Work in Progress

I try not to keep too many projects in progress at once… but it just can’t be helped. And, in fact, I find that it’s useful to be able to switch gears, moving from project to project: when one part of my creative brain gets weary, I switch to another. And projects come to fruition at different times, too, so I never want to be left without anything at all to focus on…

THE GREAT DISMAL. Originally commissioned by the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the play never really found its ideal state. The first draft was too heady, too tight, too… intellectualized. But the subject matter simply will NOT let go of me. So I’m working with The Inkwell over the course of the coming year to completely re-imagine it from the ground up. So far, the process has been completely invigorating. Anne McCaw, my dramaturg, has helped me make some radical changes.

THE BUTCHER. As part of The Theatre Project, I’ve been doing some serious revisions of the script, which I took to the Great Plains Theatre Conference last year. We had a reading in February; a short off-off-Broadway run opens at the end of April.

DEVISING THE KULTURBUND. An ensemble-generated theater and film collaborative. We’re in the planning stages now for the first phase of the project, which begins this June. Great collaborators, and heart-breaking subject matter.

STANDING UP FOR PLAYWRIGHTS. In addition to serving as the DC representative for the Dramatists Guild, I’m also the co-founder and co-moderator of the DC-Area Playwrights Group on Facebook, and I sit on the Board of Governors for the Helen Hayes Awards as well, making sure that things there are fair for playwrights to whatever extent I can. That shit, as the kids say, takes time.

BLOGGING. I may forget from time to time, but keeping up this blog (and contributing to others) requires a significant commitment. This year, I’ve begun incorporating other voices, an endeavor I plan to continue, and I’ve got a long-form series about how scientific concepts might enrich our thinking about theater and storytelling that I’ll be getting underway soon, too.

DC THEATER SEASON ANALYSIS. My annual examination of the plays, playwrights, and (beginning this year) directors of the plays that have been programmed in the upcoming DC theater season. I have a new partner this year — David Mitchell Robinson, who understands data modeling better than I do. Our early analysis is underway.

And there’s one more enormous project in the works that’s actually much larger than all four of these, but that I can’t say more about until July. Till then… stay tuned!