Wednesday, April 30, 2008

MBS Productions searching for new plays

By Mark-Brian Sonna of MBS Productions

MBS Productions specializes in "New Theatre": World Premieres, New Translations, or New Adaptations. We are currently looking for "New" full length plays/musicals for consideration for our 2008/2009 season.

To be considered "New" the play as written must not have been performed in front of a paying audience, unless:

• It was in an academic setting such as a school or university.
• If the work in a shorter format has been performed but it has been developed and expanded substantially since its initial performance. You will be asked to submit the initial version to verify this.
• The play was billed as a "Staged Reading."

Also, if you have a "New" translation or "New" adaptation of an established literary work we would encourage you to send it in. For translations and adaptations, please be sure all rights have been cleared with the original playwright before submitting to us. .

To submit please email to scripts@MBSProductions.net the following:

1) A synopsis of the plot of the play no longer then 500 words.

2) A brief paragraph to describe how you came up with the concept of the play

3) Please list the basic production requirements such as all characters, their ages, and description along with the minimum number of actors needed. The set and costume requirements. The number of Acts and Scenes. The estimated length of performance (rule of thumb: each page of dialogue equals 1 minute)

4) The first 30 pages of your script. We don't need the entire script unless you want to submit it. We want to get a feel for it and will ask you for the rest if we are interested. If we are interested we will ask you to mail us a hard copy. Please submit this in .doc or .pdf format.

5) Lastly, and most importantly: Please be sure to include your name, a contact telephone number, your address, your e-mail, and your resume.

A few things to look at before you submit it:

• Can it be physically produced on a stage? Bringing a tractor trailer onto the stage and demolishing the set is not quite feasible nor having a live ostrich follow stage directions.
• Can the play be cast? Asking for the character to be tall is one thing, but requiring the actor to be 7 feet makes it hard to cast. Requiring 70 people on a stage is also quite impossible. Even Broadway shows shy from such requirements.
• The title. Does the title make sense with the play, and will the general public be able to understand what it means or even pronounce it? Uxmal’s Huitzilopochtli is a hard play to sell to a potential audience, let alone pronounce it.
• If submitting a musical can the musical requirements be met? Very few singers have a 5 octave vocal range. It is also hard to find people that play the Oud, Cura Saz, or other lesser known musical instruments. We do not have the physical space to house a full orchestra.

Deadline submission is May 25th, 2008. Needless to say, the sooner you can submit the better it is. While we will read all submissions, it's smart to avoid the "crunch" of the deadline.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact info@mark-briansonna.com or call 214-477-4942. We pay royalties on all works but please be aware we do not discuss contracts/royalties unless we are interested in producing your work.

Pegasus News content partner - MBS Productions

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