Best gift ever for NYC playwright

September 14, 2006 4:09 PM

What semi-expensive, thoughtful gift should I give my best friend who is an aspiring NYC playwright for her birthday?

I really want it to be super-thoughtful, since she gives me super-thoughtful gifts. And I'd like it ideally to have something to do with the writing life, or help/encourage her in her career choice in some way, which hasn't really gotten off the ground yet. Or something that any old drama-nut would love.

I'd like to spend between $100 and $200, no less.

I was considering getting her a subscription to the Public Theater, because she bought herself this once and loved it. (But then again, it's not very original because she already got it once for herself.)

Examples of what I'm looking for: are there any other off-broadway theaters you'd recommend getting a subscription to? Or better yet, some sort of "actors reading" service that I can buy her, if that even exists? Or a gift certificate to rent out an affordable reading/performance space in Manhattan for one night so she could put something on? Or some sort of paid mentoring service for playwrights? Tickets to some sort of, I don't know, playwriting expo? Help!

Please let me know what a fantastic present would be, for a fantastic friend!

posted by np312 to Shopping (9 answers total)

My favorite theater companies in NY are Second Stage and Roundabout. Both have subscriptions in various price ranges.
posted by Amy Phillips at 4:11 PM on September 14, 2006

There's always ebay. There are plenty of collectors items related to various playwrights I'm sure. Signed copies of books, correspondence. Stuff like that. Maybe you can find out who some of her favorite playwrights are, other than the standard canonical ones, and see if you can find something related to them. Going for someone less prominent has the advantages of a) being arguably more original and b) being able to find something much higher quality and cooler for within your price range. The down side is, there won't be as much stuff to choose from. If you do decide to go for a more prominent playwright, I did a search for George Bernard Shaw, just to test out my idea, and found a few items in your price range that seemed worthwhile. If you search around a bit, you may find something just right (or maybe not, just an idea).
posted by gauchodaspampas at 5:12 PM on September 14, 2006

Depending on what level of "aspiring" your friend has already achieved, I'd recommend The Playwright's Companion and The Dramatists Sourcebook (check first - if she's had anything produced or even taken a playwriting class she probably owns these already).

That's well under your price range, so you could add manila envelopes, lots of stamps, address lables and such and put it all in a nice box as a "play submission kit."
posted by zanni at 5:31 PM on September 14, 2006

How about a classic, 40's-era typewriter? Something like one of these.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:54 PM on September 14, 2006

Seconding the idea of a "submission kit," with the suggestion that you include a gift certificate to Kinko's as part of it. It may sound mundane, but playwrights are always sending xeroxed scripts out to theatre companies, and all those photocopies get pricey!
posted by clair-de-lune at 7:42 PM on September 14, 2006

A gift that keeps on giving: pay her fee for a course on grantwriting (and/or buy her a membership to the online grantseeking database) at the Foundation Center.

Also (in seriousness, not at all in snarkiness), a broader gift might be to call her a playwright rather than an aspiring playwright -- since she is a playwright by virtue of writing drama, not by virtue of having whatever commercial success might remove the "aspiring"...
posted by allterrainbrain at 9:27 PM on September 14, 2006

Also, I think your idea of an actors' reading service or venue rental is excellent and I wish I knew of a reading service to recommend. As for the venue rental: even well-known venues (ones that would look great on her resume) will sometimes rent out their spaces for self-presented events. One that comes to mind immediately is the kitchen.
posted by allterrainbrain at 9:33 PM on September 14, 2006

1. Does she have Final Draft? If not, get it for her. It's a bit more than you listed above, but it's suns and moons worth it.

2. Books: The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri; The Playwright's Guidebook by Stuart Spencer; Playwrighting: How to Write for Theatre by Bernard Grebanier.

3. This one will be more work on your part and necessitate her consent. Offer to organize a reading (cold/staged/rehearsed) of one of her pieces. Get actors, a director, copies of the script, a space and a couple of hours.

4. I fourth the submission kit and Kinko's gift card. Alternately, get her a laser printer, a box of paper, a hole punch and brass brads.

5. Does she use notebooks? Get her some moleskines (large, unlined are straight from heaven). Do some recon, get her a couple of her favorite pens. Drink coffee? A loaded gift card to her favorite coffee shop. She'll be set for "Writing in Restaurants," (another excellent book worth pursuing).

Good luck!
posted by hercatalyst at 6:33 AM on September 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

Depending on her tastes, the Norton Facsimile of the First Folio of Shakespeare might be neat. I direct theatre and its an object I've coveted for a good 7 years now.
posted by jrb223 at 9:32 AM on September 22, 2006