Are you an amateur playwright in need of a big break? Do you consider yourself funny enough to keep an audience laughing for an extended period of time? Or did you invent a new game show, but just need a platform to show it?
If you nodded your head yes to any of the aforementioned questions – or just consider yourself a creative person who likes to perform in front of others – then you might want to clear your schedule for May 10. Because that’s when you can try and secure a spot in what will officially be called season one of the recently opened Hatbox Theatre at its first annual pitch night.
Right now, the performance house located at the former Coldwater Creek location in Steeplegate Mall, has things scheduled through August, mixing and matching comedy, magic, plays and music to fill the first five months. It was a rather quick opening and one that didn’t lend itself to a lot of time for booking acts.
That’s why they plan to hold a pitch night each spring to schedule the following season. The seasons will run from September to August, so whatever you pitch next Tuesday will be slated during that time frame – assuming your idea is chosen.
It doesn’t cost anything to pitch your idea, which could range from music to theatre, and improv to poetry. So here’s how it works. The doors open at 6 p.m. for people to sign up to pitch. Signups can also be done ahead of time if you know that you won’t be able to make the in person hour, from 6 to 7 p.m.
“Everybody has to pitch that night,” said one of Hatbox creators Andrew Pinard.
You’ll need to provide three copies of your play or music sample for the planning committee, as well as fill out a detailed form, which we recommend printing off the website and doing ahead of time. Don’t want any misspellings in there.
“They can pitch some of the details that aren’t in the documents,” Pinard said. “Show us why it’s special and why it should be part of our season.”
And then you get two minutes to pitch your idea to the committee. Everyone will get a chance to go, and the order is decided on a first come, first served basis.
“It will go until it’s done,” Pinard said.
If you can’t make it, you can still submit your idea and one of the organizers will read it aloud in your place – although while they’ll likely do a fine job, they probably won’t have the same enthusiasm as you might. So maybe it would be a good idea to wash your hair another night.
“Everybody will be in the same room. It’s not a secretive process,” Pinard said. “It creates a great opportunity for creative artists to come together and see what everyone is doing.”
Main stage productions generally run for three weeks with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., but there are also single night and monthly opportunities as well.
And if you’re not sure it will fit into the Hatbox criteria, Pinard has some advice.
“If it has to do with live performance, we want to see it,” he said.
Pinard said it will likely take a month to go through all the submissions and settle on a season’s worth of performances. And then there will be a launch night for the ones chosen, date to be determined, where producers will do a five-minute excerpt.
There’s also more details about the inner workings of putting on a show at Hatbox Theatre on the website, so visit hatboxnh.com for more.
Break a leg.
Insider staff
