Deadline: 22 April 2011
NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL – LAMAMA UMBRIA INTERNATIONAL Playwright Retreat
Programme Dates: 3-13 July 2011
THE PROGRAMME
Playwrights will enjoy ten days of living and writing in the Umbrian countryside at La MaMa Umbria (Italy), founder Ellen Stewart’s artist residence. Participants will be given ample time to work on new or existing material with the facilitation of international master playwrights. There will be discussions, workshops, exercises as well as group readings and feedback sessions designed to help motivate and inspire participants.
FACILITATOR
Erik Ehn is an American playwright and director known for proposing the Regional Alternative Theatre movement. The former dean of theater at CalArts, the California Institute of Arts, he is head of playwriting and professor of theatre and performance studies at Brown University. His published works include The Saint Plays, Beginner, and 13 Christs.
Ehn is a playwright, educator and theorist of contemporary theater. His play Maria Kizito is based on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and is the result of his research in that Central African country. Its premiere launched Atlanta's 7 Stages 2004-05 season. Ehn's work includes The Saint Plays, an ongoing cycle of plays loosely based on the lives of the saints and biblical characters. Other plays include Book of Tink, Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling, No Time Like the Present, Wolf at the Door, Tailings, Beginner, Ideas of Good and Evil, 13 Christs and an adaptation of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. Additionally, he co-wrote the musical Shiner with Octavio Solis. His dramas have been produced in San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, New York City, San Diego, Baltimore, and Chicago. In 2004, he served as dramaturge on Peach Blossom Fan - the inaugural production by CalArts Center for New Theater at REDCAT.
Ehn is co-founder and co-artistic director, alongside Lisa Bielawa, of the Tenderloin Opera Company in San Francisco and also an artistic associate of San Francisco's Theatre of Yugen. He is a co-founder of the RAT movement, an international network of alternative theaters. He was a recipient of the Alpert Award in the Arts in 2002 and the Whiting Writers Award in 1997.
He is also the founder of an annual conference called "Arts in the One World," which brings together performing artists, scholars, and human rights activists to investigate theater on the subject of genocide and reconciliation.
CALL FOR APPLICANTS: 5TH ANNUAL LA MAMA INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHT RETREAT
The National Arts Council and La MaMa Umbria International are pleased to invite Singapore playwrights to apply for the 4th Annual La MaMa International Playwright Retreat which will be held from 3 – 13 July 2011 in Umbria, Spoleto, Italy.
Playwrights will enjoy ten days of living and writing in the Umbrian countryside at La MaMa Umbria (Italy), founder Ellen Stewart’s artist residence. Participants will be given ample time to work on new or existing material with the facilitation of international master playwrights. There will be discussions, workshops, exercises as well as group readings and feedback sessions designed to help motivate and inspire participants.
Grant Support
As the selection process is highly competitive, up to a maximum of three Singapore participants from the 2011 intake will be offered full grant support for the ten-day residency. Grant Support includes registration fee, accommodation, meals for the duration of the Retreat and economy airfare plus taxes but excludes additional costs incurred by the participants.
Objectives
This initiative is part of the National Arts Council’s ongoing efforts to
• develop the capability of Singapore playwrights through their participation in relevant established international residency platforms;
• open up opportunities to nurture Singapore talents, address skills gaps in the current arts industry and facilitate subsequent knowledge transfer to benefit the Singapore arts community;
• provide networking opportunities with international counterparts and provide first-hand insights to the international arts world.
Eligibility & Criteria
Applicants eligible for grant support should:
• be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents who are playwrights actively engaged in the arts industry;
• be in the midst of a play creation process (proposed work to be preferably new)
• possess a record of past achievements of strong artistic merit and widely recognised by industry peers;
• demonstrate commitment towards advancing the form and contributing long term to Singapore’s arts scene ;
• be inclined to learn, explore different perspectives and share their own knowledge and perspectives on playwriting;
• be willing to live in a shared living space with other artists during the Retreat.
Assessment
Participants must be committed to writing during the time given at the residency, and will be selected based on how the program might add value to their writing process.
Expected Outcomes
Successful applicants are expected to execute the following deliverables within 3 months after completion of the programme:
1) Submit an Evaluation Report, with detailed written and visual documentation of the Residency experience;
2) Submit a Work Plan articulating short and long-term initiatives for employing ideas and skills gained;
3) Conduct 2 Presentation Sessions:
a. NAC Level: Present paper on key learning points and follow-up action plan to Council Staff.
b. Public Level: Playwrights will do a combined dramatized reading, during which excerpts of each playwright’s work will be read. The readings will be followed by a post-show discussion.
Application Procedure
All interested applicants are to forward;
(1) a copy of the application form, (2) a detailed curriculum vitae and (3) a copy of two previously-written plays (full-length) no later than 22 April 2011 to the following address :
5TH Annual La MaMa INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHT RETREAT
c/o National Arts Council, Sector Development (Theatre)
90 Goodman Road, Singapore 439053
Contact for queries pertaining to the NAC grant support: Arts Development Managers - Kwong Wai Cheng at 6837 8450, kwong_wai_cheng@nac.gov.sg;
Ng Yuhui at 6837 9550, ng_yuhui@nac.gov.sg
Notification of Outcome
Applicants will be notified of the outcome by NAC via mail before 3 June 2011. Up to a maximum of three successful applicants will receive a Letter of Offer stating the terms and conditions of the grant and expected outcomes after the programme.
Download applciation form here.
NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL – LAMAMA UMBRIA INTERNATIONAL Playwright Retreat
Programme Dates: 3-13 July 2011
THE PROGRAMME
Playwrights will enjoy ten days of living and writing in the Umbrian countryside at La MaMa Umbria (Italy), founder Ellen Stewart’s artist residence. Participants will be given ample time to work on new or existing material with the facilitation of international master playwrights. There will be discussions, workshops, exercises as well as group readings and feedback sessions designed to help motivate and inspire participants.
FACILITATOR
Erik Ehn is an American playwright and director known for proposing the Regional Alternative Theatre movement. The former dean of theater at CalArts, the California Institute of Arts, he is head of playwriting and professor of theatre and performance studies at Brown University. His published works include The Saint Plays, Beginner, and 13 Christs.
Ehn is a playwright, educator and theorist of contemporary theater. His play Maria Kizito is based on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and is the result of his research in that Central African country. Its premiere launched Atlanta's 7 Stages 2004-05 season. Ehn's work includes The Saint Plays, an ongoing cycle of plays loosely based on the lives of the saints and biblical characters. Other plays include Book of Tink, Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling, No Time Like the Present, Wolf at the Door, Tailings, Beginner, Ideas of Good and Evil, 13 Christs and an adaptation of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. Additionally, he co-wrote the musical Shiner with Octavio Solis. His dramas have been produced in San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, New York City, San Diego, Baltimore, and Chicago. In 2004, he served as dramaturge on Peach Blossom Fan - the inaugural production by CalArts Center for New Theater at REDCAT.
Ehn is co-founder and co-artistic director, alongside Lisa Bielawa, of the Tenderloin Opera Company in San Francisco and also an artistic associate of San Francisco's Theatre of Yugen. He is a co-founder of the RAT movement, an international network of alternative theaters. He was a recipient of the Alpert Award in the Arts in 2002 and the Whiting Writers Award in 1997.
He is also the founder of an annual conference called "Arts in the One World," which brings together performing artists, scholars, and human rights activists to investigate theater on the subject of genocide and reconciliation.
CALL FOR APPLICANTS: 5TH ANNUAL LA MAMA INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHT RETREAT
The National Arts Council and La MaMa Umbria International are pleased to invite Singapore playwrights to apply for the 4th Annual La MaMa International Playwright Retreat which will be held from 3 – 13 July 2011 in Umbria, Spoleto, Italy.
Playwrights will enjoy ten days of living and writing in the Umbrian countryside at La MaMa Umbria (Italy), founder Ellen Stewart’s artist residence. Participants will be given ample time to work on new or existing material with the facilitation of international master playwrights. There will be discussions, workshops, exercises as well as group readings and feedback sessions designed to help motivate and inspire participants.
Grant Support
As the selection process is highly competitive, up to a maximum of three Singapore participants from the 2011 intake will be offered full grant support for the ten-day residency. Grant Support includes registration fee, accommodation, meals for the duration of the Retreat and economy airfare plus taxes but excludes additional costs incurred by the participants.
Objectives
This initiative is part of the National Arts Council’s ongoing efforts to
• develop the capability of Singapore playwrights through their participation in relevant established international residency platforms;
• open up opportunities to nurture Singapore talents, address skills gaps in the current arts industry and facilitate subsequent knowledge transfer to benefit the Singapore arts community;
• provide networking opportunities with international counterparts and provide first-hand insights to the international arts world.
Eligibility & Criteria
Applicants eligible for grant support should:
• be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents who are playwrights actively engaged in the arts industry;
• be in the midst of a play creation process (proposed work to be preferably new)
• possess a record of past achievements of strong artistic merit and widely recognised by industry peers;
• demonstrate commitment towards advancing the form and contributing long term to Singapore’s arts scene ;
• be inclined to learn, explore different perspectives and share their own knowledge and perspectives on playwriting;
• be willing to live in a shared living space with other artists during the Retreat.
Assessment
Participants must be committed to writing during the time given at the residency, and will be selected based on how the program might add value to their writing process.
Expected Outcomes
Successful applicants are expected to execute the following deliverables within 3 months after completion of the programme:
1) Submit an Evaluation Report, with detailed written and visual documentation of the Residency experience;
2) Submit a Work Plan articulating short and long-term initiatives for employing ideas and skills gained;
3) Conduct 2 Presentation Sessions:
a. NAC Level: Present paper on key learning points and follow-up action plan to Council Staff.
b. Public Level: Playwrights will do a combined dramatized reading, during which excerpts of each playwright’s work will be read. The readings will be followed by a post-show discussion.
Application Procedure
All interested applicants are to forward;
(1) a copy of the application form, (2) a detailed curriculum vitae and (3) a copy of two previously-written plays (full-length) no later than 22 April 2011 to the following address :
5TH Annual La MaMa INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHT RETREAT
c/o National Arts Council, Sector Development (Theatre)
90 Goodman Road, Singapore 439053
Contact for queries pertaining to the NAC grant support: Arts Development Managers - Kwong Wai Cheng at 6837 8450, kwong_wai_cheng@nac.gov.sg;
Ng Yuhui at 6837 9550, ng_yuhui@nac.gov.sg
Notification of Outcome
Applicants will be notified of the outcome by NAC via mail before 3 June 2011. Up to a maximum of three successful applicants will receive a Letter of Offer stating the terms and conditions of the grant and expected outcomes after the programme.
Download applciation form here.
