Month: January 2025

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PSA: Submissions Are Open For Red Bull Theater’s Short New Play Festival 2025!

I know that I have friends out there who are playwrights…so check this out!

We are looking for work with a classical inspiration. Six brand new short plays will be selected from this open-submission process to be presented alongside new plays from commissioned writers, Will Eno (The Realistic Joneses, Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)) and Anna Ziegler (The Last Match, Actually). Red Bull Theater’s 15th Annual Short New Play Festival is scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2025. This year’s theme? DEFIANCE

“Happy New Year! Each year for our Short New Play Festival, we look for fresh and exhilarating work with classical inspiration. This year’s theme is DEFIANCE. But that’s just a jumping off point. We hope that playwrights from around the world will respond to our mission to revitalize the classics. Writers are encouraged to riff on a classical character, borrow a classical setting, or be inspired to create a brand new style of dramatic verse. Finding inspiration from classics beyond the traditional Western canon is welcome. Through this festival, we hope to cultivate dialogues with classical theater in a multitude of creative and surprising ways. It’s a new year – time to write something new?”
– Jesse Berger | Founder & Artistic Director

OPEN SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Using the theme DEFIANCE, write a short play that: makes use of heightened language, and/or is in conversation with a classical theme, style, or story from any cultural tradition; is no more than 10 minutes in length; is self-contained with a beginning, middle and end; is an original, unpublished, and never previously produced new work.
Get the complete guidelines.

Selected playwrights will receive a staged reading of their submission as part of the festival on Monday, June 23, 2025, performed by an ensemble company of some of New York City’s finest actors, with a commissioning fee and travel reimbursement to attend the festival, rehearsal, and performance in New York City.

​DEADLINE: 12 NOON ET | MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2025.

You will find all of the details and fine print HERE!!

And I wouldn’t mind hearing from any of you who might enter. If you don’t want to comment in public, you can reach out to me at ed.heinzelman@anintuitiveperspective.com

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PSA: FIRST STAGE HOSTS WORLD PREMIERE OF EMILY SONG AND THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT: AN EPIC TALE OF MAGIC, MUSIC, AND HEROISM

MILWAUKEE — First Stage — one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families — invites audiences to the world premiere of EMILY SONG AND THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT. In this thrilling new production, Emily discovers she has extraordinary powers—but will they be enough to protect her loved ones from the formidable Queen of the Night? Don’t miss this epic superhero adventure that is sure to inspire and captivate audiences of all ages

EMILY SONG AND THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT runs Jan. 31 through Feb. 16, 2025, at the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Todd Wehr Theater. Tickets are available now on FirstStage.org.

Developed through First Stage’s Amplify Reading Series, this groundbreaking new musical emerged from the TYA (Theater for Young Audiences) BIPOC Superhero Project led by Jose Casas and designed to connect playwrights of color with professional TYA companies nationwide.

“Inspired by the world of anime and graphic novels, playwright and composer Marcus Yi has crafted an epic musical adventure unlike anything we’ve ever done before,” said Jeff Frank, First Stage Artistic Director. “Our Amplify Fall Festival shapes the development of potential future productions at First Stage. EMILY SONG AND THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT promises to captivate audiences by delivering a story that transcends traditional expectations of musical theater, seamlessly blending innovation, imagination and representation.”

Emily Song had always known that she was meant to sing. However, her father banned music from their lives for as long as she can remember. But that doesn’t stop Emily from secretly taking singing lessons online or joining the school glee club. On her 12th birthday, Emily’s powers manifest, and she discovers she is a music mage—a sorcerer who can cast magical spells through music. When the Queen of the Night kidnaps her father and best friend, Emily must figure out how to harness her newly discovered talent to save her loved ones—and New York City— from total destruction. 

Grab your cape, and be the first to see this brand-new musical!

The show runs approximately 75 minutes, including a brief intermission. Recommended for families with young people ages 7-17 and theater lovers of all ages.

This production’s Pay What You Choose Performance is on Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m., the Sensory Friendly Performance is on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m., and the Sign Language Interpreted Performance is on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m.

About First Stage
Founded in 1987, First Stage is one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families, and a driving force behind the creation of the best and most innovative plays for family audiences, theater training programs for young
people, and education initiatives for its schools and community. First Stage ensures that all programming is not only accessible to its community but that it is reflective of the community it serve

We’ll see you there!!