Don McCann Playwriting Contest 2025
The Oswego Players were established in 1938 as a non-profit community theater organization dedicated to live theater productions and theater education for Oswego area residents. Consistent with those goals, a playwriting contest was established to promote the creation of original, one-act plays by contemporary authors.
The contest is FREE and open to any playwright who is 18 years or older and resides (or attends college) in the state of New York.
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Sesame Workshop Writers’ Room fellowship 2025
Fresh new writing talent that reflects our vast audience. Emerging storytellers who are selected to join the Writers’ Room will receive hands-on writing experience guided by Sesame Street veterans and other media industry leaders. Each participant will develop and write a pilot script for their own original kids’ program. Past fellows have gone on to develop their own original content with Sesame Workshop, as well as write for Sesame Street and various programs at Nickelodeon, Disney, DreamWorks, and more!
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Page 73 Development Programs 2026
Applications for the 2026 programs are now open. Applicants for both programs:
1. The applicant must be a US resident at the time of participation;
2. The applicant must have completed at least 2 full-length plays or at least 3 one-act plays;
3. The applicant must have made a commitment to playwriting as a professional goal;
4. The applicant must have never received a production in New York City that is fully contracted with Actors Equity Association and ran for at least four weeks or twenty-one performances;
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** GREEK CHORUS ***
In Ancient Greek Theatre, there is an interesting similarity among the plays written during that time: there is always a chorus included. Nowadays most people would associate a chorus with musicals, but playwrights like Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles included a chorus in their regular plays. The chorus consisted of a group of 12 to 50 players who spoke or sang their lines in unison, wore masks, and functioned as one actor rather than a large group of many performers.
The purpose of the Greek chorus was to provide background and summary information to the audience to help them understand what was going on in the performance. They commented on themes, expressed what the main characters couldn’t say (like secrets, thoughts, and fears) and provided other characters with information and insights.
More...
https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/exploring-greek-chorus
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Inherit the Wind is a fictitious account of the actual Scopes “monkey” trial of 1925, in which a high school teacher was criminally prosecuted in Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. It made its Broadway debut in 1955 to both critical acclaim and box office success. Originally written as an indictment of the attack upon intellectual freedom that had occurred during the McCarthy era, this play’s theme of science versus creationism resonates to this day.
Most of the drama takes place in the courtroom, and credible casting of the two lawyers, who were giants of their time, is a daunting task for a small amateur company. Prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady (Allen Siverson) is loosely based upon three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, a great orator and statesman. And Henry Drummond (James Pearson) is the legendary criminal defense attorney and ACLU member Clarence Darrow. Remarkably, producer Beth Dewey and director K. DaVette See were able to find a couple of actors perfectly suited for their respective parts.
Siverson, to his credit, refuses to undermine his devout character by falling pray to glib caricature. Instead, he brings a gravitas and dignity to a role that even the playwrights unfairly lampoon on occasion. Pearson, as the agnostic litigator, displays an unerring confidence, keen wit and intelligence, along with an eloquent speaking voice, which are essential to his rather convincing portrayal. And their scenes together are often quite riveting. Bravo!
The set is a utilitarian, albeit somewhat awkward, design by Rob See, featuring a pair of canopies – supporting a large banner of “READ YOUR BIBLE” – located upstage that serves as an entrance to a traditional courtroom setting placed downstage. The spectators (who are often quite vocal) sit on chairs positioned in the area normally reserved for the orchestra pit.
Doug Doughty plays E.K. Hornbeck (aka H.L. Menckin), the cynical, acerbic critic and journalist who covers the case for the Baltimore Herald. His condescending, colorful commentary on the Christian fundamentalism of Brady and the rural townsfolk is reminiscent of a Greek chorus and decidedly biased in favor of Bertram Cates, the beleaguered educator (the fine Robert Hamilton). Doughty somehow captures just the right tone of wry humor and derision without ever becoming off-putting.
More...
https://www.starkinsider.com/2011/08/theatre-review-inherit-the-wind-evolution-and-creationism-meet-in-the-courtroom.html
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“Our Town” was first performed to great acclaim in 1938. Wilder specified that the play should be performed without sets or props, which was most unusual at that time. Community Players is staying true to that, said Weiss, with just a few risers upstage and nothing more. “I think it echoes the platforms of a Greek chorus," she said.
“What inspired Thornton Wilder to write the play was a time in his 20s and he was in Rome to study archeology. He was in some ruins, and he looked through the ruins and he saw a chimney.”
“He realized these people lived and died, they worked, they provided for their families, smoke went up their chimney. And at the same time, he was hearing all the traffic in Rome. I think that element of life from long, long ago ‘til now was something that really struck him.”
More...
https://www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2020-01-03/datebook-our-town-finds-the-epic-in-the-ordinary
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Also living on Skid Row -- and acting as the Greek chorus for "Little Shop" -- are Chiffon (Brittany Tavernaro), Crystal (Anna Joie) and Ronnette (APT newcomer Binta Francis).
"'Little Shop of Horrors' has held a special place in my heart since I was a child," says Francis, who appeared on the AOP stage as Esmerelda in "Hunchback of Notre Dame." "It is the first movie musical I ever watched with my family. My siblings and I still bond over it to this day. It's always been a dream of mine to be an urchin!"
"'Little Shop' is much like 'Fiddler On the Roof' or 'The Music Man' in that it seems to be a rite of passage for every actor," says Joie, most recently on the APT stage in "Almost, Maine." "Most other actors I know have done it at some point, and I thought maybe it was my turn. Now I see why -- it's such a fun show!
Crystal, she says, "is fiercely loyal, fiery, and doesn't shy away from tough love or abrasiveness. You'll see me in her protectiveness toward Audrey and her push for Seymour to be more sure of himself. Those track really well with how I relate to the people I care most about!
More...
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2023/feb/05/apts-little-shop-of-horrors-has-singers-dancers/
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How I Learned to Drive has several major, hard-hitting scenes (all of which reprise moments from Lolita), and Parker handles each one with aplomb: shyness during a kitty porn photoshoot, drunken anxiety at a fancy dinner, stern rejection in a hotel room, and most evocatively, an unforgettable look of extreme pain as she silently remembers the first time Uncle Peck groped her as he taught her to drive at age 11. Vogel has Li’l Bit act out the scene, but has another, much younger actress (Alyssa May Gold) stand to the side of the stage and speak the lines. Eschewing the literal, Li’l Bit remembers, watching the moment over again in her head, confused and horrified, disassociating her body from her mind in order to just survive.
Morse as Peck gives a similarly spot-on performance, finding the perfect balance between his creepiness and the alluring kindness of the character, who frequently comes across as caring and respectful, not forceful (despite the fact that he is at all times silently grooming and coercing). Johanna Day acts as part of the Greek chorus, but most memorably plays Li’l Bit’s mother and Aunt Mary (Uncle Peck’s wife), and delivers several haunting monologues with a delicate touch.
More...
https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/how-i-learned-to-drive-2/how-i-learned-to-drive-is-a-nuanced-exploration-of-memory/
