“The market is changing, and we’d better change with it.” Those were the words of Gary Garrison, the Dramatists Guild’s executive director for creative affairs, who also cautioned that things are probably going to get worse for playwrights before they get better.
Garrison made his comments before about 50 D.C. area playwrights gathered at a February mini-conference on play marketing. The basic focus of the conference, presented by Playwrights Forum, was self producing for playwrights tired of waiting for someone else to produce their works.
Yes, the phrase “church basement” was referenced more than once in connection with self producing. (And, perhaps ironically enough, the conference was held inside a church.) But it was made clear at the conference that the stereotypical lowest rung on the production venue ladder isn’t the only option for a self producing playwright.
There are fringe festivals—such as D.C’s own Capital Fringe Festival—where playwrights can stretch their wings as both producers and writers. And, also, there seems to be a resurgence of interest in one-person shows that a playwright can write, perform, and take on the road wherever a performance venue might be available. The current economic situation seems to have prompted that resurgence in one-person plays that are inexpensively produced.
And that brings us back to the cold, hard reality that Garrison was discussing. A shortage of cash has resulted in a shrinking market for theatre. Playhouses are going belly up, and those that want to remain in business have to choose their seasons ever so carefully. And since we can’t change the market, Garrison told his audience, we playwrights need to change.
How do we change? Well, Garrison offered that the first step is to reevaluate what constitutes “success” for a playwright. If theatrical commitments to do productions of full-length plays are hard to come by (and they are), then perhaps shorter plays (of the ten-minute variety) are a viable alternative.
Another option is just to produce yourself—hence, the mini-conference. Self production is tempting although, as one of the conference panels cautioned, not usually a profit-making venture. Panelist Sean O’Leary noted it takes a “minor miracle” to actually make money on a play production.
But is the money really what it’s all about for most playwrights? As panelist Martha King deSilva put it, “Economics are important, but, in the end, it’s about what makes you happy.”
Washington, D.C
BY RICH AMADA
“The market is changing, and we’d better change with it.” Those were the words of Gary Garrison, the Dramatists Guild’s executive director for creative affairs, who also cautioned that things are probably going to get worse for playwrights before they get better.
Garrison made his comments before about 50 D.C. area playwrights gathered at a February mini-conference on play marketing. The basic focus of the conference, presented by Playwrights Forum, was self producing for playwrights tired of waiting for someone else to produce their works.
Yes, the phrase “church basement” was referenced more than once in connection with self producing. (And, perhaps ironically enough, the conference was held inside a church.) But it was made clear at the conference that the stereotypical lowest rung on the production venue ladder isn’t the only option for a self producing playwright.
There are fringe festivals—such as D.C’s own Capital Fringe Festival—where playwrights can stretch their wings as both producers and writers. And, also, there seems to be a resurgence of interest in one-person shows that a playwright can write, perform, and take on the road wherever a performance venue might be available. The current economic situation seems to have prompted that resurgence in one-person plays that are inexpensively produced.
And that brings us back to the cold, hard reality that Garrison was discussing. A shortage of cash has resulted in a shrinking market for theatre. Playhouses are going belly up, and those that want to remain in business have to choose their seasons ever so carefully. And since we can’t change the market, Garrison told his audience, we playwrights need to change.
How do we change? Well, Garrison offered that the first step is to reevaluate what constitutes “success” for a playwright. If theatrical commitments to do productions of full-length plays are hard to come by (and they are), then perhaps shorter plays (of the ten-minute variety) are a viable alternative.
Another option is just to produce yourself—hence, the mini-conference. Self production is tempting although, as one of the conference panels cautioned, not usually a profit-making venture. Panelist Sean O’Leary noted it takes a “minor miracle” to actually make money on a play production.
But is the money really what it’s all about for most playwrights? As panelist Martha King deSilva put it, “Economics are important, but, in the end, it’s about what makes you happy.”
ramada@dramatistsguild.com