Monthly Archives :

September 2017

Honor Flight by Willy Holtzman

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InterAct and PlayPenn are proud to present a public reading of Willy Holtzman’s play Honor Flight.

Honor Plight PlayPenn

When: Monday, October 9, 2017
Where: The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake (302 S. Hicks St., Philadelphia, PA)

Honor Flight by Willy Holtzman
Donald is an over-medicated veteran counting down his days in a St. Louis nursing home. When sibling combat between his daughter and son lead to an unlikely pilgrimage to see the World War II memorial in Washington, distant and recent hidden memories upend  the entire family.

The reading is free and open to the public.  No RSVP necessary. The play reads at about 90 minutes, and we’ll have some refreshments afterward in the lobby. 

Check out the Facebook Event for more information! 

Willy Holtzman’s plays include THE FIRST MRS. ROCHESTER (Portland Stage Company), HONOR FLIGHT (PlayPenn), G.O.B. (PlayPenn), THE MORINI STRAD (City Theatre, ATCA Steinberg Best New American Play Award nominee, had its New York debut at Primary Stages in March 2012); SOMETHING YOU DID (Primary Stages, People’s Light & Theatre, Theatre J, commissioned by Baltimore Center Stage); SABINA (Primary Stages, New Jewish Theatre, Gradiva Award Nominee); HEARTS (People’s Light & Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Asolo Theatre, New Jewish Theatre of St. Louis, received the Barrymore Award, the inaugural Arthur Miller Award and was anthologized in Smith and Kraus BEST NEW PLAYS); BOVVER BOYS (Primary Stages, Cleveland Play House, Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Curtain Theatre); THE CLOSER (GeVa Theatre — Davie Award, the Working Theatre); INSIDE OUT (commissioned and produced by Theatre for a New Audience, Portland Stage Company, Nebraska Repertory Theatre); THE LAST TEMPTATION OF JOE HILL (Working Theatre); BLANCO (Goodspeed Opera House Norma Terris Theatre); WHITE TRASH (West Bank Cabaret); SAN ANTONIO SUNSET (published in Best Short Plays and produced in New York, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Mumbai). VOICES IN CONFLICT (created with Wilton, Conn., high school students, was presented at the Public Theatre, the Vineyard Theatre and the Culture Project). Holtzman wrote and executive produced the independent film Edge of America (2004 Sundance Film Festival Opening Night selection, Tribeca Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, Hamptons Film Festival, American Indian Film Festival — Best Picture) for which he received the Peabody Award, the Humanitas Prize, and the Writers Guild Award. He also wrote Blood Brothers(HBO, Cine Golden Eagle) and A Body to Die For (Emmy nomination). Holtzman received the HBO Award at the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. He has taught writing to at-risk teens at Bronx Regional High School in South Bronx, and was the Lila Wallace Resident Playwright at Juilliard. He has worked with young writers through the 52d Street Project in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen and on the Navajo reservation. He serves on the board of New Dramatists (where as a member he received the Calloway Award) and Harlem Stage Company.

Director: Paul Meshejian
Stage Manager: Tom Shotkin
Featured Actors: Harry Philibosian, Mary Martello, and Scott Greer

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New Class Registration!

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We are so excited about our new website and our brand new Class Registration feature! Change can be hard, and as we roll out these new features, we have encountered a few challenges (and maybe a snafu or two).  The good news is that this new feature allows our students and users to create a secure login with PlayPenn, which will store your class purchases, donation history, and event registrations in a mindful way.  To help ease the process, please see this guide for a quick tutorial on how to purchase classes!  Remember that you’ll only need to create a login once.

As always, thank you for your support, patronage, and interest in all things PlayPenn!

So you, want to register for a class?  Here’s what to do!

  1. Review the List of available classes on our website.  You can review each Class individually by visiting our Classes Main Page, and clicking the individual links. Or, to view and register for all classes, click on the Class Registration page.
  2. Once you’ve selected the Class(es) you want to Register for, you must Create a Login before you can register.  Simply click the Login button. (See Screen Shots below for easy reference)
  3. This will take you to the Login screen. Click the button underneath “Don’t Have An Account” —-> Sign up Now!
  4. Fill out all of the fields and click the Sign Up Button.
  5. You will be re-directed to your “My Account” page so you can see what your profile will look like. (Isn’t it fancy?!?)
  6. To go back to the Class Registration page, scroll to the top of the page, and hover your mouse over the “Classes” field on the Top Navigation Bar, and a drop-down will appear.  Click on Class Registration, and your back to where you started! (You still with me?!?)
  7. Once your back on the Registration page, simply select the class you want to register for, the appropriate qty.  To checkout for a single class just click “checkout”.  To register for multiple classes select “Add to Cart” and keep on adding classes. When you are done adding classes, select Checkout.
  8. You’ll be taken to a Secure page, where you can review your purchases, add your credit card information, and finalize your purchase!
  9. You will receive a confirmation email from PlayPenn (and check your spam folder just to be sure!)

Questions? Issues? Reach out to us! Email classes@playpenn.org or call us (during business hours, M-F, 9-5pm) at 215-242-2813.

Whew! Like we said change is hard, but thanks for staying with us as we roll out these awesome new benefits for our students!

We’ve also included some helpful screenshots below.  Happy Registration!

 

 

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Breaking Taboos

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with Winter Miller

Join New School Professor Winter Miller for a deep-dive into how to effectively break political, social, cultural and other taboos in your writing!

Class Description

From Marin Ireland to Samantha Bee, everyone is talking about the extraordinary way in which playwright Winter Miller gets under the skin of our culture and breaks taboos in unique, thought provoking way. In this four hour workshop, learn about breaking taboos in your writing directly from Winter. The class will both learn and practice techniques to use when you want to break taboos on-stage in your plays.

Dates & Times

Sunday, December 17 from 1-5pm (ET)

Where

Online. We will use Zoom.us. It is a very simple system. You will receive a link prior to class. You click the link and are taken to a site that has multiple boxes (like The Brady Bunch opening credits) where you can see and chat with everyone in the class. You must have a working internet connection and a computer that has both speakers (so you can hear the teaching artist) and a microphone (so they can hear you; be advised, some computer systems require you purchase a headset to use the microphone). If you would like to investigate the system before registering for the class, check out: www.zoom.us. PlayPenn covers the cost of using the system but you are expected to participate independently. We will not be recording these sessions.

Bio

Winter Miller

Winter Miller is an award-winning playwright and founding member of the Obie-recognized collective 13 Playwrights. She is best known for her drama IN DARFUR which premiered at The Public Theater. IN DARFUR won the “Two-Headed Challenge” commission from the Guthrie Theatre and the Playwrights Center. Winter traveled with her former boss, New York Times Pulitzer-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof to the Sudan border to research on the ground. IN DARFUR has been produced in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Florida, Massachusetts and Canada. Her plays include NO ONE IS FORGOTTEN (Kilroys Hon Mention, 2016, The Magic Theatre’s Playwrights Week 2016, Salt Lake Acting Company Playlab 2017), SPARE RIB (Relentless Awards Hon Mention 2016, Kilroys Hon Mention 2015, Civilians R&D), LOOK AT US (The Cherry Lane), and IN DARFUR (The Public Theater and regional prods at TimeLine, WAM, Theatre J, Horizon, The Landing, THE PENETRATION PLAY (Dir. Josh Hecht, 13P, NYC). Her work has been supported by NYFA Artist 2016, The Civilians R&D Lab 2015, The Lark 2014, Playwrights Center Core Writer Residency 2011-2014, and fellowships from Sundance Institute, Hedgebrook, The Cherry Lane, the Lark, Orchard Project, Space on Ryder Farm, New York Theatre Workshop Monday @3 and Blue Mountain Center. She is a New Georges Affiliated Artist. A playwriting instructor and mentor, Ms. Miller leads Weekend Warrior Intensives and Series Six workshops. Adjunct Professor at The New School MFA, SUNY Purchase B.A., Primary Stages ESPA, Visiting Lecturer Princeton, New York Theatre Workshop’s Mind the Gap, Girl Be Heard, Sundance Institute, Stella Adler Outreach, Arts Connection TRaC (2x finalist President’s Coming Up Taller Award) and worked with youth in refugee camps in Northern Uganda and Palestine. She has made plays with marginalized youth,  HOME/AWAY (Theatre Askew) and CONSPICUOUS (Keen Company).

$80

Tuition

Registration Closed.

Click the link below to visit our Reservation Page, where you can view all classes, select, and register for this class using our new checkout feature. For questions or to inquire about payment plans, please email classes@playpenn.org.

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“Taking a PlayPenn Class you quickly realize how many talented playwrights and creative, generous artists are writing in Philly, and your own work benefits from the experience of working among them tremendously!”

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John Yearley

Playwriting 101: Session 4

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with John Yearley

Perfect for anyone with enthusiasm for the stage!

Class Description

Join John Yearley, who teaches playwriting at Temple University, for a down and dirty, nuts and bolts exploration of the basics of the art and craft of playwriting. Whether you’re a professional writer or haven’t written a word, this class is great both for polishing skills and picking up new ones.

We will cover: Traditional well-made play structure, Other structural alternatives, Creating engaging characters, Creating strong worlds, Scene-work, Monologue-work, and more. We will also do, and share, several short writing exercises.

Due to popular demand, this course is now being offered multiple times each semester.  All sessions will cover the same material.

Dates & Times

Session 4: Thursdays, December 7 and December 14 from 7-9:30pm (ET)

Where

Philadelphia. The Drake Theater, 302 S Hicks St, Philadelphia, PA 19102. Meet in the lobby of the main stage (Proscenium Stage) and we will walk downstairs to the rehearsal room together.

Required Prep

You will be emailed a few pages of material to review prior to class.

Bio

John Yearley

John Yearley is the author of The Unrepeatable Moment (Barrow Group), Leap (Kaplan New American Play Prize, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Antigone (adaptation, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Ephemera (Gassner Award, Summer Play Festival), and Another Girl (PlayPenn, Naked Angels). His plays All in Little Pieces and A Low-Lying Fog are published by Samuel French. He is currently writing for the PBS Kids show Arthur and worked as a script doctor for New Line Cinema. He’s a member of the Writer’s Guild of America, the Dramatists Guild, and twice a MacDowell Fellow.

$100

Tuition

Sold Out

This class is sold out but check out our winter and spring course options! For questions, please email classes@playpenn.org.

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