24 Hours in Which I Write a Play and Get Silly... And the Follow-up Event Where I Get to See if it's a Winner! Play in a Day - Fringe 2013

So I just finished Play in a Day 2013.  It's a 24 Hour Playwriting Competition in it's second year of operation held in conjunction with The Edmonton International Fringe. I like 24 Hour Playwriting Competitions.  There is something about the tightness of the timeline, combined with actually having space and purpose to write that fuels me to get a play done.  It might not be fabulous, but it's a first draft with a beginning, middle and end and I can hopefully take it away and make it better.  I never enter these things worrying about winning.  For me I accept the impossibility of the task and say, "Let's just do this!". It's about getting the draft done.  If I manage to craft something good, that's a bonus.  Getting it good is about re-writing and editing.  This event is just about writing. This year the room was more intimate and several of us were on twitter so we filled the online air space with jokes and silliness and it made for a very fun day.  I finished at 20:35 and only grabbed about 2 hours of not very good sleep (not counting the 45 minutes I think I also got on my keyboard).  I'm happy with my work as a starting point and now comes the waiting to see if I win (again, I am not holding my breath!).

When do I find out? Well, on Tuesday Night! Where?  Well, at a Fringe Forum! The fringe is combining a reading of the successful script with a Forum on How to Be a Successful Playwright.  All the information is below!  I will be late because I screwed up and thought this was on Wednesday (I think at one point it was and they moved it... or maybe because it was on Wednesday last year I just assumed... Anyhow...).  So I have to rush from my show to catch what I can.  I should only miss about 45 minutes of the evening.  You can catch it all! And it's Free!

PLAY IN A DAY
24 hours. 12 plays. One winner.
Culminating in the
How to be a Successful Playwright Forum

PCL STUDIO AT THE ATB FINANCIAL ARTS BARNS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2013
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Returning after a triumphant inaugural year, Play in a Day will put twelve new playwrights through their paces in an epic competition, featuring copious amounts of coffee and sleep deprivation. The winning playwright will be thrust into a year-long process of play development with the help of local professional artists.

The winning play will be announced and read publicly for the first time in conjunction with the How To Be a Successful Playwright Forum. Join professional playwrights and publishers as they discuss the process of play writing from development and workshopping through to performance and publication.

MODERATOR: Mieko Ouchi (Playwright and President of the Board, Playwrights Canada Press)
PANELISTS: Anne Nothof (Play Editor, NeWest Press), Marty Chan (Playwright), Nicole Moeller (Playwright)

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