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SB: The most obvious recent one is playwright Jenny Lyn Bader and director Julie Kramer -- I introduced them in 1994, and when we produced Jenny Lyn's play "None of the Above" last season with Julie directing, it was their 13th project together. Last year, we set playwright Catherine Filloux and director Kay Matschullat up to work together at our Perform-a-Thon 10-minute play festival, and they've been working ever since on a full-length version of the play they did there -- and now we may produce it in '05. Plus, they just got back from doing theater in Cambodia together. That's a serious relationship. Also a Perform-a-Thon match were playwright Caridad Svich and director Debbie Saivetz, who have now done a lot of significant work together and have a production coming up this Spring. And there are lots of others, many of them folks who rarely work with us anymore, but I'll get info on projects in the mail and realize we were the source of the collaboration. And sometimes I'll run into somebody, ask them what they're doing, and they'll trace a whole string of collaborations back to us! Unfortunately, we've lately been doing fewer and fewer of the kinds of projects where we can perform our "matchmaker" function. But I feel like it's so important for artists to meet each other and bring each other out and up together, so I keep trying. t2k: Emily, can you trace the path of script development at New Georges? Emily DeVoti: There isn't really a "set path" for script development. We do accept unsolicited manuscripts, and we do read all scripts that are submitted. I have a group of readers who are theater professionals -- writers or directors -- whose opinions I really trust, and then I read their recommendations. t2k: Say a script comes to you from a writer you don't know and have never heard of. You read it. You really like it. What happens next? EDV: Well, liking is kind of a two-part process. First I read for quality, and then I gauge if the script feels like "a New Georges kind of play." t2k: What is "a New Georges kind of play"? EDV: We don't really know exactly, and the parameters are always changing. It has to do with a feeling, a sense of language, something fresh and honest that we haven't heard before. And because writing is not just words, but thinking, it's about identifying an original mind behind the script. We do imaginative works by women, as our mission statement reads. We rarely do realistic/naturalistic dramas, but if something really captures our interest, that could fit, too. Sometimes, we identify a voice within a play which really engages us, even if the play itself isn't right. If I love a script or see real potential in a writer, I'll give the script to Susan, and we'll talk about it. t2k: Is there a developmental process food chain? EDV: Every couple of years, we do the "Perform-A-Thon" with 12 hours of short pieces in a row, which is a blast. This is a great way to bring in new writers. We also have mini-workshops, which we're in the process of running right now, where select affiliated artists -- those who we have reached out to or worked with over the years -- get three to five days to rehearse and rewrite their play and then give a presentation in The Room, our rehearsal space. It's also a good opportunity to match up our female writers with female directors. After all, New Georges is really about helping people to forge these relationships. t2k: Certainly many more plays come to you than you can realistically get involved with, even those you may really like. Are there consistent parameters you use in choosing scripts, or do you go more by "feel"? EDV: It is a "feel." It's about originality and a genuine quality -- qualities which are surprisingly rare, and which often stand out. t2k: Are you more likely to go with writers who have established a certain professional track record and/or those you have worked with before and have developed a relationship with, or do you like taking chances on "unknowns"? EDV: One of the many things I admire about New Georges is that the company really supports writers over the course of their careers. People who were working with New Georges 10 years ago are still working with us. But we also can only do so many productions a year. So whereas we can welcome new friends, we have older friends who have been in the pipeline a long time, and their work may get priority for a production. But it's really a case-by-case basis, and Susan and Sarah Cameron Sunde, New Georges' General Manager, are the producers. t2k: How long have you been New Georges' Literary Manager? EDV: A year and a half now. t2k: How did this come about? EDV: When I was getting my MFA in playwriting at NYU, I ran something called Professional Colloquium, a semester-long class where I gathered together professionals from the theater and film industry into weekly panels. Susan agreed to participate two years in a row, and she was always so approachable, terrific, willing, articulate and interesting. I really admired her. The second year she was on the panel, she mentioned that she was always looking for interns. So I called her up. t2k: And the rest, as they say, is history? EDV: I got to know Ellen Melaver, then New Georges' Literary Manager, and we really hit it off. Ellen also asked to read one of my scripts and then came to my readings. The next summer, Susan asked me to write a play for the Dawn Powell festival that she was producing. I wrote a one-act which was included in the festival, and I had a great experience with that. Later, when Ellen decided she'd been lit manager long enough, Susan asked me if I'd like to take over. t2k: What about the rejecting of other people's work that's an inevitable part of being a Lit Manager? EDV: Rejecting work was the part of lit managing I least looked forward to, but the process has really given me great insight as a playwright. t2k: How so? EDV: It's really not only about the quality of the work -- it's about finding the right aesthetic match. It's about finding someone your work really speaks to, and who wants to enter into your artistic conversation. So getting a rejection letter is not about "this play is bad"; it's so much more about this play not being right for our particular mission. I've read some plays that I just love, but I know that they're not right for New Georges. I try to match these up with other companies, but it's not always possible to do that. But as a writer, it's given me more courage and understanding of the process. t2k: What about New Georges' greatest hits -- Susan, what are you proudest of accomplishing in your first 11 years? |
