 Hello, everyone. We are gonna get started. Is my partner in crime out there is Kirsten here? Can't get started without her. Can we give it up one more time for all of our actors and our directors? And I want to take a second to do something that we did not do at the beginning, which was to actually acknowledge and see who our playwrights are, not on this piece of paper. So if I could have all of our Playlab writers stand up. I'm gonna go very quickly. Walking down is Takao Rivera. Stay standing. We have Hortense Gerardo. We have Aaron Lurch, Andrew Sainez-Bellaot, Anna Candida-Carnero. I already said Takao. Sarah Horatius. James Sanchez, who is also an actor and Ingrid Oslin. And Libby and Ye who had to run away after the reading. But please, if you have not said hello to them, already find them. Say hello. Ask them what they're writing about. Wait a second while they come up with it. I am very excited to introduce the people to my left. And to have this conversation today about new plays and new play development, particularly here in Boston, but also in the world. And by world, I mean in the country. So I am going to do some very brief introductions because I'm sure that they will talk about themselves as they answer these questions. We have Kate Snodgrass, who is the artistic director of Boston Playwrights Theater, who has been a long-term partner with Company One and with Playlab. We have John Meredith Simmons, who is the director of Performing Arts at the BCA, soon to be the executive director of StageStores. And we have MJ Halverstadt, who is a playwright here in Boston and a Playlab alum from year I'm not going to reveal. Not going to date you MJ. Thank you so much for being here. I am particularly excited about this panel because you three are not just the thing that I have just introduced you as. We have playwrights. We have people who work in arts admin. We have just theater lovers and supporters all around. So I'm really excited to hear all of those perspectives come through during this conversation. I am going to start off with a question for you, Kate. So Boston Playwrights Theater has been around since the early 80s and Boston Theater Marathon since 1999. Correct. The dramaturg did her homework. So can you talk about the impetus for beginning Boston Theater Marathon and sort of how you've seen the history of new play development in Boston grow? History of new play development. I can more easily talk about the Boston Theater Marathon. Bill Detanze and I, some of you may know Bill. He's a wonderful playwright and he and I were probably at a bar and we were talking about how to get playwrights with theater companies. And we talked about it. I had been in an all-day festival with Circle Rep Lab some years past and it was wonderful. It lasted all day and it was, you know, really exciting. And we thought, well, what if we put theater companies, one theater company with each play and do it all for a charity so everybody works for free and maybe all the other theater companies in town would listen and want to do it. So I went to stage source and said, you know, would you support a ten minute play if this happened? And I'm sure they all thought, yeah, sure we will. But we did it. And we did 40 plays the first year and they were supported by a different theater company and then it just has grown to 50 plays and 50 theater companies. And over the years, okay, I have to, you know, we really wanted to put playwrights with theater companies and introduce them and allow the theater companies to know the playwrights are people and that they're easy to work with, not difficult. And that actually worked for about 15 years or so. I mean, there were about, I can count, I have a list somewhere of about 20 different playwrights who worked with a theater company in Boston Theater Marathon and then that theater company produced a full length play. But in recent years, that has not happened as much. At least I haven't heard about it. And I'm not sure why. I don't know why and it pisses me off. But that's it. I mean, it's notoriously difficult to get plays, playwrights with theater companies and we could talk ad nauseam about the problems there and maybe we will tonight. We've got about 35 minutes to do that. Solving. I'm going to throw these questions away and we can just do that. Great. Thank you. Next question is for you, Don. Great. I did not prep them with these questions in advance. I think that's why there's that look. So working for the Boston Son of the Arts, which is a collection of very eclectic companies of all sizes and of all missions. Sure. I'd say companies and spaces and artists. And then also going into working with StageSource, which is about resources and supporting artists. Correct me if I'm wrong. No, you're good. So far, so good. What would you say are the the sort of resources that playwrights who want to do self producing or smaller fringe companies? What would you say is the like most important things that you wish that they knew going into those processes? Great. I'm going to ask you to ask me that one more time. What exactly was the question? Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to read it. What resources do theater companies, particularly smaller fringe companies, need in order to develop new plays and support emerging players? Money. Like I mean, at the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to money, money, space, affordable space, which comes back to money, time, people willing, companies willing to take risk on new plays. And I mean, there are some wonderful companies. I mean, Company One has done it. Fresh Inc. has done it. Like there are a lot of people, I think, at a small and midsize level. So I know I think in Boston, we're looking for some of the larger companies to also take that on. And many of them do in their own right. Please don't get me wrong. I think it's all about scale. And who has access to that? And I think, I guess if I'm thinking even larger, it's access. How do you get your foot in the door with an organization that's willing to produce your work? Resources like the Boston Theater Marathon. A lot of the different sort of smaller 10 minute play festivals that happen around town, though one minute play fest like are really great ways to sort of get your work out there and get your name out there and work with directors, designers and other companies so that you have somebody who is advocating for you. I think that's really important. It was for me in not just playwriting, but directing, having somebody else that I was working with who when they got an opportunity, pulled me up with them was really helpful. If you don't have all that dollars, where does one find these dollars? Where does one find dollars? Yeah, I will be donating to who? I think right there are a lot of different ways that you can find dollars. I mean, I think a lot of people are still doing their own sort of crowdsourced fundraising. There are certain foundations in the area that are willing to donate. There are like right the what is it the Boston Foundation's lab grants for individuals has been incredibly helpful. I know we all wish there was more of that. So I think if we keep singing their praises and telling them this is the kind of stuff that we want you to support, we will hopefully create some kind of response in them that keeps finding ways to put these dollars back out into the city of Boston. I think I hate to say this, but it was so effective for me, knocking on doors, borrowing from my friends, getting money from my family. Like, again, it's all about scale. Where are you in your process? Are you new and you're just starting out? Or have you been doing this for a while and you're, you know, tired of asking your parents for money? There are so many different ways. What works for you? Thank you. MJ Aquarius. Did I get that right? That's why you're here. Correct. So you have, in my brain, you're kind of like a staple name in the Boston Theater community. Yes. Yeah, you own it own it. A little bit. Correct. Can you tell us a little bit about your playwright journey? And, you know, if a playwright was to ask you a newer playwright was to ask you, what's the secret sauce? What would you say? My, so I, I escaped Long Island when I was 17 to study at Emerson. And I, I expected to leave, but I kept getting pulled back happily with, with cool opportunities, including studying at BU with Kate. I had a job that provided health insurance. I met a guy and married him. And he went to grad school. And we just, I just kept getting swirled back to Boston. And it's been, it's been a very happy chain of events. Because the thing that I enjoy about being a playwright in Boston, so you really get to be a medium sized fish. There have been very few times that I've reached out to someone whose artistry I really admired. And they said, no, I'm not interested to get coffee with you. I think that it's a place that you can really exercise autonomy and figure out who you are as, as a writer. And there are lots of opportunities where you get to engage on a smaller scale as a playwright and you get to make mistakes. And the stakes are low when that happens. As far as what the secret sauce is, I make this joke a lot. So forgive me if you've heard this already. I think that every playwright in Boston needs to hire an intern. And they need to task that intern with submitting their plays to people, setting appointments for you as writer to meet with community members and people that you admire, that intern has to help you attend the theater that you, the kind of theater that you want to be making. They need to help you make your website and craft your CV. And if you haven't guessed already, the intern that you have to hire is yourself. You do have to wear two separate hats when you are any kind of creative professional. And I don't think that it's, I don't mean to say that it's, I don't mean to say that it's easier for actors, but there is a more streamlined path towards getting involved in a play as an actor. You audition for it. And every company in Boston, for the most part, is auditioning Boston actors. The same is not true for theater companies. As a playwright, I think you have to get a lot more creative in getting yourself and your words in front of other people. So I would say that the secret sauce is shamelessness. That has a worse connotation than I mean, but let's go with that. Shamelessness. Thank you. So this question is for all three of you, for whoever would like to answer. And some of you have touched on it already. So Boston has a very rich reading culture and workshop culture. And I think you said it, Kate, like the jump to production is kind of very, very far. So what do you three think are the sort of like systemic barriers that are keeping us from reaching that point? And how can we break those barriers? This is part of your 25 minutes. I have a thought about this. Please. So like, go with me for a second. But like, poutine, like, would you like to try poutine? No. I have a plate of fries covered in cheese and gravy. Do you want some? Oh, yeah, that sounds totally delicious. And like, as an artistic director, I can just imagine if someone's like, Hey, are you prepared to surmount all the obstacles that are implicit in putting on a new play? No, no, I sure don't. But if if if an artistic director can come to learn that the process of putting on a new play is joyous and full of opportunities for discovery, then like, well, yeah, sure, that that that's the metaphor that I'm like, trying to draw. I'm so sick of this email that I keep getting of like, Sorry, we don't have the infrastructure to produce new plays. Like, to me, that's just so so baffling, because there are unique needs for putting on a new play. But I don't think that they're any more tremendous than putting on She Kills Monsters. Like, what would you say those those needs are? I think a dramaturg and a director who knows how to direct a new play, because I think that new plays get hairy. If you assign a director who's been used to having the playwright out of the room, that's when you start to get, at least to my observation, that's that's where it starts to fall apart, perhaps. But what do you what do you think those are? That that certainly I was talking to a playwright friend of mine who told me just the other day that she was thrilled with her director because he said he wanted her in rehearsal. He demanded that she be there. And that's thrilling for a playwright, but so seldom, except where I live. We like to have the playwright in the room. It's a playwright's theater. And I don't know why that's so terrifying. It should not be. And we have to correct that. And, you know, I'm hopeful the marathon does that. But, but, you know, it's so tiny. I think a lot of it is just attitude from its fear. Artistic directors are fearful, and they're fearful and rightfully so. It is the most challenging thing we can do in the theater. And that's why it's so thrilling. But they can't know that until they try it. And and also, I forgot what I was going to say. I think if it's helpful, one of the things that I see a lot of are that there are a lot of directors right now coming up who are excited to have the playwright in the room, that the idea of new play development, working on something together with somebody and being able to sort of set that as your like mantle piece. This is what I do. I work on new plays. I think in this city, you've got a lot of those people. So again, for me, it comes back to like, who are your allies? Who are you working with? And how are, how are we all lifting each other up? I mean, I'm a person who, although I am a hybrid, right? I am a playwright and a director. So like I want me in the room when I'm writing, like I understand what that is. I also understand that sometimes for a director, it's a little like, I need you to go away for just two weeks. But if we're on the same page, we're all working toward that. There's a room for ego. It's about the thing. Right. I also, I remember what I was going to say. I think artistic directors are very afraid that their audiences won't understand what they're doing or won't accept the new play. And this is always a possibility. Which confuses me so much when I see seasons that include plays by playwrights that I haven't even heard of. And I'm like, I should be reading American Theater Magazine more closely. I haven't heard of these playwrights. But like Joe Schmo, audience members certainly hasn't heard of them. And so at that point, what really is the difference? I feel like there's so much to be added. But just by saying, this is a local playwright. Oh, cool. I wonder if I've seen them at Trader Joe's. And like that's that's a hook. That's going to be part of our new marketing strategy. Since we've brought the topic of audience up, what are the ways that you think new play development can help demystify the theater making process? And Jane. Other than, you know, the obvious is inviting them into the process at some. I mean, this is where readings began. You know, how do we tell our audience that this play is in flux? And if you come and see it here on opening night, you're not going to see the same thing. And this is why it's so exciting. But, you know, the readings, we can get into reading hell. Well, exactly. And I think that goes to your earlier sort of point about that workshop reading like hell that we get into actually think that we have a lot of that this city and writers in general and theater companies, we're good at actually talking about process. I think as far as like the arts community goes, we're probably some of the best at talking about process because it's really easy to invite somebody into an open rehearsal, come here and watch them do this thing and then like go out and eat your cheese later on. Like we have more cheese outside, please. I think that theater audiences really get that. I actually think that audiences are less averse to new work than we think. So I don't know how we like move the companies to where the audience is. But again, like it comes back to dollars, right? The way that you program your season and what you're like banking on and go ahead. No, I'm just like nodding. A lot. I think, you know, also I want to say it's a community. It takes a community, not just us, but it takes artistic directors and dramaturgs. And you know what, it takes critics. Yes, it does. It takes people who understand new work, who have a background in theater history, who love theater and want to come and see what is new. I mean, tonight we saw three different, very different plays that can only be done in the theater. And I want to say I want to thank Company One, because I think what you are doing is exactly right. It's play development. It's play development. But it's also nights like this where we can all come and see what is possible. And then production, production, production. Because that's where the playwrights learn the most. We need it. In response to what you're meditating on right now, Don, I think that partnerships with non-theater communities are really important, because that demonstrates that we, as writers and theater makers, are invested in the same priorities that those people have. And within that, I think, are opportunities for really creative funding models. Fran and I collaborated on a new play process, New Processes, with Flatter Theater and in collaboration with the Museum of Science. And I don't know if you felt this way, but we had what I called the Poo-Poo Flatter reading of excerpts of four plays at the Museum of Science. And then we had readings of each of the four plays in their entirety at the Democracy Center, which most theater people in Boston know about the Democracy Center. And I was, my eyes were on that the whole time. I figured like, that's going to be where I'm actually going to get the feedback that I really want. And I totally did, but I was surprised that the audience at the Museum of Science was the bomb diggity. They were so hungry for our plays about climate change. They laughed really loud. They asked really, really good questions. And you could have knocked me over with a feather. I would not have expected subscribers of the Museum of Science to be game. And I think one of the reasons that it worked is because here comes this theater company that is excited to engage in conversations that they're already having. And I think that within that model, that's an invitation to be smarter about the kinds of plays that we're creating. But also, I mean, these three plays tonight were about something deeply important and something absolutely present in our lives. And these playwrights are writing about this. It is a mirror to us. And the more we do that, the more audience we'll have because they are, I think you're right, they're hungry, hungry to come to the theater and share the problems that we all have. But then maybe that speaks a little bit towards, I think the community engagement model that so many companies now have to sort of like it's almost as important as your education program. Like it's not just that you produce plays but you have these other two things that you do to bring an audience to to fund the work that you're doing. So when you're doing plays that are this topical, right? Who else are you partnering with in your communities? What are those other organizations? How are you engaging them to help to help you get the word out and word of mouth, word of mouth, right? And then it becomes about a shared sense of mission as opposed to do my play, do my play, do my play. Great, thank you. I would like to open it up to all of you. Or I can keep talking and they can keep talking. And that is, yeah, I also can't see. Yeah. Miss Laura Neil. So the question is about forging relationships with directors and sustaining them. Go for it. Okay. I mean, I can only speak from my direct experience. I've worked on a lot of new work. And for me, it's what's that experience in the room? What's the experience that I've had with that playwright in the workshop process? Because usually that's where it is or in that sort of 10 minute play zone. And if we are like vibing, often what I'm doing is when somebody is asking me, oh, who are the playwrights that you like? Here are five people. I think Fran, you had asked me like so similar to like you had asked me to direct one of the reading students, like I can't but here are a bunch of people that I think you're like it works like that. And at the end of the day, it's the same thing that I've been hearing for the last 15 years that I've been here. Who do I want to be in the room with? Who do I want to spend, you know, four weeks of my time with? Who do I want to spend like an extended period of time working and exploring and playing and being vulnerable with? And who do you trust? And who do you trust? And I think that's the thing and you find that out so deeply in in that new play process, like how how does the director shepherd your work? Right? How how do they hold the work and you and all of the actors in the room? And if you feel like, yes, they are we are all we are all working to create this one thing versus like we are working to craft somebody else's vision. Like that's the person that you know you literally you just stay in touch. I mean, it's so simple but like many of the writers that I've worked with, we go out for coffee all the time. I'm talking to them about what they're doing. Do they have something going on? Do they need a director? Here's somebody that I know is looking for new work. You should absolutely check this person out. I mean, it's all about connection. And respect as well. There's many different ways of working in the room. As you all know, some directors like to talk to the actors themselves and and and talk to you then and translate if they can because they're very familiar with the way an actor works and you may not be or there's always the wonderful room where everybody can talk and everybody's working toward the same goal. And you know that's a thrilling thrilling room to be in. I don't know that that answers your question, Laura. Yeah. Yeah, working outside and you know just becoming friends if you can getting on the same page about a piece of theater is everything. And if you're on the same page, then anything can happen. Wonderful things can happen. Challenging things can happen. I think that Boston playwrights have done a pretty good job of congregating clearly. And Boston area directors have have not been doing that traditionally. But I do know that there is a cohort of directors around my age, like late 20s or early 30s that are that are coming together and starting to have conversations about being in community with one another. So I I'm encouraged at that and I and I wonder what what things can happen if collectives of directors continue to develop. And then and then I look forward to identifying ways that collections of playwrights can infiltrate collaborate with them. The dramatist Guild some years ago came to Boston and we had a meeting between directors and playwrights and sort of get to meet you meeting. And maybe we should do that again. I think I know an organization who can do this. I mean, yeah, absolutely. Company one totally not stage source. That's not why I was going at all. Was that a partnership that was just for maybe we can all work together. OK, another question, please. Anyone else? Speed dating. Yeah, that's a great idea. You heard from some of them. I doubt that. I mean, I guess that like again, though, that's the question like how how much do you know? Have you had has anybody talked to you afterwards? Like somebody that you don't even know. And I think that's always the thing is that like, you know, months, years down the line, somebody comes to you and they're like, I heard about this. I heard about the show that you were working on. Are you still is it available? Can I see it? So it's things like that. I might have approached it a little differently, too. I mean, it's such a personal connection that you want to know more about the person. And, you know, what do you like to write about? And what are what are your favorite plays to direct? That's dating. But the other is just here. Take my take my resume. And yeah, definitely. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's respectful, too. It tells the person. Oh, you do know who I am. And you came and saw my work and you liked it. That immediately I'm going. Great. That's great. Or you saw my play and liked it. I love you. But I mean, I think there's also that that thing that we're taught when you are pitching a play to a company, you need to know the company. Don't take your like, you know, kitchen sink drama and send it to like the company that does like all black exploitation kung fu like plays like they don't want it. So I think the same thing follows with the directors that you're working with, right? If you are, you have somebody who's working really like, but they tend towards the absurd, maybe cannot handle your naturalistic piece. So make sure and vice versa, unless like, you know, somebody's trying to try something different. But then again, that comes back to trust. Like, is that the person that you want to take a chance on right now? So I mean, I think educate yourselves, right? Everything's dramaturgy at the end of the day. Like, you know who you're talking to, what they do, what they like, you should. Yeah. Yeah. Did you have a season announcement? If you're out of a job, do you feel like actors have a voice in this fight and being able to advocate for like, well, I like this person does this work and I do that would be really good here. Question is about how do actors advocate for playwrights? I think that's a marvelous question. I wish I had the answer right now. But you know, I love you, so I will figure it out. You know, I will. And I think, you know, playwrights, one actor in particular, I'm thinking of, that I loved her work and thought when I was writing a play, I thought of her and then asked her if she would do it. And she said she would. I mean, it's sort of, you know, but by that time we were friends. So, you know, this friend thing, the respect and trust is so at the bottom of everything and become friends with playwrights that you admire. And speak to those companies that you're working with, right? If you have a company that you're in with, especially if they're showing an interest in new work, then advocate, right? Like, get things in front of people. Even if you're just asking an artistic director, like, I have this, this play came into my world, could you read it and just tell me what you think? Like, sometimes it's just that, like that light touch cell that changes everything. Boston is also a city where I don't think any actor is just an actor. Everybody's, everybody's doing multiple things. And, and folks are working in the offices of theater companies and are able to advocate for, for new play culture just, just by their presence. And so I'm, I'm always very excited when I see non directors in administrative roles. Directors make great administrators, but they're not the only people who can administrate. We have time for one more question. I thought I saw the hand. So to that I'll say, I think that's always a great place to sort of enlist your dramaturg to help on both sides, not just like the director being like, can you tell the playwright and make them do what I want, or the playwright talking to the dramaturg to be like, can you tell the director to like, chill the out. But I think like making, having that person who, right, I hate to put them in that mediator position, but sometimes it's, they're so effective. But having that person to sort of say like, okay, here's how we're both looking at this text right now. Here's how we're looking at this moment. Can we let it go for a minute? Can we go back to workshop mode? Can we go back to like, we're on the playground and like, let's just try this and see what happens. And like, we all agree in the end that we'll walk away if we don't like it. But I mean, I mean, I think I've been really successful in a lot of my work with people when I'm just like, okay, let's just let's see it. If it's a bad idea, like we don't have to marry it. And if it's great, I want a writing credit. Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. And I think dramaturgs are very used to being in that mediator position. And I would love to know, like, do you hate it when that happens to you? Or you're like, why? That's not what I'm here for. I think it I mean, it comes with the job. But I also think it's about knowing when and where to have certain conversations, especially in the workshop rehearsal room, when both the director and the playwright are hearing so many different voices and perspectives coming at them about what is probably a very specific thing that they are not prepared to handle. What they don't need is one more voice on their left hand side. So it's about figuring out when those conversations can happen, both with the playwright individually and with the director individually, and the three of you together. But it is about trusting that you can sort of like, shelve certain things and come back to it. So that trust and respect factor. Yeah, it's very important. But I'm also super curious, like, have you ever been in a place where you're just like, it is my play and like, daddy says no. That is my personality. I felt very blessed in my collaborations with directors, they've almost in Boston, especially they've almost always been people I've had years long relationships with. And I partnered with a director and on a fringe festival, one act in New York. And it was the first time that I was prepared to pull rank. But then on opening, I saw how few people were coming to the thing. And I was just like, you know what, I'm not going to start a fight with this dude. I'm just going to let this cough and sputter and stop inviting people to see it. And that's sad. Like I didn't I felt really, really gross to feel unproud or whatever the word is of my own play. And I wish that I had like earlier said like, you need to choose a design concept and stick with it. Like it's affecting the actors, they're not able to do their work. They're like their work is suffering as a result of this chili shallowing. Sure. Yeah, I'm with you. Maybe maybe next time I'll be primed to pull out the daddy card, like I knew technical term. And please add on that. No. One last question. Quick answer. Very broad. Do you three think Boston is a new place city? Without a doubt. Yes and no. Daddy. No. Thank you, everyone. Thank you to our panelists. Find out more. Thank you.