Note from the Sheherezade XI Producer

2010 is more than half-over, and it has been chock full of news from the bizarre to the tragic to the just plain stupid or funny. More than enough to inspire an 8 minute play, don't you think? Don't wait; get started on your Sheherezade submission! Bring it to Scene Nights, hone it, make it the best 8 minutes of theatre you can and submit it in October — exact deadline to be announced soon. Every year Sheherezade gets better and better and this year will be no different. We are expanding to an additional weekend, starting the necessary PR and planning to ramp up for this big, popular, and fantastically fun benefit production of Sheherezade XI: 2010 the Year in Review.

What is Sheherezade you ask? Sheherezade started eleven years ago as a swan song for two retiring board members who had served for nearly two decades on the board. It was an evening of staged readings. It was so successful the Board decided to repeat the experience the next year, and over the years it has become a full production of short plays commemorating the previous year, and one of the biggest fund raising events for PCSF each year. We routinely sell out. In addition to raising much needed funds, it garners exposure both to PCSF and its members. It also helps us grow relationships with actors, directors, and other theatre professionals.

We are finalizing the guidelines to make adjustments for this year's production needs and will let you know when they are finalized and updated on the website. Until we have the official guidelines finalized keep these things in mind:

• Be a member. Join when you submit if you aren't already a member. This benefit production is about our membership and how talented and fabulous you are!
• Tie it to 2010. Your play needs to be inspired by, about, or otherwise recognizably touching on something that happened in 2010. We find the most successful plays take an event and weave it into a story anchored by compelling character driven story lines. We have also found that plays that involve big news stories that were in heavy rotation throughout the year need to take a very strong, very unique look at the event to be effective. There are a lot of things that go into consideration for selection; relevance to the 2010 theme is one of them. The selected plays usually end up being a mix of well-known and lesser-known events.
• Make it good, tight and well structured! This may be a fun evening of short, sometimes frivolous plays, but it doesn't mean we don't take it seriously. We recognize it is new work and adjustments are almost always needed and we can generally spot a diamond in the rough. We will have a workshop read-through of the selected plays at the beginning of the production cycle and will require playwright participation and anticipate some adjustments to come out of that. But we want plays that are as close to rehearsal-ready as possible.
• Keep the set, sound and costume requirements to a minimum! We will ask you to help us obtain set and costume pieces, so if an actor can't find it in his or her wardrobe and we can't stage it with some simple set pieces, we expect to see you at rehearsals showing us your fabulous finds or rolling up your sleeves to help us build it! Remember it's a benefit, we don't have a big or really even a small set budget.
• No more than 6 characters (3 male / 3 female) – and within reason be as flexible as you can about the casting. Obviously characters based on real people are one thing, but we use an ensemble cast and do not cast individual plays until after the ensemble is chosen! We might have some flexibility if we get the right cast and the playwright and director agree on changing the sex of a character or two, but don't count on it and don't force us to turn away your amazing play because we can't reasonably cast it.
• We mean it when we say 8 minutes (or less). The rule of thumb is 1 minute per page, 2-3 minutes per page of dense dialogue or monologue. If the play is over 8 pages we won't read it.
• Use standard format guidelines (download the PDF). And yes, we will check that the font size, margins and general rules about indented stage directions, etc., meet guidelines. If you cheat the margins or font size to get it to fit within 8 pages, we'll know you are really desperate to be considered and we will absolutely love you for that but we won't read the play.
• Give us one blind copy of the play in Microsoft Word or PDF. Selections are anonymous. We do our best to make sure the selection committee doesn't know whose play they are reading. That means there should be nothing in the file that tells us who you are. Include in one file:
  • a cover page with title only,
  • a page listing characters,
  • a page with a brief description of the play and what 2010 event or events inspired your play — a prop and sound cue list is also really appreciated, but not required —
  • and the play.
• Complete and attach the submission form. We are making revisions to the form and will post it soon.
  

Keep your eye peeled to the newsletter and the website for more information as we finalize details. I am very excited about this year's production and think it's going to be the best year yet. I hope you join me on the journey either by submitting a play, auditioning for a role, helping us out behind the scenes or in the front of house, or just coming to see the show and share the joy. Til next time enjoy your summer and get writing!

Laylah Muran