2010: Move the Needle January 4, 2010
Posted by William Spear in >> Lit Between the Ears, Volume Two, >> Playwriting, >> Two Plus Plus Productions LLC, audio theatre, radio play, spoken word.Tags: two plus plus productions
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Welcome to the New Year, 2010. It is our sincerest hope that 2009 was successful.
But it is our further wish that 2010 moves the needle on your biggest goals and objectives.
2009 was great at Two Plus Plus. We were inspired by one single word: Believe. That word infused everything we touched and aspired for during all tweve months and the results were exceptional:
- Published eight new works for our Mayonnaise in My Cake anthology;
- Succeeded with Off the Pipes, our entry in the National Playwriting Month challenge;
- Conducted three workshops on radio drama;
- Finished and published the first chapter – Grandfather’s Last Race? – of our novel tentatively titled Phantom of the Racetrack; and
- Wrote, Produced, and Directed three performances of Lit Between the Ears – the Plays of William E. Spear.
For 2010, our goals are both larger and smaller:
- Finish first and subsequent drafts of Phantom of the Racetrack by October 1 for consideration by agents or publishers;
- Finalize for sale Mayonnaise in My Cake and Other Holiday Delights by April 1;
- Better communicate within the community of writers, performers, and directors that connect through Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook;
- Write the second episode of Splendor In Midland;
- Write the second episode of Swing for the Fences; and
- Do all of the above with grace and style.
In short, I intend to move the needle.
Company is welcome.
Warm personal regards,
William E. Spear
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LA Theatre Works: Table Manners by Alan Ayckbourn on Saturday 5 December December 5, 2009
Posted by William Spear in >> News, >> Radio Drama.Tags: >> Radio Drama, Alan Ayckbourn, audio drama, audio theatre, Carolyn Seymour, Christopher Neame, Jane Leeves, Ken Danziger, L. A. Theatre Works, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, S. Mark Taper Foundation, The Norman Conquests
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This weekend, beginning Saturday, December 5, L.A. Theatre Works will air Table Manners by Alan Ayckbourn. The broadcast can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10 pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at http://www.latw.org/.
Table Manners, the first battle in Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests trilogy in which England’s famous seducer of other men’s wives lays siege to his sister-in-law, stars Rosalind Ayres, Ken Danziger, Martin Jarvis, Jane Leeves, Christopher Neame, and Carolyn Seymour. The broadcast includes interviews with Alan Ayckbourn and Martin Jarvis.
L.A. Theatre Works’ radio theater series can also be heard on the following stations (check local listings for broadcast times): 89.7 WGBH, Boston, MA; 91.5 WBEZ, Chicago, IL; 94.9 KUOW, Seattle, WA; 90.1 WABE, Atlanta, GA; 94.1 KPFA, Berkeley, CA; 91.1 KRCB, North Bay (San Francisco, CA); 89.1 KVPR, Fresno, CA; 89.3 KPRX, Bakersfield, CA; and many other stations nationwide.
Major funding for L.A. Theatre Works’ broadcast series is provided by the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Founded in 1989, the S. Mark Taper Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of people’s lives by supporting non-profit organizations and their work in the community.
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You might not have believed the NaPlWriMo post from yesterday, but here’s proof December 2, 2009
Posted by William Spear in >> News, >> Playwriting, >> Radio Drama.Tags: frank curts, Industrial Football League, NaPlWriMo, off the pipes, William E. Spear
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In case you missed yesterday’s post, “Done! Off the Pipes, an audio drama, is finished at 114 pages” (http://twoplusplus.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/done-off-the-pipes-an-audio-drama-is-finished-at-114-pages/), the proof is enclosed!
The Official Rhino Badge was earned by Frank Curts letting me tell 114 pages of his story in Off the Pipes (On NaPlWriMo at http://www.naplwrimo.org/OffThePipes).
The NaPlWriMo community was full of intensely focused writers. From the contacts I had, the group collectively and individually pursued playwriting with passion.
What to write in 2010?
Best to all,
William E. Spear
National Playwriting Month:
http://www.naplwrimo.org/OffThePipes
Other writing on Scribd:
http://www.scribd.com/Two%20Plus%20Plus%20Productions%20LLC
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Done! Off the Pipes, an audio drama, is finished at 114 pages December 1, 2009
Posted by William Spear in >> News, >> Playwriting, >> Radio Drama.Tags: frank curts, Industrial Football League, NaPlWriMo, off the pipes, William E. Spear
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Monday evening, 30 November, Off the Pipes was uploaded to the NaPlWriMo site (http://www.naplwrimo.org/OffThePipes). The main character is Franks Curts, a quarterback for the American football team, the Rivermen, in the Industrial Football League. Curts had been bothering me to write his story for four years.
The NaPlWriMo seemed a fine opportunity to get the broad parameters of Curts’ story in place. On 1 November 2009, I began writing his story. At that time, I only knew two things about him: 1) He felt he was the only member of the Rivermen capable of winning a championship for the team; and 2) Years earlier, the only previous opportunity to win a championship was lost when the team’s kicker, stoned out of his mind on crack, missed an easy field goal as time ran out.
Thirty days and 114 pages later, the first draft of Off the Pipes was finished and uploaded. The play is written for audio and intended to be performed live. Irrespective of the quality of the draft, and the amount of writing still to be done on the script, a couple of valuable lessons were learned or reinforced:
- A lot of writing can be done in a modest period of time;
- Self-editing can be wholly, or, at least, largely, turned off; and
- Writing for audio is a phenomenally flexible means for telling stories and developing characters.
Hoping everyone’s holidays are joyous,
William
Cross-posted from British Theatre
http://www.britishtheatre.com/profiles/blogs/done-off-the-pipes-an-audio
Off the Pipes and other work may be found at Scribd at:
http://www.scribd.com/Two%20Plus%20Plus%20Productions%20LLC
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