Happy IDES OF MARCH!
Announcing SAN FRANCISCO OLYMPIANS FESTIVAL IX: ROMAN HOLIDAY
Want to write for the Olympians Festival?
Well, now is your chance!
We are now accepting submissions for the 2018 San Francisco Olympians Festival, a multi-discipline, nationally and internationally recognized new works theater festival based at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco!
Proposals due by midnight on May 15th, with the line-up for next year’s festival to be announced 7/1/2017. Our first meeting will be on December 12 of 2017.
The festival will take place in October of 2018, from October 3-October 20, Wedesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 PM, at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco.
Each night of the festival will consist of the staged reading of either a full-length play or a series of shorts, inspired by the mythical gods and heroes of Ancient Greece, and those cultures which influenced it or were influenced by it. The subjects, and the lengths of the plays we’re looking for, are specified below.
There are no submission fees. The Olympians Festival is non-exclusive and does not retain ownership of any play created for it, beyond the initial staged reading. Participating writers receive a portion of their box office the night of the reading, and will be expected to help promote the festival and contribute a raffle prize of their choice to be raffled off to the audience on the night their play is read. Local writers or their designated representatives are also expected to attend 4-6 meetings over the course of the year, and our auditions, which happen in August.
Writers are encouraged to submit as many proposals as they want for as many topics as they like. Applications for a topic can be submitted by individuals or writers can work in pairs, or teams of three or more. Writers may be picked for more than one project, and should note that they’d like to be considered for more than one (or not). Each proposal should be 500 words or less and answer three questions:
1) Why you?
2) Why this figure?
3) What is your idea?
All proposals should be submitted electronically to Stuart at [email protected].
We are an equal opportunity festival and all Bay Area writers are encouraged to apply. Additionally for this year, in the Roman spirit of inclusion and amalgamation of outside cultures and traditions, we will accept proposals from up to SIX NATIONAL WRITERS. So if you’re a US playwright and want to be a part of the festival, now is your chance. These guest slots are not pre-determined, so apply to whatever strikes your fancy, and specify you are a playwright from outside of the Bay Area.
2018′s subjects are as follows. Only one is currently claimed and submissions are encouraged for all of the rest:
SF OLYMPIANS VIV: ROMAN HOLIDAY (10/3-10/20)
Week One: IMPERIAL WORLD (10/3-10/6)
Wednesday, October 3: The Way In
Full Length: Janus, two-faced god of beginnings, endings, keys, doors, luck, the past and the future. A very Roman God if ever there was one.
Thursday, October 4: The Venerable Father
Full Length: Saturn, the father of Jupiter, but unlike his Greek counterpart Chronus, Saturn became the ruler of the blessed realms, eternally golden, a kind of benevolent grandfather figure.
Friday, October 5: Capitoline Triad
Full Length: Jupiter/Juno/Minerva, were a trio of gods acting in tandem who symbolized the ideal Romans- a strong and just patriarch, a kind and gracious matriarch, and a clever but dutiful daughter.
Saturday, October 6: The Prodigal Son
Full Length: Mars, the center of Roman society was the warrior, the Centurion who conquered the world for Rome, and Mars was the god of war and warriors, Roman power, and the Roman way of life.
Curtain Warmer: Bellona, attendant of Mars, she was an ancient Etruscan goddess of war who was given a subordinate position in Roman Society.
Curtain Warmer: Victoria, another attendant of Mars, she was the winged goddess of Victory!
Week Two: DIVINE DESCENT (10/10-10/13)
Wednesday, October 10: The Legacy
Full Length: Aeanus, the refuge Trojan prince from whom the people of Rome were said to be descended. (TAKEN)
Thursday, October 11: The Founders
One-Act: Romulus, the great hero for whom Rome was named, founder of the city, raised by wolves.
One-Act: Remus, his twin brother.
Friday, October 12: The Inheretors
One-Act: Julius Cesar, the famous Roman emperor murdered on the Ides of March, who was also the first historical Roman to be deified after his death.
One-Act: Octavian Augustus, Cesar’s heir, he was considered the greatest Emperor to ever live, by some, and a tyrant by others. He became the second historical Roman to achieve god status after death.
Saturday, October 13: The Origin
Full-Length: Venus, goddess of love and beauty, the consort of Mars, she was said to be the mother of Aeneas and thus the rulers of Rome traced their lineage back to her and claimed divine right as a result.
Curtain Warmer: Cupid, winged god of love, son of Venus and Mars.
Curtain Warmer: Psyche, the embodiment of the soul and wife of Cupid, her story is Greek (like her name) but it was immportalized by the Roman poet Apuleius.
Week Three: HEARTH & TOWN & COUNTRY & TOMB (10/17-10/20)
Wednesday, October 17: The Secret Keeper
Full Length: Vesta, goddess of the hearth and fire, she represented the average Roman and the aristocrat, the slave and the Centurion alike, for she was the embodiment of the Roman Home.
Thursday, October 18: Gods! Gods! Gods!
Short: Neptune, god of the sea and ships.
Short: Mercury, god of commerce and the messenger of the gods.
Short: Apollo, god of music, poetry, healing, and the “gentle arts”.
Short: Vulcan, god of blacksmiths and craftsmen.
Short: Sol, god of the Sun and the watchman of Truth.
Short: Quirinus, protector of the Roman state and god of lawyers.
Short: Dis, the king of the dead.
Short: Faunus, the god of the countryside, and a faun!
Friday, October 19: Aventine Triad
Full Length: Ceres/Liber/Libera, were a trio of gods who acted in tandem in concern with all things agricultural and growing, from grain to wine, to plants and animal husbandry.
Saturday, October 20: The Triple Goddess
Full Length: Diana, the virgin goddess of hunting and the wild, sister of Apollo, a mysterious entity said to have three forms. On the earth, she was Diana.
Curtain Warmer: Luna, was said to be Diana in the sky, and was goddess of the moon.
Curtain Warmer: Trivia, was said to be Diana in the underworld, and was the goddess of witches, magic, crossroads, and secrets.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER:
A SERIAL: Cleopatra, the original goddess/priestess/queen/witch/warrior/lover/spy/whore archetype, she transcends pretty much everything, including history, and she was a major thorn in the side of the Roman Empire, at a key moment in the transition from Republic to Imperial State. She declared herself the goddess of the sky, during her lifetime, and named her twins by Mark Anthony, Selene and Helios as a not-to-subtle reminder that she was more than human. This year we offer an exceptional challenge for this exceptional woman: proposals must be for a serial, written either by one author, or a group of writers. 8 ten minute episodes, one to be performed at the start of the night on October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17 and 19.
Length Guidelines:
Curtain Warmer: 5-8 minutes long
Short: 10-15 minutes long
One-Act (night of 2): 45-70 minutes long
Full-Length: 55+ minutes
Serial: 8, 10 minutes or less parts
Find out more about the festival at www.sfolympiansfestival.com or visit us on Facebook and Twitter.