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The Committee on Ancient and Modern Performance invites expressions of interest in directing a staged reading at the 2014 APA meeting in Chicago. CAMP is very proud to sponsor this reading, which has become a tradition. The eleventh annual reading, which will take place at the 2013 APA meeting in Seattle, will be Alcestis, adapted and co-directed by Mark Damen and Mary-Kay Gamel.

Proposals for plays must be accompanied by a firm commitment by a director or a larger creative team who will assume full responsibility for production. Scripts must be complete by the time the statement of interest is submitted, and the proposer must have the legal right to perform the script.

The director is given free rein with regard to the artistic realm of the play, including the scale of the production, though we strongly caution potential directors to be mindful of the extreme limitations imposed by a very short rehearsal period (approximately two days), a short time slot for performance (under two hours), few theatrical resources, and a limited budget. The director is responsible for writing and distributing a call for actors, for planning in advance the type of production to be done, for maintaining contact with a CAMP liaison and the APA regarding performance progress and needs, and of course for directing the show in Chicago.

Statements of interest must address the following issues:

1. How and when do you intend to distribute your call for actors?

2. Approximately how many actors and other participants (musicians, stage managers, etc.) do you anticipate requiring?

3. Who do you anticipate your actors will be? Members of the APAAIA or non-members?

4. When will you require those involved in the show to arrive in Chicago to begin rehearsals and what would the general outlines of your rehearsal schedule be?

5. What do you anticipate the running time of the show to be?

6. What do you anticipate requiring in terms of props, costumes, and other resources?

Past scripts have included translations and adaptations of ancient Greek and Roman plays, as well as plays inspired by classical themes, figures, and topics. Previous performances were:

The Invention of Love (Tom Stoppard), 2002, Philadelphia, Mary-Kay Gamel, director

The Heavensgate Deposition, or Claudius, the Gourd (Seneca’s Apocolocyntosis, translated by Douglass Parker), 2003, New Orleans, Amy R. Cohen, director

The Golden Age (Thomas Heywood), 2004, San Francisco, C. W. Marshall, director

Iran Man (Plautus’s Persa, translated by Amy Richlin), 2005, Boston, Mary-Kay Gamel, director

Thespis (Gilbert and Sullivan), 2006, Montreal, John Starks, director

Birds (Aristophanes, translated by Alan Sommerstein), 2007, San Diego, Thomas Talboy, director

Cyclops (Euripides, translated by Heather McHugh), 2008, Chicago, Mike and Laura Lippman, directors

Thersites (Nicholas Udall), 2009, Philadelphia, C.W. Marshall, director

Thesmophoriazousai (Aristophanes, translated by Bella Vivante), 2011, San Antonio, Bella Vivante, director

The Jurymen (an Aristophanic take on the last days of Socrates by Katherine Janson), 2012, Philadelphia, Amy R. Cohen, director

Please send statements of interest to Amy R. Cohen (acohen@randolphcollege.edu) by December 10, 2012.