Austin Script Works Programs

Inspired by Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Days/365 Plays project, Austin Script Works invites you to join with us every summer in the daily practice of writing.

Sign up for a period of time -- 30, 60, or 90 days. During that period of time, we'll send you a daily writing prompt by email, offered by local and national writers, lawyers, yogis, musicians, athletes, and artists, each of whom also has some kind of daily practice. We'll also provide a place where you can post your experiences, struggles, questions, efforts, and musings on your work.

Write anything. Finish it. Move on to the next thing. Just write every day. Don't look back! You will probably hate it at some point. You will probably love it, too. You may or may not like what winds up on the page. But 30/60/90 is not about the end result or the product. It's just about the practice.of sitting down every day to do your work.

The 2007 program was a huge success so check back here for news about the 2008 incarnation which will start June 1, 2008.

It takes more than love to nurture words into plays. ASW provides Seed Support (up to $500) as well as administrative assistance to members on an project-by-project, writer-initiated basis. Seed Support also gives writers the tools to raise funds using ASW's non-profit status. Seed Support projects can fund a wide range of activities including: development, travel, research, workshops, classes - anything a writer needs to directly fulfill our mission and their individual visions.

Download file Seed Support Guidelines

Download file Seed Support Application

The backbone of Austin Script Works, the Salon provides a place for playwrights to hear their work in an informal setting. Monthly salons feature unrehearsed readings of finished plays or fragments from plays-in-progress by members and are followed by writer-driven discussions with ASW members. Salons usually occur on the last Sunday of the month at 6:30 PM. Members must have attended two salons before they can have on scheduled for their work. Prospective members are welcome to attend a Salon before joining.

This is the information you need to know. Sent to all members via email, Austin Script Works' weekly newsletter includes: announcements of upcoming events, member awards and productions, submission opportunities and other items of interest.

ASW partners with Teatro Vivo on Latino Playwrights Initiative. The program has three primary goals:

1. To identify new Latino writers and encourage new work from emerging and established Latino writers
2. To develop the work with professional support and mentorship; and
3. To connect Latino writers with producers interested in pursuing their work.

It also has three primary phases. In Phase One, we will identify existing writers and reach out to inspire new writing in the region. Playwrights all over the country are invited to submit 10-20 minute plays that somehow include three ingredients, or theatrical elements provided by nationally recognized artists. A committee comprised of national and local artists, community members and ASW staff will review and select 6-10 plays from among the submissions. The selected plays will then be performed in a public reading festival which will also include panel discussions, workshops, and mentorship of selected playwrights by nationally-recognized writers.

In Phase Two, up to four of the selected writers will be commissioned to write a full-length play, which will then be developed over the period of a year in readings and developmental workshops. This Phase will culminate in a public staged-reading festival.

In Phase Three, ASW will curate partnerships with local and national producing organizations and offer funding to support the production of the commissioned work.

The Latino Playwrights Initiative will repeat its call for short plays on a bi-annual basis, to continually look for and connect with new Latino writers. The Latino Playwrights Initiative is not one isolated weekend; rather, it’s a substantial, long-term program that will change the shape of theater demographics in Central Texas and beyond.

ASW presents workshops and symposiums given by leading theatre professionals and playwrights visiting the Austin area. Previous guests include: Erik Ehn, Megan Monaghan, Liz Engleman, Naomi Iizuka, Ruth Margraff, Sherry Kramer, Jennifer Haley, Amparo Garcia, and Rodrigo Duarte-Clark.

Affair, liaison, bed-hopping--whatever you choose to call it--sometimes a fling is just what a writer needs. In this fall event, members spend 48 hours writing 10-minute plays based on an arbitrary set of rules. Selected plays are produced in the spring Out of Ink Festival. Once a year.

Selected plays written during the Weekend Fling are presented in a showcase production. An annual event held every Spring.

Featuring over 800 performers from all over Austin, the state of Texas, and the United States - FronteraFest is five weeks of alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre you don't want to miss.
Co-produced by Hyde Park Theatre and Austin Script Works, FronteraFest features the Short Fringe (for pieces up to 25 minutes), the Long Fringe (for pieces 45-90 minutes), Bring Your Own Venue (for site-specific work) and Mi Casa es Su Teatro (works performed in homes all over Austin). Appications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and are availabe in August with a deadline of November 1st. The festival occurs annually in January and February. Complete information is available at http://www.hydeparktheatre.org

Tired of not getting produced? Produce it yourself! ASW gives four, one-act commissions (up to $200) to members for production in the FronteraFest Short Fringe. Deadline for commission applications is in September.

Trouble-shooting is never easy, especially alone. This ongoing program provides playwrights the opportunity to put their heads together with an ASW dramaturg, untangle wires and spark new ideas.

When appropriate, ASW may give financial support to a local theatre producing a world premiere of an ASW member's play. The production is held to an "Author's Bill of Writes" assuring the writer mutual approval over artistic decisions.

One of the biggest challenges that faces playwrights in the central Texas region is getting their work into the national theaters. To address this, ASW promotes members locally and nationwide through the ASW Web Site and provides recommendations for script submission to professional theaters and agents upon request and review.

This yearly gathering is open to all members and provides playwrights a chance to meet collaborators, share ideas, and fill up on some good food.