Announcing the 2010 Season

This year in Central Florida, 17% of the shows produced locally are written by women. While this is in line with the national statistics, Central Florida has the chance to take the lead on this front! Email us if you are looking to produce a great play written by a woman for this upcoming Central Florida theatrical season - we would love to help you on your way!

PlayFest! 2010 - The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays

Glassheart, by Reina Hardy
Sponsored by Women Playwrights’ Initiative
Directed by Kathleen Lindsey, WPI Vice-President
Featuring Tom Nowicki, Melissa Mason, Abigail Savage and Beth Marshall

Sunday, April 4, 2010 - 1:30pm
Sunday, April 11, 2010 - 8:30pm

Orlando Shakespeare Theater
812 E. Rollins St.
Orlando, FL 32803

PlayFest! is a ten-day Orlando Shakespeare Theater event packed with dynamic new plays and new play programming for anyone who loves great theater. This year, WPI is sponsoring a reading of Reina Hardy's script, Glassheart.

Glassheart plays off the classic Beauty and the Beast tale; only in this version, Beauty never showed up. After centuries under the curse, the Beast and his one remaining magical servant have moved into a shabby apartment near a 7-11, hoping for a lower cost of living and better luck with girls. In the threatening, impossible, completely ordinary world of paying rent and taking public transportation, is a happy ending even possible?

Please join us for the reading of this great new script, directed by our very own Kathleen Lindsey! Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance or at the box office before the show. Seats are limited so get your tickets today!

Wave of Women Writers (WOWW!) Award, 2009-2010 Winner

Rollins College Department of Theater & Dance

"Great Bellied Women: Variations on a Theme"

Directed by Aradhana Tiwari
Saturday, February 6, 2010
7:00pm
Stardust Video & Coffee
1842 E. Winter Park Road, Winter Park, FL 32803
Admission is FREE as part of ArtsFest 2010

WPI will be presenting "Great Bellied Women: Variations on a Theme" - inspired by Stacey Lane's one-act play "Great Bellied Women." This one-night only performance is a part of United Arts 2010 ArtsFest, a celebration of Central Florida arts and culture that takes place for 10 days over four counties. All performances and events are FREE thanks to presenting sponsor Bank of America. Check out ArtsFestFL.com for more information!

WPI's second ArtsFest performance is directed by Aradhana Tiwari (director of recent local production of Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart and UCF masters graduate) and will feature selections centered around birth and pregnancy from such plays as Machinal by Sophie Treadwell and Birth by Karen Brody.

We will also be discussing WPI and our programming for 2010, as well as collecting gently-used or new copies of plays written by women. The books/scripts are being collected as part of our SCRIPT DRIVE 2010, the goal of which is to put more plays written by women into circulation at local libraries.

5th Annual Playwriting Workshop

June 5-6, 2010
Central Florida location, focus and tuition information to be announced as soon as possible!

What they're saying about WPI

The WPI is a much-needed program in the American theatre where plays by women are sorely under represented on the nation’s stages. WPI is an important incubator. My only regret is that they were not around when I was starting out as a playwright 17 years ago!

Deborah Brevoort – Playwright of The Women of Lockerbie, Workshop Leader June 2007

Thank you for a wonderful, invigorating theatre experience with Women Playwrights' Initiative. I believe in the work you do and I appreciate your efficiency and professionalism!

Heather Ross - Actor

WPI is a great organization, producing readings and even productions of plays by women and promoting their work in general. They sponsored a reading of my play GULF VIEW DRIVE for Orlando Playfest and covered my expenses. They have strong leadership and a dedicated group of board members. I've been very impressed for the three years I've known them.

Arlene Hutton - Playwright of The Nibroc Trilogy, Workshop Leader June 2006

Partnerships such as the one that has been created in the past between PlayFest and WPI strengthens local awareness of the arts and creates a buoyancy that lifts all boats.

Patrick Flick – Director of New Play Development, Orlando Shakespeare Theater

I am so impressed with the quality of the pieces you find and with the level of professionalism with which you present them. The artist talk-back sessions are enlightening and inspiring.

Sarah Moore - Composer, Vocalist

While I have won over a dozen playwriting contests, this is the first to fly me out and house me for the reading and performance. By providing me with the financial assistance, WPI has done me an immeasurable artistic service.

Stacey Lane – Playwright, A Thousand Variations on a Lie Told Once.

The reading was beautifully cast, paced and caught – important to me because only when the reading is good can I see what needs doing to the play.

Janet Burroway – Professor Emerita, Department of English, Florida State
University, author of Sweepstakes and Parts of Speech

The Initiative is something that is long overdue. Traditionally, women have been neglected and their talents have been overlooked for lack of resources and opportunities.

Dora Casanova de Toro – Editor, La Prensa.

We applaud our 2007-08 sponsors