Residency #142
JUNE 27 - JULY 17
(Application Deadline: March 25, 2011)

DAEL ORLANDERSMITH , playwright

Dael Orlandersmith won an OBIE Award for BEAUTY’S DAUGHTER, which she wrote and starred in at American Place Theatre. Dael was a Susan Smith Blackburn Award Finalist in 1999 and is the recipient of a NYFA Grant and The Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award. Dael was a finalist for the Pulitzer in 2002 for her play YELLOWMAN.

Film and television credits include Hal Hartley’s AMATEUR, an episode of SPIN CITY and the film GET WELL SOON with Courtney Cox. Dael has toured extensively with the Nuyorican Poets Café throughout the US, Europe and Australia. In November 1996, she premiered MONSTER at NYTW and appeared in ROMEO AND JULIET at Williamstown. Dael has attended Sundance Theatre Festival Lab four summers, developing new plays. THE GIMMICK, commissioned by the McCarter Theatre, premiered on their Second Stage on Stage and went on to great acclaim at the Long Wharf Theatre and NYTW. YELLOWMAN was commissioned by and premiered at the McCarter in a co-production with the Wilma and Long Wharf Theatres; it was produced at ACT in Seattle and the Manhattan Theatre Club in Fall 2002. In 2004 RAWBOYS was commissioned by the Wilma Theatre and was presented in 2005.  From 2007 to 2008 Deal wrote HORSE DREAMS which was read at New York Stage and Film. In 2008 she performed in a solo piece called STOOP STORIES which was performed as part of Under The Radar Series at the Public Theatre curated by Mark Russell. In 2008, for a commission by Mark Taper Theatre, she wrote BONES. For the 2008/9 commission by Atlantic Theatre Company she wrote SUICIDE GIRLZ -  a play based on the music of Lou Reed which is still being worked on and work-shopped at the Orchard Project  in 2010. In 2009 Dael Performed STOOP STORIES at Studio Theatre in Washington DC and at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. STOOP STORIES was presented summer of 2010 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (part of the Mark Taper forum) and BONES was also presented at Kirk Douglas/Mark Taper Forum summer of 2010. In 2009/10 Dael was co-commissioned for Goodman and Berkeley rep for solo play called BLACK N BLUE BOYS / BROKEN MEN to be presented 2010/2012.

* For more informationon Dael Orlandersmith, please visit http://newdramatists.org/dael_orlandersmith.htm

Residency Statement
DESCRIPTION FOR WRITING FOR SOLO PERFORMANCE

The emphasis will be on developing / writing a solo work be it a monologue, a form of story telling, or short one person play.

Often with actors (particularly those who write and act in their own work) the actual writing gets lost in maze of ‘Hammyness’ by adlibbing at the expense of text and story when acting. Often there is the tendency to milk an audience for reaction at the expense of text, simply for audience reaction.

What I teach is how each medium-be it storytelling / monologue / one person play, MUST have a beginning /  middle / end, and MUST have story / conflict / resolution.

If someone is playing themselves, the writer MUST still see himself / herself as a character and that most people indeed are interesting and have interesting stories, but it does not mean that it’s a piece of theatre. No matter the medium, there is Theatrical Imagination and language.

For instance, in terms of writers who write autobiographical material I often refer to Spalding  Gray. Spalding Gray was someone who might have improvised in his story telling but ALWAYS came back to center. In SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA there were KEY phrases - repetitions that added to the Story telling but he ALWAYS knew what he was saying and why.

Usually in basic story telling there is a repetition of a phrase / word / image and in each repetition there MUST be a building towards the climax. Also the truth in the piece may not be literal, but given the story would the character (again be it ’real’ or not) react to this in a certain way or could they react in a certain way.

In terms of monologue / one person plays, the same rule applies. Who is this person / why are they talking to us / what is their story / conflict /resolution?

In my sessions I will have Associates not only write the story but also have them write what I call character bios. This includes place, date, time of birth, names of parents, siblings (if there are any) school attended, jobs, favorite food, color, etc.

Associates will also write what I call a character analysis.

This entails writing about how and WHY the character reacts to the events in the story via family background (the bio), and how the character sees himself / herself and others.

The reasons for these exercises is for SPECIFICITY.

There must be a reason FOR EVERY WORD and every movement within the writing and acting.

I think it best to work with no more that eight Associates for a two hour session so I can have hands on. It is also important to create a feeling where no one is intimidated and can experiment. I’ve had students say they feel ‘stupid’ because they didn’t ‘get it right.’ It is VERY important to create a space that people do NOT feel that way. I want the Associates to have the space and freedom to explore ALL the possibilities. If a group is too large, the comfort zone and hands on approach can’t happen.

I also feel that peer participation is important. If an Associate is open to comments from others in the group, I will allow it, if not - fine.

What I do Not / will Not allow is ANYONE to preface their comments with phrases like ’what you SHOULD do’ or ‘what you NEED to do.’ I find those phrases destructive, not to mention that when someone speaks this way, they are writing the other person’s work.

I find the work should not be less that five pages or longer than twenty minutes. I feel that given where the Associates are, and the length of the residency, this would be ample time, and useful time.

Application Requirements

Applicants should submit a MAXIMUM of 10 pages of their work, a resume and a letter of intent. Your letter of intent should also include why you write, what influences do you have, and what are you trying to say?