Reading Pieces Due for ALL Mentees

01/15/2010 - 5:00pm
Etc/GMT-4


“Readings? What readings?” “I have to read…in front of people?” “But it’s only December, and I’ve just started writing, and I only just learned what a short story is, and my mentor’s name and her singular passion for chocolate covered bacon and the writing of A.M. Holmes, and the importance of re-writing, and…”  We know, we know, but trust us, the readings will bring your writing into focus by being just around the corner!

 

OKAY, FINE, WHEN’S THE DEADLINE?

All reading pieces must be emailed to reading@girlswritenow.org by FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010 at 5 PM. This is a program requirement. No exceptions.

 

AND THE GUIDELINES?

Genre: Your piece may be written in any genre.

Who’s reading: Mentees reading their work solo, or mentee and mentor pairs reading their work together – your choice!

If you’re doing a Paired Reading: It can be written in one of two ways: As a single piece that you and your mentor/mentee write together or as two companion pieces that you and your mentor/mentee write separately and are tied together by a common theme, subject, character, etc.

Length: It should be a maximum of 4 minutes TOTAL when read aloud, whether it is a solo reading or a paired reading.

When submitting your piece: Mentors must send piece(s) via e-mail to reading@girlswritenow.org with the following information:
1) Mentor/mentee names
2) Title of the piece(s)
3) Brief 1-2 sentence (50 word max) introduction telling how your piece came about (see below for samples), and
4) Any reading dates when you or your partner absolutely can NOT read.

 

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SUBMISSION?

Selection: Everyone will be selected! We will NOT be judging pieces—the reading committee will simply be dividing according to theme and tone and assigning the work to one of the five Friday evening readings in the Chapters Reading Series. Again, everyone will be selected for one of the readings.

Notification: We will not be able to let you know which reading you will be assigned to until early February, so for now you should be prepared to read at any of the five readings. We will let you know if you are reading in one of the first two readings (Feb. 26 or March 26) by
Feb. 8.

 

HOW DO WE PREPARE FOR OUR READING?

Reading/Performance: When reading, you and/or you and your mentor/mentee stand at the microphone, say your name and introduction, and read or perform your piece(s).

Rehearsal: You will have an opportunity to learn some performance techniques at the January 30 or February 6 Saturday portfolio check-in days. There are also tips in your handbook. You should rehearse at home by yourself and at your pair sessions before the reading.

Day of: Mentees reading must arrive no later than 4:30PM! There will be a required warm-up for readers before each reading. Mentors reading must arrive by or before 6pm.

 

WHEN ARE THE READINGS?

The Chapters Reading Series is on Friday evenings, February 26, March 26, April 23, May 21, and June 18 at The Center for Fiction, 17 E. 47th Street, between 5th Ave. & Madison Ave. Each event is from 6:30pm-8pm.

Attendance: ALL MENTORS & MENTEES MUST ATTEND AT LEAST 2 READINGS, BUT WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND ALL 5. At one you’ll be reading, of course, but by attending other readings, you’ll have the chance to see what it’s like to stand in front of the crowd and get to support your GWN friends. Mark your calendars!!

 

WHO DO WE INVITE?

Everyone! Friends, Family, Crushes, Significant Others, Favorite Teachers, Teachers you’re out of favor with, Bosses, Co-Workers, Anyone you know who uses Grand Central Station for their commute, anyone you know who works nearby. This is your chance to share your work and to support the Girls Write Now community. It’s your time to SPARKLE!

 

OMG. WHAT DO I WEAR?

Comfortable clothes that reflect your personality and show that you are proud to be part of this event.

 

SAMPLES OF PREVIOUS YEARS’ PAIR INTROS….
(You can also visit Girls Write Now on YouTube to view the full pair pieces and mentee solo pieces from previous readings!)

Our piece is called “Our Cinquain Month” and is an alternating poem of cinquains, which follow a 2-4-6-8-2-syllable pattern, with the last line of each individual cinquain forming the beginning line of the next.

 

We began these pieces at the Girls Write Now memoir workshop on the theme of Breasts, and in writing them, we realized that despite the decades separating our experiences there was no difference in our feelings.

 

Initially, we decided to create memoirs for the reading connected by a season--winter. But in the end, the pieces that developed were connected by a much richer theme: teenagers taking risks -- both good and bad.

 

Allison and I happened upon the captivating phrase "The felicitous alliance of seafood and citrus" in a salad cookbook, and decided to run with the idea in a pair of poems.

 

We pieced together this story from our one page memoir about being authentic, a moment that changed our lives, and the fiction prompt where two characters meet in a setting.  It is a compilation of all the work we have done throughout the season, like a mixed tape of our experiences.

 

Jasmine and I live three blocks from each other on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and these memories introduce you to our neighborhood.

 

For our piece, we each separately created a character (who ended up being 12 years apart in age and 1000+ miles apart in location) and then together we brainstormed a scenario where the two characters could meet.

 

Pin Chang works at a nail salon in Long Island, but she had never actually sat down to get a manicure herself, so we thought it would be fun to see what it's like to sit in the other chair.

 

These stories came out of a word throw exercise, where we threw phrases at each other to insert into our free writing and challenged ourselves to make a story out of it all.

 

Samantha and I dramatized a story she told me about a shooting in response to a story I told her about seeing a construction worker fall from scaffolding.




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