Montana Rep Presents 'The Missoula Colony 15' 7/15-24

A Celebration of the Writer's Craft...As Unique as Missoula!

July 17-24, 2010
Montana Theatre, PARTV Center
The University of Montana

The mission of The Missoula Colony is to foster great writing for the next generation of theatre and film in an atmosphere of generosity, creative fervor, breathtaking beauty, and laughter.

Founded in 1996 by Michael Murphy, Marsha Norman, and Montana Rep Artistic Director Greg Johnson, the Missoula Colony is both a place and an idea. The Colony convenes at The University of Montana in Missoula, where five gorgeous Rocky Mountain valleys and three stunning rivers converge. Missoula is a place blessed with incredible natural beauty-a place where writers from all over the world gather to celebrate the art and craft of writing for the stage and screen.

For the past fourteen summers, new and emerging writers have worked alongside experienced professional writers whose work has earned Pulitzer Prizes and Emmy and Tony awards. This mix has proven to be an excellent model for the creative process. Professional writers see their works read in a supportive atmosphere, away from the bright lights and cynical eye of the big cities. They are refreshed and renewed by their time in the mountains-walking amid the splendor of the landscape, floating the rivers, or talking into the wee hours of the morning with fellow writers. Newer writers have the opportunity, in an informal, relaxed setting, to benefit from the knowledge of more experienced writers in an atmosphere of mutual assistance and generosity.

Our idea is to support writers and writing. We do this by encouraging collaboration, creation, risk-taking, and having fun. It is this combination of ingredients that makes the Missoula Colony special.

Montana Rep is delighted to announce the fifteenth annual Missoula Colony: A Gathering of Artists in Support of the Writer's Craft!

SHORT STUFF / A Short Play Competition

The challenge: Write and submit a short play (no greater than ten minutes in length).
The prize: Five selected playwrights will see their plays read at The Colony and will work during the week with an experienced mentor.
We must receive your submission by June 15.

ADAPTATION NOW! / A Three-Session Workshop

July 17-18 / Examine the process of adapting a play from existing material. Lead by professionals from the fields of film, theatre, and television, this intensive workshop will examine the why and how of adapting material, acquiring rights, and progressing from initial idea to creation to production.

GUEST WRITERS

Playwrights attending the Colony this summer include the following:

James McLure has long been considered one of the country's finest playwrights. From Lone Star and Laundry & Bourbon to Private Wars, not a day goes by that one of his plays is not being produced.

Ron Fitzgerald-currently writing for NBC's Friday Night Lights and a former writer for Showtime's Weeds-has had his play Cyclone successfully produced Off-Broadway.

Greg Keller's plays have been produced at the Cherry Lane Theatre, LAByrinth Theater Company, and The Juilliard School, where he is a Lila Acheson Wallace Playwrighting Fellow.

Deborah Laufer was a 2009 recipient of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award. Her plays include Sirens, Out of Sterno, The Last Schwartz, and End Days, which received an ATCA Steinberg Citation.

Rob Caisley's work has been presented at theatres across the country and at the Sundance Writer's Lab. His play The Lake was presented at Colony 14. Rob teaches playwriting at the University of Idaho.

Richard Warren is a resident playwright at Theatre Artists Studio in Phoenix, where he teaches playwriting workshops. He has written eleven full-length plays and numerous short plays.

STAGED READINGS

Actors from Missoula, New York, and Los Angeles will help bring this year's new works to life, and visiting directors will oversee the readings.

COSTS

All-Inclusive Button:
$50 for all eleven readings and the Adaptation Now! workshop

All Readings Button:
$40 for all eleven readings

Workshop Button:
$25 for the Adaptation Now! workshop

Individual Staged Readings:
$5 for each afternoon reading
$10 for each evening reading

For more information, visit www.montanarep.org/colony.html

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