WHAT
IS PLAYPENN?
PlayPenn is an annual conference for the development of new plays, the
advancement of new voices in the theatre both locally and nationally,
and the cross-fertilization of writers, directors, dramaturgs and actors.
PlayPenn
gives time and attention to playwrights from around the nation whose
work is poised for a developmental workshop environment. Each summer
PlayPenn hosts a two-week conference, inviting playwrights to develop
new plays in a collaborative workshop environment. In order to encourage
active revision and rewriting during the period of the conference, PlayPenn
provides professional actors, directors and dramaturgs with space, technical
and administrative resources and ample time to use them. The process
culminates in a series of staged readings to be presented to members
of the local, regional and national professional theatre communities
and to the community at large.
PlayPenn
is a new play development conference. The goal of the
conference is the development of plays, through a process of collaboration,
experimentation, rehearsal and rewriting rather than fully realized
productions of finished works. By focusing on playwrights’ needs
PlayPenn makes the fundamental work of the theatre possible without
the constraints and pressures of production, promotion and commercial
consideration.
By
providing a laboratory and the necessary tools for playwrights that
has the potential to lead to the most progressive and substantive results
for playwrights’ work, PlayPenn’s process is helping to
develop the next generation of playwrights for Philadelphia, the region
and the nation.
