There are several things we love around here.  We love the terrific Kathleen Warnock whose name pops up on THM from time to time because she is an amazing playwright, a fantastic person, and someone I’m proud to know.  Kathleen has that rare talent of being able to share her spirit in words that are raw and real – not overblown or over-dramatic.  And because of that she often makes me feel I know her so much better than I do.  But that’s her gift – and that’s our present.

We also love celebrating, and women … and celebrating women.  What better way to celebrate than with The Lilly Awards – named for Lillian Hellman and started in the Spring of 2010 as a way to honor the work of women in the American Theater.

Kathleen attended the Lilly Awards and noted … “There was a delicious tension in the air as the women spoke of the need for self-recognition and celebration. The adjective “angry” was batted around, like a balloon, or a badge of honor. I’ve found that the word “angry,” depending on who is applying it, is often used as a weapon against someone who has a legitimate concern…or by someone who is frightened of what’s being said or asked.”

For the full re-cap of Kathleen’s experience continue reading at her site.  Find out all about her wonderful evening, the things she saw, the people she shared her night with … and find out who actually received an award!

To keep up with The Lilly Awards you can follow them on Facebook.

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• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Kathleen Warnock
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What is “BLE”?  It’s Best Lesbian Erotica of course!  Simply Google the title and you’ll find nothing but praise for this anthology of steamy hot stories. This is the fourth year that friend of our site, Kathleen Warnock, is editing the anthology – and she’s looking for submissions for Best Lesbian Erotica 2013 to be published by Cleis Press in December, 2012.   In addition to the $100 payment and author copies, contributors receive a 50% discount on the book purchased from Cleis.

In 2011 the edition was judged by Lea DeLaria, who contributed a story (The Elevator Man) to the 2012 edition. And those off-Broadway favorites, BETTY, were the guest judges in 2010.

So if you think you have what it takes to write something that will steam up the windows and mirrors … get to writing and get those submissions IN!  Details after the jump:

Submission Guidelines for Best Lesbian Erotica 2013

Kathleen Warnock is now accepting submissions for Best Lesbian Erotica 2013, to be published by Cleis Press in December, 2012.

Payment is $100 for each published story, and two copies of the book.

Submission Guidelines:

• Submit short stories, self-contained novel excerpts, other prose
• Unpublished material will be considered
• Previously published material will also be considered
• Submit two hard copies of each submission (you may print double-sided).
• Include a cover page with: Author’s Name, Pen Name (if applicable) Title of Submission(s), Address, Phone, and Email Address, and short (50 words) bio.
• All submissions must be typed and double-spaced; number the pages.
• Each submission should be a maximum of 5,000 words (list word count on title page). You may print double-sided.
• You may submit 2 pieces of work
• No email submissions will be accepted, except in the circumstances detailed below; you can email queries to Kwarnockble (at) gmail.com
• Manuscripts will not be returned.
• We will consider stories that have been published in other themed anthologies.

E-mail submissions:

• You may submit your story via email (as a Word document or PDF) under the following conditions:
  • You live outside of North America or Europe
  • The cost of postage would be prohibitive from your home country
  • The content of your submission may be illegal to send via postal mail in your home country
• Submission Deadline:
  • Submissions will be accepted throughout the year. The final (postmark) deadline is April 1, 2012. All submissions will be responded to by the end of September. Early submissions are encouraged.

Mailing Information:

Send all submissions to:

Kathleen Warnock
31-64 21st St., #319
Long Island City, NY 11106
Attn: BLE2013

If mailing from the US, First Class mail is fine. If you require a confirmation other than the USPS Delivery Confirmation, please included a self-addressed stamped postcard (not an envelope). If mailing from Canada, Airmail or XpressPost USA are recommended.

Please note: April 1, 2012 is a postmark date. You don’t need to overnight it as long as it is postmarked by then. If you are unable to make the postmark date, please email to discuss the possibility of an extension.

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I have to hand it to Emerging Artists Theatre Company‘s artistic director, Paul Adams – when putting together the program for the Spring EATFest  he perfectly chose the one-acts that comprise the evening of theatre – they managed to tell three great stories and still have you out of the theatre in about an hour.

There are two series in this Spring’s offering; I attended Series A but can only imagine that Series B packs as big of a punch.  If there could have been a theme for Series A it might have been called Behind the Platitudes – because each one-act was a beautifully crafted little gem of a story that, on the surface, could have been subtitled (respectively) “You Can’t Go Home Again” / “Out With The Old, In With The New” / “He Was Right There All Along”.  But that’s the thing behind idioms and platitudes – really, they’re easily repeatable phrases that often boil down a much more difficult concept.   Come to Series A of EATFest and you’ll get a trio of heartfelt stories that illustrate each of these ideas, some times with humor, some times with frustration, but always with heart.

In Staying Put written by Kathleen Warnock and directed by Vivian Meisner we find a woman, Ferro (Laura Fois) who has come home to deal with the death of her parent, and sort out what remains of the last few strands of her life back in the town she once called home.  As she sits on the porch with Stuckey (Desmond Dutcher), the companionable conversation moves from “back then” to what could happen now, what should happen and what will happen.  Ultimately while there’s something to be said for going back to what’s familiar it’s also obvious that once too much time has past even what was once familiar isn’t the same anymore.   However, we’re not always looking to revisit something expecting it to be exactly the same.

In The Takeover written by Barbara Lindsay and directed by Kelly Johnston we come upon a secretary (yes, a secretary) who is retiring after giving her entire life to the company.  Margaret (Blanche Choler) is noticeably perplexed at how young, casual about titles (“His name is “Mr. McChesney” she scolds) and distracted by cell phones her new replacement is.  Margaret is the definition of “old school”, she knows where everything is because she’s the one who put it  there.  As Mr. McChesney (Richard Cottrell) chides “This place will fall apart after you leave!” but of course it’s all just for display;  the new Administrative Assistant – correction – Executive Administrative Assistant – is just what the old boy needs.  Heather (Caitlin Johnston) has already fit right in, bringing a new spark, a shot of energy and even a new system for bringing everything into this century.  But the truth is – while change is always going to happen, it’s hardly ever easy.  For anyone.

Lastly, Clean written by Audrey Cefaly and directed by Troy Miller is an almost Frankie and Johnny-like tale set in a diner after hours.  Marisol (Glory Gallo) is a waitress at the diner; when we meet her she’s flat on her back after having fallen while cleaning up.  Roberto (Matt Stapleton) the dishwasher comes upon her and at first tries to help but after being told to not bother calling anyone decides to sit and keep Marisol company till she feels ready to move.  In order to pass the time the two coworkers who have known each other for years but have had hardly more than ten words with each other, begin to trade anecdotes about their past.  What unfolds is a sweet, tender, lovely story that explains how what we need from another person may be just there, under the surface.

While each of these one-acts are strong on their own taken together they make for a powerful, touching night of theatre.

~~~

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These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Kathleen Warnock.

Kathleen Warnock is a playwright and editor. She is company manager of the Playwrights Circle at Emerging Artists Theater, and curates the Robert Chesley/Jane Chambers Playwrights Project for TOSOS Theater. She curates the Drunken! Careening! Writers! reading series at KGB Bar the third Thursday of every month. She is also series editor for Best Lesbian Erotica (Cleis).

She is tired.

I certainly would be too!  I had the opportunity to sit on a panel with Kathleen last year and have been trying to find a time when we could feature her here on The Happiest Medium.  Well, thank you Women’s History Month!  You finally got this very tired, very talented, very wonderful woman to share her story with me.  I’m thrilled that I’m finally able to celebrate all the wonderful things that Kathleen Warnock is doing, every day.  I’ll let her take it from here  …

Kathleen Warnock

As I said, I’m tired. But interested. One thing always leads to another: whether it’s helping produce The Secretaries for TOSOS in last year’s Fringe (and extension), or working with the Playwrights Circle at EAT. My day job, editing travel guides for Frommer’s, also takes me around the world from my cube in Hoboken.

The days that make a difference are always an Opening Night of mine; those are the best days. I also get a similar buzz from attending Opening Nights for friends of mine, particularly when I’ve helped out with the production. The days that make me think “I’m too old for this shit,” are when I have a lot of production-related stuff at the same time I have a big project due at work, or when I’ve got 2 or 3 deadlines within the same, say 72-hour period! Does anyone know where I can get Adderal?

I’ve often been the only girl in the room: I was sports editor of my college newspaper, worked for the Baltimore Orioles and Colts, and became a sports journalist after I graduated from college. I made it my business not so much to be one of the guys, but to focus on the work, and usually ended up with the respect of my colleagues. I’ve tried to operate that way since. Sometimes, when I’m one of the few women at a production meeting, I just do the same thing and say what I need to say, and do it in a constructive, positive way, to make sure that an issue is addressed. And often, I realize that my presence reminds people that there are women playwrights, women who run theaters, etc.

I wouldn’t work with someone who treated me as less than an equal. Of course, I have the “luxury” of working for little or no money off-off, so if someone’s an ass, I can walk away from the project. The people that I choose to work with most often, and who have chosen to work with me are the likes of Paul Adams, artistic director of Emerging Artists Theatre, who has given me many opportunities as a playwright; and Mark Finley, artistic director of TOSOS, who is like my twin-from-another-mother. Doric Wilson, founder of TOSOS is someone who recognized me as a playwright and a colleague, and has often opened doors for me, and promoted my work.

As a playwright who is a woman and a woman who is a playwright, I find resource websites/lists to be extremely helpful. I have a bulletin board that I’ve been maintaining online for 8 years, called “En Avant Playwrights,” on which I list all the opportunities I find in a format based on play length, and whether it’s for production, staged reading, contest, etc. We’ve had nearly 1.7 million pageviews since I started it. I am also a member of the yahoo group “Playwright Binge,” founded by Patrick Gabridge, a smart, talented Boston playwright who has shared his process of marketing his work, and created a place that supports all playwrights who want to know about getting their work out there. The group does semi-annual “Binges” where they commit to sending out their work every day for a month, then reporting back to the group.

I have a short play, Staying Put, running in Series A at EATfest (TADA Theatre, 15 W. 28th St., subway: N/R) through March 20. It runs Monday, Thursday at 7pm and Saturday at 9pm. The other plays in the series are by two playwrights whose work I love: Barbara Lindsay and Audrey Cefaly. Tickets can be purchased here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154363 and are $18 (reduced for students, seniors). In addition, my latest full-length play, “Outlook,” was just read as part of the “First Taste” series for company playwrights on March 15, at 8:45. It was directed by Mark Finley, and featured Meghan Cary, Robin Cloud, Irene Longshore & Danielle Quisenberry.

And the deadline for Best Lesbian Erotica 2012 is coming up April 1! For submission guidelines, visit my website at www.kathleenwarnock.com.

~~~

More about Kathleen Warnock:

Her works produced in New York include: “Grieving for Genevieve” (MITF); “Rock the Line” (EAT); “Some Are People” (EAT NYC, Ireland); “The Adventures of…” (EAT, NYC, Ireland, Provincetown). She is a member of The Dramatists Guild.

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• Spring EATFest 2011 – Something For Every Taste
• Kathleen Warnock Goes To The Lilly Awards
• Call For Submissions: Putting The “BLE” In Combustible
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Franca Vercelloni
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Emily Owens