 I'm going to stream it live when you play TV, so there may be some people watching us out there. If you are watching us and you do have questions for the question part of this session, you can ask questions at hashtag Many Voices Info. So you can reach us there and we will respond immediately. So the Many Voices program has been changed. Have you ever been part of the Many Voices program? The Many Voices program has been changed, which is really exciting for both Christina, who runs the program and myself. And I'm Haley Pham, the associate producer. Christina Ham, I'm the Many Voices program coordinator. And the reason is that we were looking at the program and how we could better serve it moving forward in the field, so we had a really in-depth survey done and conversations done with leaders in the field both here in the Twin Cities and also conversations nationally to sort of see where the program can go next and how best we could serve the program. And what we discovered unanimously is that in order to really help move the program forward, we needed to increase the stipend of the fellowship. So that has been really exciting for us. This year it's $5,650, which has been an increase in previous years. And we have now been able to bump it up into $12,500. And $2,500 of that will be towards living expenses. So we are really thrilled to be able to work with the Jerome Foundation and to do this survey and to see what needs to happen in the field. And Christina was very influential in that as well. And another thing that really came up as part of the conversation was the idea that mentorship is really important. So in this change in the program, we're really focusing on mentorship. There's going to be a lot more opportunity to connect with people who are further along in their careers in the field and also with producing theaters. So we're going to have opportunities to meet with local leaders and also to go see theater and to connect with people nationally as well. So that's going to be an emphasis of the money. So those are a couple of the major changes as you see moving forward. And we have now the Fellowship Emma Mentorship Program. This is our second year doing the Mentorship Fellowship Program. Mentorship is going to remain just for Minnesota writers. Whereas the Fellowship for the first time in its history is now being opened up to be a national program. So we'll pick one person that is from here, from the Minnesota area, and one person can either be from here or can be a national writer. And similar to the way the program has always existed, selection happens through a national panel. No one from the Plurit Center is involved in that selection process. So we are administrators and facilitators in that process but we select the writers. So now kind of moving forward, I think it would be great, Christina, if you could walk us through the application. And that way we can open it up for questions from here or elsewhere. Thank you. Both applications for the Fellowship and the Mentorship will be due on February 7th. So that's the deadline for both of them. The eligibility requirements for the Fellowship includes that you cannot have had more than one play produced. So that means that a full production would include like having the actors, the director of the production team, all of those people have received money. A showcase wouldn't count as that towards a full production. We're also accepting previous participants in the Many Voices program as well. So if you had previously done the program a couple of times already, because the Fellowship program is so different, we are accepting applications to that program. Hi, thank you. So we are accepting participants who have been in the program in previous years since the Fellowship is so different. Also, if you are accepted into the Fellowship program, you can do the program again. So you're able to apply and participate again if you are accepted. So you have two times to do the program. If you've ever been, for example, a core writer here at the Center or Jerome Fellow or a McKnight Fellow, for example, you wouldn't be eligible to apply for this program. The program for the Many Voices Fellowships look particularly at artists who are at the more nascent stages of their career. So people that in Jerome's, McKnight's, core writers don't necessarily qualify in that category. And we also ask that people who are in K-12 programs are not eligible to apply for the program as well or in college programs during that time. So someone who's a recent graduate would be like a prime candidate for something like this. For the mentorship, however, this is mainly designed for people who are just starting out in playwriting, who are just starting to get their feet wet. They might be coming from a different medium, for example, like poetry or performance arts or that sort of thing. And they're interested in learning more about playwriting. And so for that particular program, we provide $1,000 in stipend support versus the 12-5 for someone who's doing a fellowship. And it's a year-long opportunity for mentorship. It'll be our second year doing the program. And it provides monthly meetings with myself and also it gives opportunities as well to do a suite of our Playwright Center opportunities that we have available. So that includes our program. That's a one-on-one with a dramaturg, which basically means that you as the writer, if you've created a piece, you would sit down and work with a playwriting professional to give you feedback on the play. So that would be free. It also includes free classes as well. All of our seminars that we offer each month would be free to the mentorship as well, participant. In addition to our classes that we offer twice a year, our six-week classes are also free. And it would also include a member stage reading that you would schedule anytime during the year to also do that for free as well. So that's what kind of the differences between those two programs are. When we look at the application process for these, for example, for the fellowship, you have copies of that here for you guys to take a look at this one. I want to... Oh, hi, sorry. You're late. No, that's okay. Thank you very much. You guys go to page five of the fellowship application. We can start there. Basically, what your packet would look like would include those following items. So when you go to our website, there's actually an application form that you'll find in the PDF format that you would fill out. And then you would attach your professional resume, whatever that looks like of your work. And then you would spend some time addressing the artistic statement that asks the following questions below. Why do you consider yourself an emerging claywright? Why do you want to participate in a mini-voices fellowship? How will this fellowship aid in your artistic development? And what are your goals during the fellowship? And then the writing sample would include one full-length play that is at least 50 pages and has only been written by yourself. So that would be anywhere from a one-act play to a full-length play. And then it talks about how to name the file and also it lists the reference forms that you'll also find on our website to give to two people who can speak to your work. And those are on the website currently right now. And with the mentorship application, those guidelines are on page four. And I would say the biggest distinction it asks similar questions in the artistic statement, but I would say the biggest distinction between this and the writing sample portion because we recognize that the people applying for this particular program are not necessarily playwrights. They're coming from different genres and so we want to recognize that by giving you an opportunity to submit different genres of material. So if you, for example, have poetry, fiction, nonfiction screenplays, an excerpt of that, no more than three pages of any of those things would be submitted to make up your application for the mentorship program. And that's really the main distinction. Everything else remains the same. Do you guys have any questions? This may have been covered already, but can a person apply to both or do you have to kind of assess which sort of where do you fall along the spectrum of experience as far as emerging or a beginning playwright? I think that you could apply for both, but probably you're going to know where you fit along the line because the programs are so different. One is really for somebody who is newer to the playwriting field and maybe has experienced, though, in the arts as an actor or as someone who's done poetry before, a lot of the people in our current mentorship chopper in that category, whereas the person who would be applying for the Many Voices Fellowship would be really a career-minded playwright. So somebody who maybe has gone to school before playwriting or somebody who is really working towards the goal of being a full-time playwright. But they're at the earlier stages of that career. So I'd say there are really different kinds of programs and different kinds of people would benefit from those two different programs. And I can just speak to the current participants in the mentorship track. Actually, do have a lot of theater experience, namely as directors and actors, and they've written plays before, but because they've come at it from that angle where it's been primarily working in the production aspect and dabbling a bit in playwriting, they only apply for the mentorship track. Yeah, I would say you're best to apply for one or the other because you're going to be reviewed in that way and you want to put your best effort put forward. So knowing sort of where you sit and knowing your understanding of where you are in your career, I think is going to make you a stronger candidate in the way that you articulate how the program is going to benefit you. Does that make sense? I was just going to ask, so there is currently a fellowship program this year as well? There is a fellowship program, which is very different in that it's not the same level as I've been currently, but it exists. And it's actually right now, we're in the last part of it, but it's called the Emerging Track, what we're calling it right now. So instead of coming in an emerging track, instead of just having before with many voices with the two different tracks, we're really saying that this is a fellowship sort of on the lines of what the Jerome fellowship is, but for writers who are a bit earlier in their career development. So someone who does this fellowship would be a great candidate to then apply for a Jerome fellowship if they were interested in it. But you can't go the other way around. Right. And I wanted to go back to your question again, just to also note that the people who are applying for the fellowship track, like Haley said, are going to be people who are a bit more advanced in their playwriting skillset. So if it's something where you're just starting out or you're still trying to figure it out, then just know that your sample will also be compared alongside those samples. So you want to make sure that you're giving yourself the best opportunity to be as competitive as possible. And if you did the mentorship track, you would certainly be eligible to apply for the fellowship the next year. So would you guys assess more so the writing sample or is it the, I guess, experience you've had in your career thus far? So say, for example, like, yeah, so is there one way more heavily than the other? I would say that they're both weighed pretty significantly and it really depends as we found sitting in on the panels who the panelists are each year because the panelists change each year, which is a gift to us as artists because I've had my work in that pile as well, so I appreciate that. But it really depends on the makeup but they try to look at both equally. They're not necessarily always looking for the most advanced and superhero of playwrights, because they're also looking for, well, who can benefit the most from this fellowship? I find having sat in on a lot of the panels, that's a question that they consider quite a bit. So they're not about trying to give, you know, if someone's gotten like 10 or 15 fellowships, they're not trying to give this person yet another one. You know, for example, they're really trying to be as equitable as they can. I would say, though, that with the work sample, what might end up coming into play is if they're kind of stuck about who to choose, if there's kind of a dead heat in terms of who should get it. And sometimes that can be the tipping point is kind of the assessment of the work sample, for example. No, just to add to the work sample is obviously really important because it shows, you know, your voices as an artist and you certainly will be evaluated, but ultimately it's not a prize. It's not like they're giving a prize away for the best play. You know, that it's really about picking a playwright who can benefit from the program and that being based on the talent that they see and the potential for talent in the work sample and also their artistic statement and how they see that they can benefit from the program and their experience thus far. Yeah, I would, and since Haley talked about the artistic statement, I would say that all of it kind of weighs in significantly all the components. The panelists that we select spend a lot of time going over the packets and paying attention to how people address the questions and how they think they can benefit from the programs that we have here. And so all of those components are extremely important. Can you just outline briefly the differences between the actual program components? I mean, I know you're already kind of doing it, but between mentorship I see the things that are happening there, but what's the difference between that and what the fellow is seeing? I thought we'd see the same difference. Well, I would say one of the big differences is the development funds also. So if you're in a fellowship version, we are expecting that you've written plays before and that you're going to be continuing to write plays during this fellowship year. And because of the amount of the stipend we're imagining that you're dedicating a significant amount of your time to writing. Where's the mentorship? The stipend is a smaller amount, and so we know that you're probably going to have to have a full-time job in order to have that, and therefore we'll have less time towards writing. So it may be that in the mentorship I'm going to try this new thing. I may discover at the end of it I don't want to be a playwright. I may discover that I love this. It's exactly what I want to do. I'm going to spend all my time doing it. So it's really one of the big questions is about time in terms of the programming. And then with the development funds that you have with the fellowship, expecting that you're going to be developing a play and workshopping it at the Playwright Center. And then you'll be involved in really specifically in the kind of mentorship that's connecting you with professional theaters because we feel like you would be ready for that. Where is the mentorship track? You wouldn't necessarily be in that place that you want to be sharing your work so aggressively at that point. You might still be trying to figure out your voice as a playwright. So for example, like if you... Because I think based off of my experience I'm perhaps certainly more so than mentorship. But say you wanted to get support in either. I know they offer the stage reading but getting connected with various, whether it's theaters in town or different theater companies that might sort of intersect with your approach or your style. Like is there some sort of space for that within the mentorship as well? Definitely. We are working right now with two of the mentors who are participating and basically coming up with an artistic year game plan for those things that they want to accomplish. So a lot of my time is spent in the mentorship track actively mentoring these artists who are trying to navigate like what it's like to be a full-time playwright actually carving out time for writing which they're not doing right now and they're finding challenging whereas someone in the fellowship track has all... I mean that wouldn't be a conversation I'm having with them about carving out time every day you write because that's something they're already doing. Also another thing that I'm working with the mentors right now with is putting together... working with Hayley to put together meetings with some of our artists who are already here who they somehow feel an affinity towards with the projects that they're working on and feel like those artists might be a good fit for picking their brain about what it's like to be an artist in the field that they're in and just having conversations about that so it's still making connections but the conversations that are had are very different because they're at a very different stage in their career so there's still that opportunity to continue to do that. It seems to me that the requirement of having less than one play or no more than one play fully produced and then focusing on people that are further along in their careers for the fellowship they seem like a little bit at odds to me but I understand what you're saying in terms of these are playwrights that have written a lot of plays but just have only had one produced. Yeah, I think from our experience in the field it's actually quite difficult to get a play professionally produced, not just produced anywhere. When we talk about professional production we're talking about people being paid so the player being paid, actors being paid etc. everybody can be played which surprisingly, or not surprisingly it's actually quite difficult because there are writers who aren't at that stage yet including me, who I've been writing for 20 years so it's quite challenging so when you say only one produced you actually find out in the field that that writer could still be someone who is a full-time playwright or who is working as a playwright so I would say that this fellowship the fellowship puts that as a as a guiding post because with our Jerome fellowship it's no more than two so it's putting that person at a different stage in development from the Jerome fellowship but still showing that this person is someone who's committed to being a playwright. So, well this might seem like it's flitting hairs but this is just kind of talking about maybe someone's understanding of the fullness of who they are as artists so say for instance you're very much committed to writing original works and being trained properly as a playwright to do so but are also interested and involved in the other elements of creating theater would that somehow make you seem less of a purist as a playwright or would it be just like one of the elements that you create? Does that make sense? You made it feel more of a multi-disciplinary artist who say would that leave you ineligible? Or not necessarily ineligible but would it be perceived as that you're not because you're not only a playwright but do other elements of creating theater does that seem less of a fit as far as do you guys consider playwrights maybe for the fellowship maybe more so than mentorship? I don't think so I think it's about the excellence of you're not going to the panel is not going to evaluate you based on your other pursuits the panel is going to only be looking at you as a playwright so if they see that the work sample is excellent and that they see that there's a lot of promise and that they see that your goals and that you've been working towards those goals are in line with the guidelines of the fellowship then I don't think it would matter that you did other artistic pursuits. You guys have the same playwrights or career players so I just wanted to make sure that I understood that. And there's looking at the swap of our playwrights who are on either fellowships here or are members here there's quite a few who have other disciplines that they work in besides strictly playwrighting right that wouldn't be weird to the panel one of our current fellows is a puppet designer and quite excellent in that but also is now working towards playwriting and you don't think that the fact that she's a puppet designer also in any way makes her less strong in candidate what are some of the things that people who have been involved with this program have gone on to do are asking all the good questions they're all good questions all questions well I will talk about over the last couple of years since Hayley mentioned the woman who's a puppet designer she has aggressively pursued partnerships with other theaters both nationally and internationally so she's gone on to do work in Prague she's done work with theater complicity she just came back from San Francisco doing a play of hers that she developed in our program last year she is now in London working on a project she asked for our artistic director to connect her with one of his friends in Chicago at a theater there so that she could learn more about his process what he does and he let her stay at his place for the weekend and she got to work with the theater and it might lead to her doing a gig there this summer or next summer other writers have gone on to create the unit collective here that's one of our theater companies that's in residence here it's made up of several former members of the many voices program and each it's about every other month but they include a company of actors directors each playwright rotates as a producer to put on work each month and they usually have a full house every month and they invite a local artistic director or someone to kind of speak on the craft of being an artist and yeah a lot of work with the local theater community as well artists have done and made connections with and also made connections with each other that's been really important I think with having myself a Jerome fellow here and also I'm a big knight and I've been a co-writer and running this program for seven years what I've realized with all of these programs is that it's what you make it so you know your experience if you're accepted may not be the same as yours just because you're in the mentorship it doesn't necessarily mean that the money might be less but your experience can be equally as rich and you can be just as aggressive about being in the Haley and Amanda spaces you need to be to get those things that you need to make your fellowship here what you want it to be I don't spend any less time with my mentors than I do with the fellows that's excellent yeah I was going to ask that cause it seems like if people are creating all these works over the course of the year is there like a community of people and it's good to see that they've done that and it will be cool to see is there a show coming up at the unit what's it called? their next show will be Tuesday December 18th at 7.30pm okay cool yeah they do really exciting work yeah so I would that's one thing I would say is that you know it is what you make it to be well my question was about the writing sample for the mentorship if you don't see yourself in the track for the fellowship but you still have a play that you'd like to submit it still needs to be less than 30 pages yeah could it be a sample of a play like say if you have a play that's longer than 30 pages sure definitely it's really like a 30 page work sample we'd love to give you guys the business cards because we recognize with this type of format that questions come up once you've gone home and you're like I wish I had asked this or you have more time to look over the applications and the website and if there's other questions that you'd have we'd love for you to email us and contact us and we also have a sign in sheet here that we'd love for you to sign in and let us have your information so that we can keep in contact with you as well excellent great thank you so much for coming we appreciate it yes we do