November splendor
announcements
Drama Bookshop alert!!! A few plays in 1319 Press’s collection are now available for purchase at the illustrious Drama Bookshop in Midtown. Stop by and check it out! :)
Also, now that we are on our second newsletter of the season, I thought I’d take a hot minute to introduce myself to you lovely readers.
My name is Liv (they/she) and I am a playwright, dramaturg, and lover/maker of new work. I was lucky enough to be a part of 1319 Press’s inaugural cohort of playwrights last year with the play the best of all possible worlds. I am so grateful to be a part of this extraordinary community and for the chance to connect with wonderful folks like you!
When I’m not writing (which is most of the time, let’s be honest), I love baking, running, reading memoirs, and watching Couples Therapy. I am currently getting my masters in clinical social work, so I spend a lot of time listening to people’s stories and I LOVE IT. I also just moved to NYC and am happy to make new friends!
Looking forward to popping into your inbox each month to say hi and share some good 1319 Press news with you all. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…
new titles
1319 Press recently acquired Or, An Astronaut Play by Johnny G. Lloyd. This play will be available at our online bookstore soon, so be on the look out!
The Astronaut School has four students—but only one can actually make it to outer space. Who has what it takes? Does anyone even know what it takes? Following the experiences of Daria, an intense, focused student, Claire, a woman struggling to fully realize her own ambitions, Paul, a hobbyist, and Tom, a straight, white, American man, this play explores who gets access to the space they want to enter, why, and what’s left for the rest of us.
upcoming events
Plague Play by Erin Proctor will have a stage reading as a part of the Bechdel Project Reading Series, which will take place on November 19th at The Bechdel Project in Brooklyn. This event is FREE but please RSVP. Come browse the 1319 collection, meet other artists, and discover your new favorite play!
Plague Play is a biblical allegory, a black comedy, a commentary on genocide and cycles of violence. Erin wrote the piece back in 2022, as an Anti-Zionist allegory. The world was very different then, and the play was very different then as well. As the genocide continues to rage on, Plague Play asks the question: how can we revel when we’ve burnt down the world around us?
Our last reading at the Bechdel Project was simply smashing. It featured two plays from our collection: Strike/Out and ain’t that the way love’s supposed to be? There was music, there was laughter, there was a dog. It was all around a good time.
(Don’t you wanna be like these lovely folks?! They are so happy because they are surrounded by beautiful people and beautiful plays.)
deals
Dare I acknowledge that the holiday season is fast approaching…? and that means it’s time to find gifts for the nerdy theatre kid in your life. How about a new play written in the PRESENT DAY by a LIVING PLAYWRIGHT that they will ACTUALLY ENJOY? Check out our catalog of delightful titles on our website.
author spotlight
This month, we are spotlighting NYC-based playwright, Erin Proctor. Erin is a resident artist with LakehouseRanchDotPNG, an experimental theater company based in South Florida. Her work has been produced across all five boroughs and in South Florida. Aside from playwriting, Erin is also an actor and costume designer. Born too late to be a religious prophet in the ancient world, but born soon enough to be able to play games on her phone.
Erin has a soft spot for and special interest in biblical adaptation. She strives to write in a new way to challenge herself or sometimes just to hear one of her actor friends say a stupid line out loud. Erin initially became involved with 1319 Press through our first open submission process.
Tell us about a play you love:
Bowl EP by Nazareth Hassan at Vineyard last season blew my mind of what a play could be. The structure, the narrative, the language…just everything about it made me go, “wow holy moly oh my god” every five seconds. I had never felt more exhilarated by a play, at least not in a long time. I transcended, I swear to God. If you don’t know Bowl EP, it’s basically I Saw the TV Glow but for Skaters.
What’s a kooky fact about you?
My great great great grandmother was ritually sacrificed by her children in the 1930s (they were in a cult). Look up Tomahawk Ritual Sacrifice of 1933. That’s my kin on my mother’s maternal side.
Reminder to come see a reading of Plague Play by Erin Proctor at the Bechdel Project on November 19th!
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading. See you same place, same time next month!