Filed under: Career Advising, Dramaturgy, MFA, NYC Theatre, Recent Successes, Script Development | Tags: @AnneHamiltonlit, American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Dramaturg, Dramaturgy, Educator, Gender parity, Hamilton Dramaturgy, Magda Romanska, THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO DRAMATURGY, www.hamiltonlit.com
American Theater magazine has given a terrific review to THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO DRAMATURGY, edited by Magda Romanska.
My article, “Freelance Dramaturgs in the Twenty-First Century – Journalists, Advocates, and Curators” garnered praise from the reviewer Philippa Kelly: “One of the book’s highlights is Anne Hamilton’s essay on who dramaturgs are and what they do: cross boundaries, multitask, act as officers of public liaison and conduits for outreach…Hamilton aims to inspire dramaturgs to build confidence in their own creative contributions, and to reach deeper, to act more broadly and boldly.”
I am sending many thanks to Magda for including my chapter in this volume. It has sold out in hardcover, and is now available in paperback for $39.99. (ISBN-13: 978-0415658492, ISBN-10: 0415658497)
http://www.americantheatre.org/2015/07/07/dramaturgs-of-the-world-unite-and-parse-this-text/
Filed under: Career Advising, Dramaturgy, Gender Parity, Recent Successes | Tags: @AnneHamiltonlit, @LMDAmericas, American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Dramaturg, Dramaturgy, Gender parity, Hamilton Dramaturgy, LMDA, www.hamiltonlit.com
Follow the session at @LMDAmericas! #genderparity
Anne Hamilton is a NYC-based freelance dramaturg and the Founder of Hamilton Dramaturgy, an international consultancy. She holds an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts, and has worked with Andrei Serban, Michael Mayer, Lynn Nottage, NYMF, Niegel Smith, and Classic Stage Company. She created Hamilton Dramaturgy’s TheatreNow!, and her specialties include new play development, production dramaturgy, new musicals, career advising, advocacy, and oral histories. She was a Bogliasco Foundation Fellow. www.hamiltonlit.com
Questions from LMDA
What is your “focus” for the week?
During the week of March 2-8, 2015, I will tweet about several of the projects I am currently working on, as well as the recent triumphs of the playwrights for whom I have dramaturged. I think it is important to communicate the range of projects and locations that my freelance dramaturg’s practice involves. My projects as a dramaturg this week will include: Volunteering for the musical THE CALICO BUFFALO by EJ Stapleton, Peter Stopschinski in the New York Musical Theatre Festivals Next Link Project (to be produced in NYC in July); Giving feedback to Anita Gonzalez and Richard Allen on their new musical LIVERPOOL TRADING, and leading a Question and Answer session for their reading in the 6th Potpourri World Women Works Series (March 8, 3pm, NYC); and consulting with a first-time screenwriter. I will also list several of the accomplishments and upcoming shows of my dramaturgy clients including: the upcoming NYC production of Jack Karp’s IRREVERSIBLE and Crystal Jackson’s SYNCHRONICITY; and the recent reading of Tom Cavanaugh’s ADAM & YOSHI (directed by Stebos) for Artistic Director Jim Simpson at the Flea Theatre in NYC. Also, for my own development as an emerging playwright, I will be completing tasks for my drama THE SHOEBOX, which is a semi-finalist in Little Black Dress INK’s ONSTAGE PROJECT; and preparing a script for publication in England. Finally, I am waiting to hear some news this week on a couple of matters, so I’m hoping there will be some surprise announcements.
What is your definition of dramaturgy?
I describe myself as a literary and historical advisor to playwrights, directors, producers, and theatre companies.
What is your favorite or dream project?
My favorite project is the one I am working on in the moment. I enjoy a range of activities, from script development, to production dramaturgy, to developing new musicals, to research, to hosting TheatreNow!, to advising young artists on developing their careers. I enjoy learning and taking advantage of new technologies to help broaden the definition and practice of the profession.
Filed under: Career Advising, Dramaturgy, Gender Parity, HD Clients, Recent Successes, Script Development, Testimonials, Theatre, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women | Tags: @AnneHamiltonlit, African-American Theatre, American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Asian, Dramaturg, Dramaturgy, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Hamilton Dramaturgy, New American Plays, New Play Competition, New Play Festival, Script Development, www.hamiltonlit.com
“Anne has worked with GPTC playwrights for several years and has been lauded for her commitment, care and insight. She brings a great body of experience and a love of the theatre to every script that she works on.”
-Kevin Lawler, Artistic Director, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Omaha, Nebraska. USA.
GPTC 2015 IS SET FOR SATURDAY, MAY 23 – SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015!
Filed under: Dramaturgy, Gender Parity, NYC Theatre, Playwrighting Awards, Theatre, TheatreNow! Podcasts, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women | Tags: @AnneHamiltonlit, Advocacy for Women, American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Dramaturg, Dramaturgy, Hamilton Dramaturgy, Hamilton Dramaturgy's TheatreNow!, http://hamiltondramaturgystheatrenow.com, NYC Theatre, Playwright, Quiara Alegria Hudes, TheatreNow!, www.hamiltonlit.com
Congratulations to Hamilton Dramaturgy’s TheatreNow!’s Inaugural Podcast guest Quiara Alegria Hudes. She leads off the cover story of this month’s THE DRAMATIST magazine with an article on “Subject”.
Filed under: Dramaturgy, New Musicals, NYC Theatre, Playwrighting Awards, Script Development, Theatre, Works by Women | Tags: African-American Theatre, American History, American Theatre, Columbia University, composer, Dominque Morisseau, Dramaturgy, Edward M. Kennedy Prize, Jeanine Tesori, Lisa Kron, Marcus Gardley, New Musicals, New Works, NYC Theatre, Playwright, Prize, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women
Congratulations to Columbia University, my alma mater, which has created a new major drama prize.
http://kennedyprize.columbia.edu/archives/133
NEW YORK, January 9, 2014 – Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, on behalf of the board of the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History, has announced the five finalist plays and musical for the 2014 award:
Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, produced by the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Detroit ’67 by Dominique Morisseau, produced by the Public Theater in New York, NY.
Fun Home, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and music by Jeanine Tesori, produced by the Public Theater in New York, NY.
Party People by Universes, produced by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
the road weeps, the well runs dry by Marcus Gardley, produced by the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles, CA.
The Edward M. Kennedy Prize is given annually to a new play or musical of merit that, in the words of the prize’s mission statement, “…enlists theater’s power to explore the past of the United States, to participate meaningfully in the great issues of our day through the public conversation, grounded in historical understanding, that is essential to the functioning of a democracy.”
The Prize Board of Governors includes Alan Brinkley, Allan Nevins Professor of American History and Provost Emeritus, Columbia University; Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; Andrew Delbanco, Mendelson Family Professor of American Studies and Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University; Mandy Hackett, Associate Director, The Public Theater, New York, NY; Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright; James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian, Columbia University; Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient; Amanda Smith, author.
Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith created the prize to honor the life and legacy of her late brother, Senator Ted Kennedy. Finalists were selected through nominations from a group of 20 theater professionals around the country. The jury will meet at Columbia in early February 2014. The Prize will be announced on February 22, 2014, the anniversary of Senator Kennedy’s birth. The winning play will receive an award of $100,000, and will be honored in a ceremony at Columbia later this spring.
Columbia University Libraries/Information Services (CUL/IS) is one of the top five academic research library systems in North America. The collections include over 12 million volumes, over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, maps, and graphic and audio-visual materials. The services and collections are organized into 22 libraries and various academic technology centers, including affiliates. CUL/IS employs more than 450 professional and support staff. The website of the Libraries is the gateway to its services and resources: library.columbia.edu.
Filed under: Dramaturgy, Theatre | Tags: American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Hamilton Dramaturgy, La Jolla Playhouse, Latino, Randy Gener, Teatro Mascara Magica, Theatre
Excerpt from an article by Randy Gener:
“Congratulations to Dr. Jorge Huerta and William Virchis, founders of Teatro Mascara Magica.
California theatre company, La Jolla Playhouse, founded by film stars Gregory Peck and Mel Ferrer has made room for a new local company to reside in its plush campus in San Diego and announced that the Latino troupe Teatro Máscara Mágica will be a new resident company during the 2013-2014 season…”
See the entire article here: http://thejournalist.ie/entertainment/theatre-news-teatro-mascara-magica-lands-la-jolla-residency/
Filed under: Career Advising, Dramaturgy, Script Development, Theatre, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women | Tags: Advocacy for Women, American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Career Advising, Donna Hoke, Dramaturg, Dramaturgy, Hamilton Dramaturgy, Journalist, Literary Management, LMDA, New Roles for Women, New Works, Playwright, Regional Theatre, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women
Playwright and Journalist Donna Hoke is offering a terrific series featuring interviews with literary managers from all over the country. She calls it the Real Inspiration for Playwrights Project (RIPP). Brava, Donna!
You can find it at: http://blog.donnahoke.com/category/ripp/
Excerpt: “Playwrights talk a lot about how to get plays in the hands of those who will read them, and lamenting the seeming impossibility of this task. And yet… if it were truly impossible, would we keep writing? Would we keep submitting day in and day out? We must believe that even if the odds are slim, there are indeed odds. Odds that are not insurmountable. Odds that lead to success stories. So I went looking for them. More than that, I found them…”
Filed under: Dramaturgy, NYC Theatre, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women | Tags: American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Bushwick Starr, Dramaturgy, Eliza Bent, Hamilton Dramaturgy, Hamilton Dramaturgy's TheatreNow!, New Roles for Women, New Works, NYC Theatre, Playwright, Women Theatre Artists, Works by Women
From May 7-25th, the Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn will premiere Eliza Bent’s THE HOTEL COLORS. Eliza’s one of my newest Talfs (Theatre Artists I Love to Follow). As the Associate Editor of AMERICAN THEATRE magazine, Eliza greenlighted an article on my Hamilton Dramaturgy’s TheatreNow! podcast in the October 2012 issue. Brava, Eliza, and thank you!
Here’s the link to her play: http://www.thebushwickstarr.org/CurrentSeason.html
And here’s her play’s website: http://thehotelcolorsplay.wordpress.com/
A Message from Eliza Bent:
I wrote THE HOTEL COLORS during my first semester of graduate school at Brooklyn College. Encouraged by my professor, playwright Mac Wellman, to draw on my knowledge of Italian, I wrote a wry love letter to Italy about the time I spent studying, living and traveling there as an undergraduate in Parma and later as an English teacher in Rome.
In the play six characters converge on a jankity, rundown hostel in the outskirts of Rome. They proceed to spend a curious evening together philosophizing, divulging secrets, having romances and playing party games. There are dance sequences, physical lazzi and original songs.
Characters speak in direct translation from Italian into English. “I’m sorry, but I have to check my email,” becomes “I ask excuse of you, but I must control my email.” An invitation to coffee morphs into, “Would Formal You like to take a coffee with me?” THE HOTEL COLORS portrays eccentric travelers and seekers. The heart of the play is about people coming together and forming unexpected friendships even as they fail—and flail—in their attempts to communicate.
I have produced shows in the past, but THE HOTEL COLORS is by far my biggest project to date. The show will premiere May 7-25 at the Bushwick Starr, an Obie-award winning Off-Off Broadway theatre venue. The Bushwick Starr usually presents work by ensemble theatre companies and it’s a great honor to be the first curated playwright in the theatre’s history.
Filed under: Dramaturgy, Script Development, Theatre | Tags: American Theatre, Anne Hamilton, Dramatists Guild, Dramaturgy, Literary Management, LMDA, NNPN, www.hamiltonlit.com
Here is news that will change the way dramaturgs and literary managers function within the next five years.
NNPN Receives Cornerstone Funding for Web-based “New Play Exchange”: $110K Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
WASHINGTON, DC – The NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK (NNPN), the country’s alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, proudly announces a two-year $110,000 award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to support the design, development and pilot of a web-based tool, the “New Play Exchange”. Combining crowd-sourced recommendations, social media functions and a script database, the New Play Exchange will revolutionize the way playwrights and theaters connect in the nonprofit arena. A consortium of six nonprofit organizations, led by NNPN, aim to launch the tool to the field in 2015.
“In a grant competition round which resulted in a record-breaking number of applications, the NNPN project distinguished itself as an innovative solution to an ongoing field challenge,” said Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. “The New Play Exchange has enormous potential, not only for the members of the network but for the larger field as well, and we at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation are honored to support it.”
“The engine driving the success of the New Play Exchange is the active engagement of our five visionary partner organizations,” said Jason Loewith, NNPN’s Executive Director. “We modeled the consortium on the Network’s core values: a passion for new plays, a passion for collaboration, and a passion for playwrights.” The partners are Chicago Dramatists, New Dramatists, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, the Playwrights’ Center, and the Playwrights’ Foundation.
ABOUT THE NEW PLAY EXCHANGE
Drawing on NNPN’s history of crowd-sourced literary management leading to multiple productions, the New Play Exchange will combine a script database, crowd-sourced recommendations, and the interactivity of a social networking site to change the way literary departments and playwrights function field-wide.
Database. The Exchange will have two portals – one for readers and one for playwrights – accessing the same central database. Playwrights will create profile pages where they may upload scripts or synopses, provide sample pages, links to their own sites, reviews of their work, and other details. Theaters, Literary Managers, and Dramaturgs will create reader profiles. Uploaded scripts will be classified across a variety of rubrics such as genre, cast size, playwright identity or region, and keywords. Theaters will be similarly classified, and the entire database will be easily searchable.
Crowd-Sourced Recommendations. The power of the Exchange springs from crowd-sourcing script recommendations. Users will receive play recommendations from readers, and those recommendations can be filtered according to who’s giving them. For example, a user may create a “trusted readers” list of mission-aligned friends or mission-aligned theaters, and be immediately notified when one of those trusted readers has recommended a script… and of course, by clicking a button, that user can either obtain the script or contact information for the playwright. By privileging recommendations (instead of ratings or reviews), the Exchange creates virtual networks of positivity surrounding plays and playwrights of promise.
Interactivity. The Exchange will learn from systems like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest about mechanisms that keep people engaged and involved. For example, Facebook’s “news feed” may have a valuable analog in a feature that shows when new scripts have been uploaded by favorite playwrights or produced by favorite theaters. The feed might notify users about new reviews of scripts they’ve tagged to follow, or other milestones like productions and awards. Readers might be able to flag scripts, requesting a private “second opinion” from trusted friends. Playwrights would similarly see notifications that their scripts have been recommended, or if another playwright has posted a script that matches some of their criteria.
DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF THE EXCHANGE
A Core Development Committee composed of consortium partner constituents will meet with playwrights, artistic directors, literary managers and dramaturgs in seven cities over the next eight months to gather feedback about evolving plans for the Exchange. That Committee process will feed into web design, with deployment of the pilot site to consortium constituents through 2014. NNPN hopes to open the New Play Exchange field-wide in 2015.
ABOUT THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The mission of the Doris duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. Visit www.ddcf.org for more information.
Anne Hamilton/Hamilton Dramaturgy 