As a member of the Dramatists Guild, you receive a rundown of the latest industry news, DG events, member shout-outs, and so much more. From submission deadlines to community engagement opportunities, we’ll keep you in the loop. Not a part of the Guild yet, but still want access? Join today.
NEWS
Weekend Warrior: Playwriting in a Changed World: Resources, Opportunities, & Strategies
Saturday, November 07 & Sunday, November 08
We live and work in a time of new realities and shifting standards in theatre. What does this changed landscape mean for you and your work?
What opportunities are still available to you, and what do you need to know to navigate the flux?
Join us for our new DGI Workshop, Playwriting in a Changed World: Resources, Opportunities, and Strategies a weekend of concentrated learning, sharing, and discussion, that will prepare you for what comes next. This weekend-long virtual event will feature panels led by Todd London, Christine Toy Johnson, Kia Corthron, and Aurin Squire. Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
DG Copyright Management presents: Writing Politics with Robert Schenkkan
Friday, October 16 at 3:30 pm
Politics and theatre are often intertwined…some have even said that writing drama is an inherently political act. Writing an explicitly political work, though, has its own unique set of consequences and considerations.
Join DG Copyright Management (DG©M) on Friday, October 16 at 3:30pm EDT, for a conversation with Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning author Robert Schenkkan (All the Way, Great Society, Building the Wall, The Kentucky Cycle), in which we will examine the process of writing politics. Topics will include: What motivates a political work? How can a political work impact and build community? What rights issues are involved when writing about political figures? What are the consequences? This discussion will be moderated by DG Co-Executive Director and DG©M Board Member, Ralph Sevush.
Welcome to the Guild, Aisha and Ry!
The Guild is pleased to announce the addition of two new staff members to our Business Affairs team! Aisha DeCoteau is our new Director of Business Affairs and Ry Armstrong is our new Business Affairs Associate. We also want to congratulate longtime BA staff and former Director of Business Affairs, Deborah Murad on her new position as Executive Director of DG Copyright Management (DG©M) and Amy VonMacek, our former Manager of Business Affairs, who now serves as Director of Council Programs. Kristin Kapinos, our former Business Affairs Associate started her first year at law school and will continue to work with DG©M.
Aisha DeCoteau, Director of Business Affairs
Aisha DeCoteau graduated from Nyack College with a degree in Sociology, and later attended New York Law School to receive her J.D, where she focused on Intellectual Property. DeCoteau has over ten years of experience counseling media companies (HBO and VICE Media) on legal and business affairs matters, and she uses her knowledge of the media and the entertainment industry to assist members on copyright, contracts, and other business-related matters. DeCoteau was born in raised in Brooklyn, New York, and is admitted to the New York State Bar.
Ry Armstrong, Business Affairs Associate
Born and raised in Seattle, Ry grew up in a place where the mountains meet the sea. Surrounded by the arts, he was compelled to follow a path to study Theatre Arts and earned a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Central Washington University and a M.A. in International Relations from American University. The move across the country allowed him to meet more artists, and inspired him to finalize his first recording project, Crossroads. While this charity album for Broadway Cares paid homage to his roots, producing this work was the catalyst for him to begin his own independent record label and production company.
If you have a Business Affairs related question, or an unsigned contract that needs to be reviewed, use the BA Help Desk to begin your conversation with BA today!
We're proud to announce our political engagement contest, “Call and Response.” This October, we’re asking writers to contact their representatives at the local, state, and federal level to bring attention to issues affecting dramatists. At the top of our list is: Healthcare, the Copyright Claims Board in The CASE ACT, and the Arts Work Relief Bill, DAWN. Use #DGcallandresponse to send us a picture or screencap of you reaching out to your representative, and you’ll be entered to win a complimentary copy of Final Draft.
Have you heard of the DAWN Act? You should! DAWN stands for "Defend Arts Workers Now." It's a bill that will be presented to the House and Senate to fight for the support of arts workers during the economic turmoil brought on by the pandemic.
Last year, the arts industry added $877 billion to the United States GDP. Our field adds more to the GDP than transportation, agriculture, construction, and tourism. It's an industry of 5.1 million jobs across the US, and it's in trouble.
According to a Brookings Institution report, by July 31, 2020, an estimated 2.7 million jobs, and more than $150 billion in sales of goods and services for creative industries, were lost? But the DAWN Act could help artists move forward.
#DGuknow that the DAWN Act would provide the NEA, NEH, IMLS, CPB, and the SBA with $43.85 billion with which to make grants to the operators, employees, and artists of live venues, recording venues, cultural spaces, and related businesses to address the effects of the pandemic?
The DAWN Act would be a lifeline for our industry, but we need your help to make it happen. Please contact your senators and representatives, and encourage them to support DAWN.
Copyright Advocacy Month may be over, but copyright is not a passive act. Download our curated list of materials, and watch our videos, and read our articles to learn exactly what copyright means, how it benefits theatrical writers, and what you can do to protect your copyright. Become an expert in copyright, and how it affects your career.
DOWNLOAD OUR ADVOCACY GUIDE SHEET
RESOURCE CALENDAR
October 11
SAN DIEGO Second Sunday Readings
October 12
Community Conversation Bias Manifested (Rattlestick Theater)
October 14
WGGB ONLINE Build Your Brand to Win Work
NYC ONLINE Write Now!
UNITED KINGDOM ONLINE Silent Writing and Creative Open Sessions
October 16
NYC ONLINE Write Now!
Thinking About What's Next: Making A Career Transition
DG Copyright Management Presents: Writing Politics with Robert Schenkkan
NYC ONLINE Friday Night Footlights® feat. SOLSTICE MOON by Bill Lynch
October 19
Career Services Online: Keep the Momentum Going
KENTUCKY ONLINE Online Gathering and Meet & Greet with Brian Walker
October 20
WGGB ONLINE Stress Busting
Supercharge Your LinkedIn Profile, Presence, Platform & Relationships; 4-Step Process to Elevate Your LinkedIn Results
October 21
NYC ONLINE Write Now!
UNITED KINGDOM ONLINE Silent Writing and Creative Open Sessions
October 22
WGGB ONLINE Get Fit for Freelancing
FLORIDA ONLINE Agents - What They Do and What They Look For
October 23
NYC ONLINE Write Now!
FLORIDA ONLINE Dramatist Cocktail Hour
NYC ONLINE Friday Night Footlights® feat. Jewish In An Hour by Carl Kissin
THE DRAMATIST
New Articles on The Dramatist Blog
Ambassador Report: New York State - Hudson Valley
by Dominic D'Andrea
Ambassador Report: New Mexico
by Talia Pura
Ambassador Report: Maine
by Andrea Lepcio
Ambassador Report: Indiana
by Mark Levine
Ambassador Report: Florida - Panhandle
by Paul Donnelly
Ambassador Report: California - San Diego
by Aleta Barthell and Thelma de Castro
Ambassador Report: California - Lon Beach/Orange County
by Diana Burbano
NEWS: AAPAC Releases Diversity Report for NYC Theatres
National Report: Puerto Rico
by Brigitte Viellieu-Davis and Tere Martinez
Copyright Advocacy: Between Never & Forever
by David Faux
NEWS: Elizabeth Van Dyke Name as New AD for New Federal Theatre
NEWS: Page 73 Announces 2020 Fall Residencies
Copyright Advocacy: "We Shall Overcome" Could Not Overcome the Public Domain
NEWS: Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival
NEWS: WP Theater Announces 2020-2022 Lab Artists
Copyright Advocacy: Fighting with Teenagers - A Copyright Story
by Jason Robert Brown
Copyright Advocacy: Childress V. Taylor
by Cheryl Davis
NEWS: 2020 Doris Duke Awards
Copyright Advocacy: The Varied Copyrights of Theatre
by David Faux and Ralph Sevush
Ambassador Report: New York City
by Yvette Heyliger
Ambassador Report: South Florida
by Arianna Rose
Ambassador Report: Central Pennsylvania
by Cindy Dlugolecki
Copyright Advocacy: The WGA Script Registry is No Substitute for Copyright Registration
by Larry Zerner
NEWS: Jeff Awards Announces 2020 Equity Nominees, Non-Equity Nominees & Recipients
Ambassador Report: Queens, NY
by Kathleen Warnock
NEWS: Greater Good Commission and Festival
OP/ED Writing My America
by Christine Toy Johnson
NEWS: Stephanie Alison Walker Awarded 2019 Primus Prize
Easter New England 2019/20 Season In Review
by Patrick Gabridge
Western New England 2019/20 Season In Review
by Emma Palzere-Rae
New York State 2019/20 Season In Review
by Donna Hoke
Copyright Advocacy Month: Playwrights and Copyright
by Doug Wright
FINANCIAL HELP
DGF has distributed more than $750,000 in Emergency Grants this year.
For over 50 years, DGF has administered Emergency Grants that provide financial aid to writers in serious need. These grants are available to playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists at all stages of their careers.
TICKET OFFERS
Share Your Live Stream Productions!
We are rebuilding this newsletter feature to better promote member productions. To view a list of upcoming live streams, please use the button below. Members are now able to submit their live stream readings and productions to our new Productions webpage.
Upcoming Live Streams
Jack was Kind
by Tracy Thorne
Loneliness Was A Pandemic
by Olivia Haller
Under The Greenwood Tree
by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery
empowHer Reading Series
by Kate Bell, Jessica Charles, Cayenne Douglas, Loren Escandon, Allison Fradken, Emma Goldman Sherman, Deborah Pena, Robin Rice, Nandita Shenoy, Jane Willis
American Moor
by Keith Hamilton Cobb
Laura Galindo in Concert!
by Laura Galindo
Earthquake Weather
by Chas Belov
RESOURCE DIRECTORY SUBMISSION DEADLINES
October 10: Playwrights First
October 15: Rockford New Words
October 15: ShowOff! Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival
October 15: University of Houston 10 Minute Play Festival
October 15: Women's Work Lab
October 16: Bay Area Playwrights Festival
October 23: University of Washington School of Drama Asst Prof Tenure Track
October 30: Richard Rodgers Award
October 31: Stanley Drama Award
October 31: The Reva Shiner Comedy Award
October 31: Valley Theater Company
November 01:ASF Fellowships/Grants to Study in Scandinavia
November 01: Coe College Playwriting Festival
November 01: EST/Sloan Project
November 01: L.B. Williams Playwriting Contest for BIPOC Writers
November 01: MKE MaKEs
November 01: New Works Festival at Redhouse
November 01: Rise Against Fanaticism Through The Arts Scriptwriting Award
November 01: Snow Dance 10-Minute Comedy Festival
November 01: This Round's On Us Short Play Festival
November 09: Downtown Urban Arts Festival
November 11: Criminal Queerness Festival
November 13: SITA Awards
November 15: Lakeshore Players 10-Minute Play Festival
November 15: Lift Every Voice - Black Women Speak Monologue Festival
November 15: PLAYground Festival of Fresh Works
November 18: Shakespeare's New Contemporaries
November 19: Jerome Fellowships
November 20: Call For Proposals: Block by Block
November 20: Call For Proposals: Me and Black Lives Matter
Contact your representative at the local, state, and federal level to bring attention to issues impacting dramatists, and enter to win a free copy of Final Draft! Watch our video below.
Music By Kevin MacLeod / Music License Information