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Then, help us spread the word ...

Thank you.

With your help, we raised over $3,000 ... and twelve playwrights used your ingenious suggestions to create four hilarious new short plays. (You can read them below!)

#NEWPLAY LIVE may be over, but you can still make a contribution to the Center! Click here to visit our page on GiveMN.org and join us in championing playwrights and new plays.

THANKS DONORS!

Jan contributed a line of dialogue: "She clutched the sweaty rim of her vodka tonic as that recurring thought rankled her mind - what if Rachel Maddow was wrong just about everything?"

Jeremy contributed a minor character: "The Naked Eye."

Betty contributed a prop: "Plumber's friend."

Meg contributed a prop: "plunger."

Debbie contributed a word: "gluten."

Susan contributed a prop: "ferret toupee."

Ricardo contributed a word: "serving."

Tom contributed a word: "flucking."

Janaki contributed a word: "snootful."

Jessica contributed a word: "shoehorn."

Nate contributed a major character: "Jenickuh - a homegirl in a business suit. Quick to boogie and throw down a rap."

Nate contributed a major character: "KathLeantotheleft - has a cosmic glow about her that could suggest something nuclear."

Nate contributed a major character: "Bobbert Lee - will knock you down with a muscle flex; favorite phrase is 'bulls---'"

Nate contributed a major character: "Peedro - has a penchant for creamed coffee, roses and an ability to read minds"

Nate contributed a major character: "Laughing Delilah - Generous with kind words, double entendres and finger gestures"

Delores and Myron contributed a major character: "Little Mikey - an inquisitive child who once fell into a barrel of pickled herring ..."

Penny contributed a word: "ogle."

Penny contributed a word: "google."

Kelly contributed an action: "Shake your moneymaker."

Kaaron contributed a word: "pecksniffian."

Hayley contributed a word: "magnolia cupcake."

Robert contributed a prop: "A street map of Hicksville, NY, with the house at 10 West Street circled ..."

Andrew contributed a word: "filibuster."

Kailee contributed a major character: "Goober - A jello that's alive... and he's a boy."

Tom contributed a word: "highlander."

Abby contributed a line of dialogue: "Oh man!"

Julia contributed a word: "peachtree."

Hayley contributed a word: "bulldog."

Justin contributed a word: "cairn."

Laura contributed a major character: "Carlsbad, slight, pale, and mustachioed ..."

Sarah contributed a prop: "a giant statue of Josef Stalin, made entirely out of butter."

Erika contributed an action: "anchor."

Karen contributed a prop: "A Surly Darkness (a limited-release beer)."

Karen contributed a prop: "A Nice Ride bike."

Julie contributed a word: "humanities."

Julie contributed a word: "digital."

Jeremy contributed a word: "unconstitutional."

Lisa contributed a line of dialogue: "Dammit, I thought we solved this problem two weeks ago!"

Charlie contributed an action: "embargo."

Justin contributed a word: "Orion."

Steve contributed a minor character: "Betty - mutters comical (but cutting) couplets under her breath every time some automobile driver enters her bike lane."

Tom contributed a word: "light-year."

Abby contributed a word: "slogging."

Sarah contributed a word: "celestial."

Trista contributed an action: "REVOLUTION."

Andy contributed a word: "beslubbered."

Robert contributed a word: "Zeitgeist."

Judy contributed a word: "downcast."

Tom contributed a word: "rochambeau."

Morgan contributed a word: "diphthong."

Qui contributed an action: "defenestrate."

Ruth contributed a major character: "Colette Morehouse married an American who she met while he was on a foreign program in Paris three years ago."

Emma contributed a word: "steatopygic."

Polly contributed a major character: "A short tattooed lesbian in a fedora, who works for the Italian mafia."

Will contributed a word: "sluice."

Sarah contributed a word: "woebegone."

Janet contributed a word: "bindlestiff."

Charlie contributed a word: "tapioca."

Charlie contributed a word: "baptism."

Charlie contributed an action: "embargo."

Charlie contributed a line: "If I could start over, it'd be as a minister of God, but it's too late now - as you, of all people, should know."

Janet contributed a word: "carbuncle."

READ PLAY #1 »

8am - 9am : Andy Bragen

He was known on the sports field as "The Mad Hungarian" (although he is neither). His handwriting is unspeakable (but happily he’ll be typing). Bragen will spit out something (anything!). Just ask.

9am - 10am : Trista Baldwin

Her work is marked by surreal landscapes of dream and memory woven into stories that explore the tension between society and individual identity.

10am - 11am : Gregory Moss

Greg Moss is a master of darkly comical, poetic, and ambitious plays. He's particularly interested in surreal worlds full of characters with dirty mouths and pure hearts. And vice-versa.

Winner of a Minnesota Council of Nonprofits/MAP for Nonprofits Dot.Org Award for Creative Campaign

What is #NEWPLAY LIVE?

On November 15 - Give to the Max Day - twelve Playwrights' Center writers created four brand new short plays LIVE online, using props, characters and lines donated by the public.

How does it work?

1. Read along as each playwright writes and revises in real time.

2. Donate to contribute a story element -- or several!

3. Watch with amazement as your idea is incorporated into the play!

What can I contribute?

WORD ($10)

For a donation of just $10, you can designate a single word to be incorporated into a character's dialogue in the play. Some memorable contributions from last year's project include "gardyloo," "bandersnatch" and "inexpressibles."

ACTION ($20)

A $20 donation lets you designate an action, defined as a single verb, that must be worked into the action of the play somehow. Note: the playwright may interpret this figuratively!

PROP ($30)

A donation of $30 lets you designate an object that must come into play onstage. Toss any concerns about size and feasibility to the wind - that's the director's job. The only caveat is that it must be a single, discrete object. Umbrellas and rhinos yes; marching band no.

LINE ($40)

For a $40 donation, you get to designate a single sentence (25 words or less) that the playwrights must incorporate into a character's dialogue. Be creative -- surprise us!

MINOR CHARACTER ($50)

Give your friend the cameo they always wanted. Designate the name of a minor character who will make an appearance and say at least one line in the play. Minor characters might continue in the narrative, but they're just as likely to exit as quickly as they entered.

MAJOR CHARACTER ($100)

If you're going to donate $100 on behalf of playwrights and new plays, we want to make it worth your while. Design a brand new character who will become a leading or supporting role throughout the play. The playwrights will make sure he or she has more than a walk-on appearance. You can designate a name (your own?), appearance, and a one-sentence description.

KILL A CHARACTER ($250)

If you're experiencing a bad day, a strong dramaturgical opinion or just an old-fashioned god complex, you can take your divine wrath out on a current character by submitting their name and letting the playwright get creative. Or if that seems a little dark, you can always breathe life into two major characters and a minor character instead!

GENRE ($500) - ONLY 4 AVAILABLE!

What kind of story is this, anyway? Screwball comedy? Domestic drama? Vampire romance? Make your mark on how all other story elements in a given play are interpreted by defining the genre of one of the four plays!

What's the schedule?

8 AM CST: PLAY #1

Make #NEWPLAY LIVE part of your balanced breakfast.
Written by Andy Bragen, Trista Baldwin and Gregory Moss

11 AM CST: PLAY #2

Take a break from the daily grind and help shape our second short play of the day!
Written by Janaki Ranpura, Anna Moench and Joe Waechter

2 PM CST: PLAY #3 (FAMILY FRIENDLY)

Got kids? They can get involved too! Let them choose a story element for our squeaky clean matinee.
Written by Qui Nguyen, Christina Ham and Eric "Pogi" Sumangil

5 PM CST: PLAY #4 (UNRATED)

8 pm doesn't scream "late night" by playwright standards, but the content of this play might.
Written by Alex Lewin, Martín Zimmerman and Sarah Gubbins

Who are the playwrights?

Play #1
Core Writer

Trista Baldwin

Play #1
Core Writer

Andy Bragen

Play #4
2011-12 Jerome Fellow

Sarah Gubbins

Play #3
McKnight Advancement Grant recipient

Christina Ham

Play #4
Jerome Fellow

Alex Lewin

Play #2
Jerome Fellow

Anna Moench

Play #1
Core Writer

Gregory Moss

Play #3
Core Writer

Qui Nguyen

Play #2
Many Voices Fellow

Janaki Ranpura

Play #3
2010-11 Many Voices Fellow

Eric "Pogi" Sumangil

Play #2
Jerome Fellow

Joe Waechter

Play #4
Jerome Fellow

Martín Zimmerman