<HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: ">
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">On Dec. 20 “David Seth” wrote in response to a
Weathervane Playhouse press release about their 10 Minute Play Contest &
Festival</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM>“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.”</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<HR>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">I am a playwright, a member of the Dramatists
Guild, and the Coordinator of Weathervane’s 10 Minute Play Contest and
Festival.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">“Mr.
David Seth’s” math is incorrect.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Playwrights were permitted to submit 2 entries for 1 administrative
fee.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many chose to do
so.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">“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”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> ???? </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">Nor,
just to be clear, was Weathervane’s fee a “reading fee”.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>None of our 5-7 first round judges
(who spent an average of 30 hours <U>each</U> reading and rating plays) were
compensated for the time and care they gave to the project. </FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT></I> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">We looked to
the Dramatists Guild Resource Book for guidelines, <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>especially regarding
fees.</SPAN> <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">“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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></I><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Any
request for submission fees should be accompanied by a complete explanation of
how those fees are to be spent.”</FONT></SPAN></I></B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">
</FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(my
emphasis)<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(2011 DG Resource Book,
pg. 24)</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><U>Which is exactly what we did</U>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They told us to post it on the contest
page of the Weathervane website.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Which we also did. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> In
fact, it was posted there for <U>nine months</U>. Which is
</SPAN>why the Weathervane Contest/Festival <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>is listed in the 2011 Dramatists Guild
Resource Directory on page 51.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">In
fact, Dramatists has an entire section for ‘fee charged’ opportunities.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">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. . .</I> (2011 DG Resource Book, pg. 24)</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">Our
explanation of the administrative fee <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>is no longer online, as the contest
portion is closed, but you may send me an email requesting it. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT><A
href="mailto:10minuteplay@weathervaneplayhouse.com"><FONT color=#0000ff
face="Times New Roman">10minuteplay@weathervaneplayhouse.com</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Virtually everyone involved at Weathervane celebrates the
art of the playwright.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In
this case there are 5-7 first round judges, <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Additionally, <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am in close contact with the finalists
and have just begun sending press releases to <U>their</U> press contacts, so
they will get the local acclaim they deserve.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">And,
actually, we’ve been in contact with <U>all</U> the playwrights right from the
beginning - answering questions, acknowledging submissions, and lastly, to
apprise all regarding the finalists chosen.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">Our
mission statement for the project is this: <I>to promote the art of play
writing, present new works, and introduce area audiences to the short play
form.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The competition will
provide Weathervane with recognition and expand its reputation for quality and
innovative theatre.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></I></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">We
are confident that we are fulfilling that mission and very excited about
presenting the 8x10 TheatreFest on July 15-17.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">*
Eileen Moushey, Coordinator</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Weathervane Playhouse 8x10 TheatreFest</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman">* My
real name.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>