Loquitur seeking submissions for ‘Femage a Trois’

Now in its third year, Loquitur Theatre’s Femage a Trois, returns this summer. It will retain the standard elements: ‘Three women. Three stories. Three impossible decisions’. However, where previously the stories have been separate to each other, this year they will be changing the concept and present three women who share a larger story.

They are looking for single writer or a team of writers to present draft scripts, treatments, or final concepts. All are welcome.

(Note: If you have another story about women that doesn’t fit into the Femage a Trois format, do feel free to send it through AFTER the deadline for Femage A Trois and make it clear that it’s a separate submission. They always on the look out for new material.)

What to submit:  In their own words:

‘Please incorporate the following when making a proposal or script submission:

‘The end performance will still consist of three independent monologues, but they will be interlinked. Each monologue could stand alone, but once performed together, the audience will understand the connection between the three characters. Each monologue should be strictly between 15-18 minutes in length(please read aloud to ensure before submitting).

‘Each monologue could stand alone, but once performed together, the audience will understand the connection between the three characters and the story. Each monologue might tell some or all of the overreaching story from that characters perspective, perhaps describing a moment of climactic stress, or at the point where she is faced with a difficult decision or perhaps where she has or had nowhere to turn.

‘For the overarching story we would invite you to explore:

• The circumstances women need to navigate to exist and find belonging in society.
• Examine the ‘having it all’ complex, presenting the emotional and social labour women invest in their lives.
• Highlight the need for secrets surrounding trauma, how family dynamics can result in women being forced to make choices they wish they didn’t have to make and the ripple effect this can have across generations.

‘We are particularly interested in these narrative ideas:

• Illegitimate and lost children
• Adoption
• How we are shaped by our parents’ actions or secrets
• Secret double lives
• Mental heath
• Trans-generational grief

‘Please ensure that your character profiles will be open enough to include actors who might be non-white, non-binary or disabled, as we will ensure that actors from all backgrounds will be considered through the audition process. We also welcome stories which have characters identifying as non-binary femme, trans women, disabled characters, BAME characters and intercultural relationships.​

‘The stories must be human, deep, poignant, touching but also comedic – in whatever form the comedy takes, hilarious or dark; the comedy of humanity must shine through the monologue and support the audience engagement with the story. We actively encourage a big reveal moment towards the conclusion.

‘A broad reach of age is important and one of the integral elements of the format. We request submissions which tell include stories about a young person at 14-30 years old, or an adult at 30-55 years or a mature adult at 55+. Most importantly we expect to see characters across age range – 40 is not the ceiling for age and we don’t want to limit our art to a 20-35 demographic.’

How to apply:  The deadline for submissions for initial concept or draft script is 20 April at 12:00. Please submit in pdf format, to loquiturtheatre@gmail.com with ‘Femage a Trois’ and your pen name in the subject line.

Deadline:  20 April 2018 at noon

Source:  @Playwriting_UK