Bloomington Playwrights Project
Encyclopedia
The Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP) is a not-for-profit arts organization in Bloomington, Indiana
. The BPP's mission states that it is "dedicated to the furthering of new original plays and theatre." The BPP only produces original work. It also holds playwriting contests and offers programs and classes in playwriting and acting.
In 1993, BPP benefactor Reva Shiner helped establish an annual new play competition, the Reva Shiner Full Length Play Contest, which brought submissions of scripts from all around the country, including work from both established and up-and-coming playwrights. In its first year of existence the contest, which awards the winner both a cash prize and a full production, was won by Glenn Alterman and his play Nobody’s Flood. Subsequent winners include Between Men and Cattle by Richard Kalinoski; Sister Calling My Name by Buzz McLaughlin; Medea With Child by Janet Burroway
; Alice in Ireland by Judy Sheehan; The Return of Morality by Jamie Pachino; Outrage by Itamar Moses
; and Maleficia by Suzanne Wingrove. Many of these plays have gone on to win additional awards and high-profile productions.
In 2010, a new competition for dramtic platys was established. The Woodward/Newman Drama Award is an exclusive honor offered by Bloomington Playwrights Project, sponsored by Newman’s Own Foundation
, remembering the many great dramas Joanne Woodward
and Paul Newman
performed in together. The winner is awarded a prize of $3,000 and a full production as part of the BPP’s Mainstage season.
Other playwrights who’ve had work produced at the BPP include Israel Horovitz
, Wendy MacLeod
, Craig Wright
, Toni Press-Coffman
, Michael Healey
, Sheila Callaghan
, Don Zolidis, Jim Henry, Arlene Hutton, OyamO, Trista Baldwin, Susan Lieberman, Marsha Estell, Janet Allard, and Suzanne Bradbeer.
The BPP began performing in a simple black box space, but now has two theater spaces: the Timothy J. Wiles mainstage and the Lora Shiner Studio. It produces a full subscription season, and at various times in its recent history has also hosted a drama school, a children's play festival, resident improv and sketch comedy troupes, an edgy late-night theater series, and cutting-edge cabaret. In 2006 a substantial grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
subsidized a festival of plays by Latino and Latina writers.
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. The BPP's mission states that it is "dedicated to the furthering of new original plays and theatre." The BPP only produces original work. It also holds playwriting contests and offers programs and classes in playwriting and acting.
History
Tom Moseman and Jim Leonard founded the BPP in 1979, seeking to create a venue for local playwrights that would serve as an alternative to Indiana University. The first productions, including Leonard's And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson and Greg Owens' Queen of Bakersfield, were done on a tight budget and fast-paced schedule. Eventually, the BPP established itself as the only theater in Indiana—and one of the few theaters in the entire country—dedicated to producing only new plays.In 1993, BPP benefactor Reva Shiner helped establish an annual new play competition, the Reva Shiner Full Length Play Contest, which brought submissions of scripts from all around the country, including work from both established and up-and-coming playwrights. In its first year of existence the contest, which awards the winner both a cash prize and a full production, was won by Glenn Alterman and his play Nobody’s Flood. Subsequent winners include Between Men and Cattle by Richard Kalinoski; Sister Calling My Name by Buzz McLaughlin; Medea With Child by Janet Burroway
Janet Burroway
Janet Gay Burroway is an American author.Burroway was born in Tucson, Arizona, and educated at the University of Arizona, Barnard College in New York, Cambridge University in England , and the Yale School of Drama...
; Alice in Ireland by Judy Sheehan; The Return of Morality by Jamie Pachino; Outrage by Itamar Moses
Itamar Moses
Itamar Moses is an American playwright, author, and television writer.Moses grew up in Berkeley, California, earned his bachelor's degree at Yale University, and his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University...
; and Maleficia by Suzanne Wingrove. Many of these plays have gone on to win additional awards and high-profile productions.
In 2010, a new competition for dramtic platys was established. The Woodward/Newman Drama Award is an exclusive honor offered by Bloomington Playwrights Project, sponsored by Newman’s Own Foundation
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, remembering the many great dramas Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
and Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
performed in together. The winner is awarded a prize of $3,000 and a full production as part of the BPP’s Mainstage season.
Other playwrights who’ve had work produced at the BPP include Israel Horovitz
Israel Horovitz
Israel Horovitz is an American playwright and screenwriter.-Theatre career:An American dramatist, Horovitz has written more than 70 produced plays, many of which have been translated and performed in more than 30 languages worldwide . The 70/70 Horovitz Project was created by NYC Barefoot Theatre...
, Wendy MacLeod
Wendy MacLeod
Wendy MacLeod is an American playwright.MacLeod received a BA from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where she now teaches and is a playwright-in-residence. She received a MFA from the Yale School of Drama....
, Craig Wright
Craig Wright
Craig Wright is the name of:*Craig Wright , American playwright, television writer, and producer*Craig Wright , Scottish cricketer*Craig R. Wright, American baseball writer and proponent of sabermetrics...
, Toni Press-Coffman
Toni Press-Coffman
Toni Press-Coffman is an American playwright, living and working in Tucson, Arizona. She was born and raised in New York City.-Career overview:...
, Michael Healey
Michael Healey
Michael Healey is a Canadian playwright and actor. He graduated from the acting programme at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School in 1985. His acting credits include the plays of Jason Sherman and George F...
, Sheila Callaghan
Sheila Callaghan
Sheila Callaghan is a New York City-based playwright and screenwriter who emerged from the RAT movement of the 1990s. Her work is considered to be part of the downtown theater scene, and is known for its unusual use of language and narrative structure...
, Don Zolidis, Jim Henry, Arlene Hutton, OyamO, Trista Baldwin, Susan Lieberman, Marsha Estell, Janet Allard, and Suzanne Bradbeer.
The BPP began performing in a simple black box space, but now has two theater spaces: the Timothy J. Wiles mainstage and the Lora Shiner Studio. It produces a full subscription season, and at various times in its recent history has also hosted a drama school, a children's play festival, resident improv and sketch comedy troupes, an edgy late-night theater series, and cutting-edge cabaret. In 2006 a substantial grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
subsidized a festival of plays by Latino and Latina writers.