The 4th Playwrights Showcase - Red Rocks Community College

The 4th
Playwrights
Showcase
of the Western Region
August 5-8, 2009
Produced in
Partnership by:

4th Playwrights
Showcase of the
Western Region
We are pleased to announce a new partnership between Red Rocks Community College Theatre Arts and Dance
Department and nationally renowned Curious Theatre Company in producing the fourth Playwrights Showcase
of the Western Region in 2009. Since its inception in 1987, Red Rocks’ theatre production program has supported
the development and production of new plays and playwrights. Curious Theatre Company’s mission reflects a
similar commitment: “To engage the community in important contemporary issues through provocative modern
theatre.”
This very special event is created to support the original work of playwrights living in the Western States of
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming.
Presented in cooperation by the Red Rocks Community College Theatre Arts and Dance department and Curious
Theatre Company, the Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region is for playwrights, producers, directors,
actors, educators and community members who are interested in sharing a vital experience that celebrates new
works and the craft of playwriting.
Sincerely,
Pamela Jamruzska Mencher & Chip Walton
August 5-8, 2009
The upcoming Showcase, housed at Curious Theatre Company and will include:
• Four full days of play readings followed by critical discussions led by a panel of theatre luminaries
• Workshops focused on playwriting
• Social gatherings and network opportunities with Showcase Luminaries and attendees
• Featured works from Curious New Voices
• Boot Camp Showcase
“I would have to say that
All showcase events held at Curious Theatre Company attending the Showcase was
the beginning of the most productive
and successful period
All Boot Camp for Playwrights events held at of my writing career so far.”
Red Rocks Community College
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-Barbara Lindsey, Seattle, WA

Call for Directors and
Dramaturges
Experienced Directors and Dramaturges are needed
to cast and direct approximately 28-30 plays to be
read between August 5-8, 2009.
For more information about participating in the 4th
Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region as an
Actor, Director or Dramaturg please contact:
Lorraine Scott
Director/Actor Coordinator
swtlgs@comcast.net
720.280.2991
Where:
When:
Auditions
Curious Theatre Company
1080 Acoma St.
Denver, CO 80204
May 30, 2009, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Auditions will consist of group and individual
improvisational games followed by calbacks
with directors as needed.
Actors are also encouraged to bring a headshot and
resume to the audition.
To attend the audtions, please contact:
Elizabeth Parks
elizabeth.parks@rrcc.edu
303-914-6458
DVD’s Now Available
If you would like a DVD of a session or the entire event from the Playwrights Showcase of the Western
Region 2007 please contact:
Elizabeth Parks
elizabeth.parks@rrcc.edu; 303-914-6458
Showcase/Boot Camp Coordinator:
Individual Sessions DVD: $25.00 + shipping/handling*
Full Event (9 Sessions) : $210.00 + shipping/handling**
*Add $4.50 for shipping/handling
**Add $6.50 for shipping/handling
Contact Us
Pamela Jamruszka Mencher
pamela.mencher@rrcc.edu 303-914-6231
Director/Dramaturge/Actor Coordinator:
Audition/Logistics/Volunteer Coordinator:
Selection Committee Coordinator:
Lorraine Scott
swtlgs@comcast.net 720-280-2991
Elizabeth Parks
elizabeth.parks@rrcc.edu 303-914-6458
Penelope Cole
pwcole@yahoo.com
Registration: boxoffice@curioustheatre.org
www.rrcc.edu/theatre/playwrightshowcase/
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Fully accredited two-year Theatre and
Dance program offering a full spectrum
of theatre and dance courses leading to
the following degrees and certificates:
Degrees:
A.A. Theatre
A.A. Musical Theatre
A.A.S. Theatre Technology
Spring 2009 Production:
Rainy Day People
by Todd McCullough
Directed by Connie J. Sander
April 16, 17, 18,
23, 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m.
April 26 at 2:00 p.m.
Certificates:
Costume Basics
Costume and Fashion
Stagehand Basics
Stagecraft
Rainy Day People
by Todd McCullough
Directed by Connie J. Sander
Thursday- Two for One Tickets!
For tickets:
303-914-6458
theatre@rrcc.edu
http://www.rrcc.edu/theatre/
RRCC Theatre
13300 W. 6th Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80228
303-914-6458
theatre@rrcc.edu
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April 16, 17, 18,
23, 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m.
April 26 at 2:00 p.m.

New Partner
of the Playwrights
Showcase of the
Western Region
Curious Theatre Company is a mid-sized professional theatre, located in the heart of the Golden Triangle
neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. Producing five main-stage shows per season and host to many events and
programs such as Curious New Voices, our award winning teen playwriting program, Curious recently purchased
its home of ten years, previously known as The Acoma Center, a renovated church built in 1880. Since
its purchase, the building has gone through extensive renovations, including new seating and the addition of a
new bar/lounge, 'The Sanctuary', located in the balcony of the theatre.
Join us at Curious Theatre Company for a
performance of
EURYDICE, by Sarah Ruhl
A fantastical twist on the Orpheus myth, EURYDICE follows
the story of his wife, lost on their wedding night. A visually
stunning, whimsical story, our characters move through a
world of talking stones, raining elevators, letters sent through
the earth via worms, and rooms made out of string.
Performances:
Thursday-Sundays, March 7-April 18.
Tickets: $27-$34, 2 for 1 every Thursday!
Join us on a Friday or Saturday and receive 20% off, use Code:
CURIOUS (in all caps) in the discount code Box Office: box
online @ www.curioustheatre.org
or by phone at 303.623.0524 (based on availability).
More information at www.curioustheatre.org.
Upcoming Productions
Monday, March 30, 7:00 p.m.
Curious New Voices presents:
Urban Mythology
7 Short Plays by 7 Young Playwrights
1080 Acoma St., Denver, CO 80204
boxoffice@curioustheatre.org
303.623.0524
www.curioustheatre.org
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“The Playwrights Showcase was a
valuable experience for me. It was
one of the best teaching experiences
I have had in a long time.”
-Paul Liebler, Boulder, CO
What is the Boot Camp
for Playwrights?
Sponsored by Red Rocks Community College Theatre
Arts and Dance Department, the Boot Camp for
Playwrights is a writer’s seminar spanning three days of
intensive training, taught by nationally recognized playwright
professionals. The Boot Camp is designed to serve
playwrights of all levels; beginning and experienced
alike.
The sessions will include:
• writing exercises
• improvisation
• development of dialogue, plot, setting & character
• class discussions
• readings and feedback by featured instructors
www.rrcc.edu/playwrightshowcase/bootcamp.html
Boot Camp
for
Playwrights
August 2-4, 2009
Hosted by:
Red Rocks
Community College
Theatre Arts and Dance
Department
Unique Boot Camp Feature:
Boot Camp Showcase 2007
Boot Camp Showcase
In addition to the above activities, selected Boot
Camp participants will have their work highlighted
on the final night of the Playwrights Showcase of the
Western Region at Curious Theatre Company as part
of the “Boot Camp Showcase”.
The Boot Camp will be held just minutes from
downtown Denver, at Red Rocks Community College’s
beautiful campus in Lakewood, Colorado.
www.rrcc.edu/playwrightshowcase/bootcamp.html
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photo by: Denise Becker

2009 Boot Camp for Playwrights Registration Form
Registration Deadline: July 31, 2009
Name:______________________________________________________
Phone:______________________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________________
City: _________________________State:_____ Zip:________________
E-mail Address:______________________________________________
•Boot Camp....................... $120_____
(August 2, 3, 4, 2009)
Level: Circle One Below(*A writing sample is required for placement in Intermediate or Master levels)
Beginning Intermediate* Master*
Placement in classes is on a first-come first-served basis. Please register early to be guaranteed admission to the class of your choice.
•Playwrights Showcase Registration:
(August 5, 6, 7, 8, 2009) (All events except Friday evening Curious New Voices performance)
Early Bird (Before 6/01/09).... $100_____
(After 06/01/09)...................... $130_____
•Special Curious New Voices Performance:
Friday August 7........................$10_____ .
registration total__________
Mail Registration Form, Writing Sample
(if applicable) and Check or Money Order to:
make check payable to: RRCC Theatre
Pamela Jamruszka Mencher
Boot Camp Coordinator
Red Rocks Community College
13300 W. 6th Ave, Box 20
Lakewood, CO 80228
make check payable to: RRCC Theatre
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOT
REFUNDABLE OR TRANSFERABLE
Questions?
Contact: Pamela Jamruszka
Mencher
303-914-6231
pamela.mencher@rrcc.edu
www.rrcc.edu/playwrightshowcase/bootcamp.html
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Luminaries
These esteemed individuals will conduct critiques and facilitate discussions with the audiences following
each reading at the Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region. In addition, they will present
workshops and panel discussions involving playwriting and contemporary theater practices.
Paul (Pal) Bernstein Playwright and Professor, Rutgers University Paul (Pal) Bernstein is a
performer and instructor
of theatre concerned with experimental approaches to composition for new performance.
He has received both national and international recognition for his highly technical and
imaginative methods of building repeatable, yet open-ended performance works. His own
plays have been produced extensively in the U.S. and Europe for the past twenty years.
Pal Bernstein is an Assistant Professor of Theater at Rutgers University at Camden with a
focus on new theater and dance in Europe. In 2008 he wrote and performed a two man
play with Hungarian cellist Albert Markos. This work, Vita Nuova Hrabal, was produced at
the L1 Theater and at the Ludwig Museum of Modern Art in Budapest, and at the Bovec
Cultural Center in Slovenia. His work is at:www.UPONtheOther.org
Steven Dietz Playwright Steven Dietz’s plays have been widely produced at American regional
theatres, as well as Off-Broadway and internationally. Awards include
the PEN USA West Award for Lonely Planet; the Kennedy Center Fund for New American
Plays Award for both Fiction and Still Life with Iris; and the Edgar Award for Best
Mystery Play for Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. Recent work includes Last of the
Boys (Steppenwolf, Chicago), Becky’s New Car (ACT, Seattle) and Yankee Tavern (Florida
Stage). Mr. Dietz divides his time between Seattle and Austin, where he teaches
playwriting at the University of Texas.
Richard Dresser Playwright, Director Richard Dresser’s plays are widely produced in New York,
regional theater, and Europe. His recently published trilogy
of plays about happiness in America includes Augusta (working class), The Pursuit
of Happiness (middle class), and A View of the Harbor (upper class). Other plays are:
Rounding Third, Below the Belt, Something in the Air, Gun-Shy, The Downside, Alont at the
Beach, Wonderful World, and Better Days. He wrote the Broadway musical Good Vibrations
and the Sundance film Human Error, plus many short plays. His most recent projects
include a musical, Red Sox Nation, which opens next season at A.R.T. in Boston, CLUB
MOJITO, a play for high school/college students, and a new play about the notorious
gangster Whitey Bulger which will premiere next season. He is a former member of New Dramatists and twice attended
the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. He also writes film and television and is currently teaching at
Rutgers University.
Joe Kraemer Literary Manager and Playwright Joe Kraemer is the literary manager for the Lila
Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program
at The Juilliard School. The program, created by John Guare and Terrence McNally, is presently
co-directed by Christopher Durang and Marsha Norman. Joe oversees the playwriting
fellowship program that has included writers from around the English-speaking world.
As the dramaturg for Juilliard’s Drama Division, he assists in developing new and classical
plays that are performed over the four years of actor training at the school. His short plays
Find Some Planets and The American Occupation were developed for actors at Juilliard and
subsequently produced at the school. Joe is also creative director of Martin and Charlie
Sheen’s production company, Estevez/Sheen Productions, at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles.
Joe has taught playwriting at Barnard College in New York City for the past three years.
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Elaine’s work has been commissioned by such theatres as the Kennedy Elaine Romero Playwright
Center for the Performing Arts, Alley Theatre, InterAct Theatre Company,
Magic Theatre/Sloan Science & Technology Grant, Arizona Theatre Company, and Curious
Theatre Company. Her plays have been developed and produced by the Actors Theatre of
Louisville, Goodman Theatre, Ford Amphitheatre, Playwrights’ Center, Lark New Play Development
Center, the Working Theatre, Women’s Project and Productions, Su Teatro and San
Diego Repertory Theatre. Residencies include the Sundance Playwrights’ Retreat at Ucross,
Cornucopia Arts Center, and William Inge Playwright-in-Residence. Her Rain of Ruin is a
current finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award. Other awards include:
Sprenger-Lang New History Play Contest, Tennessee Williams One-Act Play Award, and The
Chicano/Latino Literary Award. Her publishers, among others, include: Samuel French, Playscripts, Vintage Books,
Simon and Schuster, Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, and Arte Publico Press. Her award-winning play, Walking Home,
will be published soon in Buenos Aires as part of an international series on contemporary world drama. She serves
as Playwright-in-Residence at Arizona Theatre Company.
Aoise Stratford’s work has been produced in Canada, Italy, Australia,
Belgium, England, and throughout the USA. She is the recipient
Aoise Stratford Playwright
of several awards including the Alan Minieri Award, A Pinter Review Prize for Drama Silver
Medal, the Yukon Pacific Playwright Award, the Hudson River Classics New Play Award,
and The Last Frontier Theatre Conference Audience Choice Award. She has been a finalist
for the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville’s Heideman Award and been nominated for an American
Theatre Critics’ Association New Play Award. She is a founding member of Three Wise
Monkeys Theatre Company, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. She teaches writing at
Ithaca College and is a regular respondent for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre
Festival. Short plays and monologues have been published by Smith and Kraus, United
Stages, Pretty Things Press, JAC, and Merriweather Press.
Mr. Stricker is a Paragon co-founder,
Michael Stricker Executive Director Paragon Theatre
ensemble member, and Executive Director.
Paragon credits include directing A Moon for the Misbegotten and the Henry Awardwinning
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Paragon acting credits include A Tuna
Christmas, Mojo, Vieux Carre, Look Back in Anger, The Mercy Seat and The Night Heron.
Mr. Stricker has received several acting nominations from The Denver Post, Boulder Daily
Camera and the Colorado Theatre Guild’s Henry Awards, and received Best Actor nods
from Colorado Backstage and Outfront Magazine. He has acted on professional and
non-professional stages in Colorado and Illinois, worked in film, commercials and industrials,
and is represented by Radical Talent in Denver. Mr. Stricker attended the University of
Northern Colorado, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre, with an emphasis in Acting. He has
also worked in Chicago and completed a one-on-one master acting class with Tony Award winner, Rondi Reed, at
Steppenwolf Theatre. Mr. Stricker is currently the Director of the Northglenn Arts and Humanities Foundation and
Cultural Programs Supervisor for the City of Northglenn.
Edith Weiss Playwright and Actor
Edith's plays have been produced in festivals and competitions
in Boston, NYC, Chicago, Albuquerque and Denver; some of
which include: Millersville University, the Avenue Theatre in Denver, The Theatre on Broadway,
the Devanaugh Theatre in Boston, The Lafayette Theatre and the Women’s Playwriting
Festival in Kansas City. She is the author of eight published children’s plays, three of which
premiered at the Arvada Center. Her Recent Youth Theater productions include Two Dumb
Dogs, which premiered at the Backstage Theater Breckenridge in 2008, Aunt Maggity's
House of Horror, The E-Project, and the world premiere of her adaptation of A Little Princess
at the Aurora Fox Theater. Her work is represented by Pioneer, Brooklyn, and Eldridge
Publishers. In addition to writing, Edith is a director, actor, and stand-up comic.
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RMTA
COLORADO IDAHO MONTANA UTAH WYOMING
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
THEATRE
ASSOCIATION
2009 Theatre Festival
February 4, 5, 6, & 7, 2009
Offering the most
affordable, in-depth,
four-day theatre
festival in North
America.
Fort Lewis College
Durango Colorado
Offering THREE annual Playwriting Awards, sponsored by
Playwright and 2009 Showcase Luminary, Steven Dietz.
photo: Speak Truth to Power: Voices Beyond the Dark
Produced by Fort Lewis College, RMTA Festival 2008
Join us in 2010 in Helena, Montana!
RMTA Festival 2010
proudly hosted by:
Grandstreet Theatre
February 11-14, 2010
www.rmta.net
The oldest, continuously active organization of its kind in the United States since 1951.
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Testimonials and Showcase Success Stories
Playwright Development:
“My short play Nocturne, Sort Of (Showcase ‘07) had a run this past summer at The
Stagecrafters New Play Festival at The Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan. You
know what's intriguing about that? I really don't know how they even found out about
this play, unless it was through the showcase...
Maybe more significantly, following the reading of “Nocturne" (which was helped
immeasurably by the direction of Rick Bernstein and the pitch-perfect performances
by actors Bernie Cardell and Mari Geasair), one of the luminaries who'd watched it,
Richard Dresser, approached me and encouraged me to develop the piece into a fulllength
play. It's taken me the better part of a year, and it was one of the more challenging
projects I've undertaken, but I now have a full-length version of this piece.” -Scott
Gibson, Denver, CO
From the staged reading of
Sand Creek Casino - 2007
Playwright and Producer
Scott Gibson
Quality Readings Quality Results:
“For my own particularly reading the three most important elements were in
place. Actors who had read and understood the script. A knowledgeable audience.
And theatre professionals with both an understanding of theatre and of
new work, to help the play along. With all these in place I was able to get a better
idea of my script, and the ideas (and silences) and helped in the rewriting,
which is still going on.
...because I was able to hear my play read I was able to better craft a half
hour version of the play which went on to win first place in the Hinton Battle
Diverse Voices Playwriting Contest--as well as a $1000 prize.” - Stuart Boyce,
Boulder, CO
Valuable Feedback
“The real benefit for me was hearing the talk back about the play. I have remembered the
remarks and "listened" to them in my subsequent writing.” – Susan Hickey, Denver,
CO
photos by: Tyler Giebel
Playwright Susan Hickey
Based on comments I received in the post-show discussion, How To Avoid Bob (Showcase
‘05) was revised and later performed as a reading at Portland Theatre Works on a double
bill titled Wrestling With Charlotte. That double-bill went on to be a finalist in the 2006
Oregon Book Awards for Drama. -Doug Baldwin, Portland, OR
National and International Success:
• The M Word by William Missouri Downs (Showcase ‘07) was produced by the University of Wyoming and
was part of the 2008 Regional American College Theatre Festival. In two
weeks it opens at a small theatre in Pasco, Washington
• Renaissance by George Taylor is scheduled (tentatively) for production
in September 2009
• The Greater Good by Rebecca Gorman will be produced by Next Stage
in October 2009.
• Room at the Inn by Barbara Lindsey at the following theatres:
Eclectic Theater Co, North Hollywood, CA 2005
Black Door Theater Co, NY 2006
Emerging Artists Theater Co, NY 2006
Theater Limina, MN 2008
Short & Sweet Festival, Sydney, Australia 2008
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From the 2007 reading of
The M Word

111-900
Playwrights Showcase
Pamela Jamruszka Mencher
Red Rocks Community College
13300 West Sixth Avenue, Box 20
Lakewood, CO 80228
“The largest and most significant gathering
of playwrights ever held in this part of the country."
– John Moore, Denver Post
4th Playwrights
Showcase of the
Western Region
August 5-8, 2009
“The 3rd Playwrights Showcase was THE single most
gratifying event of my creative life.” -August Mergelman