Discussion with Dr. David Crawford About the Texas Dramatists Playwriting Series

Tell us how this series was started. What is the specific intention of this series?

The idea came with a discussion between Dr. Marion Castleberry, Clarence Strickland, Jonathan Perry and myself. Castleberry and I had attended a playwriting workshop in Lexington, NY sponsored by The Ensemble Studio Theatre. While there, I was able to establish a relationship with Arthur Giron (Flight, Edith Stein, Becoming Memories) who recommended that we can offer the same experience to the southwest writers that we received at the NY workshop. What the workshop did is put me, for example, into contact with a professional NY play producing organization. That is what we wanted to do down here. Help the Texas playwright have an opportunity to have their work seen by people who can make a difference in their careers. For example, my play was seen by the directors at EST who produced the play at their Octoberfest. From there it ended up Off-Broadway. So we met together to begin an organization that will help educate and produce the Texas playwright.

Texas Dramatists recently had their first seminar this summer at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX. What were some of the highlights?

What we always want to offer is the opportunity for the playwright to see their work performed. Five plays were read and the playwrights received critiques from TD board members. That's always a highlight. We were also able to offer two classes, one taught by Castleberry on the 6 Elements of Drama, and I taught Playwriting Method.

Discuss upcoming events this summer. What would you like to see this conference grow into?

We'll be sponsoring our second reading on Saturday, August 13, at Navarro College in Corsicana. Playwrights from across the state have the opportunity of having their works read and discussed. In the future we would like to gain funding and contact with other theatre organizations that will allow us to offer productions. We'd love to foster relationships with the Texas playwrights where we nuture their work from the initial stages through performance.

What does it take to get a play read?

Authors need to send their scripts to Jon Perry. All established and aspiring playwrights are invited to submit new works and join in our second Summer Play Reading! We'll meet in the Albritton Administration Building in the Black Box Theatre, which is on the second floor of the Admin Bldg in Room 277, right above the college bookstore. The Admin Bldg faces 7th Ave (Texas Hwy 31) and is the central building on campus. Watch for signs to direct you to the theater. Playwrights wishing to have works considered for the reading must mail a copy of their scripts by July 27 to: Texas Dramatists c/o Jonathan Perry, 15151 Northwood Dr., Tyler, TX 75703. Please include contact information (phone, e-mail, etc.) in all correspondence, and playwrights selected will be contacted by Aug. 1. Playwrights must provide their own readers for the event. In addition to our Facebook page, we reside at:

The address and contact are the same for future readings in 2012 and beyond.

http://www3.tjc.edu/theatre/td/index.htm

Among the Soils

In the evening, when the sun is bowing and the leaves are
beginning their evening rest, gentle lightning bugs swarm the 
fevered fields behind us and allow the long shades of grass to
sparkle. You can almost hear a gentle Yared or Korzeniowski
score coming from a window on the hill, one that calls for bare
feet touching the landscape.


My wife stands in the garden, contemplating the joy of
overgrown success. She is in her tank top and linen bottoms,
her bare legs caressed by the giant leaves of the zucchini plants,
as high as her hips and navel. The artichoke and basil and mint
she studies, their grasp low. She squeezes the tomatoes with
such a tender embrace as she squats for a moment between them.
She rises at a fond thought, her hands swaying across the tops of the
cucumber vines. She walks among the garden as if it is her home,
one that can not be disassembled or matted down. Her sensual
motions drive them up into the night like fog rising above the
ancient sea. The sun fades on her back, trickles of rays still left
haunting her cheeks and calves. She sees me watching from the
door and pauses. Her smile in the twilight is an act of brilliance
played out in slow motion.