There are wonderful things about being in the middle: the kindness of a middle child, the sweet center of an Oreo cookie, the halfway-up branches of a holiday tree where the best ornaments hang. And, one of the best “middles” is the state of Connecticut which sits squarely between two thriving cities: Boston and New York City. Being a middle state, we have our choices: Red Sox vs. Yankees, Patriots vs. Giants, New England vs. Manhattan Clam Chowder, Boston Cream Pie vs. New York Cheesecake. And while an afternoon of sports, chowder, and sweets is a staple, on a Sunday afternoon a gaggle of Connecticut Dramatists Guild members gathered for another staple: theatre. The discussion turned to success, failure, and being in the middle.

The question posed: is Connecticut new play development and production unique beyond Boston or New York City theatre scenes? While many of us enjoy the amazing benefits of living between these thriving theatrical cities (including yours truly), the answer is yes. Connecticut has its own robust, professional, entertaining, brilliant, successful theatre community that has birthed many a talented dramatist at many an exciting theatre.

Let’s start with two of our own cities: Hartford and New Haven. Hartford Stage has an enduring commitment to new play development, producing over 70 world premieres, with many of those plays going on to production on and off Broadway. New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre also has a continuing commitment to new plays, embracing the unique voices of dramatists who investigate and celebrate our times.

We also find, in every corner of the state, thriving theatre communities dedicated to new plays: theatres like Waterbury’s Seven Angels, Norwich’s Spirit of Broadway, West Hartford’s Playhouse on the Park, and more. Within the walls of these theatres Connecticut dramatists’ plays are nurtured and premiered. In recent months, Susan Cinoman’s All Me, All the Time was developed at Bridgeport’s Slant of Light Theatre Company. Rachel Teagle’s The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons opened at New Britain’s Hole in the Wall Theatre. New Canaan’s Summer Theatre premiered William Squier’s Merrilee Mannerly. New London’s TalkStory Theatre Company showcased Kato McNicols Where Late the Sweet Bird Sings in its site-specific Garden Showcase. And that is just a sampling.

Connecticut dramatists find opportunity across the state including the Narrative Project at The Dragon’s Egg in Ledyard, Connecticut Artists & Playwrights Festival as well at The Warner International Playwrights Festival at Torrington’s Warner Theatre, Musical Mondays at The Curtain Call in Stamford, the annual One-Act Festival at Naugatuck’s Phoenix Stage, Westport Country Playhouse’s Script in Hand Series and at theatres large and small, from Putnam to Greenwich, Sharon to New London, and every place in between.

And out of the middle of the state, appropriately from the city of Middletown, I introduce our Dramatists Guild Connecticut Young Ambassador Keelin Ryan. Keelin is a recent graduate of Wesleyan University where she designed and stage-managed while studying playwriting with Quiara Hudes and Meg Miroshnik. She wrote her screenplay thesis for Honors Candidacy in Film Studies while co-writing and co-directing Laugh Track, a one-act comedy and recipient of the JP Adler Memorial Grant. She also served for two years as the editor of “The Wesleyan Ampersand,” Wesleyan’s weekly comedy publication. She currently works at NBC in Stamford and studies comedy writing and performance in New York City, one of those thriving cities we sit between. I’m so excited to be working with her.

Being in the middle, with success and those lessons learned from failure, also means being on top of it all. That is what we Connecticut dramatists know of our state, our art, and our fellow theatre enthusiasts and professionals. Bravo Nutmeg State!

cdonaghy@dramatistsguild.com