Yes, playwrights are diving into tv b/c of money, healthcare, stability, getting seen by millions of people, and being able to go from idea conception to an actual series in a year (as opposed to most plays which take several yrs to develop). But nobody goes into the theatre expecting money or stability. So what gives? The larger reason for the sudden love of tv is respect: of our voices, of our time, of our development, of our place in the world. There's more of that in the TV industry than theatre.
At Juilliard, they asked us -if all things were equal and you didn't have to worry about money- would you prefer to work in TV/film or theatre? 6 out of 8 playwrights immediately said 'theatre.' No hesitation, dead certainty. We didn't get into this wildly unprofitable and fickle field expecting to get rich. It wasn't the money that was the deciding factor, it was the ability to be seen and heard, diversity of voices, and working with a team of equal creatives who are dedicated to actually figuring out a way to produce the thing...rather than a board of elders who are more likely to tell you why your work isn't ready.
BUT! BUT!!! BUT... theatre isn't a monolith and I don't want to be just negative. There are exciting institutions focused on the development of artists and/or producing new work in a timely fashion. Here are a few of my favorites....
1. National Black Theatre "I AM SOUL" residency
- it's 18 months and they do a very high-quality workshop production of your play
- they pour as many resources as possible into getting the play seen.
- with limited resources, NBT has changed theatre by putting the artists first and the board second.
2. Brooklyn Arts Exchange
- this is a development platform but it takes place over 2 yrs and involves different workshop/production levels.
- they are supportive while requiring certain benchmarks to be met. You have to actually put up sections of the work while you're developing it. And this is actually a great thing b/c you are forced to see your work come alive as you're creating it.
3. Seattle Public Theatre
- created a new prize with the sole purpose of creating new work by POC and women... and then putting it up.
- no non-sense, let's get it done attitude
- the creation-to-production pipeline was 18 months. I won the Emerald Prize in the spring of 2017 for FIRE SEASON. It got its world premiere in January 2019.
4. Miami New Drama
- 'Here's a commission. Let's put your production in the calendar...for next season.' And guess what? You experience panic, pressure, deadlines. These are the things TV writers work with all the time, multiple times a year. And -for the most part- you are forced into being a sharper writer, less precious, more no-nonsense. A lot of times that pressure creates innovation.
- CONFESSIONS OF A COCAINE COWBOY got greenlit on Dec 2017. It was produced in 2019. In the calendar.
- A WONDERFUL WORLD got greenlit in Dec 2018. It's going up in March 2020.
These are just some of the theatres that have helped me out so much. Please include your own list of innovative theatres that are cranking out new work and fostering new voices.
(BTW, I'm not including many excellent development labs like the O'Neill, Sundance, Ucross, Ojai. These institutions are huge but I wanted to focus on theatre companies producing work.)
At Juilliard, they asked us -if all things were equal and you didn't have to worry about money- would you prefer to work in TV/film or theatre? 6 out of 8 playwrights immediately said 'theatre.' No hesitation, dead certainty. We didn't get into this wildly unprofitable and fickle field expecting to get rich. It wasn't the money that was the deciding factor, it was the ability to be seen and heard, diversity of voices, and working with a team of equal creatives who are dedicated to actually figuring out a way to produce the thing...rather than a board of elders who are more likely to tell you why your work isn't ready.
BUT! BUT!!! BUT... theatre isn't a monolith and I don't want to be just negative. There are exciting institutions focused on the development of artists and/or producing new work in a timely fashion. Here are a few of my favorites....
1. National Black Theatre "I AM SOUL" residency
- it's 18 months and they do a very high-quality workshop production of your play
- they pour as many resources as possible into getting the play seen.
- with limited resources, NBT has changed theatre by putting the artists first and the board second.
2. Brooklyn Arts Exchange
- this is a development platform but it takes place over 2 yrs and involves different workshop/production levels.
- they are supportive while requiring certain benchmarks to be met. You have to actually put up sections of the work while you're developing it. And this is actually a great thing b/c you are forced to see your work come alive as you're creating it.
3. Seattle Public Theatre
- created a new prize with the sole purpose of creating new work by POC and women... and then putting it up.
- no non-sense, let's get it done attitude
- the creation-to-production pipeline was 18 months. I won the Emerald Prize in the spring of 2017 for FIRE SEASON. It got its world premiere in January 2019.
4. Miami New Drama
- 'Here's a commission. Let's put your production in the calendar...for next season.' And guess what? You experience panic, pressure, deadlines. These are the things TV writers work with all the time, multiple times a year. And -for the most part- you are forced into being a sharper writer, less precious, more no-nonsense. A lot of times that pressure creates innovation.
- CONFESSIONS OF A COCAINE COWBOY got greenlit on Dec 2017. It was produced in 2019. In the calendar.
- A WONDERFUL WORLD got greenlit in Dec 2018. It's going up in March 2020.
These are just some of the theatres that have helped me out so much. Please include your own list of innovative theatres that are cranking out new work and fostering new voices.
(BTW, I'm not including many excellent development labs like the O'Neill, Sundance, Ucross, Ojai. These institutions are huge but I wanted to focus on theatre companies producing work.)
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