Welcome to the tenth annual
estrogenius festival. We are thrilled to have you on board, and look
forward to working together over the next couple of months. The festival
is a success every year because of amazing, gifted artists who generously
lend their talents.
KEY
PARTICIPANT DOCUMENTS
ABOUT
THE FESTIVAL
Manhattan Theatre Source’s estrogenius festival, an annual celebration
of female voices, is one of New York City’s largest women’s
arts festivals. Founded by Fiona Jones in 2000, the festival debuted
with a program of 10 short plays and music. Since then, it has grown
into a five-week event including short plays, solo shows, music, visual
art, dance, teen performances and a fundraiser for African girls’
education. Completely volunteer run, the estrogenius festival has
provided more than 1,600 artists the chance to shine; nurtured award-winning
playwrights Quiara Alegria Hudes, Sheila Callaghan, T.D. Mitchell
and Melissa Maxwell; showcased Bessie Award-winning choreographers
Marta Renzi and Jennifer Nugent; and benefited girls’ education
in Niger through a Peace Corps Partnership. We take open submissions
from around the world and are committed to providing opportunities
to female artists (and male artists who create complex female characters)
- in a variety of disciplines - ranging from the emerging to the seasoned
professional.
SHORT
PLAY FESTIVAL
Our weekly program of short plays anchors the festival. The performance
schedule each week is Wednesday through Friday at 8:00 pm and Saturday
at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm. (For specific dates, see the calendar). There
is a closing night party after the 8:00 pm Saturday night performance
each week. We encourage everyone to attend.
This year, we’ve
added our first ever full-length production to the festival.
FESTIVAL
STAFF STRUCTURE
The co-executive producers for this year’s festival are Fiona
Jones and Jennifer Thatcher. Each program of short plays also has
a producer and assistant producer.
- Week one – Nichole
Donje
- Week two – Elizabeth
Koke and Margaret Stockton (asst)
- Week three - Jennifer
Thatcher and Helene Galek (asst)
- Week four – Rita
Kompelmakher and Hilary Mitchell (asst)
We will also have a set
designer for the whole festival. There will be a sound designer, lighting
designer and costume designer assigned to each week. Our resident
tech director/lighting designer is Kia Rogers.
IMPORTANT
DATES
Week One
- Tech: Sat
Sept 26 10am- 1pm, Sun Sept 27 12pm-10pm, Mon Sept 28 3pm-11pm (Dress
rehearsal: Tue Sept 29)
- Run: September
30-October 3, Wed – Fri at 8pm & Sat at 3pm & 8pm
- Rehearsals period:
September 2 – 25, 2009. Specific dates and times TBD
- Bios and electronically
headshots + resumes due: August 15, 2009. Send to estrogenius.festival@gmail.com
Example bio: NAME (Character name, Play) Recent stage credits include
The play name at MTS.
- Hard copy headshots
and resumes (for industry packets) due: September 26, 2009
Week Two
- Tech:
Sat Oct 3 10am- 1pm, Sun Oct 4 12pm-10pm, Mon Oct 5 3pm-11pm
(Dress rehearsal: Tue Oct 6)
- Run:
October 7-10, Wed – Fri at 8pm & Sat at 3pm & 8pm
- Rehearsals period:
September 9 – October 2, 2009. Specific dates and times TBD
- Bios and electronically
headshots + resumes due: August 15, 2009. Send to estrogenius.festival@gmail.com
Example bio: NAME (Character name, Play) Recent stage credits include
The play name at MTS.
- Hard copy headshots
and resumes (for industry packets) due: September 26, 2009
Week Three
- Tech: Sat
Oct 10 10am- 1pm, Sun Oct 11 12pm-10pm, Mon Oct 12 3pm-11pm
(Dress rehearsal: Tue Oct 13)
- Run:
October 14-17, Wed – Fri at 8pm & Sat at 3pm & 8pm
- Rehearsals period:
September 16 – October 9, 2009. Specific dates and
times TBD
- Bios and electronically
headshots + resumes due: August 15, 2009. Send to estrogenius.festival@gmail.com
Example bio: NAME (Character name, Play) Recent stage credits include
The play name at MTS.
- Hard copy headshots
and resumes (for industry packets) due: September 26, 2009
Week Four
- Tech: Sat
Oct 17 10am- 1pm, Sun Oct 18 12pm-10pm, Mon Oct 19 3pm-11pm
(Dress rehearsal: Tue Oct 20)
- Run: October
21-24, Wed – Fri at 8pm & Sat at 3pm & 8pm
- Rehearsals period:
September 23 – October 16, 2009. Specific dates and
times TBD
- Bios and electronically
headshots + resumes due: August 15, 2009. Send to estrogenius.festival@gmail.com
Example bio: NAME (Character name, Play) Recent stage credits include
The play name at MTS.
- Hard copy headshots
and resumes (for industry packets) due: September 26, 2009
RULES
Manhattan Theatre Source’s Four House Rules:
1. Practice Generosity of Spirit
2. Principles Before Personalities
3. Share Your Information
4. Clean Up After Yourself
COMP/TICKET
POLICY
1. You receive one comp to your show’s dress rehearsal.
2. All festival participants receive half-price tickets to other festival
events – Women in Motion dance, Sola Voce shows, Other Short
Plays, the Full-length, GirlPower – except Voices of Africa,
which is a fundraiser for girls’ education.
3. Equity actors receive two comps for the run of their show.
4. All comp requests must be sent to estrogenius.festival@gmail.com
no later than four days before your show opens. Our festival sells
out quickly. To make sure we can accommodate your requests, we need
them as soon as possible.
VOICES
OF AFRICA
Voices of Africa (VOA) is our newest program, a cross cultural collaboration
with Peace Corps Niger. Now in its second year, VOA will take place
on Saturday, November 1st. It will feature songs, poems and stories
created by young girls in Niger and performed by New York City teenagers.
We also collect school and art supplies to send to Niger. All proceeds
from the performance will benefit the Young Girls Scholarship Program,
which provides scholarships to Nigerien girls. In 2007 & 2008,
VOA paid for XX girls to attend school, and sent more than 100 lb.
of school supplies to the country. In 2009, our goal is
How
VOA Began
VOA was born out of a desire to help Nigerien girls attend school.
Ginger O'Neill, a former Estrogenius Festival volunteer, is currently
serving a two-year Peace Corps appointment in Niger. She teaches reading
and writing along with music classes to young women in her village,
Birni N'Gaoure, and throughout Niger. When Estrogenius Founder Fiona
Jones heard about the amazing stories and poems being created in these
classes, she approached Ginger about bringing the works to New York
City as part of the festival. Ginger and her students loved the idea.
Ginger transcribed the
girls' poems, songs and stories from Djerma to English, and they were
performed by New York teenagers. Last year, Ibrahim wrote, "Let's
work together to educate the children, empower the youth and bring
back the beautiful sounds of Africa. Let these voices paint a picture
that will tell our stories across the world."
About Niger
A landlocked country in Western Africa, the Republic of Niger ranks
as the poorest country in the world, placing last in the 2006 United
Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index. One-third
of the country's children die before the age of five. Only eight percent
of females are literate. Young women have a 40% chance of having at
least one child by 17, and a one in seven chance of dying during childbirth.
