A New Season of Play Readings

The Ohio Playwrights Circle, in association with the Dayton Theatre Guild, is pleased to offer a season of new play readings at the Caryl D. Philips Theatre Scape in Dayton. You are invited to come and experience these new readings by local playwrights and screenwriters, including scenes, short plays, full plays and screenplays.

The dates and times for the upcoming readings are:

October 24, 2015 at 7pm
– Six short readings from new playwrights
December 12, 2015 at 7pm
– New script reading
February 6, 2016 at 7pm
– New script reading

The Dayton Theatre Guild is generously providing their theatre space for these new readings at the Caryl D. Philips Theatre Scape, located at 430 Wayne Ave., Dayton Ohio 45410. Audience members will be asked to participate in brief feedback sessions for the writers. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

The Ohio Playwrights Circle (OPC) exists to bring opportunities and education to Ohio playwrights. OPC is a project of the American Artworks Foundation.

2015- 2016 Classes at HRTC

We have completed the schedule for the 2015-2016 Playwrighting classes.  Class size will continue to be limited.

Playwrighting – Level I
Saturday Afternoons from 1Pm – 4pm
Fall: September 5, 12,19,26;  October 3,10,17  (Class Full -CLOSED)
Instructor: Michael M. London

 This class is designed to take the mystery out of playwrighting and provide an introduction to new playwrights. The method of building a play is explored through a variety of exercises. Our focus will be on understanding the tools in basic dramatic structure. The process involves a lot of scene writing, a lot of thinking, a lot of laughing and a lot of learning. Each playwright will have an opportunity to create a 10-minute play that will be presented in a public reading. The class is designed for novices and experienced playwrights, actors and directors alike. No playwrights are expected to begin the class with already completed work.

Playwrighting – Level II
Saturday Afternoons from 1Pm – 4pm
Winter: January 9, 16, 23, 30; February 6, 13, 20 (Class Full -CLOSED)

Spring: March 19, 26,; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Instructor: Michael M. London

This class is a continuation of the learning in Level I. Although we will still be looking closely at the dramatic structure of the story, we will also focus attention on other aspects of storytelling and the building of a play. There will be a lot of writing, a lot of thinking, some mutual support from other playwrights, a fair amount of laughing, some tasty food at breaks, and a general atmosphere of fun and learning. Each playwright will have a goal of completing a short one-act play that will be presented in a public reading. Playwrights will have the opportunity to hear their work read aloud by actors and prepared by directors. Prerequisite: Playwrighting – Level I.

Classes will be held at:

Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center
116 N. Jefferson Street
Dayton, Ohio 45402

 

For more information, please contact Marilyn Klaben, Education Director at
(937) 461-3823 x3132.
http://humanracetheatre.org/adultclasses.php

A Conversation On Storytelling with, Family Shots Playwright Michael Slade

Playwright, Michael Slade

We invite you to join us on February 3, when we will have a conversation on storytelling with Family Shots Playwright, Michael Slade. Michael is a gifted writer who has shared his talents on stage and screen and in works for children. Michael has agreed to share his time with us after a performance of his new play, Family Shots.  We’ll start with asking Michael a few questions about storytelling and the writing of this new play and then we’ll open it up to questions from other writers from across the community.

For many of us, our writing is a solitary activity. We don’t always get out much, but we hope you can join us to share your questions and thoughts about storytelling and playwrighting with this experienced and talented writer. The Human Race Theatre Company is offering a discount for this performance for Ohio Playwrights Circle playwrights and to all writers from all disciplines.

We hope you can join us for this event. Please remember that there is no charge for this after-performance event. You may or may not attend this new premiere, but you are more than welcome to join us for this Conversation on Storytelling. Please share this with others and spread the word on this event. We hope to see you there.

A Conversation On Storytelling

with Family Shots Playwright, Michael Slade

When:

After the Tuesday, February 3 performance of Family Shots

Where:

at The Loft Theatre

126 North Main Street

3^rd Floor

Downtown Dayton, OH 45402

Tickets/Discount Information

Two great ways to see the February 3 show and save
• $25 side section seats
• Use code SHOT25 when ordering and save 25% (available for all public performances, not valid on $25 seats)

Admission to the Conversation On Storytelling is free.

Want to see the show earlier?
Pay What You CAN Night – Wednesday, January 21 8:00 pm
Bring a canned good for The Foodbank in Dayton or a cash donation for AIDS Resource Center Ohio.
Tickets handed out first come, first served in The Loft Theatre lobby starting at 6:30 pm

“Sawbuck” Sunday – Sunday, January 25 7:00 pm
All available seats are just $10.
Tickets on sale at The Loft Theatre box office starting at 5:00 pm

Students Discounts
Students of all ages get ½ price tickets to all performances
Valid student ID required, 1 ticket per ID

________________________________

Michael Slade

Michael Slade is a New York City-based playwright, librettist, Emmy-nominated television writer, screenwriter and award-winning children’s author. His new play, Family Shots is having its premiere in Dayton at The Human Race Theatre. His ongoing relationship with The Human Race Theatre began in 2008 with a summer workshop of his musical which at the time had the working title, The Black Crook Project (music by Joseph Thalken, lyrics by Mark Campbell), and which ultimately premiered as And the Curtain Rises at The Signature Theatre (Arlington, VA) under the direction of Tony Award-nominated director, Kristin Hanggi. The Human Race subsequently commissioned the play, Change which was presented through its Theatre in Context program. Under a Red Moon (directed by Margarett Perry) had its world premiere at the Race in the fall of 2012 in a co-production with the Carnegie Center in Covington, KY. A reading at the Roundabout Theatre in NYC starred Billy Crudup and Kate Burton. In the spring of 2013, the Race chose his play Gingerbread Children to inaugurate the Marsha Hanna New Plays Program.
Among his other plays, And a Child Shall Lead (presented by Zoot Theatre Company in 2013) is regularly produced by theatres around the world. It was called “Awe-inspiring theatre” by the Chicago Sun-Times, and “One of the most deeply moving dramas of the season” by Centerstage Chicago. His musical, Bye, Bye Big Guy (music by David Evans, lyrics by Faye Greenberg) was called “a rowdy, rascally, raunchy, rip-roaring romp” by The Edge when it premiered at the Lucille Lortel Theatre as part of the NYC International Fringe Festival. After premiering at the 2nd Street Theatre in Bend, OR, his romantic comedy, Garden Politics, was produced as a reading in NYC starring Kathleen Turner, Holland Taylor and Bob Dishy.
Mr. Slade has written extensively for young people. Theatreworks/USA commissioned and produced ten musicals (including Superfudge (starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Barrett Foa) and Where’s Waldo? (starring Daphne Rubin-Vega). Pokemon Live, starring Andrew Rannells, premiered at Radio City Music Hall before touring the U.S., Dubai, South America and Europe. His children’s novel, The Horses of Central Park was awarded the ISAR Award for Children’s Literature.
He served as James Lapine’s assistant on the original workshop of Into The Woods, which, together with the work for Jay Harnick at Theatreworks/USA served as a Masters Program in writing books for musicals.
Mr. Slade was nominated for an Emmy for One Life to Live and a Writer’s Guild Award for Another World. He has also written for Passions and Days of Our Lives.
Current projects include a recently optioned screenplay, The Critic, as well as several new plays (one being co-written with 2014 Tony-winner Robert L. Freedman) and a television series he is developing with four-time Emmy Award winner Judy Tate.