Hi there and Welcome

 If you are reading this I will assume you are interested, in some way, in theater. Its creation and production. The excitement and the magic. And, quite possibly, playwrighting.

 Old Pueblo Playwrights Mission

 The mission of Old Pueblo Playwrights (OPP) is simple, improve our playwriting skills and help others improve their playwriting skills. We are individuals who share our knowledge, experience and time with each other for this purpose.  I am a member of OPP because of the quality of the other members. Well-read, well-versed, and well-rounded in a variety of pursuits, these people are the crème de la. And ever so helpful! We have had terrific discussions, critiquing newly written, never-before-seen plays as well as reading and enjoying classic and contemporary plays to see what we can learn. These discussions are lively, informative, intellectual and funny!

 Old Pueblo Playwright's Facilitator

 One of the gifts Old Pueblo Playwrights offers is an experienced, non-professional facilitator to lead a rich and topical commentary after the play has been read. The facilitator is chosen ahead of time by the playwright and the playwright is encouraged to provide questions for the facilitator to ask, but it is an essential point of our critique process that, during the discussion itself, the playwright remains silent.

 That the playwright does not talk during the discussion of his or her own play  often surprises newcomers to OPP. We believe that this helps the process in three ways:

 1) It frees the playwright from the need to dispute, defend, or argue the merits of the play.

 2) It maximizes the playwright’s ability to listen and absorb all the information and comments that are made.

 3) It allows the playwright to focus on the essential job of weighing each comment and judging which of the critiques might be helpful during the subsequent rewriting and reworking of the play.  

 If playwrights want to talk in detail about the gritty of their play, they can always invite one of these erudite and thoughtful beings for tea or lunch and discuss the play and its development as much as desired!

 Keeping in mind that "critiques should serve the purpose of informing and keeping membership," we have discussed the need to develop and maintain quality facilitators. To that end, long standing member Gavin Kayner has compiled a nifty Facilitator's Manual full of helpful hints, like the following from the Boston Dramatic Writing Seminar, Summer 2005:

 Bad Dramaturgy views plays as an invalid that is diagnosed and requires prescriptive commentary to "fix" or "make it better.

 Good Dramaturgy focuses on the play's inherent strengths and the laws that govern the world of the play

 Changes In Old Pueblo Playwrights Annual New Play Festival Selection Process

 Also, we have been working on how we choose the plays to be given a staged reading at our annual New Play Festival. Last year we had so many quality plays we let them all ride! And that was a big fun messy  time. This year, we are voting to change the Standing Rules of the New Play Festival to give additional feedback to the playwright by scoring the play.

 Each playwright/member in good standing who has met the criteria, (table read and critique at least twice, (you can have as many table reads as seems productive to you) can call for a vote to determine if their play will be eligible for the New Play Festival.

 All plays must have a least a majority vote to be consider for possible inclusion in the annual OPP New Play Festival. Beyond that, each play will be give a percent rating based upon members' yes/no votes. ALL votes are strictly confidential - only the Secretary and designees shall know the exact vote tabulations. This rating may be shared with the individual playwright upon request.. The reason for implementing this is that we would like to have a standard for the chosen plays of around 80%. The playwright will have access to the highest score for comparison, if needed.

 At the time of actual play selection for the Festival, the Secretary and President will rank the plays according to their percent rating (of those with at 50% or over). The play with the highest rating will be selected first, the second highest second and forth until such point used if there are more plays than opportunities to perform them.

 It's possible, you can have been voted eligible and not have a stage reading. That is ok. Being in the festival is great, but it is not what OPP is truly about. We are about crafting plays. If you are as enamored with theater and playwriting as we are there will be other times, other plays, other festivals. And if you want to raise the quality of your play what is your next step? Draw on the expertise of OPP membership!  Life is good. Enjoy the dance - or should I say play!

 Giving Attention

 During one of our group meetings, Kelly Hardesty, OPP member in good standing, paraphrased Julia Cameron's quote, saying, people think they write better if they are in pain but it is paying attention that makes a great writer - pain causes you to pay attention,  but it is not the only way to attention.

 I like the idea of giving attention - to the moment, to each other, to our creations. By giving our attention, we continue to evolve ourselves, our writings and our group. We attend to the needs of our community. Come join us.  We meet almost every Monday night at 7 pm on the second floor of the Temple of Music and Art. I look forward to meeting you. Perhaps you will become a member. You would be welcomed warmly.

 Peace and pleasure,

 Dlyn Fairfax Parra

President, Old Pueblo Playwrights

2011-2012

 About Dlyn Fairfax Parra

 Dlyn Fairfax Parra is a painter and writer of long-standing as well as a performance artist and a poet. New to the playwright scene as a play came  to mind, and so was written. Then critiqued. Then watched as it changed. Lovely.

 Contact Dlyn at dlynpoet@msn.com and view her artwork at ArtbyDlyn.com.