Okay, I did this totally stupid thing and I need advice.
On Thursday, I sent out two packages in the mail, both of which probably arrived on Saturday, or will arrive tomorrow at the latest.
(1) I sent out a full-length play as a submission for a theater grant, and (2) I also sent out a ten-minute play as a submission for the Act*rs Th*atre of L*uisville's Ten-Minute Play Contest (I put asterixes in the name of the theater because I don't want anyone from the Act*rs Th*atre of L*uisville to google their own theater and then find out how stupid I am--at least not before I decide how I should react to my own stupidity) (it's really not a huge stupid thing, but it is pretty stupid) (but if I learned anything from Gilda Radner when I was a child obsessed with Gilda Radner, it was that we all have a Right to Extreme Stupidity every now and then)
Anyway, here's what I did: I wrote a cover letter to go with the full-length play, and then I started to write a cover letter to go with the ten-minute play using the same computer document (i.e. I had printed out the first letter and then I started rewriting a new letter using the previous letter as a template), but, well...just now I was sitting at my computer thinking: I don't remember actually writing that second letter...and so I opened up my saved document on my computer, and lo-and-behold, all I did was write in the Act*rs Th*atre of L*uisville's name and address at the top of the letter and then I must have gotten distracted or something because I printed out the second letter and I sent it with the first letter's content.
Did I explain that clearly?
Basically, I sent a short-play to this theater with a cover letter that was about my full-length play. A play that I did not submit to them. So the letter makes no sense at all. (i.e., it's like, "Dear Act*rs Th*atre of L*uisville, look at me, I'm submitting my full-length play X for your ten-minute play competition!" but then instead of the full-length play attached they'll find my ten-minute play. Which is either going to be ultra confusing, or they're going to realize that I sent them the wrong letter. (Of course, the confusion might be confounded by the fact that the letter is addressed to them.) Either way, I look stupid. But do I look stupid enough for them to throw the play away, unread? Or will they ignore the letter and look at the submission anyway?
My natural instinct is to just let it be and assume that they'll figure things out. They don't want a follow-up letter explaining my snafu. Or do they? And they DEFINITELY don't want a follow-up phone-call. Or do they? Maybe they want a follow-up email? (If they even have an email address on their website, which they probably don't.)
Any thoughts?
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10 comments:
Unless there's pertinent information you had to include in the cover letter, I'd let it stand. If it's obvious from the address that the play is for the one act contest, they'll figure it out. And it's not that stupid, distractions happen.
What a stupid thing to do. Let's let it stand and celebrate stupid things. Maybe good things come from stupid things, but we'll never know if we try to cover up the stupid things we do. So I agree with Doug. Let it ride.
PAM
tard!
I sent out over 50 resumes once with "education" spelled wrong.
Let it be, they get tons of letters and won't care, it's all about the material, don't stress
Let your play speak for itself.
On the few occasions where I've had to go through submissions, the cover letters are incredibly tertiary.
That said, you're a giant dumbass. I love it.
Doug, PAM, Jesse, and Micael: Since 4 of 4 of you say I should let it be, that's what I'm gonna do.
I'm glad you all agree that I'm a giant dumbass.
Jesse, I love that you misspelled education on 50 resumes.
I'm going to let it be!
Okay, I would agree that you'd be fine to let it be, and I was going to suggest that you could email the literary manager and explain your situation if you thought it would make you feel better; I emailed her about my submission last year and she was prompt and pleasant in her reply. Seriously, though, I think they get thousands of entries in that thing, so they'll probably just put your play in a pile with the rest of them and be done with it.
FWL, you're totally right, they must get THOUSANDS of submissions. They probably don't even read the letters. Okay, I had thought about emailing, but now I feel bolstered by all the "let it be" votes.
I'll pile on here.
I NEVER, EVER, EVER read the cover letters on scripts that I read.
EVER.
Yay. Good.
In case anyone was wondering how this went down, they emailed me and asked me to clarify and I did and it was nothing to stress over. Easy peezie.
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