Questions
1) How do I join or renew my membership?2) How do I know if my membership has expired?
3) How can I join ALAP forever and ever? What are the benefits?
4) How do I make a reservation for an upcoming event?
5) I have an upcoming reading or production or production. How do I get a notice about it sent out to the email list?
6) I want my reading, production, publication or award to be mentioned in the ALAP NewsFlash. Where do I send that notice?
7) What if I'm acting in, directing or producing a reading/production? Can I still get it listed on the email list or in the newsletter?
8) What is the edit member page function? I hear it's very important.
9) Are there any style rules for my online bio?
10) How do I add my plays to the script catalogue?
11) What are the guidelines for uploading photos or other artwork to the script catalogue?
12) How do I view the ALAP Actor Database?
13) I've just had a productions or a publication. How do I get it listed in the online production archive?
14) I'm not on the ALAP email lists? How do I get on?
15) I'm changing my email address. How do I change it on the ALAP email lists?
16) I prefer to read email on the website. How do I choose that option?
17) I'm moving. How do I tell ALAP?
18) How do I get a link to my website on the ALAP site?
19) Our theatre company is having a production, but the writer isn't an ALAP member. Can we still advertise it to your membership?
20) Our theatre company is looking for scripts. How do we let your membership know?
21) I teach a class or a workshop, and I want to let the membership know about it. What do I do?
22) Everyone should know about ALAP. How can I help spread the word?
Answers
How do I join or renew my membership?
If you're renewing (even if you've lapsed for a few months), simply send your check payable to "Community Partners fbo ALAP" to ALAP, 7510 Sunset Blvd. #1050, Los Angeles, CA 90046.Membership is $40, and $20 for full-time students (with proof of student status). If you've never been a member of ALAP before and want to join ALAP, click here to fill out an application.How do I know if my membership has expired?
If you login to the website and go to Edit Member Page, you'll find your expiration date at the top of your listing. Your expiration date is also printed on your membership card,and if you still have opted to receive snail mail newsletters, it's on the mailing label of the envelope containing your bimonthly newsletter.If you haven't renewed by the final month of your membership, ALAP will also send you a letter, reminding you that your membership expires at the end of that month. Should your membership expire, you will be given a short grace period, and then you will be set to inactive on the website, which automatically disables your login, hides your scripts in the catalogue, your website link and your contact info/bio, and you will cease receiving members only emails.The good news is that when you renew your membership, with a click of a button, everything becomes active again, and you will not need to re-enter your listings.How can I join ALAP forever and ever? What are the benefits?
Want to stop getting those annoying renewal notices and never worry about being deactivated? Join ALAP for life. The cost is only $275, and you also receive your own personalized ALAP forwarding email address (e.g. TomZ@laplaywrights.org) and free admission to allALAP events (e.g. the picnic, which usually costs extra). And, of course, your membership is tax-deductible. What are you waiting for?
How do I make a reservation for an upcoming event?
Email us here or call 323-957-4752 and make sure to leave the following information:THE NAME OF THE EVENT
Your NAME and your PHONE NUMBER
The NUMBER OF PEOPLE COMING
Any reservation without ALL of this information will be discarded.
I have an upcoming reading or production or production. How do I get a notice about it sent out to the email list?
If you are an ALAP member, login to the website and then click on "Submit Upcoming Event" on the member menu.This will take you to a screen where you can enter the details of your event, including an appropriate subject line, start date and end date (if your event is a one day event, just fill in the start date),detailed description and any relevant email address or URL.We ask that you put play titles in bold/italics, and please be sure to proofread your information for accuracy, spelling and grammar. When you finish, click the submit button. Your event has now been sent to administration for approval.Once it is approved, it will appear on the website under Upcoming Events and be included in the weekly digest of events.The deadline for the digest is Sunday at 9 PM Pacific time to be mailed out in Wednesday's digest. Events received after this will be sent out the next week.
Non-members should send announcements (for example, submission calls and ALAP member discounts) with all necessary details to announce@laplaywrights.org with the subject line "ALAP." Please, no attachments, graphics or fancy fonts, as they don't transfer well onto our email list. Again, the submission deadline is Sunday at 9 PM for the Wednesday digest.Time-sensitive opportunities (submission calls, ticket discounts) may be emailed individually at the discretion of the co-chairs.
Please keep in mind that events are only included in one email digest, so please plan your submission date accordingly. And make sure you include all of the information. If you don't, people are generally too lazy to do the research on their own and simply won't come. If you are a playwright on a bill with other writers, we only publicize ALAP members by name. Non-members may be referred to as "and others" or something similarly clever.
I want my reading, production, publication or award to be mentioned in the ALAP NewsFlash. Where do I send that notice?
Announcements of upcoming readings and productions that members have promoted through the website's Submit Upcoming Event area automatically make it into the NewsFlash. For awards or publications, send an email to newsflash@laplaywrights.org. Just remember that the newsletter goes out every other month (Jan, March, May, July, Sept, Nov).What if I'm acting in, directing or producing a reading/production? Can I still get it listed on the email list or in the newsletter?
Unfortunately, our listings are only for readings or productions that our members have written. Otherwise, we'd be inundated.What is the edit member page function? I hear it's very important.
You heard right. Your Member Page, which you will find in the Members Area once you login, is where you control your password, your contact information for the database, your bio and your photo. A few important things to remember:1. You may change your password, but not your login name.
2. You will notice that you have two sets of contact information.
Your public information is what anyone can see if they click on your Member Page in Meet Our Members. It's probably best to list your website (if you have one) and email address, but you will probably wish to be cautious about putting up any phone/address information, unless it's an office. It's totally up to you what you wish to put in the public boxes. Just leave it blank if you don't want it revealed to the rest of the world. Your private information, Hhowever, is mandatory. No one sees it but the website administrators,and it links directly to ALAP's membership database. Therefore, it should NEVER be deleted. Of course, please update it should it change(e.g. if you move) so that we can keep in contact with you.
3. Your bio may list whatever credits or other information is important about you. Please try to be grammatical and write it as a bio and not simply a list. See below for style rules.
4. You may upload a photo of yourself if you'd like, and it'll add a nice splash to your public bio page.
When you finish updating any information in your Member Area, be sure to save the changes. And then you're done!
Are there any style rules for my online bio?
Please just use regular text for your bio, capitalizing as appropriate in any standard sentence and placing titles of plays in bold/italics, withtitles of other creative works (films, books, etc) in italics. For example: Jonathan Dorf is the author of Beef Junkies. Please do not put titles (except for titles of songs or magazine articles) in quotation marks.
How do I add my plays to the script catalogue?
Members may list as many plays as they would like to input. Just login to the member area and select the "Script Catalogue Management" link. From there, select either the add link if you want to add a new play, or the view link to edit an existing play.A few important reminders when you input data:
1. Just capitalize titles normally, for example, Beef Junkies. It will automatically be formatted as bold when it displays in a search. Do not put the title in ALL CAPS unless that's how it's really meant to be.
2. In the Genre box, you may use up to 30 characters to input the play's genre. Examples might be a Comedy, Drama, Tragicomedy, Farce, Mystery, Dark Comedy, etc. If a play straddles two genres, use a / character.
For example, Comedy/Drama. Please capitalize the first letter of each word.
3. For the contact information, there is a separate location
for a contact email and a website URL. Be sure to put web addresses in proper form (e.g. http://jondorf.com) so that they are clickable.
4. You are allowed to add one production photo per play. You are
responsible for making sure that you have permission to use the photo, and that you provide proper credit in the caption.
5. You may add an excerpt for each play in PDF format. Please make sure your PDF files are non-printable. Mac users have this capability built-in to their computers, and on the PC, this can be done easily with Adobe Acrobat, or through a variety of free programs such as PDFCreator, PrimoPDF, etc.
6. The one-liner allows you to create a succinct, catchy (250 characters maximum) log line/description of your play that will show up in all searches. It's important to fill this out, as it will help your play
stand out.
What are the guidelines for uploading photos or other artwork to the script catalogue?
Please read these guidelines and follow them carefully. Remember, your production photo or other artwork will rotate onto the front page of the ALAP website, so it's important that all materials are professionally presented.1. Images must either be photos from a performance of the
play (preferred), or from a promotional poster/postcard of the play.
Images should not be photos of the author or unrelated subject matter.
2. By posting images on the site, you warrant that you have
permission to post them, and that they do not violate copyright or other laws. You are solely responsible for all materials you post as a member.
3. In the case of production photos, please be sure to provide a caption with all necessary credits in one of the following formats:
a. Jake River Fraser at the Street Theatre (Canberra, Australia, photo by Pling)
b. The Street Theatre (Canberra, Australia)
c. Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics (Springfield, OR, directed by Michael Fisher; photo by Stephen Speidel)
For posters or other artwork, if the image does not stand on its own, please use the following:
Moving Arts (Los Angeles, CA, poster design by George Spelvin)
4. Please do not put dates on your captions. They're not particularly relevant, and as time goes on, it will make your photos appear more and more dated, which does a disservice to your play.
5. Please do not place the title or author name in the caption. The image will only appear on the play's individual page or with the play's title/author next to it.
6. Images and language in the captions should be suitable for a PG-13 audience.
7. Image file names should contain ONLY ALPHANUMERIC characters. Please do not use an apostrophe, hyphen or other symbol, as it may cause your image not to display.
8. Image files should be in JPEG (preferably) format, or if necessary, PNG or GIF files. Please do not upload files in any other format.
Maximum file size is 1 MB, but in general, it's a good idea to keep files for the web much smaller (100K or less is a good rule of thumb).
9. Captions may contain the standard range of writing characters. Be sure not to hit the enter (return) key between lines. Just allow your text to wrap around naturally if necessary.
How do I view the ALAP Actor Database?
Just sign in using the member login as you would for anything else on the site. Then, in the Member Menu, click on Actor Search and you're off and running. Please keep in mind that the Actor Database is for the personal use of members only and is not to be used on behalf of any third party or for any purpose other than that for which it is intended.I've just had a productions or a publication. How do I get it listed in the online production archive?
You can input this directly into the website via the "Submit PastProduction" link in the member area. From there, just input the
information into the form, making sure to "associate" the script with
its Script Catalogue listing if there is one (and if there isn't one,
why not?). For the date, please write the month and year in which the play opened in this format: 05/2007, for example. When you're ready, click save, and it will be forwarded to the site administrator for approval before "going live." Remember that staged readings are NOT eligible to be listed--only full productions qualify. Any productions that have blank author fields (or any other fields) will be automatically deleted without further notification.
Please only input productions that occurred while you were an ALAP member, and only from 2005 or later. The idea is to showcase what our members are doing now, so that prospective producers can see that we're vibrant and creating work that is relevant.
I'm not on the ALAP email lists? How do I get on?
Members no longer have to subscribe to the email lists--when you join, you will automatically be subscribed to every list for which you are eligible. Should you wish to modify your preferences (e.g. to receive a daily
digest rather than individual emails), you can do so within the Member Area.
If you are not an ALAP member, you can subscribe to the
General email list, which will give you news of upcoming ALAP events as well as member readings and productions, click this link.
If you don't seem to be receiving ALAP mailings, make sure that our emails are not getting caught by your spam blocker. Be sure to add
laplaywrights.org to your whitelist.
I'm changing my email address. How do I change it on the ALAP email lists?
Just log into the Member Area and update your contact information in your profile (Edit Member Page). It's that easy. The email lists willupdate automatically, and we will be notified of the change.
I prefer to read email on the website. How do I choose that option?
If you don't want to receive email, just click on Email List Preferencesin the Member Area. Uncheck the boxes of the email lists from which
you don't wish to receive mail--just make sure to visit the website
regularly so that you don't miss member opportunities and discounts!
Do NOT remove your email address from the private area of your member page, or we will have no way to contact you if we need to.
I'm moving. How do I tell ALAP?
Now it's simple. Just login to the member area and click on Edit Member Page. Update your information and save the changes. We'll get an automatic notification email.How do I get a link to my website on the ALAP site?
Login to the member area of the website and click on Edit Member Page. Input the website address (for example, http://jondorf.com) into the URL box and save the changes. Your website will automatically show up in the Meet Our Members section. It's that easy.Our theatre company is having a production, but the writer isn't an ALAP member. Can we still advertise it to your membership?
Why aren't they an ALAP member? Get them to join! In any case, we are happy to advertise non-member productions to our membership via email as long as there is a discount to ALAP members equal to the best discount being offered or 10% off, whichever is greater. If this is the case, send an email to announce@laplaywrights.org with the subject line "ALAP member discount."Our theatre company is looking for scripts. How do we let your membership know?
Send the full details to announce@laplaywrights.org. Be sure to include all submission requirements, deadlines, royalty/payment details, etc. ALAP condemns the practice of charging writers a fee to submit their work, and we do not publicize any such submission opportunities to our members.I teach a class or a workshop, and I want to let the membership know about it. What do I do?
For ongoing classes within the greater Los Angeles area, the instructor must be an ALAP member for it to be posted to our email list. We will continue to advertise one-time master classes and workshop opportunities from non-member playwrights who normally reside outside the greater Los Angeles area. Regardless of the instructor's membership status, if there is a fee for the class or workshop, we will only advertise it to our membership (via the email list) if there is a minimum 10% discount to ALAP members. Email announce@laplaywrights.org with the subject line "ALAP member discount" and all relevant details as plain text in the body of the email. All postings are at the sole discretion of the Co-Chairs.Everyone should know about ALAP. How can I help spread the word?
Do you have a website? Please consider adding a link to us at http://laplaywrights.org.Are you a member of a playwrights' group? Let your fellow members know about ALAP.
If you are an ALAP member, please include that you are a member of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights in your bio.
