Affiliated Writers

Darren Canady Erin Courtney Kim Euell Emily Feldman

Marvin González De León Allison Gregory Dipika Guha

C.A. Johnson Carson Kreitzer

Kira Obolensky John Olive

Sofya Levitsky-Weitz

Marisela Treviño Orta Jeffrey Hatcher

“Being in rehearsal, especially during this uncertain time, was an inspiring, energizing experience for me. I’m so grateful to Playwrights’ Center for running headfirst into the crisis. Knowing that I was not only going to be able to have a workshop but to be compensated gave me an incredible sigh of relief. I am so grateful they are my artistic home.”

—Gina Femia, Core Writer on her April 2020 online workshop and reading of THE VIOLET SISTERS

BY THE NUMBERS

$22,059

Direct Financial Support to Core and Affiliated Writers

The 2019–20 season was filled with new endeavors to support artists and their work. The season began with the first Afro-Atlantic Playwright Festival. It continued with the 36th annual PlayLabs festival and the 15th Ruth Easton New Play series. As theaters shut down due to the global pandemic, Playwrights’ Center retooled its plans and developed additional programming; launching a 2020 spring season to support and connect artists during a most challenging time.

C Michael Menge, Shá Cage, and Thomasina Petrus perform in Femi Osofisan’s Not All Canoes Sail Back Home, as part of the first Afro-Atlantic Playwright Festival.

AFRO-ATLANTIC PLAYWRIGHT FESTIVAL

July 2019

Presented by Playwrights’ Center in partnership with the Carlyle Brown & Company and Camargo Foundation’s Cultural Diaspora Program, the Afro-Atlantic Playwright Festival was curated by Core Writer Carlyle Brown and theater director Chuck Mike. Made possible is part by the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, the festival examined conceptual and cultural facets of African diaspora studies and their impact on playwrights from around the world, including:

France-Luce Benson Deux Femmes On The Edge De La Revolution Part II July 12 Femi Osofisan Not All Canoes Sail Back Home: Maya, Maryse, And Efua In Nkrumah’s Ghana July 13 Zainabu Jallo We Take Care Of Our Own July 13

PLAYLABS October 2019

For more than 35 years, Playwrights’ Center’s PlayLabs Festival has been one of the nation’s most comprehensive new play development programs. Writers receive 30 workshop hours with a team of artistic collaborators of their choosing. Each play receives two public readings with days in between to revise and polish the work.

PUBLIC READINGS AND WORKSHOPS BY THE NUMBERS

55

NEW PLAY READINGS & WORKSHOPS

Dan O’Brien New Life October 21 & 26

Sofya Levitsky-Weitz Cannabis Passover October 22 & 25 Marvin González De León Pan Genesis October 23 & 26

W. David Hancock, Candrice Jones, Cristina Luzárraga, Courtney Meaker, Heather Raffo, Tylie Shider, and Kit Yan Playwriting Fellows Showcase October 27

26

PUBLIC PERFORMANCES

“This workshop was pivotal to getting my play to its production-ready point. The support from the Playwrights’ Center, from staff to artistic leaders to the entire community, is unrivaled in its true nurturing of the play and the playwright.”

—Sofya Levitsky-Weitz on PlayLabs Workshop og Cannabis Passover

THE RUTH EASTON NEW PLAY SERIES

December 2019 – April 2020 Honoring actress Ruth Easton and her commitment to theater, The Ruth Easton New Play Series, presented in partnership with the Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation, invites five selected playwrights to develop a new play with artistic collaborators. Each project has 20 hours of paid workshop time and is shared with audiences on two nights. Two public readings allows writers to make tweaks between presentations—and hear their play in the company of two different audiences.

Marisela Treviño Orta December December 9 & 10 Jeffrey Hatcher & Sandra Struthers AUTHOR AUTHOR January 13 & 14

PUBLIC READINGS AND WORKSHOPS BY THE NUMBERS

241

ACTOR CONTRACTS

3

COMPOSERS

8

DESIGNERS

2

MUSICIANS

Betty Shamieh Malvolio February 3 & 4 Darren Canady #ROYCE March 2 & 3 Ray Yamanouchi Tha Chink-Mart April 6 & 7*

*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, and in consultation with playwright Ray Yamanouchi, the public presentation of Tha Chink-Mart was canceled.

THE SPRING SEASON

March-June, 2020

When paid work for theater artists disappeared as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Playwrights’ Center took action to connect people with their communities and create income streams for theater artists who were out of work.

From March 30, 2020, through the end of the fiscal year, the Center created more than 160 paid opportunities for artists and brought programming to over 2,200 participants from across the country and around the world. The Center curated a new, all-online spring season that featured:

• regular weekly programming of new play readings • seminars, classes, and workshops taught by playwrights • weekly features written by playwrights • open conversations and panels with playwrights and theater practitioners • Member Open Play events, where writers read each others’ plays aloud and respond with constructive feedback

• New Plays on Campus sessions for educators and students interested in playwriting • Writing Room Lunch Breaks for playwrights to connect and work together • open office hours with Playwrights’ Center artistic and membership staff, giving people a chance to connect, ask questions, and discuss best practices Candrice Jones FLEX April 10

Gina Femia The Violet Sisters April 3

Erin Courtney Begin, Begin, Begin Again April 17

SPRING SEASON: PUBLIC ONLINE PLAY READINGS

Stacey Rose Legacy Land April 24 Lee Blessing Hallow May 1 Carlyle Brown A Play by Barb and Carl May 8

Jake Jeppson No Cure May 15 C.A. Johnson I Know, I Know, I Know May 22 Allison Gregory The Loyals* May 28

Dipika Guha Getting There* May 29 Daaimah Mubashshir Room Enough (For Us All)* June 5 Naomi Wallace One Flea Spare* June 12

SPRING SEASON: PLAYWRIGHTS IN CONVERSATION

Jessica Huang in the conversation The Art of the Note

Daniel Alexander Jones An Invitation to Your Practice April 2 Josh Wilder Breaking Down Structure and Rewriting Your Work April 7 & 14 Marvin González De León Will This Crisis Create Even More Inequity in the American Theater? April 21 Jessica Huang The Art of the Note April 28 Seth Bockley, Mikhael Tara Garver, Laura Jacqmin, Drew Paryzer, David Israel Reynoso, and Jennine Willett Writing for Place and Space May 5 Kate Hamill, Rebuilding the American Theater May 12 José Rivera and Maíja Garcia in Conversation Presented in Partnership with FilmNorth and Dramatists Guild Foundation May 19 Sarah Gubbins, Jen Silverman, and Mfoniso Udofia Writing Across Mediums June 2*

*After discussions with each artist, these events were postponed until the 2020–21 season. Jonatha Brooke Musical Musings and Rock ’n’ Roll June 16*