by Catherine Weingarten. @sarahkaneissexy.
NEW YORK, NY - Local playwright Mary Sarah Jeansmith was disappointed to see that the shocked “Young N’ Hot Go For Your Dreams Early Career Theater Festival” would not be happening this summer due to Covid-19 and potential safety risks, but was even more shocked to see that she was still rejected from the completely canceled festival, the confirmed playwright confirmed.
“I get a lot of rejection letters,” said Jeansmith dejectedly. “Usually they are for events that are still actually happening. I guess they really did hate my play about a young woman in World War II overcame hardships and found love and banana sundaes along the way. But this is my passion and I still won’t give up!”
Pamela Peebrook, lit manager for the festival, had no regrets over the rejection letter for an event that would not be happening.
“We just wanted her to know that if we had been able to do the festival, she would not be part of it,” Peebrook said earnestly. “We could have just sent a notification email to everyone that the festival was cancelled, but there were a few playwrights we needed to tell, personally, that they would not be included. In terms of her play, banana sundaes are tasty but we just felt other women captured the female experience better and she should know that.”
John Stephewhatson, Mary’s agent, was also shocked when he heard the news.
“I have represented Mary for a year because I thought she had ‘promise’ or whatever,” noted Stephewhatson. “But the fact that a canceled summer theater festival directors had to go out of their way and directly say ‘your play isn’t good and we need you to know that,’ makes me question our future working relationship together.”
Though Mary is disheartened by this very pointed and odd rejection letter, she plans to keep writing plays for zoom during the pandemic - mostly because she loves muting and unmuting her friends. In terms of self care, she says she plans to eat a lot of mint chocolate chip ice cream and cry and hope one day to be fancy enough to be admitted into an unpaid emerging writers festival.