Dramapocalypto!

Description

The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights (ALAP) announces its 2008 fall event - Dramapocalypto! This daylong extravaganza will take place on Saturday, October 11th in the Music Building at California State University, Los Angeles, located at 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032.

The day begins at 11:00 AM with a Director/ Dramatist Exchange. This popular event gives well-known SoCal directors two minutes each - strictly enforced! - to address the assembled playwrights. An hour of networking follows the presentations, with the program wrapping up at 12:45 PM.

At 1:00 PM, ALAP presents a one-hour symposium titled "Hot Topics: The Ups (and Downs) of Writing About Current Events." A panel will discuss writing about hot-button issues such as war, abortion, and presidential politics, and how to make plays about such subjects timeless.

Also at 1:00 PM is Round One of the annual Monologue Slam. For this always-entertaining program, ALAP members each write two 1-minute monologues, which can be performed either by the writers themselves, or by actors of their choice. A panel of judges scores the monologues in each of two preliminary rounds. The four highest-ranked writers become Finalists, and are then charged with writing a completely new 1-minute monologue in less than an hour. To make the competition more challenging, the Finalists must each incorporate four disparate elements in their monologues - and are not told what the elements are until they're ready to write!

At 2:00 PM, ALAP presents a second one-hour symposium titled "Self-Producing: The Wave of the Future?" The panel of playwrights, producers, and directors will discuss how to go about producing your own play, what you need to know, what are the pitfalls to avoid, and so on.

Also at 2:00 PM: Round Two of the Monologue Slam.

The Tenth Annual ALAP Play Reading Festival begins at 3:15 PM, and features rehearsed readings of six 10-minute plays by ALAP members, chosen by a panel of 10 judges. The plays are: Goodie Bags by Roy Battocchio; Elephants Never Forget by Dan Berkowitz; Scuffy the Cat by Kres Mersky; Bullwhips & Boo-Boo Bird by Catherine Pelonero; Happy and Gay by Mary Steelsmith; and Three Syllables of Shame by Rom Watson. The Final Round of the Monologue Slam will be presented as part of the Reading Festival.

Dramapocalypto! is free and open to the public. Sponsors include the Theatre Arts and Dance Department of California State University, Los Angeles - Dr. James Hatfield, Chair; The Dramatists Guild Fund; Final Draft Inc.; and The Writers Store.

For directions to Cal State LA, visit the university's website at http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/maps/cslamap.php. For more information on ALAP and Dramapocalypto!, visit the ALAP site at www.laplaywrights.org.

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