LA Female Playwrights Initiative Brings SWAN Day to Hollywood

LA FPI SWAN PosterThe intrepid LA Female Playwrights Initiative brings SWAN Day to Hollywood this Saturday with their SWAN Day Action Fest, a free festival of playreadings and connections on March 29 from 10:30 am – 4:30 p.m. at Samuel French, Theatre and Film Bookshop, 7623 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA.

The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (the LA FPI) was founded in 2010 by Laura Shamas and Jennie Webb as part of a groundswell of gender parity efforts across the country.  The LA FPI is working to create a nexus of support for artists, theaters, and theatergoers that will raise awareness of gender parity issues and foster accountability within the theatrical community.

To raise awareness, they did an excellent study which showed that only 20% of the plays produced in the greater Los Angeles area were written by women, and they provide links to other statistical studies of gender parity on their website. They also created the great FPI Badge pictured below and they encourage artists and organizations to use it in their programs and on their websites and blogs as a consciousness-raising tool.

fpi_get_badgeTo provide support, the group meets every quarter at the Samuel French bookshop for readings and gatherings, and also works to connect Los Angeles women playwrights with women directors through their Tactical Reads series produced in collaboration with The Vagrancy, a theatre company led by Caitlin Hart and Sabina Ptasznik.

The SWAN Day Action Fest will include readings of plays written and directed by women, two sessions of impromptu “Micro-Reads” (open to women writers in attendance),  and opportunities for theater-makers of all genders to network and find future collaborators.

Plays being read at the SWAN Day Action Fest were selected through a blind, open submission process curated by Little Black Dress INK. Here is the list of the plays:

  • “Civilization” – Playwright: Velina Hasu,; Director: Laura Steinroeder
  • “Douds, Iowa” – Playwright: Debbie Bolsky; Director: Katherine Murphy
  • “The Stiff” – Playwright: Kathryn Graf; Director: McKerrin Kelly
  • “Over Ripe”– Playwright: Becca Anderson; Director: Gloria Iseli
  • “Awesome Big Somebody” – Playwright: Sarah Tuft; Director: Holly L. Derr

The Micro-Reads will be readings of one page of writing performed on-the-spot, directed by Lynne Moses and Laurel Wetzork. (Visit guidelines for the Micro Reads here. )

For more information, please visit the LA FPI website or SWAN Day Action Fest on Facebook.