Saturday, April 24, 2010

The Producers

It's hard to believe it's been more than a month and a half since my last blog post. For shame! I slap my own hand.

It's a day that's threatening rain and perfect weather to write. But on the agenda for this weekend is a whole lot of reading. I have read through many manuscripts for Aqueous Books, and still have many more to read through, including going through final edits for our first publication, Michael J. Atwood's interlinked short story collection, HiStory of Santa Monica.

In other exciting news, on Monday, April 12, I met with Jerry Ahillen, Pensacola Little Theatre Artistic Director, and Michelle Hancock, the Little Theatre's Beyond Boundaries Program Coordinator, to discuss my Outreach Initiative for Youth Drama idea. I am excited to provide the results of that meeting in the following press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Prick of the Spindle literary journal partners with the Pensacola Little Theatre to produce plays for youth in the Fall of 2010



Pensacola, FL, April 23, 2010 ― International nonprofit literary journal Prick of the Spindle announced a new partnership with the Pensacola Little Theatre, who will be producing plays for area youth through the journal's Outreach Initiative for Youth Drama competition. Prick of the Spindle is hosting a competition open to international dramatists for youth in three categories. Playwrights can submit work for children in age groups 4-8 years old; 8-12 years; and 12 and up. View the guidelines.



This initiative promises to continue the impact on area youth that the Pensacola Little Theatre is known for. A winning play from each category will be produced in the fall of 2010 through the Pensacola Little Theatre's Beyond Boundaries program. The program, managed by Coordinator Michelle Hancock, brings drama into schools, assisted living facilities, and community centers in an effort to provide a cultural experience to people from all backgrounds. The journal's vision aligns neatly with that of the theatre. "It has been my vision from day one to promote quality work from writers of all backgrounds," says Prick of the Spindle Editor-in-Chief and founder Cynthia Reeser. Both organizations are poised to offer top-level material to the community at large.



The Pensacola Little Theatre was founded in 1926, according to their Website, on the closing of The Opera House. The Board of Managers (later to become the Board of Directors) brought the theatre successfully through the Great Depression, and have been serving the community ever since. Now midway through its 73rd season, the Little Theatre is host to such stage shows as Little Shop of Horrors, The Producers, Victor Victoria, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 12 Angry Jurors, and more.



Prick of the Spindle is a Pensacola-based nonprofit organization founded in 2007. It is the first literary journal to establish a presence as a Kindle magazine on Amazon.com, and has seen a rapid increase in its readership since its inception. It is one of the few literary journals publishing drama, and has interviewed a variety of established and up-and-coming authors and editors. Authors published in the journal have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the StorySouth Million Writers Award, Best of the Net Anthology, Best of the Web Anthology, and more. The journal is hosting a reading featuring published poets, fiction, and nonfiction authors on June 19, 2010 at Dolce Vita on South Reus Street in Pensacola; the event is a fundraiser whose profits benefit a youth art program.



For additional information, contact Cynthia Reeser at pseditor@prickofthespindle.com.



Visit Prick of the Spindle and the Pensacola Little Theatre online.



We're looking for playwrights! Folks, send me your best work. I can't wait to read it. Guidelines are here.