So I joined NPX (New Play Exchange) a while back but didn’t do much with it at first. It’s kind of a lowkey form of playwriting social media, I guess. You post info about yourself and can upload plays and reviews and things too. A publicity tool.
At some point I saw someone had reviewed on of my plays (The Relentless Pursuit of Ice) and said nice things about it. Then things were quiet for a while. But I occasionally heard of friends who’d been contacted through the site and sold rights or been asked about doing a production.
Recently another friend suggested it could be something to expend effort on. I began looking for other writers to read and recommend. I read several interesting plays and wrote short reviews (I think there’s a 100-word limit). And then a few folks reviewed mine too. It felt good and symbiotic. I had a nice exchange with an Australian writer which felt, you know… like traveling or something.
It’s a little tricky to decide which plays to put on there. Do you put everything? A small selection? Organize them thematically? I pared down what I had and recently added a couple of Best of Fest pieces from the last few years (Your Neighborhood Association and Sunday Slugg’rz).
Anyway, there’s a small fee to join, and I’m glad I’m in there. I hope to occasionally pick a few writers to read and check out. Everyone’s been super nice and we’re all fighting the same fight. I think you have to be a member to see everything, so I’ll post a couple of ego-boosters here:
This is the second of three fable/folktales by Max Langert that I’ve read, and it’s as much fun as the first (Snickerdoodles and Disco). The characters are charming, there are lots of laughs, there’s a dance number, and Langert slyly slips in a moral. What more could you ask for? The sheer joy of the piece should make it attractive to many kinds of theatres. Looking forward to reading the third (Life in the Arctic) and hoping Langert writes more fable/folktales. — Peter Dakutis
^^ That one is about Duck, Duck, Goose, which got a few productions and a FronteraFest Wild Card nod. This next one is about Life in the Arctic which debuted at 14/48 and got a call-out on some sports talk radio show a couple of years ago.
An absurd, fun little play that surprises, delights, and packs a powerful, emotional punch at the end. Would be an especially great addition to climate change showcases or theatre festivals celebrating Earth and science. –Elisabeth Giffin Speckman
And this last one is about the play Ground Floor Theatre reopened with in 2017…
Max Langert has a way with a joke and he’s extremely well-versed in comedic plays of all lengths, but GIBBERISH MOSTLY is a refreshing and welcomed risk into the genre of a full-length drama. In this play, Langert articulates the inarticulate. The author finds a clever way to dramatize what we all can only imagine: the interior life of a girl with autism so severe so cannot speak or communicate effectively; in essence, her utterances are “gibberish mostly.” Langert creates a rich life of the imagination for his lead character, and we all are left richer by it. — Rita Anderson
I mean… those are sweet, right? I gotta get back on there and discover some new fellow writers…
