writing

You've just tried your hand at playwrighting. Perhaps this was a class assignment. Maybe it's been a hobby since you were little, or a break from stamp collecting and sky diving. Maybe you're seriously considering the performing arts as a career. Whichever the case, it stands to reason that you want to get produced.

There are two strategies to pursue. One is to contact theaters that might be interested in your script, and this remains a necessity until producers are banging down your door. For now, suffice it to say that there are theaters which specialize in producing the work of young writers and you would do well to search them out. Meanwhile, we'll focus here on a strategy that's become possible only in the last few years: self-publishing on the Web.

In this case, publishing your plays means putting them up where anyone can find and look at them. Not many producers are doing this yet, but as the resources grow so are the numbers of people finding scripts this way. For now, most of those searching for scripts on the Web are in their teens and 20's. Of course, in the next 10-20 years, they'll be the ones running the theaters.

There are two ways to self-publish. One is to build your own site, and the other is to post on web sites which post plays. If you build your own site, you're guaranteed that they've been published somewhere. Some writers post complete manuscripts, other put up samples and synopses and send copies to those who request them. What you do depends on how much you fear your scripts being plagiarized, or used without your permission and knowledge, versus how convenient you want to make things for potential readers.

Then you must make it easy for your site to be found. Put out your URL (Universal Resource Locator, or web address) wherever you can. Include it on the cover page of your paper scripts. Include it in the signature file of your e-mail. Register with search engines, and check every few months to make sure your site is still registered. Exchange links with other sites. Join web rings. Tell producers your site exists: some of them will actually look at it. Most insist scripts be on paper, but a growing number want or accept scripts electronically.

The other way is to post your scripts on other sites that post scripts, thereby providing searchers with a convenient place to look through many scripts. They all work differently. Some take whole script, some take samples, some let you decide. Some update regularly, others rarely. Some take anything, others are picky. You can but offer.

Some places to post:
Dramatic Exchange
ELAC Play and Monologue Collection
The English Server of CMU
The Goldsmith's Playlist
Oberon Play Publishing's On-Line Script Showcase

A web ring: Bob Jude Ferrante and La Ronde