Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition

A breakdown of Aeschylus' dramatic technique in SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. Patriotism-25,401,599:1 Odds-Dulce et decorum est-Us and Them-Signs and Symbols-The Ancient Quarrel-Fake Myth-The Biological Imperative. Read, like share. https://melpomeneswork.com/a-risk-theatre-reading-of-aesch/

Updated February stats from the international RISK THEATRE MODERN TRAGEDY COMPETITION, the world's largest competition for the writing of tragedy. Less than three months to go, who will take the $10,000 first prize? https://melpomeneswork.com/february-2021-update-risk-theat/

Woot woot! Submitted my abstract proposal to the University of Coimbra's (a UNESCO heritage site in Portugal and one of the oldest universities in the world, dating back to 1290) International Theatre about Science conference. Fingers crossed that: a) my proposal is accepted, and b) the travel world will come back to life in November. Never have been to Portugal, but have heard AMAZING stories of the awesome CULTURE and HISTORY there Here's my lucky proposal: At the Crossroa...ds of Probability Theory and Theatre: Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes and Shakespeare’s Othello Current events highlight the impact of chance, risk, and uncertainty on life. The theatre is an ideal stage to simulate randomness. Two plays come to mind as starting points to examine the intersection between theatre and probability theory. In Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, seven attackers besiege Thebes, the city with seven gates. They are met, in turn, by seven defenders. Through the theory of permutations, it can be determined that seven attackers and seven defenders can station themselves at the seven gates in 25,401,600 different ways. Aeschylus only dramatizes one of these ways, which also happens to be the worst-case scenario. In this play, it is possible to examine how Aeschylus plays with probability to amplify the dramatic tension. Shakespeare writes the language of probability into Othello with terms such as: probal to thinking, exsufflicate and blown surmises, inference, prove it that the probation bear no hinge nor loop, proof, living reason, and proofs that do demonstrate thinly. With the action divided between Othello’s opinion of Desdemona’s guilt before and after the test of the napkin, it is possible to apply Bayes’ Theorem, a tool for calculating conditional probabilities, to analyze the play probabilistically. Such a reading encourages audiences to reexamine their use of moral certainty, or the concept of intuitive probability, both inside and outside the theatre. Of the arts, theatre seems to dramatize more than its fair share of low-probability, high-consequence outcomes. Theatre’s stages are filled with sliding door moments. By examining the crossroads between probability theory and theatre, we can begin to understand why risk is so exciting, both on the stage of theatre and on the stage of life. https://theatreaboutscience.com

Yes!!! CRITICAL INSIGHTS: LITERATURE IN TIMES OF CRISIS is out. Humbling to see my name mentioned together with such distinguished company. Interested in the consolation of literature? Look for the volume, coming soon to your local library. This is the next evolution of risk theatre.

Thinking of ways to fire up your dramatic creations with chance, uncertainty, and the unexpected? Check out "Wong's Seven Risk Theatre Playwriting Exercises." Read, like, share. https://melpomeneswork.com/workingtitleplaywrights/

Looking forward to tomorrow's playwriting workshop with WORKING TITLE PLAYWRIGHTS. Here's my chance to show the world that RISK THEATRE is the real deal. One chance, one moment, this is it! https://workingtitleplaywrights.com/progr/classes-seminars/

A risk theatre reading of Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS. The opportunity cost of choice-masters of reality-the dismal art-runaway patriotism-tragedy as a valuing mechanism. This is Miller interpreted like never before. Read, like, and share. https://melpomeneswork.com/a-risk-theatre-reading-of-arthu/

Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Playwright Competition - January 2021 Update https://melpomeneswork.com/january-2021-update-risk-theatr/

May be of interest to playwrights exploring the crossroads of theatre, chance, and uncertainty. WORKING TITLE PLAYWRIGHTS is offering a unique Zoom workshop on risk theatre February 13 & 20. Hope to "see" you there. Details at: https://workingtitleplaywrights.com/pro.../classes-seminars/

New review of THE RISK THEATRE MODEL OF TRAGEDY in THEATRE HISTORY STUDIES journal: 'Valuable for scholars, directors, and playwrights', 'offers readers a new perspective for viewing how tragedy brings audiences the unexpected', 'a vision that has been a long time coming'. Thank you to Jayetta Slawson at Southeastern Louisiana University for a thoughtful and thought-provoking review. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/777166/summary

Workshopping Nicholas Dunn's THE VALUE for tonight's live reading. Join us at 4PM Pacific Time tonight, Sunday Oct 18. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83613439783

Edwin Wong look what I found! Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition shoutout!

Zoom in on October 18th for a live reading of Nicholas Dunn’s THE VALUE. Poster courtesy of Starling Memory Designs. Great design Emily Armstrong, thank you!

Page 16 of the upcoming Oct 8th edition of THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS. Looking good!

My thoughts on THE VALUE by Nicholas Dunn, the winner of the 2nd annual Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition. I discuss tragedy, how classics are created, ways to value paintings, the idea of value in art and in life, and the dangers of knowing the price of everything, but the value of nothing. A good coffee read. https://melpomeneswork.com/the-value-a-tragedy-by-nicholas/

1/4 ad celebrating the winners to appear in the Oct 8 edition of the mighty NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS. Playwrights: the 2021 RISK THEATRE MODERN TRAGEDY COMPETITION is accepting entries. Find out more at risktheatre.com

Who won the $9000 grand prize and the five $525 runners-up prizes in the 2nd annual RISK THEATRE MODERN TRAGEDY PLAYWRITING COMPETITION? Click and see. Congrats to the prize winners. Thank you to everyone for participating. Hope to see y'all next year where the prize money has gone up again, and substantially. https://risktheatre.com/winners/

Wondering who this year's jurors were? Wonder no more, click on the link and read all about the jurors who have been carefully reading your plays. Plus: grand prize winner will be posted on the site Saturday, August 15 9am Pacific Time (PT). Almost there! https://risktheatre.com/winners/

Word on the street is that Mark Bly’s seminal new book: NEW DRAMATURGIES: STRATEGIES AND EXERCISES FOR 21ST CENTURY PLAYWRITING will be coming out in paperback. Previously, it was available as an eBook and in hardcover. The chain of events that led up to this? It’s really fascinating, the concatenation of chance events. I reviewed his book on my blog. In the review, I cited one of his former students, Holly Hepp-Gálvan. Google scholar alerted Holly of the mention, and in turn... she told Mark about the review. As I normally do with reviews, I posted it on Facebook. Playwright Ann Snead saw the Facebook post and commented, saying she wanted a copy, but the hardcover was quite expensive in Canada. Now get thisMark also saw Ann’s comment on Facebook. The Facebook post gave him the ammunition to go to the publisher and say: Release it in paperback so playwrights who want to read it can get it for a good price! There you have it. Chance, both in the theatre and in life, fascinates me to no end. https://melpomeneswork.com/review-of-new-dramaturgies-mark/ See more

What sort of plays are the jurors looking for in the Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition? Over the next few days I'll start posting synopses of this year's finalists. MERCY RISING: high school basketball star Mercy Angel gets more than he bargains for after he jumps a fence to steal apples from the backyard of physicist Dr. Keaton Beckman and his wife Faith. When a judge orders Mercy to spend six Saturdays working for the Beckmans, the couple discover Mercy has been stealing more than apples. The three are sucked into a vortex of physics, secrets, and personal ghosts. Generations clash as they struggle to survive an invasion of privacy that threatens to destroy them all. https://risktheatre.com/winners/