To be included in this News article, please send the following to purplecir@aol.com:
Opportunity Heading, Opportunity Text, Deadlines or Kill Date, Name, Address, Phone, E-Mail, Web Site

For assistance, see How to Write a Press Release

To be included in our Openings article
— which contains plays and other presentational events with gay themes —
please fill out our Event Submission Form

Space Grant: BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange Deadline: April 11, 2008 - 5pm Six Space Grants will be awarded to Dance, Theater, or Performance artists to be used between July-October 2008, or October 2008-January 2009. Awards are up to 70 hours of free rehearsal space in any of BAX’s four studios. This grant is designed to give Brooklyn-based choreographers, playwrights, and multi-disciplinary artists the opportunity to create new work in a setting that is conducive to working deeply and exploring new territory. At the conclusion of the space grant period, all awardees will perform in a showcase performance at BAX. Application : 718-832-0018; bax.org/spaceGrant.html BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, 421 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215

Artist in Residence: BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange Deadline: May 2, 2008 - 5pm Two awards in Experimental Theater/Performance will be made for the July 2008-June 2009 period. Selected artists are provided with a base for development over a one year period - with a possible extension of another full year. BAX will consider original work only, not the re-staging of existing work, and we are deeply invested in developing original voices and work that explores new ground. Application : 718-832-0018; bax.org/inResidence.html BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, 421 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215

Seeking Volunteers: Rude Guerrilla Ongoing: posted March 3, 2008 Opportunities in every aspect of the theater experience including ushering, production, set-building, design, marketing, and administration. Volunteer website: rgtcvolunteer.blogspot.com Aurelio Locsin, volunteer coordinator, 714-547-4688, rgtcvolunteer@gmail.com Rude Guerrilla Theater Company, 202 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92870

Seeking Volunteers: Theater Offensive Ongoing: posted May 15, 2007 Positions include: usher, flyer distribution, photographer, videographer, backstage helper, office help, marketing, etc. Time commitment: regular or intermittent, weekday and weekend slots, day or evening. You determine your commitment level, and we work with you to find volunteer tasks that you’d enjoy. Theater Offensive, 43 Thorndike St., Box 14, Cambridge, MA 02141 617-621-6090; joinus@thetheateroffensive.org thetheateroffensive.org “Forming and presenting the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political orthodoxy to help build an honest, progressive community.”

Seeking Volunteers: Thorny Theater Ongoing: posted July 17, 2006 Thorny Theater 2500 N. Palm Canyon Drive, #A4, Palm Springs, CA 92262

Seeking Stand-up Comics: Sunday Night Gay Comedy 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month - 8pm - ongoing series Ongoing: posted January 3, 2006 QComedy’s “Sunday Night Gay Comedy” is San Francisco’s only ongoing gay comedy showcase. Jon Sims Center, 1519 Mission St., San Francisco, California Wheelchair accessible Information 415-541-5610 To perform, contact: Nick Leonard nick@nickleonard.net

Seeking Volunteers: Performing Arts Collection Ongoing: posted January 2004 Seeking volunteers to help in many areas: sorting, cataloguing, research, acquisition, events and more. ONE Institute & Archives, 909 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007 213-741-0094; 310-854-0271 oneigla@usc.edu

Seeking Writers: Lodestar Quarterly Ongoing: posted March 6, 2005 Lodestar Quarterly, an online journal of gay and lesbian literature, seeks one-act and full length drama. No minimum, and a maximum length of 100 standard-formatted pages. Submissions accepted in Microsoft Word or plain text format with a brief bio and relevant contact information. editors@lodestarquarterly.com www.lodestarquarterly.com/submit

Script Contest: New Works of Merit Deadline: June 30, 2008 New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest seeks plays that: Enhance self-realization. Support peace and social justice. Foster new understanding of minority issues that focus on racial, ethnic and gender discrimination both in the United States and abroad. Empower youth to build healthy inner foundations. Educate to gain further insight into healthy social/emotional living. Shed new light on religious, spiritual, and cultural differences and issues. Build respect for cultural expression and identity in a world that is experiencing rapid globalization. Explore the widening gap between the values this country was founded on and the values we present to the world today. 1st Place awards $300 and a reading. 2nd and 3rd Place awards a reading. Rules Original, unproduced plays - workshop, staged reading, or non-professional production also eligible. Full-length - 2 hour or 100 page (U.S. standard format) max. One-act stage plays. Children’s plays. No musicals. No published scripts. No plays professionally produced. No adaptations or collections. Full contact information on the cover/title page. Brief synopsis of the play, no longer than half a page, bound into script. Brief character descriptions, bound into script. $25 fee per play. $50 fee per play - plus one evaluation. $75 fee per play - plus two evaluations. Guidelines:       playwritingcontest.cjb.net Application form:       hometown.aol.com/sandranord/myhomepage/travel.html Submissions to:       New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest       511 Ave. of the Americas, #2000, New York, New York 10011-8436 Information:       Sandra Nordgren 917-363-2369; newworksofmerit@aol.com

Festival Scripts Needed: North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe Deadline: postmarked by June 30, 2008 North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe, San Diego, California, is a 35-seat theater, which sells old-time candies, and periodically has vaudeville shows. Their annual festival of short plays mounts about 20 plays over a four-week run, all selected by the Festival directors from submissions. Rules: Mostly open subject matter and language. No nudity. 15 min. or less total time - no play excerpts. New work, although one or two previous productions is O.K. Easily staged in a small (7.5 x 15 foot) space. Maximum of 4 characters on stage at one time. Submit only one script. No e-mail submissions. Submit with Title Page containing all contact information, and a character summary. NO FEE. Information: northparkvaudeville.com/PlaywrightFestivalWebpage.html Further information - do not send scripts: jfbushnell@cox.net, zgolden1@cox.net Send scripts to: Summer Golden, artistic director North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe 2031 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA 92104

Seeking scripts: Living Theatre Deadline: open - posted January 29, 2008 The Living Theatre holds a monthly series of public readings in their New York Lower East Side theater space. The company is interested in scripts that address social issues and/or involve the audience. Send to: Steve Capra The Living Theatre 21 Clinton St., New York NY 10002 stevecapra@pipeline.com

Seeking productions and project proposals: Harvest V / La Récolte V Deadlines: March 15, 2008 (national, international), March 25 (local) The Harvest - 5th edition, 2008 - Montreal LGBT Theatre Festival A cornucopia of diversity in the performing arts The Festival runs October 1-18, 2008 Harvest is a celebration of the contributions made by LGBT culture to the performing arts in theatre, music, and dance. It presents a cornucopia of diverse talent. Material submitted can be in English or French, however, projects must have themes that are relevant to LGBT culture, or contain elements of interest to the community. NO submission fees In 2007, the Festival granted contracts to 28 professional local artists, sent two Canadian actors to Off-Broadway, and produced four productions. Information: villagescene.com Davyn Ryall, artistic director and Festival coordinator, productions@villagescene.com Village Scene Productions, P.O. Box 142, Stn. C, Montreal, Qc., H2L 2H0

Seeking Performers: 6th Annual Fresh Fruit Festival Deadline: February 15, 2008 The “Fresh Fruit Festival” is a multi-genre, international celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender arts and culture. Submissions in all genres of dance, performance, musical performance, film, video, visual arts are welcomed. Notes Acceptance Notification: March 15 Refundable upon fulfillment of contract: $50 security deposit per scheduled performance Schedule Complete: April 15 Festival Dates: 2 weeks in July Gratuities for performances may be available Fee: $35 - PayPal or check to: All Out Arts, 145 East 27th St., #1A, New York, NY 10016 Information and entry form: freshfruitfestival.com/frutie_001.htm

Seeking Unpublished Plays: Human Rights Festival 2008 Deadline: ? - received by February 15, 2008 “Resilience of the Spirit: Human Rights Festival 2008” runs July-August 2008 The goals of the festival are to recognize, celebrate, and document the lives affected by genocide and torture, to raise awareness of human rights as a social issue and of the plight of refugees worldwide, to support artists creating human rights-related works and to foster partnerships in the arts community. Last year, the festival featured a broad spectrum with productions discussing racial, ethnic and gender issues and themes ranged from American Miner’s safety issues to the genocide in Rwanda. Rules Plays dealing with social injustice, human rights abuses, and the resilience of the human spirit Full length or shorts - comedies or dramas Written in English (translations are fine) Plays may not have been published Previously produced shows are allowed Printed in standard format; 3-hole punched Between 10-110 minutes run time No more than 5 actors for pieces running 75-110 minutes No more than 3 actors for pieces 30 minutes or less No fee for the 1st submission:     2 or more scripts: $5 reading fee, per play - Make checks out to 6th @ Penn Theatre No e-mail submissions, snail mail only Submissions are not returned; do not send a return envelope Include with your written submission:     Title page with playwright contact information     Brief synopsis or log-line of the play     Character breakdown     Any past production history of the play     Short bio Notes Selected plays will be fully staged, or presented as staged readings Limited technical support (as black box as possible) Will provide sound support, general lighting, plus a few specials Theater is small, so please do not send a script with a helicopter or a live goat, etc. Submission details: resilienceofthespirit.com Dale Morris: 619-688-9210; dmorris466@cox.net Contact: Matt Thompson, Artistic Director Resilience of the Spirit: Human Rights Festival 2008 6th @ Penn Theatre, 3704 6th Ave., San Diego, CA 92103

Playwriting Competition on Lesbian Themes Deadline: May 31, 2008 Lambda Players seeks to encourage both experienced and new playwrights to write about subjects and issues of interest to the lesbian community. By providing a forum for these works, we hope to increase the number of relevant plays that, not only focus on the lesbian experience, but also celebrate lesbian culture in the United States. Rules Contemporary or historical subjects and characters that resonate with lesbians living in United States Open to any playwright, male or female, of any sexual orientation or gender identification Dramas, comedies and farces are eligible Full-length plays only - 1 hour:15 min., no longer than 2 hours - no one-acts or compilations Unpublished original work only Scripts produced in a workshop, staged reading, or student production are eligible Scripts once produced by a pro or community theater are not eligible No musicals or children’s plays Scripts not be returned; will be destroyed when the evaluation is completed Notes Staged public readings of top 3–5 scripts in June and July 2008 Audience will provide written feedback that will help determine the winning play Winning play announced July 2008 $1,000 cash prize Winning play will be produced during our 2008-2009 season $20 entry fee per play Complete rule and entry forms: lambdaplayers.com/competition/competition1.htm West Ramsey theatricalguy@sbcglobal.net Lambda Players’ Playwright Competition, P.O. Box 13248, Sacramento, CA 95813 The Lambda Players is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that began as a project of the Lambda Community Center, in 1989, in response to the lack of local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender theater. Their mission is to educate and entertain, through the medium of live theater, with subject matter relevant to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population.

Seeking: 70-85 minute One-Act Plays Deadline: ? - received by March 31, 2008 6th at Penn Theatre is initiating QPlays, a new program of gay plays with the initial series of five productions to be staged in the fall and winter of 2008-9. Two non-musical plays are needed to complete the series. Rules Homosexual characters and situations need be integral to the story, not merely incidental New or previously staged scripts Any subject - comedy or comedy-drama - no heavy dramas 6 actors max; fewer preferred 70-85 minutes run time - no intermission Eroticism, including nudity, is acceptable (even encouraged) Notes Electronic submissions: PDF (preferred), DOC, DOCX, WPD, or RTF Attach script file to e-mail containing your full name, address, phone and your preferred e-mail address for correspondence If the play has been produced, include that information Also send copies of reviews, if available One submission per writer Selections announced by April 30, 2008 No submission fee Submission details: qplays.com/call.htm Contact: Michael Thomas Tower, artistic director; 619-957-3396; qplays@aol.com QPlays, 6th @ Penn Theatre, San Diego, California

Seeking Scripts: Ivy Theatre Ongoing: No Deadline Ivy Theatre seeks submissions for a national tour. Pay is offered for selected scripts Rules Plays should deal with legal or ceremonial marriage for same-sex couples Up to four characters Use of lesbian and gay male characters are preferred Play runs 1 - 1½ hours Send to: The Ivy Theatre, 7985 Santa Monica Blvd. #109-88, West Hollywood, CA 90046 tuiejones@aol.com

No submissions at this time

DVD: Demian’s Film & Video Projects archive DVD 21 shorts and excerpts: 1967-2006 Bruce (Erik Maahs) is defensive when Bill (Mark Johnson) vents his fury in “The Fight Before Christmas” Contains an excerpt from “The Fight Before Christmas” — a heart-warming story of Bruce and Bill, a male couple, loosely based on Clement Moore’s familiar poem, “The Night Before Christmas.” Bruce pretends his mom is Santa, while she pretends the two men are just roommates. But it is Bill, not Santa, who hits the roof. Rev. Mel White in “The Right to Marry” Also contains an excerpt from “The Right to Marry” — the first documentary (1996) about the struggle for the civil right of legal marriage for same-sex couples. Click here for more information on contents and ordering: Demian’s Film & Video Projects archive DVD

Book: Return to the Caffe Cino Edited by Steve Susoyev and George Birimisa. Published November 6, 2006 by Moving Finger Press. A collection of 22 plays originally produced at the Cafe Cino in Greenwich Village, circa 1959-1967, with memoir-style essays by many of the pioneers who helped to launch the revolution that took place in American theatre on the Cino’s 8-by-8-foot stage. Contributors include such Broadway legends as actress Bernadette Peters, playwright Edward Albee, and director Tom O’Horgan. Steve Susoyev writes for the legal community on the child-custody rights of gay and lesbian parents and other human rights issues. His bestselling memoir, “People Farm,” won a 2004 Writer’s Digest “Culture Award.” Steve practices law in San Francisco, specializing in the needs of people with life-threatening conditions. George Birimisa was the first openly gay playwright to receive a Rockefeller Foundation Grant. He later won the Drama-Logue Award for his 1978 play “Rainbow in the Night.” “Daddy Violet,” the 1967 play included in this collection, opened at the Cafe Cino and went on to tour college campuses in the U.S. and Canada. George is the founder and director of Intergeneration Writing Workshops in San Francisco. He won the “Harry Hay” award in 2005. The hardcover edition is marked at $44.95 and can be found for $29.67.

Book: My Blue Heaven Josie and Molly, an urban, lesbian couple move to the country to save money, and enable one of them to pursue her writing career. They are nominated as couple of the year. An unwitting young man arrives to notify them of this honor, only to find a very different couple than he assumed. One of Chambers funniest plays, it was the season opener for the Glines’ Second Gay American Arts Festival in 1981. Chamber directed the premiere on June 3, 1981 at the Shandol Theatre, New York, New York. Jane Chambers’ irrepressible comedy, “My Blue Heaven” is available from TnT Classic Books, which also has published Chambers’ “A Late Snow,” “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove,” “Burning,” “Chasin’ Jason” and “Warrior at Rest,” as well as plays by Doric Wilson, Sidney Morris, Robert Chesley and Arch Brown. A trade paper back, the library-type edition of “My Blue Heaven” has author comments, and information on the first New York production. The three-character play was designed to be easily produced with a simple set. The $7.95 book may be purchased through: TnT Classic Books Womancrafts Drama Book Shop Samuel French

Book: 1001 Beds A collection of my essays, performances, manifestos, journals, and performance touring stories from Tokyo-to-Chattanooga, written by Tim Miller. For a signed copy, send an $18 (retails for $20) check to: Tim Miller, P.O. Box 794, Venice, CA 90294-0794

Book: Michelangelo’s Models design by Andrew Caldwall   “Michelangelo’s Models,” the full-length, Renaissance romantic comedy by Robert Patrick is available in a 100-page acting edition with 30 black and white illustrations from four productions. Los Angeles playwright Robert Patrick, author of more than fifty published plays, is best known for his international success, “Kennedy’s Children.” He has ghostwritten for many films and TV shows. Robert Patrick also wrote “Temple Slave” a novel, in part, about the early years of the modern gay theater movement. He was honored, on June 28, 2004, with the Off-Off Broadway Review Award of Excellence for the best play produced Off-Off Broadway (June 2003-to-May 2004) for his comedy “Hollywood at Sunset.” photo by Andrew Caldwall   For comments on “Hollywood at Sunset” and “Michelangelo’s Models,” please see this report from Bill Kaiser and Doric Wilson: Bi-coastal Robert Patrick = $12 check or money order = Robert Patrick, 1837 N., Alexandria Ave., #211, Los Angeles, CA 90027 = Please write on check: “I am over 18” = Please include your e-address Foreign sales: rbrtptrck@aol.com

Web site: Lodestar Quarterly Read on-line, new fiction, poetry, and drama by some of today’s finest gay and lesbian writers.

Book: The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays Purple Circuit member Kenneth Krauss has provided the introduction for a new version of The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays by Oscar Wilde. Kenneth is the author of The Drama of Fallen France: Reading la Comedie Sans Tickets, an examination of various dramatic works written, or produced, in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Both books available from Barnes and Noble.

Book: Lord Alfred’s Lover Monstrous Martyrdoms: Three Plays, Eric Bentley’s play about Oscar Wilde, “Lord Alfred’s Lover,” is available from Northwestern University Press for $16. The 150th anniversary of Wilde’s birth was celebrated in 2004. Producers interested in mounting this gay classic can contact the author at kismkate@aol.com, or through Samuel French, Inc., 7623 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90046; 323-876-0570; fax 323-876-6822.

CD: Judy’s Scary Little Christmas Co-written by James Webber and David Church Composer and lyricist Joe Patrick Ward Directed by Kay Cole The show is a mix of a 1959 Judy Garland Christmas TV special and “The Twilight Zone.” Among Judy’s guests are: Bing Crosby, Liberace, Ethel Merman, Richard Nixon, Lillian Hellman, Joan Crawford, and Death. This CD recreates the show, which premiered at the Victory Theater Center (Burbank, California), and played at the Court Theatre (West Hollywood, California), and in Portland, Oregon. It plays in Chicago and Des Moines in winter, 2005. Cast includes: Connie Champagne, Sean Smith, Don Lucas, Lauri Johnson, Eric Anderson, Jan Sheldrick, Joanne O’Brien, Mark A. Cross, Dustin Strong, Jonathan Neeley, Terri Homberg-Olsen, Allen Everman II. Connie Champagne recreates for the CD her performance as Judy Garland, for which she won an Ovation Award. The CD can be purchased via: www.judyschristmas.com $19.95

CD: Film Moi: Narcissus in the Dark              image by Howard Cruse               A Robert Patrick autobiography seen through his favorite movies. On CD-ROM formatted in MS Word. $10 check or money order Robert Patrick, 1837 N., Alexandria Ave., #211, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Please state you are 18+ and aware you are ordering adult material. Please include your e-address. Info: rbrtptrck@aol.com The disk contains more than 1000 illustrations in chapter-length critiques of 14 favorite films. Patrick is the author of “Kennedy’s Children,” “Blue is for Boys,” “T Shirts,” and “Untold Decades.” In “Film Moi,” he analyzes his life and times (1937-ongoing), the trends and traumas of Hollywood, and “the whirled we live in.” Chapters include: “Broken Blossoms,” “Fantasia,” “All About Eve,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “The Ten Commandments,” “Vertigo & Marnie,” “Gigi & Damn Yankees,” “Sweet Smell of Success,” “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “La Dolce Vita & 8 1/2,” “Porn,” “Nashville,” “All That Jazz,” “Aliens & Prick Up Your Ears” Selected Quotes: “American culture is eating itself in front of a mirror, like a porn star.” “Charlton Heston is indisputably the lead in The Ten Commandments — no matter how you pronounce ‘lead.’” “Pornography recaptures the original thrill of film — simply seeing ordinary things moving on a screen.” “Patrick, a founding father of gay drama in America, writes with intelligent perception about movies … Patrick’s candid commentary on his own precocious sexual and artistic life is equally absorbing … Patrick’s prose is so smart and fluid that it’s hard to, well, put the ‘book’ down.” — Richard LaBonte, in his syndicated column, September 2003. More information on “Film Moi”

Book: You Could Drive a Person Crazy “You Could Drive a Person Crazy: Chronicle of an American Theatre Company,” by Scott Miller is about St. Louis’ only alternative musical theater company, New Line. The book includes material on the theater’s first ten seasons, as well as thoughts about New Line from Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, and Post Dispatch critics Judy Newmark and Gerry Kowarsky. It contains a show-by-show history of the company, including cast and staff lists, review quotes, director’s program notes, and reminiscences from actors, designers, directors, choreographers, and audience members. “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” is published by Writer’s Club Press (ISBN 0-595-26311-9) for $17.95.

Summer Theater Rental Available August 20-September 23, 2007 Celebration Theatre, 7051 B. Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, California 64-seats, 3/4 thrust (16 ft. width, 22 ft. depth) Includes lobby, lounge, concessions area, bathrooms, dressing rooms, fully operating light, and sound equipment. Contact: David Tarlow, managing director, or Michael Matthews, artistic director: 323-957-1884; fax 323-957-1826

Script Doctor Services This service is for play or movie scripts needing a seasoned writer/director/actor to give you feedback, correct grammar and spelling, as well as check for character consistencies and plot development. Demian Sweet Corn Productions Box 9685, Seattle, WA 98109 206-935-1206 demian@buddybuddy.com Click here for more information on this service and for rates: Script Doctor for Film and Stage

Play Publishers and Distributors Drama Book Shop       Book sellers, blog.       212-944-0595; fax 212-730-8739; info@dramabookshop.com       250 W. 40th St., New York, NY 10018 Samuel French       Play publishers and author representatives.       212-206-8990; fax 212-206-1429; info@samuelfrench.com       45 West 25th St., New York, NY 10010-2751 TnT Classic Books       Independent book and play publisher. Huge selection of plays with lesbian and gay content.       212-736-6279; fax 212-695-3219; tntclassics@aol.com       360 West 36 St. #2NW, New York, NY 10018-6412