ShortLived 3.0

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ShortLived 3.0 LA Line-Up & Results // ShortLived 3.0 LA Playwright Bios

ShortLived 3.0 SF Line-Up & Results // ShortLived 3.0 SF Playwright Bios

ShortLived 3.0 Poster

PRESS RELEASE (SF):

Largest audience-judged playwriting competition in nation, PianoFight’s ShortLived, returns to SF

SAN FRANCISCO— March 16, 2010 – The largest audience-judged playwriting competition in the nation, PianoFight’s ShortLived 3.0, this year running simultaneously in Los Angeles, returns to San Francisco with experienced playwrights, unknown up-and-comers and local, indy-theater companies all competing for the grand prize of being asked to pen a full length play which PianoFight will produce for one month – and it’s up to the audience to decide the winner. Featuring 56 playwrights, 52 performances, 30 plus actors, 13 directors and two cities all wrapped into one show, ShortLived 3.0 premieres in the 54-seat black box Studio250 at Off-Market (965 Mission St), and runs every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00pm, April 2 – June 26, 2010. Tickets are $20 at the door and online at www.pianofight.com and, as usual, brown bags encouraged.

ShortLived 3.0, now in it’s third year in SF, will feature past winners Daniel Heath and William Bivins, as well as up and coming playwrights Bennett Fisher, Lauren Yee, Megan Cohen, Sam Leichter, Jon Brooks, Patricia Milton and Tim Bauer. Local theater companies Sleepwalkers, Threshold, Crisis Hopkins, Richard Jennings Music and Instrumental Theater (Paul Cello and Chrish Barth), will also be in competition against playwrights for a shot at the Grand Prize.

PianoFight’s SF directing team for ShortLived 3.0 includes Christy Crowley (The Position), Eric Reid (FORKING!), Devin McNulty (The S.H.I.T. Show), Nicole Hammersla (Monday Night ForePlays), Gabrielle Patacsil (directing team of ShortLived 1) and Rob Ready and Dan Williams (Artistic and Executive directors of PianoFight, respectively). The directors listed above will pull double duty as ShortLived 3.0 ensemble cast members, which also includes Julia Heitner, Rachel Ferensowicz, Jessica Cortese, Brittany Berg, Evan Winchester, Asher Lyons and Laura Zimmerman.

Another new element to the production this year is the addition of a house band on stage at every show. There are three bands in total filling the role, each performing for two rounds of the competition. April 2 – 24 is Japanese punk sensation All Ages, April 30 – May 22 is Sir Surrey, and Duncan and The Donuts will close out the final two rounds May 28 – June 19.

Rob Ready and Dan Williams, will produce the SF competition, while PF Producing Company Members Nina Harada and Jeremy Mascia will head up the production in LA. Combined Artform’s Matthew Quinn rounds out the producing team.

PRESS RELEASE (LA):

Largest audience-judged playwriting competition in nation, PianoFight’s ShortLived, debuts in LA

LOS ANGELES— March 16, 2010 – The largest audience-judged playwriting competition in the nation, PianoFight’s ShortLived 3.0, running simultaneously in San Francisco, debuts in Los Angeles with experienced playwrights, unknown up-and-comers and local, indy-theater companies all competing for the grand prize of being asked to pen a full length play which PianoFight will produce for one month – and it’s up to the audience to decide the winner. Featuring 56 playwrights, 52 performances, 30 plus actors, 13 directors and two cities all wrapped into one show, ShortLived 3.0 premieres in the 40-seat black box studio, The Asylum Lab (1078 Lilian Way), and runs every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00pm, April 2 – June 26, 2010. Tickets are $20 at the door and online at www.pianofight.com and, as usual, brown bags encouraged.

ShortLived 3.0, now in it’s third year in SF, will be making its southern California debut in Los Angeles and will feature up and coming playwrights Cort Brinkerhoff, Sheldon Bull, James C. Ferguson, Arthur M. Jolly, Jason Matthews, Felix Racelis and Matt Ryan. Local theater companies will also be in competition against playwrights for a shot at the Grand Prize.

PianoFight’s LA directing team for ShortLived 3.0 includes June Carryl, Nina Harada, Jeremy Mascia, Liz Osborn, Matt Ryan and Teresa Reilly. The directors listed above will pull double duty as ShortLived 3.0 ensemble cast members, which also includes Lauree Enos, Justin Fair, George Gallagher, Julie Gearheard, David Huynh, Christopher Karbo, Shannon McIntyre, Nina Millin, Kevin Marshall Pinkney, Diana Rein and Max Scher.

In addition to the plays, each night will feature a local musical act that will play a total of three sets in between pieces. Artists will include the Americana folk-rock band The Marietta James, singer-songwriter Laura Hughes, acoustic surf rocker Lani Trock and folk-rock duo Ben & Ash.

PianoFight’s Artistic and Executive Directors, Rob Ready and Dan Williams respectively, will produce the SF competition, while PF Producing Company Members Nina Harada and Jeremy Mascia will head up the production in LA. Combined Artform’s Matthew Quinn rounds out the producing team.

PRESS RELEASE 1:

Two Hella Awesome Artistic Mecca’s Pick Two Gnarly Grand Champions in One Crazy Dope Cross-Cali Competition: PianoFight’s ShortLived 3.0 … (it’s a really big deal)

SAN FRANCISCO— January 11, 2010—Premiering April 2nd 2010, SF/LA-based production company PianoFight kicks off its three-month long, audience-judged playwriting competition ShortLived 3.0 in San Francisco and Los Angeles, running every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 PM at The Off-Market Theater, 965 Mission St (SF) and The Asylum Lab, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd (LA) April 2- June 26. Tickets are $20 at the door and online at www.pianofight.com and, as usual, brown bags encouraged.

Local playwrights and theater groups in each city will compete for audiences who decide the winners of the grand prize: the chance to pen a full-length play to be produced by PianoFight for a one-month run in two cities. The LA winner will receive a one-month run in LA at The Asylum Lab, and a second month-run at Off-Market in SF, and the same goes for the SF winner.

Born from a need to fill theater space and a desire to find new work, ShortLived has provided a platform for local artists to be seen, heard and summarily judged by the public. PianoFight selects the top playwright submissions from each city, eight of which are staged and performed each round of the competition. ShortLived 3.0 consists of six total rounds, each lasting two weeks. By scoring the plays on a scale of one to ten, the audience members decide which plays will stay on to the next round and which plays will be “short-lived”. At the end of every round the scores are tallied and the four lowest-scoring plays are replaced by four new plays. The highest scoring piece of each round garners a spot in the Championship Weekend (June 25-26) where the best of the best face off and the top voted piece in each city wins the grand prize: a one month run of an original work produced by PianoFight.

Last year’s competition introduced an opportunity for local theater groups to compete with their own material and actors for a shot at the grand prize. PianoFight will continue this aspect of the competition in both cities. Along with local playwrights, directors and actors, ShortLived 3.0 also features a constantly changing lineup of musical guests.

This year, ShortLived 3.0 features two competitions in two cities, all wrapped into one show. With ShortLived 3.0 running concurrently in SF and LA, audience members in SF will be able to participate with actors in LA and vice versa, through the power of the Internet. The opening piece to every show will feature the return of audience favorite, Xocko The Sock Puppet, reading opposite an actual auditioner (someone PianoFight has never met), and will require participation from the adjoining city, all streamed live via webcams and projected for the audience.

Past ShortLived winners include Daniel Heath, who penned the original “Fork Off On Your Own Forking Adventure Which You’ve Forked: FORKING!” and Bill Bivins, the most celebrated playwright from the 2009 SF Fringe Fest, whose full-length play “The Position” debuts February 4th at Off-Market.

PiANOFiGHT PRODUCTiONS is an SF-based production company founded by Rob Ready and Dan Wiliams in July of 2007. Teaming with Combined Artform’s Matthew Quinn and Steve Kahn, PianoFight became a managing partner of Off-Market Theaters in 2009. In it’s short two-and-a-half-year history, PianoFight has produced original works, premiered all-new shows, created and developed an online web series, and cut numerous short films, all while remaining true to its commitment of producing new work by new artists. For more information, visit www.pianofight.com.

ShortLived 3.0, a playwriting competition featuring local playwrights and theater groups scored by audiences, runs every Friday and Saturday night at 8PM at The Asylum Lab, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd. (at Vine), Los Angeles and at Off-Market, 965 Mission St (between 5th and 6th), San Francisco, from April 2- June 26. Tickets are $20 at the door and online at www.pianofight.com.

PRESS CONTACTS:

SF – Rob Ready – (917) 363-9646 – rob@pianofight.com

LA – Nina Harada – (818) 667-7444 – nina@pianofight.com

PLAYWRIGHT SUBMISSIONS

(PLEASE NOTE: There is no deadline for submissions, however, the sooner a piece is submitted the sooner it has a chance to and the more likely it is to go into competition)

ShortLived 3.0, a playwriting competition featuring local playwrights and theater groups scored by audiences, runs every Friday and Saturday night at 8PM at The Asylum Lab, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd. (at Vine), Los Angeles and at Off-Market, 965 Mission St (between 5th and 6th), San Francisco, from April 2- June 26. Tickets are $20 at the door and online at www.pianofight.com.

Past winners include Daniel Heath who penned the original “Fork Off On Your Own Forking Adventure Which You’ve Forked: FORKING!”, which played to sold out audiences last January and Bill Bivins, the most celebrated playwright from the 2009 SF Fringe Fest, whose full-length play “The Position” debuts February 4th at Off-Market Theater.

Only playwrights from the Los Angeles area and San Francisco Bay Area may submit. If you meet this criterion, you may submit any style of short play – sketch comedy, dramatic, or something in between are all welcome – so long as it has not been fully produced anywhere else, and it does not run longer than 12 minutes.

The script will be directed and performed by PianoFight company members.

If the piece wins the round, it will automatically clinch a spot in the Championship Weekend. It will also stay in competition for subsequent rounds until it scores in the bottom four pieces.

If the piece does not win the round, but places in the top four by the end of the round, it will stay on to compete again in the next round for a chance to clinch a spot in the Championship Weekend.

If the piece scores in the bottom four by the end of the round, it will be dropped from competition, and the playwright may submit again if he/she would like.

LA submissions can be sent to ShortLivedLA@gmail.com.

SF submissions can be sent to ShortLivedSF@gmail.com.

Please put you’re your name and “Playwright Submission” in the subject line.

NOTE: Submissions should not be prop heavy or require too much tech/sets. There is no compensation for competing, however there is also no fee to submit. Compensation will be given in the form of the Grand Prize.

GROUP SUBMISSIONS

(PLEASE NOTE: There is no deadline for submissions, however, the sooner a piece is submitted the sooner it has a chance to and the more likely it is to go into competition)

One group will be given one slot each round to produce a piece written, directed, and performed by that group. Only groups from the Los Angeles area and San Francisco Bay Area may submit.

If the piece wins the round it will immediately clinch a slot in the finals, however, if the group does not win a round, it will be dropped from the competition.

To submit, please send an email including the script you wish to perform, and a little about your company with the name of your company and “Group Submission” in the subject line.

LA group submissions can be sent to ShortLivedLA@gmail.com.

SF group submissions can be sent to ShortLivedSF@gmail.com.

Any group with any script is welcome, so long as the piece has never been fully produced and does not run longer than 12 minutes. Groups will be chosen by PianoFight.

NOTE: Pieces should work in a black box setting, meaning a “set” will only include chairs or blocks etc. Props and tech should be fairly minimal as well, and entirely supplied by the group, not PianoFight. There is no compensation for competing, however there is also no fee to submit. Compensation will be given in the form of the Grand Prize, which will consist of one month’s worth of space in both SF and LA.