SCRIPTEASERS http://scripteasers.org/ (from the site)
is the "legendary"* San Diego playwrights development group that provides writers with the opportunity to hear their scripts read aloud by experienced actors. Scripteasers meets on alternate Friday evenings at 7:30 p.pm. and has been doing so since 1948 - over 60 years!

But for me - it is the reason I have had success as a playwright these last 30+ years.

Scripteasers was where I had my first play read - UGANDA was the title, 1980 was the year (I think - will have the official notice up soon to verify)
My first draft was 40 pages - everyone told me it was too short, so I expanded it a little - to 120 pages.  I estimated reading time to be one minute a page - so 120 pages would equal 120 minutes, about 2 hours at most.

Wrong.

The reading was at DJ Sullivan's house - and within 120 seconds, I knew that I had miscalculated terribly.  Each page was reading at 2-4 minutes!

I was horrified - and horribly embarrassed.  How could I escape?  Would anyone notice?  These were actual thoughts that went through my brain.

The minutes passed like days - I could barely look at the poor audience, some of whom were already nodding off.

At the (merciful!) break between acts, I went to Jonathan Dunn-Rankin - the fantastic actor who was reading the directions for the play - and told him I knew it was TOO long - would he prefer stopping the evening?  He polled the audience - those who were still awake - and everyone was kind, they said they wanted to hear what happened.

So it continued - like the ...it was so awful I can't even think of a proper analogy to describe the horror.  Finally, sometime after 11PM, it was ...blessedly....over.  Now it was time for the comments and reactions.  I cringed like someone waiting for my turn at the guillotine.  And then....Jonathan - who was the moderator for the evening - told the crowd that the author - me- had come to him and made it clear that she-I- was aware the play was too long, and THERE WERE TO BE NO COMMENTS ON THE LENGTH.

I looked around, expecting to be lynched (cheaper than a guillotine).  But- and here is the reason I am still a writer - they were fair, but they were kind.  They had no horrible things to say - no one even mentioned how long it was.

And so I learned by listening.  From that day on, I have had almost every one of my works read at Scripteasers.  (The only missing pieces are due to the fact I took a few minutes out to have two great kids - Louis and Irene - beat cancer - and stay married to Stan for 26 years.)  But when this page is finished, I will have a complete list of all the pieces read at Scripteasers (almost every one read since that fateful night in 1980 has been published and/or produced)

Scripteasers has always given me a wonderful cold reading of my work - the actors are- from that first night to my latest piece - THE ANGINA MONOLOGUES - fantastic.  They take words on a page and make them live for the first time - those who are listening give the best advice first by their responses in their chairs (if they stay awake) and then by the cogent comments that often effect improvement in the work.

Not every reading goes the way I want - but I have never been disappointed because to have an audience is what my work lives for - and for that, I will be ever grateful to Scripteasers.

ps- I have been a member since 1981 - active - I was even Secretary for a few years -until I got busy with children.
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First reading-  UGANDA (days long)

Second reading - THE WAITING ROOM 45 minutes long  (which has won awards and been produced internationally)

Third reading -  SCRIPTEASE - which is below

this is a partial - not in order - list of the other plays read - will get more details when I have a moment-

HORNET'S NEST
SAVE A PLACE FOR ME
TRANSFUSION
DON'T YOU CRY FOR ME
OH, SUSANNAH
THE TOWEL LADY
THE MONOLOGUE ZONE
RENNY'S STORY
DAY OF ATONEMENT
MOST BORING CLASS IN THE WORLD
SWEEPSTAKES
BLIND WOMAN'S BLUFF
CURSE OF THE DUCHESS
GET A COLD
THE END OF DEATH
THE SECOND BATTLE OF HOBSON'S CHOICE
DEAR LESLIE
COUNTER-OFFER
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER
KING-IN-THE-CORNER
K.I.S.S.



SCRIPTEASE by Janet S. Tiger            


This web site is under construction, but if you need to contact Janet S. Tiger immediately, please e-mail tigerteam1@gmail.com or call 858-274-9678.

SCRIPTEASE

Running time – 45 minutes            $10.00/script
    Set –        modern living room                      
    Characters -  5 men –30-s-50-s
                             4 women – 20-40's
Lead female needs British accent

A well-known playwright is found dead at the reading of his newest play - which of his 'friends' didn't like his latest literary offering? 

Mystery with a DEATHTRAP twist - fast and funny with some good chances for stylist characterizations and staging.

***Janet S. Tiger's first full production!   Southwestern College Chula Vista, CA
****Special note
This play was produced by Scripteasers, the well-known  San Diego Writers-Actors group that has helped new playwrights for over 50 years!  Janet S. Tiger had her first play read at Scripteasers in ....well, many years ago.  It was very.......long.  But the Scripteasers helped her improve her writing, and most of her plays had first readings at one of their meetings.  SCRIPTEASE  was written as a 'thank you' , and it was produced by Scripteasers in May 1981.  For more information, you can visit the Scripteasers website www scripteasers . org. 

 

PRODUCTION INFO  -
 For more details, click on PRODUCTIONS button at the top of the page

Plays by Janet S. Tiger have been performed throughout the world including United States, Canada, England, Austria and New Zealand.  If your group has performed a play by Janet S. Tiger and would like to have it listed on the PRODUCTIONS page which will include international productions, please e-mail details of the production to tigerteam1@gmail.com.

Unusual facts about some of Janet S. Tiger's productions-
1st Reading - UGANDA  at a Scripteasers meeting in....a long time ago.  (See info about the one-act SCRIPTEASE.)

1st production - SCRIPTEASE (one-act) in 1981 was directed by William Virchis

Janet S. Tiger's plays have won awards five times in the DFAS National One-Act Playwriting Contest -

THE WAITING ROOM -2nd place 1982
THE AFFIDAVIT - 1st place 1983
BLIND WOMAN'S BLUFF - 3rd place 1984
SAVE A PLACE FOR ME - Honorable Mention 1989
CURSE OF THE DUCHESS-  2nd place 1990

The first three prizes were won by Janet Schechter (the 'S' in Janet S. Tiger), the others after she married Stanley Tiger.  Janet traveled to Dubuque, Iowa to watch  the productions in 1982, 1983 and 1984, and made many friends that she still is in touch with today.  For more info on the DFAS Contest, google Dubuque Fine Arts Players One-Act Playwriting Contest