Today I got a call from a playwright who had been referred by a producer friend. He had written a play my producer friend thought I’d like. The playwright called to make sure that it would be something, in terms of theme and subject matter, that I’d be interested in doing. This was exactly what he should have done. I’m looking forward to reading it.
I started thinking that I have not specifically spelled out the stories we are looking for when we ask Playwrights to send us their stories. I hope this blog clarifies things.
I don’t want to give instructions like I did in the blogs on how to increase the chances of production. What I’m writing here are more in the line of direction signs.
The first direction to go in is subject matter. We are a hip hop theater collective. We help tell hip hop stories. So if your story is about how your childhood was messed up because your parents only had day help, not live in help, we are probably not the company for you. Hip hop is a reaction to a culture of oppression. Stories of the toll this oppression takes on the spirit is exactly the kind we want.
Hip hop theater does not require these kind of stories, look at Hamilton. They are just the ones we feel like telling.
You had to overcome being educated in a substandard school? You had to shop in a grocery with poor selection, low quality food that was overpriced? You had to get up before dawn to take a bus for hours upstate to see an incarcerated parent or sibling?
These are the stories we want to help you tell.
If the direction you want to go in to tell your story is a musical format all the music need not be rap. Hamilton is not all rap. The music can’t be all theater music either. There needs to be a healthy mix.
The final direction is how the work is marketed. In traditional theater the playwright is separate from the marketing. Because we intend to market using social media almost exclusively, we expect you to participate in the effort. You’ll need to use your social media to promote the show.
Those are the directions. What are you waiting for? Send us your stories.