The Submission Guidelines that are stirring up the theatrical community...

August 06, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Contests, Playwriting, Community, Literary

So as most of you probably know, playwrights do not make a lot of money living off of their creative words. And as most of you probably know, artists don't enter the artistic field in pursuit of money. There are various reasons, but most people enter their artistic field because it is what they do. What they can't stop doing. You paint because you must paint. You write because you must write. You create because you must create. It's what we do....Still.

Star Trek Monologue

July 23, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Monologues, Playwriting

Okay, trekkie fans out there--so I admit--I'm one of you. By the time I was 11, I'd seen all of the old Star Trek episodes, movies to date, and Next Generation episodes. In fact, when I was 10, my older brothers and I had a "trekathon" over our Spring Break--watching Star Trek episodes nonstop for I don't remember how many days straight.

Youth (Teen) Playwriting Contest

July 16, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Contests

YouthPLAYS, a publisher of youth-oriented theatre, featuring award-winning playwrights and exciting new theatre, sponsors their "New Voices One-Act Competition for Young Playwrights" each year. If you're a playwright, 19 years old or younger, you can submit a one-act play with the chance of winning a monetary award, dramatic writing software, publication and that fabulous validation that always feels good! :)

Women of the World Festival in NYC

June 13, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Festivals

The legendary Apollo Theatre is hosting the Women of the World Festival this weekend, June 11-14 in NYC. Brian Lehrer interviewed three key women who are involved in the event: Jamilla Deria (programming director), Jessica Care Moore (poet) and Mikki Shepard (executive director).

Youth (Teen) Playwriting Mentorship

June 02, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Playwriting, Contests

Check out this great opportunity for aspiring young writers:

Application Due October 1, 2015

This opportunity is comprised of a 6-month mentorship for an early career playwright. The youth mentorship is designed to encourage talented young playwrights to hone their craft, gain confidence, skills, and foster the desire to bring innovative theatre to the public. Tara believes that by encouraging youth to pursue playwriting, we encourage new, vibrant theatre to exist, evolve, and give voice to the next generation through this dynamic form of art.

Talented actors take "Holding Ginger" to State Competition

May 22, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Festivals

One of my favorite things as a writer is to receive personal emails from actors relaying their positive experiences with my monologues or plays. You might not think I read all the emails, but I actually read each one personally. I can't be present at many performances, so I appreciate hearing how things go, especially when a performance is well-received, or confidently played.

Female performer: Actor or Actress?

May 01, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Literary, Community

I love language. And not just speaking it, or using it (although I love both of those), but also in dissecting it, analyzing it, trending on it. I remember very clearly learning how to use double and single quotation marks, along with indenting for dialogue when I was 7 years old. When I was 11, I soaked up the unit on Grammar when everyone else was wishing it would end.

To modernize an old translation--or not...

April 22, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Literary

It's a challenge enough to get the mass public to come out to see a show at the theatre, but when you perform an old translation of a piece written in the 1800s, are you further intimidating your audience by the sometimes-archaic style of speech?

The "Casting Couch" in theatre--real or cliche?

April 18, 2015 by Tara Meddaugh in Community

I recently heard an interview on Studio 360 with playwright, Julie Jordan, who spoke on the realities of the age-old cliche of the "casting couch" (originating with the idea that one must sleep with someone to land a role, although now the phrase is used more generally, for anyone performing sexual favors to advance in a career). She is calling for Actors Equity to tighten its policies and procedures on harassment, and further, bring more awareness to this issue that is often glossed over in theatre.