Portland Playwrights Project

BUMP'S NEWEST INITIATIVE

Bump in the Road Theatre produced shows in Portland from 2002 to 2006, at which time its producing artistic director, Carmela Lanza-Weil, went to Baltimore to complete a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. Carmela and BUMP are currently active on the East Coast.

Ellen West is one of the playwrights who collaborated on these productions. As a playwright, she is interested in increasing opportunities for writers to see their work on the stage. The Board of BUMP put her in charge of initiating a development program for area playwrights whose work accords with BUMP's mission—dedication to exploring life's difficult challenges through the production of new and existing plays.

Called BUMP's Playwrights Project, this new play workshop process will start in March, 2010, and culminate in rehearsed script-in-hand performances over three weekends for three writers in early June, 2010. The plays will be chosen by a panel of theater professionals.

A pilot program of Ellen West's play Losing Things took place this spring and ended with a workshop production June 5, 2009, Trish Egan directing. This workshop resulted in a full production in Washington this fall plus requests from several theaters across the country.

For those interested, information about submission requirements for BUMP's Playwrights Project are available now. Deadline for submissions is November 15, 2009.

For details on this exciting initiative, contact:

ELLEN WEST
Producer, BUMP's Playwrights Project
(503) 680-4432
www.ellenwestplaywright.com