People, we're close. WE ARE SO CLOSE. DIVAfest‘s brand-spanking-new staged reading festival kicks off next Thursday. THAT IS ONE WEEK FROM THURSDAY! AHHHHHHHH! I can't wait. Really, I'm so freakin’ excited about all of this, and the only way to make it better would be to cram the EXIT Studio to capacity with bodies so that we can share this crazy idea with as many people as possible. And that includes you! Really. Seriously. Yeah, we need you to be there. And I'm not just thinking about us here, really, the festival is gonna rock, and you're going to be super sad if you miss it. Forget why this festival is gonna rock? Here are three reasons why:
- We give writers time to write.
Yep. This year each writer had a little less than a year to write their play, and we will get to see them up and running in incredibly fast turn around time where theater is concerned. Usually you write the play, work on it in secret, then send it out to the world and hear nothing. Then you put it away and work on the next play. But not these plays! Nope. Stealing the great ideas of the San Francisco Olympians Festival each writer gets a commission and time to write something new. ALSO, and this is a little different from the SF Olympians Festival, each writer gets to see their plays performed TWICE with time in between to brainstorm and rewrite. I can't tell you how many times I've had a staged reading, that I've learned a TON, and did some great rewrites, but then had no way to see if the new material worked. Or I had to wait months or longer before I could put another reading together. This festival lets writers write AND rewrite. It's almost too good to be true.
- We're telling stories you should know!
Each of this year's inspirational women are people I had never heard of before, and now I can't get enough of them. People all over, me included, are complaining that we're not seeing enough stories with women in the driver's seat on stage, this isn't something that will change over night. And while complaining can feel pretty great, I think it's time we try to change it. That is why Claire, Tracy, and I started the Loud & Unladylike Festival. We want to be a part of the solution. And the GREAT thing, is that just by coming to see our readings, you can be too.
- We're cheap.
For $10 a ticket, can you afford NOT To come see the festival? (No, the answer is no.) Hell for that price you could see ALL of the plays twice and still pay less than a pair of seats at a lot of theaters. IT IS A DEAL.
Tickets & more info: http://divafest.info/
Schedule of plays:
“A is for Adeline” inspired by the life of Adeline Dutton Train Whitney, written by Tracy Held Potter, directed by Britney Frazier (June 25) and Rebecca Ennals (July 9), June 25th and July 9th.
“The Effects of Ultraviolet Light” inspired by the life of Roger Arliner Young, written by Claire Ann Rice, directed by Ellery Schaar, June 26th and July 11th.
“Code Name: Brass Rose” inspired by the life of Nancy Wake, written by Rachel Bublitz, directed by Melinda Marks, June 27th and July 10th.
So buy those tickets, and get your butt to the theater. This is going to be fantastic.