Short Summary
Hello! My name is Cassandra Rose. I'm a Chicago based playwright and dramaturg. My plays have been performed at more than a few local theatres, including Chicago Dramatists, Cold Basement Dramatics, and Jackalope Theatre Company. Last year I attended the inaugural session of the Kenyon Playwrights Conference, part of the Kenyon Summer Institute in Gambier, OH. For more information about the conference check out www.kenyoninstitute.org. I am thrilled to announce that I have been accepted into this gorgeous program for a second time, and to raise funds necessary for such an adventure I'd like to write you a play.
What I Need & What You Get
Think of this project as a merit-based scholarship. The Kenyon Playwrights Conference, in total, costs $2000. That cost includes housing, workshops, seminars, play readings, and all meals. Kenyon College does have a small reserve of needs-based and merit-based financial aid they can provide to conference participants, but I personally need to raise at least $1000 to make my trip a reality.
Basically, I want to write a ton of plays for a ton of people. Each play starts with a donor giving me me the number of a random page in the Random House Webster's dictionary, and I write that donor a play based on one of the words from the page. The length of you play depends on the size of the donation. The longer the play, the more input the donor gets. For three page plays, the donor also chooses a dramatic element that becomes part of the story of their play. For the ten minute plays, the donor gets to pick a dramatic element and the genre of the play. Last year I wrote 51 plays, but I think this year we can do better than that.
Between January 27th and February 28th: I hope to write 40 one page plays.
Between March 3rd and March 28th: I hope to write 20 three page plays (or five plays/week)
Between March 31st and May 9th: I hope to write 6 ten minute plays (or one play/week)
That's potentially 66 plays written over 15 weeks.
What exactly could I write in one page? Here's one that I wrote last year based on the word HEAVENSWARD:
MADAME GEORGETTE DE HONORE addresses the members of the press (TRAHERN, ZULEIKA, and LINDSAY) in front of her.
MADAME GEORGETTE: And furthermore, this dirigible is greater than another bloated hovering curio. I plan to take her into the atmosphere, the stratosphere, and above-the-sphere itself!
TRAHERN, ZULEIKA, and LINDSAY: Madame Georgette! Madame Georgette!
TRAHERN: How do you plan to navigate after the loss of of your second in command?
MADAME GEORGETTE: It is true, the sudden death of Lieutenant Darvis was an unexpected blow to me, to all of us, but I have the utmost confidence in the remaining crew to carry out their tasks without compromise.
ZULEIKA: Are the rumors true, then? Were you and him not just compatriots but lovers as well?
MADAME GEORGETTE: I do not believe in rumors, Zuleika, and neither should you. Lieutenant Darvis was a great man, one of the greatest I have ever known. He deserved to die from something more exciting than an undiagnosed heart murmur the night before our expedition. But really, gentleman, we must get going or we'll lose this northernly current.
TRAHERN, ZULEIKA, and LINDSAY: Madame Georgette! Madame Georgette! One more! Madame Georgette!
LINDSAY: What if you meet God on your trip?
MADAME GEORGETTE stops. She turns back.
MADAME GEORGETTE: Then he'll have a lot of explaining to do, won't he?
The expedition embarks.
For Leslie Nesbit. Pg 619 of The Dictionary Project: Heat-Treat to Hecatomb. April 22, 2013.
At the end of the summer all plays will be given a once over and turned into a complete collection. That means there will be a book AND a live performance for folks to enjoy. So what do you say? Pick your play using the perks on the right-hand side of the screen!
The Impact
At the Kenyon Playwrights Conference, I get to meet and work with playwrights, literary managers, and artistic directors from around the globe. It's a week of not worrying about a day job, outside projects, housekeeping, or the hustle and bustle of Chicago. It's a week of pure theatre. Last year's session led to an entire reevaluation of my work and my place in the larger theatrical community. I can't wait to see what work I bring back this summer.
Beyond helping me out of a cash flow crunch, The Dictionary Project helps force me to write at an accelerated pace. The restrictions of this writing challenge allow me to move beyond the self-doubt, writer's block, and any other fears that might be hiding behind my keystrokes. At the end of the day all that's left is the play that you deserve to read, and the plays I know I still need to write.
Other Ways You Can Help
Share this campaign with friends and family through social media. And positive messages of support make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. If you'd like to purchase a copy of last year's 51 plays, you can follow the links below. Thank you for your time!
paperback copy: http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.as...
ebook copy: https://payhip.com/b/LeRW