The 518 Monologues

518 Monologues

Under the umbrella of Open Process and our aim to provide tangible skills for storytellers from all walks of life, the Orchard Project is excited to announce our new community initiative: The 518 Monologues.

The 518 Monologues is an annual initiative that aims to collect 518 monologues written by folks in the Capital region (the 518 area code), and ultimately, celebrate the diverse stories and creativity of the region by publishing all 518 monologues in a free online archive.

Through the 518 Monologues, we want to empower folks to embrace their natural creativity and talents. We truly believe that everyone is an artist and through this initiative, we hope to encourage creativity, curiosity, risk-taking, vulnerability, and personal artistry. Most of all, we want to give resources to folks who have an interest in dramatic writing—whether that be theatre, film, tv, or otherwise—but don’t know where to start.

518 Workshops

We are so excited to partner with local organizations and artists to make the 518 monologues a reality by providing monologue-writing resources throughout the year of 2022. We want to take 518 as an opportunity to engage folks in the region of all theatrical backgrounds: from those who have never seen a play before to those who regularly attend or create theatre. While we plan to welcome all monologue entries, we want to provide resources (and encouragement!) to those who have less familiarity or comfort with theatre, writing, and the genre itself.

With this in mind, we’ve designed and curated multiple workshop tracks—both virtual and in-person—that will appeal to folks with different familiarities and schedules. . These will be a combination of group workshop and lecture, and will be led by teaching artists from both the Capital Region and New York City. It is by no means necessary to attend a workshop in order to submit to the 518 Monologues—instead, workshops will serve as an additional resource for those interested in cultivating their inner artist.

Submissions

No matter what their theatrical background or experience, we would love anyone with a connection to the Capital region to contribute and submit to the 518 Monologues. Everyone—no matter their identity, age, or experience—is encouraged to submit their monologue and be featured in our future online archive. We don’t believe that any monologue is more deserving of submission than another and in this vein, we will be accepting every monologue that is submitted until we reach 518. However, it should be noted that the Orchard Project maintains the right to deny submissions that are derogatory in nature or unable to be performed live.

We have yet to open submissions for entries in The 518 Monologues. Interested in finding out when we do? Click here to join our email list to be the first to know about all things 518.

Call for Teaching Artists

The Orchard Project is seeking artist-educators with experience teaching playwriting to join our team of Teaching Artists to lead school and community-based workshops as part of The 518 Monologues.

About the Orchard Project

The Orchard Project (OP) is a preeminent artistic development laboratory and accelerator for creators of performance and dramatic stories. Through programs in New York City, Saratoga Springs and online, the Orchard Project inclusively supports and empowers dramatic storytellers from the United States and around the world. Through summer labs and other year-round programs that provide resources including community, accountability, and opportunity for artists at multiple stages of their careers, The Orchard Project pushes the dramatic form and lifts up a diversity of voices that inform, inspire, and provoke.

For over a decade, the Orchard Project has been a leading creator of new works for the stage around the U.S., supporting work that has gone on to production on Broadway, London’s West End, and independent theaters across the world. The OP’s move to the Saratoga Springs in 2015, provided new growth opportunities to better support the works of artists through an expanded lab program and more free public programming and the local community. Our annual residency in Saratoga Springs has inspired us to consider how OP’s mission might support more upstate storytellers—and ultimately, to create a living drama that reflects the many stories of those in the 518 Capital region.

For more information, click here.