At Hand Theatre Company’s Blog

At Hand Theatre Company is seeking submissions for new, full-length plays by NYC playwrights to be presented as part of our staged reading series and a full production in 2010.

At Hand Theatre is a NYC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit company whose mission is to produce original plays using sustainable means. We facilitate several developmental staged readings throughout the year, as well as full productions of new work. At Hand gives both emerging and established playwrights the chance to find their voices without having to be concerned with production values. Our directors, designers, and actors work collaboratively with playwrights on original texts – helping shape the script, discussing relevant themes, negotiating the language of the play, and focusing the storytelling. At Hand’s theatrical productions are created using environmentally conscious means, with limited materials.

SUBMISSION ELIGIBILITY

• Full-length play. At Hand does not produce or develop musicals and we are not looking for one-act plays at this time.
• Never been produced or reviewed. We only accept plays that have never received a full production, but are ready for a director, actors, and designers, but possibly still in need of the kind of development a full rehearsal process can provide.
• We are looking to work with NYC-based playwrights only.
• We are accepting scripts that call for no more than 8 actors.
• As we are a green company, we accept digital submissions only.

Scripts should be emailed in Word or pdf format to Josh Fiedler, At Hand’s Literary Manager, at josh@athandtheatre.com. Please include a short playwright bio in the body of your email.

We are so proud to welcome a few new wonderful people to our staff and board of directors!

LITERARY MANAGER: Josh Fiedler
BOARD MEMBER: Julia Jolly
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Laura A. Wright
ASST. TO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Angela F. Kiessel
EVENT COORDINATOR: T. J. Fix
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATES: Willow Norton and Mark Snyder

These fabulous new folks have all been inducted into the At Hand Family and are enthusiastically spreading the gospel of new, green theatre to the four corners of the globe… kind of. To view our complete list of staff and board members, click here.

So happy to have them be a part of the company!

To be honest, as the Artistic Director, when At Hand decided to “go green” I was nervous. While I make every effort to live a green lifestyle, I was concerned that the added pressure of maintaining eco-conscious standards wasn’t something a very young independent theatre company could handle. As we began to adopt our green mission, I would lay awake at night wondering things like ‘What about spray glue? Can we use spray glue? Is there eco-friendly spray glue?’ or ‘…maybe we shouldn’t print programs. Is that green? Is that fair to actors?’ or most importantly ‘will we be able to handle it? Will At Hand truly be functioning in a way that can justify or validate us as a Green Theatre Company?’

All of my worries lessened over time but were nearly obliterated on the closing night of our last show (Mark Snyder’s fabulous play, Lila Cante). After the audience filed out, our industrious At Hand team began to clear out the space in what can only be described as a twinkling. As we sipped celebratory champagne, we organized, swept, itemized, packed up, and put away. In the end, after a 3 week run (typical for Off-Off Broadway) of a two act play that we had rehearsed for nearly a month, we were left with literally one bag of actual garbage. Can I say it again, please? ONE BAG OF ACTUAL GARBAGE!!! Set pieces were given away to Craig’s List users, actors took favored costume items home and much found it’s way into the recycling bin. (20 white tanks tops that were torn off of an actor at each performance now reside under my kitchen sink, waiting for me to perform some much needed cleaning!)

OK, maybe Kermit wasn’t completely wrong. Being Green certainly does not come automatically. It takes thought, planning, and foresight… and worrying about glue. However, looking at that single garbage bag I began to remember the dozens upon dozens of trash bags I’ve filled on closing nights over the years on non-green productions. I also thought about the gigantic dumpsters companies rent – Broadway flops sometimes construct an entire set, tear it down and toss it into a landfill in a matter of weeks! In fact, Off-off Broadway alone, there are over 500 indie theatre companies filling trash bags and dumpsters in New York on a weekly basis. So pardon us while we toot our little green horn… I’m just going to say it again: One bag of of trash! Being Green may not be the simplest thing in the world, but ya know what? It’s just not that difficult either. – Daniel Horrigan

“Lila Cante” Opening Night Party at the fabulous Dusk Lounge on October 4, 2009.

Photographs by Mario Torres.

Brandon Lacy Campos interviewed Lila Cante playwright Mark Snyder this week on his blog, “My Feet Only Walk Forward“. Here’s a short excerpt:

“LILA CANTE is a dark and sexy play about two siblings – both trying to pursue their artistic inclinations – who must come together and battle over their elusive mother’s legacy with the corporate music industry. It is also a funny and dangerous play about loneliness and forging new connections in spite of ourselves. I think our production burns from a white-hot center of love and compassion.” – Mark Snyder

Read the rest here!

At Hand is proud to announce that an additional performance has been added to the run! Tickets for a 3pm matinee on Saturday, October 17th, are now onsale!

LILA CANTE, by Mark Snyder, is currently playing at the Ted Bardy Studio on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at 8pm through October 18th, with a matinee performance on October 17th at 3pm. Tickets, priced at $18, are available by calling SmartTix at 212.868.4444 or by visiting www.smarttix.com. The Ted Bardy Studio is located at 153 W. 27th Street, Suite 301 (between 6th and 7th Avenues).

Photos by Joshua Zirschky.

After tonight’s sold out opening night performance, At Hand is throwing an opening party at Dusk Lounge, only three blocks south of the theatre at 147 West 24th Street. We’re even serving Biscotti Di Vecchio, courtesy of one of the stars of Lila Cante, Danielle Di Vecchio! Hope to see you there…

Great News: A Lila Cante promo video is being featured on Taxi TV!

For a week and a half (starting tomorrow), a 15-second version of the “Sean Drummond” Interview and an accompanying banner ad for At Hand and Lila Cante will be playing over and over – in over 1,500 NYC taxicabs!

Check out all four promo videos: Flora Roberts’ Interview, Sean Drummond’s Interview, Rob Neigh’s Interview, and Interviews on the Street

Video Credits:
“Flora Roberts”: Aileen Barry
“Sean Drummond”: Tyler Marcum
“Rob Neigh”: Charlie Matthes
“Young Fan”: Jordan Burnett
Director: Flora Sousa
Writer: Mark Snyder
Editor: Brian Hewson
Producers: Justin Scribner, Sara Sahin
Camera: Brian Hewson, Flora Sousa
Production Assistant: Hanna Miller

Thank you to the actors for being so wonderful, Sara Sahin for helping to smoothly facilitate the project, Greg Turner for letting us use his apartment, Mark Snyder for writing the hysterical monologues (wish we could’ve used even more of them!), Daniel Horrigan for coming up with the idea in the first place, and a shoutout to Amy DePaola for making Taxi TV happen! And a BIG BIG thank you to Brian Hewson and Flora Sousa for their long hours of incredible work on these videos!

find out more at athandtheatre.com