across the country.

Check NEWTV for further airtimes.

Mar 20, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform was pleased to present a production of member Chris King's one-act comedy, A Mother In My Head, at the Shea Theatre in Turner's Falls, MA., on March 10, 2007. Mother in My Head was read at Playwrights' Platform in 2006.

We'd like to congratulate the wonderful cast and director for their talent, energy and commitment in bringing this show to Turner's Falls, and we look forward to a local production soon.

This fine production was directed by Lau Lapides who teaches drama at Babson and Bentley. Lau also directed Chris King's Boston Theatre Marathon production in 2006, A Ticklish Situation, as well as a production of his Dark Retreat at our Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival 2006.

  Mother in My Head Cast:

Mary Able,  played by Emily Evans. Emily is a graduate in Theater from Brandeis. she has appeared in many productions around Boston.

  Manny Baker, played by Matt Mashburn, a sophomore at Babson who enjoys acting in film.

  Mrs. Baker, played by Penny Benson, a Playwrights Platform Actor in Residence and winner of Best Actor in the 2006 Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival.

Mrs. Able, played by Molly McDowell of New Hampshire a busy working actress.

 

Mar 13, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform member Judith Plummer's short play, The Eskimo Rule, which was revised following its first reading at Playwrights' Platform, has been accepted for the Short Play Lab at the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. All selected playwrights will attend a two-day master class with Edward Albee and other playwrights.

In 1993, Edward Albee and Dr. Jo Ann C. McDowell began a collaborative project to produce a nationally recognized Theatre Conference. As a result, Albee and Dr. McDowell held the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Alaska for 12 years. The commitment was made the transition to a new frontier through the 1st Annual Great Plains Theatre Conference, and we are pleased to announce the dates for the 2nd Annual Great Plains Theatre Conference: May 26-June 4, 2007.

Congratulations Judith!

Mar 13, 2007 : Gail Phaneuf's new play, Binding the Artful Dodger, previously read at Playwrights' Platform, was performed March 7, 2007, as part of the Provincetown Reading Series, Provincetown Theater at 238 Bradford St. in Provincetown, MA.

A dance. A confession. A lie. A bind. In a gripping new play, Boston playwright Gail Phaneuf brings the bright fluorescent halls of suburban high school life to the darker places adolescents sometimes go - places adults often fail to see.

"Binding the Artful Dodger" is a play about Cassie, a 17-year-old dancer battling teen angst and more, looking for connection and comfort in a reserved guidance counselor. In her quest for acceptance, Cassie pries into Ms. Minuck's private and solitary world, and in the end, she will push too far.

In one 90-minute act, Phaneuf explores the self-destructive toll of secrets kept in shame. A lovely dancer under the lights, Cassie starves herself behind closed doors. And Ms. Minuck, a woman of deep faith, feels foreign in her own skin.

Patrick Falco directed the reading and Terry Norgeot choreographed the dance numbers for the piece that was performed by Kara Griffin. Patti Hathaway portrayed Miss Minuk and Devon McFadden played the role of Cassie. Lee Roscoe read stage directions.

"This will not be your typical reading," says Phaneuf, "the integration of dance into the script is a central part of the piece. In order for the audience to experience the reading fully, we felt that it was vital to include some of the dance numbers, instead of simply having them described with stage directions. When we see a dancer we are awed by their beauty and grace, but are often unaware of the difficulties they face every day in a world where eating disorders are rampant and perfection is an expectation.”

Phaneuf is well known to Provincetown theater, both as an actress and a playwright. She played the role of Anna Paula Vogel's "The Baltimore Waltz" for the Provincetown Players and has performed in several Provincetown readings. Her edgy 10-minute play "Random Selection" was performed at Provincetown Theatre Company's Spring Playwrights' Festival and has gone on to be published and produced several times in Boston.

This new work comes on the heels of Phaneuf's professional fall production of “Monsters!” in Boston, a comic musical she co-wrote with Ernie Lijoi.

The reading was sponsored by The Provincetown Realty Group.

Contact: Michelle McGrath - 617-688-4297 - threeandwe@mac.com

Mar 13, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform members Jerry Bisantz and Kelly DuMar have had their full-length plays selected for the Susan McIntyre Playwriting Reading Series, 2007 sponsored by Yellow Taxi Productions, Nashua, NH. They are among four finalists who will have a staged reading of their play by actors with audience feedback, and one of the plays will be selected for a full production at their March 2008 Play Festival.

Kelly DuMar's play, Weekend at the Dreaming Cloud, will be staged on April 16, 2007 at the Hunt Memorial Building in downtown Nashua (time TBD). Jerry Bisantz' play, The Straight Line which has recently been read at Playwrights' Plaform, will receive a staged reading in September 2007 (date, time, location TBD).

Mar 7, 2007 : Playwrights Platform member Phyllis Rittner, will be performing opposite Jimmy Tingle in The Boys of Winter, a dramatic reading of a new antiwar play co–written by Barry Brodsky, and featuring Jimmy Tingle, Sunday April 1, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. at Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway Theater, 255 Elm Street, Davis Squage, Somerville, MA.

The performance will be followed by a discussion with Iraq and Vietnam Veterans Benefit for Veterans For Peace. The event is co–sponsored by Newton Dialogues on Peace and War, Chelsea Uniting Against The War, United For Justice With Peace (UJP), and others.

Tickets are $20; $18 seniors, $10 students. The toll–free ticket number is 866–811–4111, and the box–office is 617–591–1616. For more info go to jtoffbroadway.com

Mar 5, 2007 : The Shea Theatre announced its Third Annual New Works Festival, showcasing plays by Massachusetts playwrights. Taking place this year on Saturday, March 10 at 8pm, the festival has become the major late winter event featuring new comedies and dramas.

“We’re delighted to see that the Shea New Works Festival has become an established home for the best in emerging Massachusetts theater,” said Shea Theatre executive director Debra J’Anthony. “Writers, theater groups, and audiences come literally from all over the state to create and enjoy new experiences.”

Currently on the evening’s bill are A Mother In My Head, a comedy by Christopher L. King being produced by Playwrights’ Platform of Boston, and Sammy’s Game by Christopher Lockheardt, produced by the Shadow Box Theatre of Fitchburg.

A Mother In My Head is a humorous peek inside just how much lasting influence mothers have on their offspring. The Shadow Box Theatre, which typically does shadow puppet productions for children, is adapting its methods for Sammy’s Game, a very adult life-and-death sport happening in the shadows of an alley.

To further expand the audience experience, The Shea has arranged for intermission refreshments to be provided by a gourmet coffee and tea shop.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for seniors. For reservations, please call (413) 863-2281 and leave your name, the number of tickets you want, and please mention that they are for the New Works Festival.

Feb 28, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform member Kelly DuMar's short play, Bloom, is currently airing on Studio Playhouse of NEWTV, and can be viewed until March 17 according to the schedule below. Produced by Playwrights Platform member Regina Eliot-Ramsay for NewTV, Bloom features Playwrights' Platform member Elizabeth T. Rose as Kristy and Max Bisantz as Josh. In this vignette, KRISTY, a divorced mother, wakes suddenly from an afternoon dream to find her son, JOSH, dressing for his senior prom. His father has already provided all the essentials – money, a condom, a car – and what KRISTY hopes will be a chance to share a special milestone with her son becomes a poignant awakening to change, loss and letting go.

The schedule for Bloom until March 17:

Blue Channel Comcast 10
Sunday 4:30 pm and 11:30 pm
Monday 3:30 pm and 11pm
Tues 4:30 pm

Green channel Comcast 26
Sat 4:00 pm
Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs - 4:00 pm

Bloom was first produced by Playwrights' Platform at the Shea Theatre in Turners Falls, MA, 2005, and at the Playwrights' Platform Annual Summer Festival 2005 where it won the Playwrights' Choice Award. Nominated by Playwrights' Platform, it was accepted into the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival, New York City, July 2005, where it was produced in 2005 featuring Elizabeth T. Rose. Additionally, it has been produced by The Philipstown Depot One Act Festival, NY, 2005, Acme New Works Winter Festival, 2006, and the Flint City Theater Festival, MI, 2006. Bloom is published by Heuer Publishing .

Following the play, there is a televised interview with Kelly DuMar by Playwrights' Platform member Geralyn Horton, discussing the development of the play, Playwrights' Platform, and the International Center for Women Playwrights'. For more information, contact Kelly DuMar.

Feb 18, 2007 : Three current and former members of Playwrights' Platform have had their plays selected for production in this spring's Provincetown Players Spring Playwrights Festival. The plays will be produced between April 1 and April 15th, 2007, at the Provincetown Theater.

Platform member George Sauer's play Trick will be read on April 7th at 2 PM.

Former Platform member Jillian Weise's play Chief of the Dinner Table will be performed on April 6th and 7th at 7:30 PM.

Platform member Patrick M Brennan's play Milgram's War will be performed on April 14th at 7:30 PM and April 15th at 2 PM.

All readings and performances will take place at:

The Provincetown Theater/New Provincetown Players
238 Bradford Street
Provincetown, MA 02657
508-487-7487 x2

Feb 14, 2007 : in vivo Productions and The Cambridge Center for Adult Education present “The Gecko In Winter” at 56 Brattle Street – February 24th at 8pm

On February 24th, 2007, in vivo Productions and The Cambridge Center for Adult Education bring the season’s second installment of “The Gecko In Winter,” its annual play-reading showcase, to Cambridge.

Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro presents, Sir Rat and Squire Mouse, an adaptation of Don Quixote for children, their parents, and especially their grandparents.

Hortense Gerardo premieres her new work, The Rosewater of Doña Felicidad, an allegorical tale for children and adults based on Marlowe’s, Doctor Faustus.

Featuring: Anthony Cafcio, Judy Davis, Owen Doyle, Chris King, June Lewin, Scott Severance, Phil Thompson and Charles Turner.

After the readings, the playwrights and actors will answer questions from the audience.

This reading is co-produced by The Cambridge Center for Adult Education and sponsored in part by Hi-Rise Bread Factory, Cambridge, 1 and Peet’s Coffee & Tea.


Date: February 24, 2007
Time: 8pm
Location: The Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Blacksmith House
56 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA 02138

Tickets: $10 / $5 for students, elders, and members of: Playwrights’ Platform, New Opera and Musical Theatre Initiative (NOMTI), Stage Source, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Dramatist Guild, International Centre for Women Playwrights, Writers’ Guild of America.

CCAE Box Office - 617-547-6789

URL’s: www.ccae.org

Feb 13, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform Member Chris King's one act play A Mother In My Head has been selected to be performed at The Shea Theatre of Turners Falls, Massachusetts, as part of a night of one-acts to be performed on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. We were very pleased by the quality of scripts submitted for the festival, and we're looking forward to the performance!

Feb 12, 2007 : Eight Playwrights' Platform members will have plays featured in the "Celebration of Women's Voices Festival," hosted by Wellesley Summer Theatre, in the Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre, March 3, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

This evening of staged readings is part of the International Center for Women Playwrights', month-long presentation of Boston-area women's plays celebrating International Women's Day March 8. Featured playwrights include: Ludmilla Anselm (Three Friends), Marika Barnett (Chekhov and Pinter Take a Pause), Kelly DuMar (Clay), Hortense Gerardo (The Dress Rehearsal), Holly Jensen (an excerpt from Stripped), Gail Phaneuf (New Tricks), Regina Eliot Ramsay (The Perfect Stranger), and Phyllis Rittner (Breeding Season).

Following the plays, Nora Hussey, head of the theatre department at Wellesley College and Artistic Director of the Wellesley Summer Theatre, will moderate a panel discussion with Boston-area directors to discuss the plays and explore how the theatrical culture can be influenced to be more receptive to producing plays by women. Featured directors include: Michelle Aguillon (Hovey Players), Jerry Bisantz (Playwrights' Platform/Image Theater), Rose Carlson (Executive Director, Devanaughn Theatre), Lisa Rafferty (Freelance Director and Producer/MOMologues Productions) and Nancy Curran Willis (formerly with Gloucester Stage Company & Boston Theatre Works).

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served from 7:00 until 7:30 when the readings begin. The Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre is on the lower level of Alumnae Hall and is wheelchair accessible. There is ample free parking in the Davis covered parking structure adjacent to the theatre. Reservations are not necessary.

Feb 5, 2007 : Long-time Playwrights' Platform Member Geralyn Horton, has been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in Talking To Terrorists by the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE). Congratulations Geralyn! The results will be announced March 19, 2007.

THE 10th ANNIVERSARY IRNE AWARDS will be held at The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) in its CYCLORAMA on Monday March 19, 2007 at 8 P.M.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA or COMEDY
Large :
Geneva Carr in RABBIT HOLE (Huntington)
Barbara Meek in THE CHERRY ORCHARD (Trinity Repertory Co)

Small:
Marina Re in HOLES (Wheelock Family Theatre)
Maureen Keiller in THE WOMEN (SpeakEasy)
Mary Klug in THE WOMEN and FIVE BY TENN (SpeakEasy)
Eve Kagan in TALKING TO TERRORISTS (Sugan)
Geralyn Horton in TALKING TO TERRORISTS (Sugan)

Jan 26, 2007 : Marika Barnett's short play, The Eleventh Minute was filmed recently by Newton Cable TV. The Eleventh Minute won numerous awards last year, including the Audience Choice Award (Series A) at the 2006 Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival held at the Boston Playwrights’ Theater, June 2006. Heuer Publishing instantly published it.

Studio Playhouse of Newton Cable TV is a program featuring short original plays by Boston area playwrights. The play selected for January is The Eleventh Minute, a satire about 10-minute plays, written by Marika Barnett, features actors Jerry Bisantz and Mark Leahy, and it ran last week in Newton to very favorable reviews. For more information, visit NEWTV, Playwrights' Platform Member Regina Eliot-Ramsay is in charge of this project with Newton Cable Television.

In Marika's opinion, "The play has no redeeming social value what so ever. As a matter of fact, it is about nothing. Absolutely nothing! But that – I am told - it is written very well!"

Marika adds, "If you have an opportunity to see it, please do! Or please forward it to friends who live in Newton. If you wish to have this play for your own town’s Cable TV, please let me know."

The schedule (posted on February 26th) for next two weeks is as follows:
Blue channel (Comcast 10; RCN 15)
Sunday - 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
Monday - 3:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
Tues - 4:30 p.m.
Green channel (Comcast 26; RCN 3)
Friday 2:00 p.m.
Mon - 4:00 p.m.
Tues - 4:00 p.m.
Wed - 4:00 p.m.
Thurs - 4:00 p.m.

Jan 23, 2007 : Playwright's Platform member Richard Pacheco will be directing a reading of Holly Jensen's play, One Two Many at The Slice of Life Festival, Middleboro, MA, which will also feature the acting talents of Suzanne Taylor and "Best Actor" Emanuel Ward.

One Two Many, first produced by Playwrights' Platform, won the Playwrights' Choice Award, Series A, in the 2006 Playwrights' Platform Festival, for which Emanuel Ward won the Best Actor Award. Richard Pacheco directed Ward and Suzanne Taylor in this production.

Theatre One Productions presents A SLICE OF LIFE 10 minute play festival FEATURING 20 DIFFERENT PLAYS DURING THE THREE PERFORMANCES DATES Friday and Saturday Evenings, February 9 and 10 at 8 pm. There will be A Sunday Matinee at 2 pm February 11.

Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 or $25 for all 3 performances with 50/50 raffle and cash bar at the festival to be held at the VFW Hall 8 Station St. Middleboro MA 02346

On Saturday February 10 from 10 am to 4 pm there will be a THINK SPRING CRAFT FAIR.

For information, call 1-508-947-7716.

Jan 23, 2007 : Playwrights' Platform member Eliza Wyatt has taken several workshops from the Royal National Theatre's Jack Bradley and will pass on valuable hints, especial emphasis on Story in a workshop, below:

Date: 24th Feburary
Time; 10.30 am to 4 pm.
Place: Boston Playwrights' Theatre, 949 Comm. Ave., Boston, MA
Cost: $45, $15 for students

For more information contact: Eliza Wyatt

Jan 9, 2007 : On January 27th, 2007, in vivo Productions and The Cambridge Center for Adult Education bring The Gecko In Winter, its 3rd annual play-reading showcase to Cambridge. The Gecko In Winter play-reading series was inspired by a similar series based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it was referred to as The Monday Night Lizard.

Alan Brody presents Are You Popular? the third in The Victory Blues Trilogy, a cycle of three plays that also includes The Housewives of Manheim, and Victory Blues. The three plays cover the time from 1944 to 1956. They begin in Brooklyn and follow the move to the suburbs of three Jewish-American families before and after the men return from World War Two. Are You Popular? introduces the children of those families who are now in high school.

Hortense Gerardo premieres excerpts from a new work, On the Fabric of the Human Body about the life of Andreas Vesalius, the father of modern anatomy, who defended the need to undertake human dissection at a time when the Inquisition banned such investigations for fear of corrupting the soul.

Featuring: Jerry Bisantz, Patrick Brennan, Katie Ford, Ashley Harmon, Will Luera, Karen Woodward Massey, Elizabeth Rose and Sam O’Reilly.

This performance is co-produced by The Cambridge Center for Adult Education and sponsored in part by Hi-Rise Bread Factory.

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 56 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA, Tickets: $10; CCAE Box Office - 617-547-6789. For more information, e-mail Hortense Gerardo or call 617-797-4545.

Jan 5, 2007 : Image Theater's upcoming RESTAURANT READING SERIES will feature one-act plays by Playwrights' Platform Members Sandy Burns, George Masselam, Kelly DuMar and Jerry Bisantz. The readings, on February 9 and 10 at restaurants in Lowell are free admission and will start at 8:00 p.m.

Friday, February 9, 8:00 p.m., Brew'd Awakening Coffee, Market Street, Downtown Lowell:

THE CARPENTER
A play in one act by Sandy Burns
A trusted American playwright is unable to gain his freedom until he writes a play that has been "ordered" from certain government authorities. A "Cold War" feel that cuts to the bone and is eerily reminiscent of today's headlines.

BEATING DEATH
A play in one act by George M. Masselam
Two sisters, confronted with the inevitable death of a sibling, play a high stakes game of truth or dare that tests their love, their trust and their futures.

Saturday, February 10, 8:00 p.m. at The Mambo Grille, Merrimack Street, Lowell:

WHAT WE SAVE
A play in one act by Kelly DuMar
Beliefs are fractured and marriages are put to the test when two trunks tucked away in attics on either side of the country uncover a past that demands reckoning.

HELL OF A GUY
A comedy in ten minutes by Jerry Bisantz
Mom's having a tough time breaking up with Dad when she is confronted with an intervention in a seedy motel room in Maine. After all, Dad's a "hell of a guy!"

IT IS WHAT IT IS
A play in ten minutes by David L. Sullivan
Mike's much too calm about his break up, and Kevin wants to know why. The problem is, Kevin finds out…and it ain't pretty!

Jan 3, 2007 : Spam!, by Playwrights' Platform members Lydia Bruce and Sandy Burns, will be produced Friday and Saturday, January 12th and 13th, in Hillsdale, Michigan as part of the Hillsdale Annex Play Festival. Spam! was first produced by Playwrights’ Platform at the Summer Festival in 2005. The production in Hillsdale came about as a result of the producer seeing the play last January at another theater in Michigan. Congratulations Lydia and Sandy!

Dec 21, 2006 : Presenting rare photographs from more than a dozen community theaters to document and celebrate the rich tapestry of theater life, Greater Boston Community Theater by Judson Lee Pierce is the next new gem. Pierce has gathered over 200 vintage images to capture the essence of how community theater played a vital role in everyday life. You don't want to miss this exceptional piece of history! Highlights of Greater Boston Community Theater: A portion of the proceeds from the book are being donated to the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters.

The book reveals vintage photographs dating back to America's first community theater, the Footlight Club in Jamaica Plain, from 1877-present Bullet Point.

Community theater represents a microcosm of the Greater Boston area. Bankers, bakers, construction workers and home workers all gather together on a project to bring quality theater to their suburban communities. It is a team effort and represents the best in civic participation. This book, through the use of vintage images, celebrates this process.

Available at area b