the bechdel group
  • Home
  • About The Bechdel Group
    • Statement of Action, Intention, and Commitment
    • Who We Are
  • Current Season
    • Past Seasons
    • Staged Readings
  • Work/Connect With Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Submit a Script >
      • Bechdel Boost!
    • Submission Guidelines >
      • FAQ
    • Actors
    • Contact
  • Buy/Donate
  • Supporters
  • Residency
    • Past Residencies

You Supported Us, Now Join us!

10/23/2017

0 Comments

 
by M.J. Moneymaker,  board member of The Bechdel Group

Thanks to your fabulous support we are able to continue our new works readings that pass the Bechdel test. Join us in one week for our next reading on Monday, October 30th. Let us know that you are attending via our Facebook page.

Siblings, politics, grief, physics, and fraud all come together for a fabulous night of new work. We are hugely excited to be featuring selections from two amazing playwrights, with two very different takes on family bonds.

In Claudia Haas' Making Some Noise, three sisters gather for the anniversary of their mother’s death on 9/11. Having sat shiva every year since 2001, they ask themselves: what is the make-up of a life? And what happens when one no longer wishes to continue the tradition of grieving?

And in Lolly Ward's Theory of Nothing, once upon a space-time continuum, a scientist married a sculptor and had two kids who lied. In one wild night of discovery, secrets unravel to reveal lost ambitions, lost loves, and lost minds.

Please join us on Monday, October 30th from 6-9 pm. We are thrilled to be holding this month's reading in the basement room of Mr. Dennehy's Irish Pub, at 63 Carmine Street in the West Village. Have a drink, have a meal, and have a festive chat about our two fantastic scripts.

In the meantime, you can listen to one of our 10 minute play podcasts. This play was part of our 24hr Writers' Challenge this year. The prompt for writers - write about love, but not romantic love. The challenge culminates into an evening of 10 minute play readings. In addition to the readings, we have been working on turning them into podcasts. We are also working to develop book anthologies of these plays.

So, let's review The Bechdel Group criteria before you listen to this play:
  • must have two women who speak to each for more than two pages
  • who both have full names
  • that have a conversation that’s not about a man
  • additional perimeter: write about love, but not romantic love
​You can also listen to the podcast via: soundcloud, iTunes, and Google Play.

We present:  "For Mr.  Cuddles" by Erin Moughon

Actors
  • Molly – Meghan O'Connor
  • Sarah – Pam Karp
  • Beth – Laura Winters
Music
The Torn Letter by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/51329 Ft: Doxent Zsigmond

The Crime by reiswerk (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/Reiswerk/55464 Ft: Anchor
Sounding mixing and editing (improving with each podcast)
MJ Moneymaker


0 Comments

Fan of Podcasts?

10/17/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
by M.J. Moneymaker,  board member of The Bechdel Group

Our next new works reading is October 30th at Mr. Dennehy's Irish Pub & Restaurant. Please join us, details are available on our Facebook page. In the meantime, you can listen to one of our 10 minute play podcasts.

This is another 10 minute play that was part of our 24hr Writers' Challenge this year. The prompt for writers - write about love, but not romantic love. The challenge culminates into an evening of 10 minute play readings. In addition to the readings, we have been working on turning them into podcasts. We are also working to develop book anthologies of these plays.

So, let's review The Bechdel Group criteria before you listen to this play:

  • must have two women who speak to each for more than two pages
  • who both have full names
  • that have a conversation that’s not about a man
  • additional perimeter: write about love, but not romantic love
​You can also listen to the podcast via: soundcloud, iTunes, and Google Play.

We present:  "Vanessa" by Hope Johnson
Special thanks to our writers and actors contributing their talent for the readings. Credits:

Writer: Hope Johnson

Actors
  • Conscience 1 - Anthony Scavone
  • Conscience 2 - Laura Winters
  • Vanessa – Meghan O’Connor

Music
Reflections in Bossa by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/49652 Ft: YusefFarah
0 Comments

10 Minute Play Podcast Series

10/15/2017

1 Comment

 
by M.J. Moneymaker,  board member of The Bechdel Group

Our next new works reading is October 30th at Mr. Dennehy's Irish Pub & Restaurant. Please join us, details are available on our Facebook page. In the meantime, you can listen to one of our 10 minute play podcasts.

This 10 minute play was part of our 24hr Writers' Challenge this year. The prompt for writers: write about love, but not romantic love. The challenge culminates into an evening of 10 minute play readings. In addition to the readings, we have been working on turning them into podcasts. We are also working to develop book anthologies of these plays.

So without further ado, we present:
"The Visitation" by Renee´ Flemings

Special thanks to our writers and actors contributing their time and talent for this podcast:
Actors
  • Gayle - Pam Karp
  • Brenda - Adriana Jones
  • Eleanor - Meghan O'Connor
  • Chase - Anthony Scavone

Sounding mixing and editing (doing my best)
MJ Moneymaker
1 Comment

A Quick Skit About Quitting - a 24 Hour Ten-Minute Play by Tommy Grimly

8/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Help us keep our work going! Just $10 makes an enormous impact on our work. Click here to donate to the Write For Women Campaign. 

by M.J. Moneymaker,  Board Member of The Bechdel Group

The Bechdel Group hosts a bi-annual event that challenges writers to write a ten minute play that passes The Bechdel Test  in 24 hours. The writers select choose a cast from actor headshots and then they are off to write.


I've had the opportunity to participate in two of the challenges. As a writer, it's helped me discover ... I can write comedy. I don't think I'd have had the guts to test out my humor without such an inclusive and safe environment like the workshop space that The Bechdel Group has created. This is one of the reasons I suggested turning the plays into podcasts. I think it's clear, on hearing, the fun writers and actors have had creating something almost improvisational.

The following podcast is from our February 2017 24 Hour Writing Challenge. For this event, we challenged our writers to write a play inspired by "love" - but not by romantic love. Some of the plays used the word in dialogue, some as a theme, some merely as inspiration.

We recorded several of the plays after the event and gave the writers an opportunity to do any editing if they wanted. Then we recorded - no rehearsal. Some were done in one take - that's how stellar our actors are. So without further ado, The Bechdel Group presents...


A Quick Skit About Quitting - by Tommy Grimly
​

Credits
Writer
Tommy Grimly

Actors
Amanda - Pam Karp
Mitch – Anthony Scavone
Kat – Laura Winters

Music
Mosquitoes by Zapac (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/Zapac/30469 Ft: Mind Map That! (mindmapthat)

Sounding mixing and editing
MJ Moneymaker (tried... I'm still learning)
0 Comments

Get Leo - A comedic ten-minute play about celebrity casting

8/8/2016

0 Comments

 
by M.J. Moneymaker,  Board Member of The Bechdel Group

It's time for another podcast reading from our 24 Hour Writing Challenges. This reading of "Get Leo" by Janani Sreenivasan is a short play about celebrity casting.

It's a bit fitting with recent current events about Hollywood's casting choices for their 'blockbuster' films, more specifically, "The Great Wall." Actors are speaking up, asking producers and investors to do better than perpetuate stereotypes. More specifically, Constance Wu, had me cheering from the sidelines on Twitter with her tweet: "Can we all at least agree that hero-bias & "but it's really hard to finance" are no longer excuses for racism? TRY".

At The Bechdel Group, we take our mission statement to 'challenge the portrayal of women in film and on stage' to heart and that includes casting, even if it's only audio. Have fun listening.
Podcast credits:
  • Alfe Azad plays Janani
  • Barbara Matovu plays Barbara
  • Stephen Schmidt plays Stacy
  • Lauren Lydiard plays Nikki
  • Gina L. Grandi reads stage directions

Podcast post-production:
  • M.J. Moneymaker

Download to read script >>

Listen on SoundCloud.com/thebechdelgroup
0 Comments

Our First Bechdel Group Podcast

7/12/2016

1 Comment

 
PictureThe Bechdel 24 Hour Challenge Reading of "Untitled"
by M.J. Moneymaker,  Board Member of The Bechdel Group

Twice a year The Bechdel Group has a
24 Hour Writing Challenge where writers and actors collaborate to put on an evening of  ten-minute plays that pass the Bechdel test. Our current challenge will take place July 24-25th.

Last month, we decided to turn some of the plays ( with the permission of the writers ) into podcasts. We started the ball rolling with a ten-minute play by M.J. Moneymaker called, “Untitled," which is a story about an interview with God. Below are a few questions we asked the writer.

Q&A
What inspired this piece?
Friends on Facebook had helped me with writing prompts. I choose: documentary, heaven, that weird sour liquid candy that comes in a tube. So, the jump to an interview with God wasn’t far.

How did the reading make you feel?
They laughed. Actors played. The audience joined in. It was as funny as it was in my head.

Was the experience motivating?
Very much so, I had had a writer’s block. I found having a deadline and getting to play reminded me that…
it’s suppose to fun. And to push through a block I needed to just write.


Why do you think your play passes the Bechdel test?
It’s an interview with God, and all the players are women. Plus, romance is only hinted at…

Enjoy listening to the podcast.


Podcast credits:
  • Gina L. Grandi - Harper
  • Alexa Fitzpatrick - God
  • M.J. Moneymaker - Mariday
  • David Montgomery - stage directions
The reading is also available on SoundCloud.com/thebechdelgroup

Original cast for the Monday night reading:
  • Meghan O'Connor - God
  • Patti Veconi - Harper
  • Aliza Mendelewicz - Mariday
 Read script >>

Music credits:
  • Aussens@iter
  • texasradiofih
  • Stefan Kartenberg

Picture
Picture
1 Comment

    The Bechdel Group

    Working to challenge the portrayal of women in film and on stage.

    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    June 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    10 Minute Play Podcasts
    Monthly Roundup
    Women Characters

    RSS Feed

Location

Heck yeah we're a 501c3! You can make a tax-deductible donation here!
  • Home
  • About The Bechdel Group
    • Statement of Action, Intention, and Commitment
    • Who We Are
  • Current Season
    • Past Seasons
    • Staged Readings
  • Work/Connect With Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Submit a Script >
      • Bechdel Boost!
    • Submission Guidelines >
      • FAQ
    • Actors
    • Contact
  • Buy/Donate
  • Supporters
  • Residency
    • Past Residencies