Stage Right

My post at Big Hollywood about non-profit theatres looking for conservative plays.

Calling All Center-Right Playwrights: Put Up, Or Shut Up.by Stage Right
Although Big Hollywood is still in its infancy, a recurring theme seems to be running through the posts and the comments: (paraphrasing)

“Stop bitching about the left in show business, go out and make a new reality
with your own creativity and get those butts in the seats. That’s the only
way to change things!”

And as a conservative, it’s hard to argue with that kind of “pull yourself up by the boot straps” kind of thinking.

Now, I recognize that it’s difficult to just write a screen play and make a movie. But, the fact of the matter is, theatre is much different. It actually IS pretty easy to get something up on the boards and seen in an obscure venue. Writers in LA have always known that the small, “99-seat” or “Equity Waiver” houses are a perfect venue for getting their ideas on their feet. But, it’s also a labor of love and rarely ends up producing real, tangible dividends.

But, now, thanks to a little investigative work by yours truly, I’ve discovered the perfect opportunity to all of you right-wing whacko writers out there just itching for fame, money and glory.

According to this very fair and balanced and enlightening article from the NY Times (hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day), New York and London’s most prominent Artistic Directors are looking for plays with a conservative point of view!

André Bishop, artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater for 16 years, said he reads about five plays a week, and from thousands over the years he could not think of a single one that would fall on the right end of the spectrum. “I’m trying to think if I ever read a play that I would call conservative,” he said, pausing a few moments. “I don’t think I’ve come across one.”

And… from across the pond….

A similar conversation about the limited range of viewpoints has been going on in Britain since Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theater, said he would like to stage a “good, mischievous, right-wing play,” but was having trouble finding
one.

“I would love to deliver a play that ended up in a position that, for
instance, was highly skeptical about abortion rights,” he said. “I would like to
see a play about the white working-class communities that were completely
displaced by waves of immigration. These are the offensive plays we’re not
doing.”

There you have it my friends… what do you need, and engraved invitation? Get those cover letters going!

Meanwhile, if you don’t get anything accepted, I’ll be happy to stage a reading for you up stairs at Sardi’s or in LA at the Coronet… for a small fee of course, I’m not a leftist!

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