[A reader sent this in. A former member of the Dramatists Guild]
i submitted to a script call for plays for young performers. i ended up being one of the ten finalists & when the plays were staged, my piece was voted “audience favorite.” i reached out to several other finalist playwrights & began an email friendship with the playwright whose piece had been awarded “best play.”
the following year, we both submitted again & quite by chance, we both submitted scripts that were sequels/companions to the previous year’s entries. there was nothing in the rules forbidding this. both my friend & i made it through the first round of judging.
then, things fell apart.
apparently, due to problems within the theater company pertaining to my friend’s script (& having nothing to do with my script), it was decided – in the middle of the judging process – that ALL sequels to the previous year’s entries would not be allowed. thanks for changing the rules without any notice while the contest was underway, folks! not only that but i only found out the real reason my play was disqualified when my friend told me – she had been given a heartfelt apology & explanation from the director/playwright running the program. i got bupkis.
[It’s nice when when theatre companies just make it up as they go merrily along]
naturally, i never submitted to them again but…a few years later, i saw their script call on a playwright site. i posted a warning that entrants should be wary of this group & was promptly flamed by several other playwrights who obviously didn’t want to offend a producer/director. glad they had my back.
:O
[Playwright-on-playwright nutsackery must end. I’ve seen too many examples of this to count. Could be a topic for another blog post]
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