In the 2005 Lab we set out to discuss and share insights and techniques about working with writers and understanding how the structure and style of plays work - especially plays that are breaking new ground. We invited directors and writers well known in the field to share their insights. We spent some time opening up the actual process of collaboration between writers and directors in exercises designed to re-think how collaboration works and what lies behind many of the assumptions we think we share. We involved designers and actors in our work and brought into the light their contributions in the development of new plays. One of our long-term goals is to broaden the lines of communication between the playwriting and directing communities so that directors can find new writers and playwrights can have a chance to meet more directors. We wanted to look around at the environment today and discuss the state of playwriting and new play producing.
The poles of the tent of the Lab were five readings that everyone attended. Each play was an interesting example of a different kind of work. The plays were read so that all Lab participants could see them together and then discuss them as a group, hopefully sparking a wider conversation about playwriting in general.
Four of the plays were by American writers: Ken Urban (THE ABSENCE OF WEATHER), Peter Morris (GAUDEAMUS), Josh Drimmer (LOVE IS GOOD), and Zina Camblin (AND HER HAIR WENT WITH HER ...). The fifth play (FIREFLIES) was written by Japanese author Suzue Toshiro and translated by David G. Goodman.
Surrounding these five readings were examinations of 36 plays whose authors all participated in the Lab. The Lab began with a two-day intensive session analyzing the nature of collaboration devised by Ben Krywosz, a Minneapolis-based artistic director.
Next followed a series of exercises offering participating directors and playwrights great insight into artistic collaborations and how they can be shaped by unspoken assumptions. To complement these sessions, a variety of established artists who have spent their careers working on new plays spoke with the Lab directors. Actors Helen Stenborg and Julie Boyd and designer G.W. Mercier took part in a panel discussion on the new-play development model established by the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. LCT Associate Director Daniel Sullivan and playwright Donald Margulies spoke about the director-writer collaboration they have cultivated. Playwrights Lynn Nottage, John Weidman, and Warren Leight talked to the Lab about plays they had written set in foreign countries (Africa, Japan, and China, respectively). Among the other playwrights who spoke to Lab directors about working on new plays: Paula Vogel, Stephen Belber, Michael Weller, Winter Miller, and Samm-Art Williams.
Over the course of one weekend, Lab directors made field trips to several playwright organizations: Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood unit for emerging playwrights, the Cherry Lane Alternative, 13 Playwrights, Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center, New Dramatists, and New York University's Musical Theatre Writing Program.
Lab Directors
Aaronson-Gelb, Molly
Alexandersson, Eva
Amshoff, Kathleen
Bales, Lori
Balmaceda, Martin
Bigelow, Gloria
Bolden, Keith Arthur
Burgess, Jessica
Butler, Isaac
Butler, Oliver
Chamberlin, Michael
Chapman, Andi
Chiang, Desdemona
Chivu, Cosmin
Corcoran, Ashlie
Cowart, Matt
Currier, Shoshona
D'Andrea, Dominic
Daraz, Martin
Desai, Snehal
Felden, Greg
Feldman, Rebecca
Finney, Jessica
Galloway, Marianne
Glaccum, Kevin
Goldberg, Michael
Goodlander, Jennifer
Hittman, Eliza
James, Ann
Jones , Kathryn
Kahler, Chris
Kniffen, Judson
Koch, Alexandra
Koo, Camellia
Krueger, Jacob
Lew, Michael
Lowe, Jon
Marateck, Abigail
Margolius, Elizabeth
McCullough, Dylan
Milewski, Tom
Miller, Catherine
Montgomery, Jenny
Neergaard, Frederick
Ogawa, Eriko
Ortman, Erin
Pender, Lily
Rogers, Amy
Rogers, William
Rothman, Alyse
Russell, Brant
Saba, James
Sablic, Stefan
Santa Maria, Marc
Scott, Joya
Shook, Karin
Silverstone, Michael
Smith, Nico
Spector, Jonathan
Su, Yi "Dolly"
Taylor, Lauren
Timpo, Awoye
Valcin, David
Von Stuelpnagel, Moritz
Washington , Ajene
Weitz, Marc
Wojtunik, Tom
Wong, Naisa
Zhao, Ke "Coco"
Lab Master Artists
Stephen Belber
Julie Boyd
Oskar Eustis
Jess Goldstein
Susan Hilferty
Ben Krywosz
Michael John LaChiusa
Ming Cho Lee
Warren Leight
Donald Margulies
G.W. Mercier
Winter Miller
Lynn Nottage
Seret Scott
Helen Stenborg
Daniel Sullivan
Paula Vogel
John Weidman
Michael Weller
Samm-Art Williams
Lab Actors
Bandhu, Pun
Bryant, Brienin
Davis, Diane
Doyle, Mike
Eaves, Dashiell
Ekulona, Saidah Arrika
Gilpin, Jack
Jones, Ron C.
Liao, James
Nakasone, Aiko
Oguma, Olivia
Reddin, Keith
Shimizu, Keenan
Wehle, Brenda
Yaegashi, James
Lab Playwrights
David Adjmi
Luis Araujo
Stephen Belber
Andrea Berloff
Thomas Bradshaw
Zina Camblin
Clay McLeod Chapman
Scott Cheshire
Terry Culpepper
Josh Drimmer
Tom Donaghy
Noah Haidle
Ken Ferrigini
Benjamin Galermiri
Douglas Green
Graeme Gillis
Rachel Goldberg
Jerzy Gwiazdolowski
Angela Hanks
Amy Hartman
Keri Healy
Jacob Holder
Lindsay Kayser
Madelyn Kent
Norman Lasca
Warren Leight
Aaron Loeb
Rhea MacCallum
Eduardo Machado
Mona Mansour
Douglas Maxwell
Winter Miller
Peter Morris
Nobi Nakanishi
Lynn Nottage
Dan O'Brien
Robert O'Hara
Lucy Prebble
Roger Parris
Oleg Presnyakov
Vladimir Presnyakov
Aurin Squire
Saviana Stansecu
Jenny Schwartz
Jason Stuart
Suzue Toshiro
Ken Urban
Paula Vogel
Michael Weller
Samm-Art Wililams
John Weidman
Lab Designers
Anderson, Cameron
Benghiat, Joshua
Birn, David
Boyce, Andrew
Cryan, Timothy
Gelinas, Paul
Healey, Meghan
Hudson, Reggie
Kato, Ben
Kirchner, Sarah
Lambert, Sarah
Lupes, Anka
Lyons, Jason
Mincic, Andreea
Murphy, Erin
O'Brien, Liam
O'Brient, Evan
Ponce, Ramona
Reti, Marina
Romero, Miguel
Rotch, Arthur
Sealander, Rebecca
Suzuki, Mikiko
Tzykun, Victoria
Lab Staff
Lab Director: Anne Cattaneo
Lab Coordinator: Peter Wolf
Lab Assistant: Jill MacLean
Lloyd Richards: The Model of the O'Neill Theater Center with Skip Mercier, Helen Steborg, Julie Boyd
Anne Cattaneo & Andre Bishop: How to Understand How a Play Works
Ben Krywosz: Collaboration Exploration
Daniel Sullivan & Donald Margulies: The Director-Writer Collaboration, Hosted by Karin Shook
Methods and Models of Directing, Hosted by Frederik Neergaard
The Designer's Work on New Plays with Jess Goldstein, Susan Hilferty, Ming Cho Lee, and G.W. Mercier, Hosted by Ann James
Lab Members Share Feedback Technique, Hosted by Elizabeth Margolius
Discussion: Devised Work: Who Makes It and How to Create It with Lily Pender, Michael Siverstone, Alyse Rothman, Isaac Butler, Jonathan Spector, and Rebecca Feldman
Samm-Art Williams: Plays and Play Development at the Negro Ensemble Theater, On Broadway and Hollywood, Hosted by Keith Arthur Bolden
Oskar Eustis: Directing and Dramaturging New Plays with Antonia Grlikhes-Lasky, Hosted by Michael Lew
First Day of Rehearsal Techniques, Hosted by Naisa Wong
Michael John LaChiusa and Ira Weitzman: The Working Collaboration of a New Musical - Bernarda Alba, Hosted by Amy Rogers
Jeff Hamlin, Jason Lyons, Thom Widmann, & Peter Wolf: How to Run a Tech Rehearsal and Accomplish Something
Warren Leight, Lynn Nottage, & John Weidman: Plays Set in International Settings, Hosted by Jon Wai-keung Lowe
Session with Director Seret Scott, Hosted by Awoye Timpo
Paula Vogel: How to Work on a New Play, Hosted by David Valcin
International Directors Discuss New Playwrighting in their Countries, Lab Directors Share their Favorite International Plays, Hosted by Lauren Taylor
How Plays Work in Different Countries: A Further Discussion of International Work and American Work Abroad
Trips to Playwright Organizations
Youngblood Ensemble Studio Theatre
13 P
Cherry Lane Alternative
New Dramatists
NYU Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program
3C by David Adjmi
GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA by Andrea Berloff and Mona Mansour
VOLUME (IN/OF) SMOKE by Clay McLeod Chapman
ROOM SERVICE by Scott Chesire
VIGILS by Noah Haidle
'TWEEN by Douglas Green
THE BASEMENT VALENTINE by Graeme Gillis
RESUSCITATION by Angela Hanks
DOGS by Norman Lasca
BROWN by Aaron Loeb
GERRY by Nobi Nakanishi
THE DEAD DEPORTEE by Dan O'Brien
ANTEBELLUM by Robert O'Hara
GOD'S EAR by Jenny Schwartz
BUSKER by Jason Stuart
LUNA NEGRA by Luis Araujo, Translated by Angie Balsamo
ALL BUT FORGOTTEN by Thomas Bradshaw
AIN'T NOTHIN TOO GOOD FOR MY SEED by Terry Culpepper
THE FACILITATOR by Benjamin Galermiri
PAINTED PICTURES by Rachel Goldberg
WE THREE by Jerzy Gwiazdolowski
THE CHICKEN SNAKE by Amy Hartman
PARROT FEVER by Keri Healy
THE MOVEMENT IN THE BED by Lindsay Kayser
TEA ROOM by Madelyn Kent
7TH DISORDER by Rhea MacCallum
OUR BAD MAGNET by Maxwell Douglas
NOBODY KNEW WHERE THEY WAS by Roger Parris
THE SUGAR SYNDROME by Lucy Prebble
THE GREAT BLACK SAMBO MACHINE by Aurin Squire
PLAYING THE VICTIM by Oleg and Vladimir Presnyakov, Translated by Sasha Dugdale
WHITE EMBERS by Saviana Stanescu
BEDTIME SOLOS by Jakob Holder
SWING STATE by Ken Ferrigni
SAO PAULO by Madelyn Kent
STROM THURMAN IS NOT A RACIST by Thomas Bradshaw
THE MOVEMENT IN THE BED by Lindsay Kayser
