Pictures: December 12, 2009

I want to thank writers Chris Shaw Swanson and Brandt Jones for sharing their plays along with my own. Also, I would like to thank the actors Acacia Duncan, John Dranshak, Cash Kimmerle, Mary Jo Apisa, Amy Talbott, Brandt Jones (again), Rose Ann Kalister, and Anna Lee for reading. (Hopefully, I didn't forget anyone or misspell any names.)Stay tuned for our next meeting which will probably be in January. We will be hopefully moving back to the UA Main Library.

Dec.12th meeting to start 10 minutes early

In accordance with our accommodating and docile nature, our December 12th meeting (ah-hum... that's tomorrow) at The Upper Arlington Library Lane Rd. Branch will be 10 minutes early. So the meeting starts at 1:35pm instead of 1:45pm. I suspect the meeting will not last till 4:45pm. We have more than a few actors who are multi-talented and generous with their time but need to be some where after they read.

Drama Foundry Writers' Group Next Meeting: LOCATION CHANGE! and special meeting

Our next meeting is on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at the Upper Arlington Library Lane Road Branch. The location change is due to the fact that during the beginning of December, space was not available at the main UA branch library. 

This will be a special meeting because members who are interested in submitting a 10-minute play to the Heartland Theater Company's 10-minute Play Festival can have their piece read before they submit it. The deadline for entries to be considered after revisions will be January 1, 2010. The final deadline will be February 1, 2010.

John Dranschak, The Drama Foundry casting director and international man of mystery, has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged Arvin Donner, TDF founder, to submit a piece with him. Arvin has taken the challenge. Any other dramatic writers are welcome to join and have their piece read at this meeting (space available) before submitting their play.

The Drama Foundry's Peace and Happiness Council was kind of enough to accommodate the member writers by ruling that the month of November as being wrong and possibly evil giving the member writer's time to prepare their plays for the festival.

All participating writers at this next meeting will be asked to bring something to eat or drink. Assistance will be given to writers requesting help casting for their play. We look forward to seeing you all at the next meeting. Good luck with your writing. For any further questions please contact us at the following yahoo.com email address: thedramafoundry

State Peace and Happiness Council Boycotts November

The Drama Foundry's Peace and Happiness Council has unanimously decided to boycott the month of November. It has been concluded that the month is inheritantly flawed and possibly evil.

The council decided that Numa Pompilius, one of the traditional kings of Rome, who originally decided to add 2 months to the Romulus (Roman) calendar was wrong. The council believes it is better to leave out the months of January and February of the calendar and create a nebulous happy time since it is cold as hell in Ohio and nothing really happens here this time of year anyway. Also, it was decided by the council that the name "November" derived from the Roman word Novem meaning nine (as in the ninth month) is inheritantly misleading since November is the eleventh month.

The possible evil inheritant in this month derives from the mass slaughter and consumption of turkeys during this time of year, the forced contact and interaction between the general public and annoying relatives from social rituals and holidays associated with this month, and the increase in televised sporting events that make scheduling meetings on Saturday afternoons impossible.

The Peace and Happiness Council asks you to just ignore this month and to focus on your writing or on practicing your acting skills.Do not dilly dally around waiting for us to schedule a meeting this month. Do not go outside, eat meals with relatives you hate, or watch T.V. If you would like to file a protest to the decision, you may do so. If you have material you would like to be read please submit to the yahoo.com email address: thedramafoundry

See you next month. (That is unless you have something ready to read right now.)

Deputy Assistant Minister for Propaganda and State Secrets


Arvin Donner

Oct 3, 2009 Meeting: Thank you

Thank you Chris Swanson for letting us hear your work. I wanted to also thank the actors Jane Mowder, Theresa Nolan, and Rick Napoli for reading. We had a very lively and fulfilling discussion. Stay tuned for plans for our next meeting.

Better late than never Oct. 3rd Pictures

Next Meeting: Oct. 3rd reading of Playwright Chris Shaw Swanson

Internationally produced playwright Chris Shaw Swanson will be having three of her new short plays read on Oct. 3rd.

Actors Jane Mowder, Theresa Nolan, Rick Napoli, and (hopefully) Amy Talbott will be reading for Chris.

Where: Upper Arlington Library
             28oo Tremont Blvd
             Upper Arlington, Ohio
              Conference Room B

When: 1:45pm to 4:45pm

Refreshments, finger foods, and feedback will be served. After the readings and feedback sessions we will be having a group conscience (time permitting).

Pictures: Sept. 12th meeting - Oh and, Thank You.

I wanted to thank the actors Rick Napoli, Kristina Kopf, Dan Welsh, Ellen Knolls, Angela Cutrell, Isaac Gephart, and last but not least, our playwright Rose Ann Kalister for a great reading. Thank you.

Sean Christopher Lewis: KILLALDELPHIA

We had the honor of having an out-of-town award winning playwright come to our meeting on Saturday (Sept. 12). Sean's appearance was a little last minute. However, everyone at the meeting enjoyed his talk. I wish he could have talked longer. (We had a 90 page play to get through before the UA Library closed...)

Sean shared his experiences from his graduate school at Iowa State and getting to participate in the O'Neil Playwright Conference. He also touched upon what he would expect out of a group like ours if he were going to have one of his pieces read.

Sean will be having his play KILLADELPHIA performed at Junctionview Studios September 24-27. Matt Slaybaugh, the Artistic Director, from Available Light Theater will be directing the play. I will be organizing a group of us to go see the play on opening night (Sept. 24). Some of Sean's other work includes The Aperture and Militant Language. I look forward to him participating with our group in the future.

If you are interested in joining us on September 24, let me know.

Killadelphia: mixtape of a city #2
Uploaded by slay1975. - Arts and animation videos.

Congratulations

The Echo Productions Team from the Columbus 48 hour film project which included Amy Talbott and Scott Summit from Pale Imitations won Best Picture (among other awards) for their submission, Imagine This. These guys hit it out of the park and their hard work paid off. Congratulations. You can see it here. I wish them success during the next round.

If This Blog Was My Child...

I would have been arrested for child neglect. The blog would have been found locked in a basement closet, high on cough syrup, and malnourished consuming the only sustenance available, cockroaches. I also have read that your not supposed to post "Where have I been" posts but what am I supposed to do with all this guilt and shame I feel for neglesting my blog... my audience. Oh, the horror!

Well, the short answer is I have been busy. Is that good enough? Probably not. The long answer entails me going into the details of being a caregiver for elderly parents, a parent, unemployed, and organizing this group all on my lonesome. Not to mention, if I am going to write, I would rather work on my own scripts than to write on this blog. So there.

I'd be curious to know what obstacles get in the way of you working on your blog? How do you deal with your creative guilt or lack of productivity? Or, more precisely, How do you deal with it constructively?

The Drama Foundry Writers' Group: Sept. 12 Meeting

NEA grant-winning playwright, Rose Ann Kalister, will be having her 90 page play, Double Dutch read. We are currently helping Rose get her cast together for this reading. The meeting will be at the usual time and place:

The Upper Arlington Main Library
2800 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington Library
Conference Room B

Time: 1:45 to 4:45

Pictures from our August 22 Reading

August 22 Scheduled Reading

Our next meeting is August 22. We have two scripts being read, The Mummy Queen by James Brosnahan and Philip Montel and Fantasia Dentata by Arvin Donner (That's me). We have between both scripts 15 parts to be read and both plays will be open to the group for casting. If you are interested in reading, please let us know you plan on attending the meeting.
Contact: thedramafoundry@yahoo.com

First Reading Pictures: August 1, 2009

I need two actors for a reading tomorrow.

I need a male and female who can read for 14 to 15 year-old teenagers. Please send inquiries to thedramafoundry@yahoo.com Please include your stats, and a head shot and resume if you have one.

Meeting Format

This is format is subject to change. We'll try it out, see out it works, and make any changes accordingly.

1. Welcome

2. Meeting Guidelines

3. Reminder of Confidentiality

4. Introductions

5. Shameless Promotion and Announcements – pass contact sheet, Mention any shows, marketing opportunities

6. Overview of the scheduled readings for the evening

7. Feedback session
- Writer introduces the piece and discusses the feedback needed
- Reading
- Initial feedback from session participants
- Question and answer period between writer and session participants
- Intermission

8. Reminder of the next meeting

9. Reminder of eligibility for scheduled readings

10. Pass sign-up sheet for scheduled readings and meeting attendance sheet

11. Meeting adjournment and clean-up

Our first readings: August 1, 2009 1:45pm - 4:45pm

In spite of being a single parent, a caretaker to elderly parents, going on vacation, looking for a job, and having had to look for a new meeting space I have been able to be on top of things enough - cough- to be able to go ahead and schedule our next meeting. Our new meeting space will be at the Upper Arlington Library in meeting room B. Our next meeting is August 1st from 1:45pm to 4:45pm.

When it first came to light that Junctionview Studios was not going to be able to provide the space we needed at the price we could afford (free) I went into a little bit of panic admittedly. However, after several phone calls my problem soon became making up my mind as to which awesome free space to pick. We had several to choose from.

After getting feedback from several members I decided to go with the Upper Arlington Library because they have got great spaces, it's centrally located, scheduling didn't seem an issue, and they have parking.

Rose Anne Kalister and Robert Foor will be our first writers to read for the group. I want to thank them both for their initiative. Rose Anne will be having a part of the first scene of her full-length play Double Dutch read. Robert Foor has decided to make his short film A Good Cup of Coffee a showcase piece. He will be showing up to the meeting and be picking any actors who decide they want to read. I think he is going to be doing it first come, first serve. So if you are an actor and interested in a reading opportunity you may want to drop me a line and let me know you are planning on attending so I can give Robert an idea of how many actors plan on being considered for the reading.

We hope to see you there. I know I am excited.

My Role

I thought things went well for our first meeting. I also appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm. When I see others get creatively inspired, I get inspired. I have been thinking. I do want to respond to one issue I have heard about in one form or another after the meeting from various people. I am starting to suspect that I have not been clear enough in communicating my role in the group. That concerns me.

So, let me be clear. I am the ultimate authority for this group. I am the founder and I plan on making the group how I want it to be. Now that being said, I am obviously not the only person in this group and I want to share in my vision for the group. I gathered from the meeting there are several other people who want to share in the vision also.

So, in regards to decisions (artistic and otherwise), I am going to defer to the group for feedback, providing ideas, and giving people the opportunity to share their voices in order to help me in making decisions. If we all can't seem to make up our minds and find a reasonable compromise together (like in regards to casting) then the buck stops with me and I will make the decision that I think will best serve the group (i.e., the writers).

Secondly, I can't do everything. I don't have enough hands, feet, or time in the day to do it all. So, I need help in creating this opportunity for all of us. Hence, I am grateful to John, Holly, and Robert for stepping up to the plate and helping out. I am hoping that their participation will inspire others to do the same. If you have any questions or concerns, let me know. I am grateful for the turnout at our first meeting and I am really inspired by all the talented and driven people I met on Saturday. I am very glad to know that there are others like me and I am not alone in Columbus. I have learned so much just from our first meeting and the people I have met. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Regards,

Arvin Donner

First Meeting Notes: July 11, 2009

Present
Arvin Donner
Chris Shaw Swanson
John Swanson
Holly Magnani (and baby Xavier)
Robert Foor
John Dranschak
Philip Montell
Tom Shafer
Kat Fralick
Amy Talbott
Rose Ann Kalister
Diana Daily

Agenda
General items
Group Format
Critiques
Etiquette
Casting
Next Meeting

General

- DF may allow precasting until more actors start to attend.
- The mission statement of DF needs to be published somewhere.

- The Drama Foundry is a functional group geared toward writers and having their work critiqued.

- Keep in mind that the group is for learning. We are all here to learn and it is OK to make mistakes. This is where we come to practice and improve our craft.

-Arvin is not able to do everything. “It’s not all on me.” He’s looking for help in getting things started. He will remain a facilitator of sorts and be the final word on issues especially when the group is unable to come to a consensus.

- This is a writer’s group. Writers come first.

- Phil asked what the future plans and the focus of the group would be. Arvin said that for right now we are going to focus on getting the writers’ group going and that he had other ideas but did not want to distract the group with those ideas at this time.

Group Format

- Meetings will start out with welcome

- There will be introductions, announcements/shameless promotions, business, and a run down of the evenings work.

- There should be a timekeeper/God who keeps things rolling.

- There will be a rotation of responsibility for certain roles like the time keeper.

- There will be a meeting guide book with a meeting script, rules of etiquette and submission guidelines for participants at each meeting. These documents will also be published on the web.


- The group consciousness should be decided by a simple majority. Keep in mind that new ideas will be a trial and error process.

Critiques

- There should be a laid out structure to critiquing:


The writer shall choose the focus and discussion of the critique. During the initial critique the writer will not speak and shall listen to the participants of the critique. After the initial critique the writer can ask questions to the critique participants.

- The writers who are being read are responsible for the food and drink for the evening.


Etiquette

-When critiquing a writer’s work Arvin suggested these criteria:

The critique participant needs to remember we are all here to learn. The critiques are not for helping the writer rewrite their work. The critiques are not about telling the writer what you like and do not like. The critiques are about helping the writer see what works and does not work in their piece. When critiquing a work always start with the positive and then bring up something that needs improvement.

- Holly suggested that we keep critiques all positive.

Submissions

- There will be a checklist of criteria for submissions of scripts

- There should be nothing that would enthusiastically espouse the virtues of white supremacy, homophobia, violence against women, pedophilia, ect. If unsure, ask.

- Script submissions are open for the first couple of meetings.

Casting

- The larger variety of actors, the better.

- If writers need help with casting, John Dranschak will help writers get actors for their reading.

- Writers can choose actors and or can throw it open.

-How shall actors be cast? Shall casting be left up entirely to the writers? Can actors be picked from a hat? Several participants shared their view on these questions including Holly, Robert, Phil, Chris, John, Rose, and Cat. This is all still up in the air:

Arvin decided due to the time left for the meeting that for right now the group will try and schedule 3 readings per meeting and to try and have at least one reading per meeting be a “showcase” reading. A showcase reading will have the actors picked from a hat. This decision will be reviewed at the next group conscious after our third meeting. Arvin stated that if a compromise is not reached by the group he will make the decision that he thinks will best serve the writers and allow writers to choose how they cast their pieces.

- A reading sign-up sheet and group contact list was passed around for participants.

Next Meeting

- The next two meetings will have scheduled readings. Arvin will serve as the timekeeper for the first few meetings.

- Aug 1st and 22nd 5 pm same place as of now. However, this might change.

- Scripts submissions are open for first couple meeting

-Info for each meeting will be posted on The Drama Foundry blog and Facebook

Our first meeting was a success!

In spite of me not having the correct address on the Facebook Group Event people still showed up. (I think I counted 11...) During the introductions, I realized we had a wide variety of people with a wide variety of backgrounds. (playwrights, screenwriters, actors, directors, and producers).

There were three basic things I wanted to get out of this meeting for myself. I wanted to know what the level of interest would be in this town for a group like this. I also wanted to get a chance to know what I would be contending with in regards to the group dynamic. (It's a lively, inspiring bunch. I got my work cut out for me;-P )Finally, I needed to listen and hear what people had to say. I got a chance to do plenty of that. I was afraid I would be doing all the talking.

There is a lot more that I need to post concerning our first meeting and the next 2 meetings. The next two are scheduled for Aug 1st and Aug 22nd.

I am curious. What were your impressions of our first meeting?

Meeting Address Correction

On The Drama Foundry Facebook site there is an error that our friend Holly pointed out to me. We are meeting tonight at 889 Williams Avenue in Grandview at Junctionview Studios and not 889 Williams Road on the near East side. Sorry for any confusion.

Regards,

Arvin Donner

What makes a great dramatic writing group?

Thank you Theatrevault.com!

http://theatrevault.com/2009/07/dramatis-personae/

10 Websites for Dramatic Writers

ATTENTION

You have reached the last page on the Internet.

We hope you have enjoyed your browsing.

Now... GO WRITE DAMMIT!

So, this is my first token effort at sharing some websites for dramatic writers. There are many sites that are useful and this is not by any stretch of the imagination a comprehensive list. However, it will give you insight into a small sample of what I keep in my bookmarks.


1. Celtx.org

OK... So this first one could double as a plug for one of my favorite, free script writing software programs. If you don't have the money to put out for a copy of Final Draft or Movie Magic this is a good alternative.


2. The Dramatists' Guild of America

If you are into playwriting this is an organization with a slew of resources.



3. Georges Polti's 36 dramatic situations (Download the full text)

We all would like to think that our story has never been done before. Well... so much for terminal uniqueness. Welcome to the post-modernist age, or err... is it now the post-Michael Jackson age?



4. The Auteurs

The Criterion Collection's online cinema and social networking site. A great place to see films online that have defined and pushed the boundaries of cinema and then discuss them.



5. Gutenberg Project

If you are like me and keep an oppressive reading list of plays that "need to be read" in order to torture yourself, this is a great first stop to look for free open source downloadable copies of older manuscripts to fill your hard drive. I haven't paid for a Shakespearean tragedy yet.



6. Sonnyboo.com free downloads

Shhh... I haven't met Mr. Sonnyboo yet but this Ohio film director has got some very useful forms on here that includes everything from screenplay templates to legal documents to help you manage the business end of getting your screenplay produced.


7. The Burry Man Writers Center

What list would be complete without a link to the Burry Man. This place is a clearing house for writing opportunities. That green prickly guy is kind of freaky though. Looks like something out of a Dr. Who episode.


8. Script-O-Rama

There are many screenplay repository sites on the net. However, this is the one I have used most frequently.


9. Penn State's Integrative Arts 10 class: Narrative Structure, Plot Devices, and Stereotypes
I always keep a file in my bookmarks for reference material posted from college and university courses I find on the web. Who said you needed to go get an MFA in creative writing?


10. Jeem's Cinepad.com: List of 100 best movies of all time

This list is supposedly compiled from a compilation of sources (like the AFI and National Film Registry). I think the list is too biased towards American cinema. However, I find it to be a good reference for anyone trying to expand their cinematographic vocabulary.


What are some of your favorite sites? What other resources are you looking for?

Friday, May 10, 2047

I was inspired to go and check out my calculated day of death at The Death Clock this evening. So I have about 38 years, if all goes my way, to follow my passion and create a body of work and get it produced.

Photo by: Esparta Palma

from the Dia De Muertos Set

CC Attribution Generic 2.5

I share this because a little over two weeks ago I had an appointment with my doctor on a Wednesday afternoon after experiencing ever-worsening pressure headaches, dizziness, and weakness. The doctor told me after prescribing me an antihistamine that if the symptoms didn't go away that he was going to schedule a ct scan of my head. I, of course, asked why, and he proceeded to tell me that I may have a brain tumor. Hence, the reason I have been less active on the blog in recent weeks.

Well... the symptoms didn't go away. To make a long story shorter, I am getting billed $2500 to find out I am normal, errr... I mean that I don't have a brain tumor. (If you ever wondered what it says on your cat scan results when you get them back and everything is okay, it says you're "normal".) What came from this experience was a reminder that I need to follow my bliss. This is one of the several motivations behind my efforts in working to organize this group. I have been reminded of this pretty regularly since I started helping my mom who has stage 4 breast cancer.

However, I guess the universe needed to give me a much stronger reminder. Up until about two weeks ago, I had this mentality that every time I got sick I would get better. I no longer can be confident of this youthful optimism. Another, result from this mortal experience over the last two weeks is that I am starting a new series of shorts on the topic of acceptance.

Lastly, I was thinking about how I could use this experience to develop my writing. A really great technique to develop characters that I have used is to write a few pages of monologue of them talking about themselves. However, I wonder if anyone has ever written an obituary to develop a character.

Painting by Albertus Pictor (1440-1507),

Täby Church, Diocese of Stockholm

Photo by: Hakan Svensson
CC Attribution Generic 2.5

Life is truly precious and I am grateful to be alive... What are some ways we could share our personal inspirations with the group as a way to help each other think about developing our writing?

The purpose of this blog

I have used this site for the last year as an online medium for sharing my narrative in starting The Drama Foundry. This has included sharing my progress in getting this organization started, using it as a brain dump, and as a way to get feedback from folks.


Things are starting to come together nicely and I plan to continue using the blog for all of the above purposes. Also, I want to use the blog to convey organizational information, conduct surveys, pass along useful information, to shine the spotlight on the success of artists and organizations and every once in a while talk about writing. I have plans on porting this blog to an ISP (GoDaddy.com) and to get a new template with more pages and to start using the TDF domain name that I have been waiting to use for the past year.

How else could this blog be helpful to you? What other ways can The Drama Foundry help you in your development of new work?

Pictures of where we'll be meeting

Here are some pictures from where The Drama Foundry Writer's Group will be meeting. The address is:

Junctionview Studios
889 Williams Avenue
Grandview, Ohio


Williams Avenue is actually right off of Northwest Blvd near Goodale Avenue.

View Larger Map


Just in case you have never seen the front of Junctionview Studios, here it is.









The Front door is on the right.













Here is the elusive enigma (or err... camera shy) Adam Brouillette head of Junctionview studios. He really does have a nice smile, if you can get him to look at the camera. He also is the man responsible for letting us meet at JVS.


This is a picture of the amazing BBQ sandwich I had the other... Oh, How'd that get on here?

Roland Tec is GOD the Almighty

I just got off the phone with the Director of Membership, Roland Tec, at the Dramatists Guild of America. He gave some great feedback in how to run the meetings with the Drama Foundry. I am soooo grateful to him. He also said he would be letting all the DGA members in the state know about upcoming meetings. Finally, he also told me if I needed any further support in the future in regards to organizing a workshop here in Columbus that the DGA would be able to help out. If you are an aspiring playwright, join the Dramatists Guild of America! They are here to help.

The Drama Foundry Writers' Group is Legit

http://www.junctionviewstudios.com/classes.html

Stay tuned for more publicity.

Thank you Robert!

Feedback is always appreciated and going to MOFA was a great suggestion.

Critiquing: Or, how to tell someone their baby is ugly politely

We will have a list of suggestions in how to conduct the meetings in order to make sure things run smoothly and cultivate an environment that is conducive for developing work. One particular subject that has been discussed recently is the critiques themselves.

How the critiques are conducted will depend a great deal on how the moderator directs the discussions and what kind of feedback the writer wants. The first few meetings will be moderated by me, Arvin Donner. This is so as to get the ball rolling and provide a consistent tone for the group. Critiques will focus on the writing and not the writer so as to keep comments depersonalized. This will allow the discussion to be framed in such a way as to avoid having the writer feel a need to be defensive. Also, it will be suggested that the critiques not focus on what individuals like and dislike but instead on what works and what does not work and why.

One idea is that during the critiques we will probably encourage the writer to not respond to the initial critique. After the initial critique, the writer will ask questions to the group about the piece. Before the reading beginnings, the group will probably allow the writer to ask the group to focus on certain aspects of the work. (i.e., what is your sense of character A's obstacles in the scene? Does it work? How does this event in the scene work to propel the plot?)

Some of this will be brought up in the first meeting. A discussion will take place where we will ask participants about what type of etiquette and structure they would like to see in the group.

More later...

Writers' Group Format

After some discussions with folks, here is the current plan for the writer's group format. The group will be first-come, first-serve. There will probably be 3-4 writers that will get their work read and receive feed back on it at every meeting. No work can be longer than 15 pages (15 minutes) in length. (Scene, short, 1 act)

One interesting idea for organizing the actors’ participation in the process is to have a hat passed around for the actors who show up so they can put their names in it. Names will be drawn for each script to be read. This will keep things fresh for each reading and give each actor an opportunity to read if there are enough actors.

For every meeting there will be a moderator (that will alternate also) who will watch the time and read stage directions for the readings.

Feedback needs to be positive in nature and supportive. Hopefully, these criteria will help to inspire the growth of a community-oriented group of like-minded folks who want to write some drama.

Workshop sign up form

Currently, The Drama Foundry is working on the workshop sign up form. How to handle qualifications for the group is still open for discussion. One option is to make it open to anyone. Then, it can be decided if we are going to mix up the experience levels of the different participants or keep folks all at the same level.

By having a requirement for people to have already written a certain amount of material it will increase the chances of having participants who have already proven they have the wherewithal to write pieces that take a certain level of focus and discipline. This type of format would be more closed. A session would run for 5 to 8 weeks with a set number of participants and then start over again with new people after everyone had had their work read and reviewed.

However, creating a more open format where the group has a first-come, first-serve mentality would keep the group more community oriented and accessible. Meetings could just have a sign-up form where 3 to 4 people who show up could commit to having 10-15 pages of their work read and critiqued the following week.

There are other options. This will become more crystallized during and after the information meeting on July 11.