Rant #2
© David O'Sullivan, 2004
There would seem to be a temptation for theater producers to look upon untested playwrights as contributors to their bottom line. This should be completely unacceptable in all circumstances.
I admit to sometimes paying fees to enter reading contests. Most of the time I ignore festivals that require cash to read. A recent (mid-2004) experience confirmed my resolve to resist paying fees to contests.
The theater is located in St. Paul, MN and it ran a festival in 2004 (first annual). It asked for three copies of a script, a delivery acknowledged postcard, and $15. It offered no stipend, travel expenses or production possibilities. I entered because I live not far from the theater and didn't need enticement beyond a plain reading. I duly submitted three copies of a script, a postcard, and $15 just before the deadline date and waited... and waited... and waited.
Then I got an e-mail from a third party telling me the contest deadline had been extended two weeks. I waited and waited. Two weeks after the extended deadline and two weeks before the scheduled festival (and presumably one week before rehearsals), I sent an inquiry e-mail to the theater and received a blunt response telling me that my material had been received and I would be informed in due course. Remember, at this stage, I had not received a return delivery acknowledged, the original deadline (my deadline) had passed by over four weeks previously and the festival was due to open very soon.
Eventually, the festival was held. It was advertised on the theater's e-mail list but nowhere else, that I saw. I received no official notice of delivery, acceptance or rejection. I received an e-mail invitation to attend any of the readings for $5 a shot. Since it was clear that no playwrights were to attend any of their readings, I declined since it seemed to me that the only person with a stake in the proceedings was to be absent.
Even if the festival is to be held on my block, I again resolve to apply my self-imposed rule of not paying reading fees unless it is to a nationally recognized theater which has no interests in applying contest fees to its bottom line and is genuinely searching for new work. Even then, anything more that $10 is questionable.
It seems to me that a legitimate theater festival that offers rehearsals and readings and that has the stated purpose of discovering new work, should:
While I believe there are few, if any, outright scams out there, there may be a few self-styled producers who are less sincere about finding and nurturing new work than we would hope. Possible signs (in no particular order) for identifying these might be:
Of course, any one of these identifying items could be legitimate. However, my suspicion increases with the number of items that match.
A new departure from audience respect is festivals that charge admission to see plays that, by their own admission, are unfinished. This seems to be nothing but bare-faced opportunism to make an extra buck and embarrass many in the process. Whether audience feedback is expected or not, admission should not be charged to unfinished work.
I attended a recent (July 2004) reading of an unfinished play held at a nationally known center in Minneapolis. To say that the play was unfinished is an understatement (though the readers were excellent). No audience feedback was requested or arranged for and that may have been for the good (of the playwright) but I was left wondering what the whole exercise of reading the play to an audience was meant to achieve. Sure the playwright, readers, and director hashed over the play in rehearsals but not asking the audience (many of whom were old hands at the game) for commentary on the work seemed to miss out on the whole idea, viz. "it's the audience, stupid." If the audience is dispensable, the work done on the script before the reading could have been done by conference call! Are theater artists becoming too fragile, unable to take constructive criticism, unwilling to listen to the truth, unable to separate good feedback from waffle? Presenting an unfinished, un-staged production to a paying audience is simple conceit on the part of the festival organizers and does a disservice to the playwright. I would issue a warning to theater groups, festivals, and artists who believe that the audience really doesn't know or appreciate what "we" (the artists) are doing: "Quit while you are ahead."