[NEohioPAL] Weathervane First 10-Minute Play Festival

[David Seth]

Dear Ms. Moushey,

Since you find charging playwrights to submit their work a reasonable position, why not be fair to all of the artists involved?  Why not charge actors to audition, and directors to apply, and designers and techies and all of the rest of the people who give so freely of their time and expertise, whether or not they get cast or hired or have some form of involvement with your production?  

After all, without the playwrights, you wouldn't have the material to put on the plays, so why not share the philosophy with everyone who uses the plays, just as you charge audiences to watch them?  

"The competition will provide Weathervane with recognition and expand its reputation for quality and innovative theatre."  I'm not sure this email exchange or its tone promotes the kind of quality your mission is seeking for Weathervane.  My apology for not realizing that you charged $7.50/script submitted - a bargain - rather than $15.  

Sincerely,
Deborah Magid


On Jun 21, 2011, at 7:40 PM, Eileen Moushey wrote:

> On Dec. 20 “David Seth” wrote in response to a Weathervane Playhouse press release about their 10 Minute Play Contest & Festival
> “125 plays x $15 per entry = $1875 in revenues - a festival paid for by the 118 playwrights who didn't win anything and didn't even get their plays critiqued, much less produced.”
>  
> I am a playwright, a member of the Dramatists Guild, and the Coordinator of Weathervane’s 10 Minute Play Contest and Festival.
>  
> “Mr. David Seth’s” math is incorrect.   Playwrights were permitted to submit 2 entries for 1 administrative fee.    Many chose to do so.    
>  
> “Mr. David Seth” also seems to imply that Weathervane somehow cheated entrants by not delivering on a promise we never made, i.e., a “critique” ????  There may be contests out there that promise critiques of each play or even productions of each play, but ours wasn’t one of them.    
>  
> Nor, just to be clear, was Weathervane’s fee a “reading fee”.   None of our 5-7 first round judges (who spent an average of 30 hours each reading and rating plays) were compensated for the time and care they gave to the project.
>  
> We looked to the Dramatists Guild Resource Book for guidelines,  especially regarding fees.  
>  
> “The Dramatists Guild of America denounces the practice by festivals, play contests, and educational events of charging excessive fees to dramatists who submit their work.  Any request for submission fees should be accompanied by a complete explanation of how those fees are to be spent.”  (my emphasis)  (2011 DG Resource Book, pg. 24)
>  
> Which is exactly what we did.    We wrote an explanation of our administrative fee, sent it to DG, and they replied that our rationale was just the sort of thing they look for in a justification.  They told us to post it on the contest page of the Weathervane website.    Which we also did.    In fact, it was posted there for nine months.    Which is why the Weathervane Contest/Festival  is listed in the 2011 Dramatists Guild Resource Directory on page 51. 
>  
> In fact, Dramatists has an entire section for ‘fee charged’ opportunities.   The Council of the Guild feels that its members should be made aware of all legitimate opportunities available to them, and so we have listed in this section those particular contests and festivals that charge fees and have provided explanations regarding how their submission fees are spent. . . (2011 DG Resource Book, pg. 24)
>  
> Our explanation of the administrative fee  is no longer online, as the contest portion is closed, but you may send me an email requesting it.    10minuteplay at weathervaneplayhouse.com
>  
> Virtually everyone involved at Weathervane celebrates the art of the playwright.   In this case there are 5-7 first round judges,  4 guest judges, 7 directors, 18 actors  and countless other volunteer and staff members who are dedicated to “serving the plays” that we will present at our 8x10 TheatreFest on July 15-17.  
>  
> Additionally,  I am in close contact with the finalists and have just begun sending press releases to their press contacts, so they will get the local acclaim they deserve. 
>  
> And, actually, we’ve been in contact with all the playwrights right from the beginning - answering questions, acknowledging submissions, and lastly, to apprise all regarding the finalists chosen.   I’ve received many gracious responses from non-winners - thanking us for the opportunity, expressing appreciation for the way we ran our competition, and lots and lots of promises to enter again next year. 
>  
> Our mission statement for the project is this:  to promote the art of play writing, present new works, and introduce area audiences to the short play form.   The competition will provide Weathervane with recognition and expand its reputation for quality and innovative theatre. 
>  
> We are confident that we are fulfilling that mission and very excited about presenting the 8x10 TheatreFest on July 15-17.  
>  
> * Eileen Moushey, Coordinator
> Weathervane Playhouse 8x10 TheatreFest
>  
> * My real name.
>  
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http://deborahmagid.com




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