@dramatistsguild @AoiseStratford

One of the joys of being an artist is that there is always something new to discover. Here, in the wilds of central New York, I’ve been working on applying that thinking to the communities in my neck of these very large woods. Last year I started a program called Rep On The Road, in which I get in my car and go to one of the near-or-not-so-nearby theatre communities in my region to meet Guild members, discuss the business of writing, help writers connect with each other, and establish and strengthen community. A simple idea, but for someone like me, who still believes that in the theatre at least we are stronger together than we are alone, it has so far proved very rewarding.

On a damp and chilly evening in late November, the most recent Rep On The Road outing brought together Guild members from Ithaca, Spencer, Syracuse, Binghamton and even as far as the outskirts of Albany, to meet, break bread, and then go to Know Theatre to see some new work. At the theatre we had an opportunity to meet with Artistic Director Tim Gleason, see the two one-act plays that were part of their Playwrights and Artists Festival that evening, and then participate in a community discussion about the work, theatre, art, and writing. It was a fabulous outing.

I didn’t really know (pun inevitable) Know Theatre before this event, but happily I do now. Know occupies a recently renovated and charming 76 seat black box in downtown Binghamton. A spacious and welcoming lobby makes gatherings comfortable and hot cider and cookies were on offer the night we went. Originally founded by actors, Know is deeply invested in nurturing local artists and audiences. The Playwrights and Artists Festival, conceived to honor the work of influential Binghamton area playwrights, Leonard Melfi and Harry Koutoukas, is now in its twelfth year. The festival brings visual and theatre artists together by inviting writers to pen a new play inspired by one of three pieces of art curated for the event. From submissions, six scripts are selected for production – half of which this year were written by Guild members. Each play is performed at least twice and both the playwrights and the artists are typically in attendance for the post-show discussion. The evening we went featured plays inspired by a terrific and provocative drawing by Wayne Claypatch titled Barney Ross and the Renaissance (or The Art of Boxing), which, along with the other pieces, was on display in the theatre for the duration of the festival. In fact, Know exhibits the art in the lobby in the weeks before, as well, giving interested writers the opportunity to see the work in the flesh as they write.

As Gleason, explained, Know has “an ongoing relationship with the Brunelli Gallery in Binghamton. Every year…John will have a selection of mostly local artists for me to choose from. We like them to be local, because I feel it is important to the whole synergy of the evening.” For Gleason, it’s only “logical” that the playwrights be there too, just as they have been invited to be involved throughout the process. At its core, Gleason believes that “theatre is about that team of writer, director, actor…so when we talk to the audience, the playwright is essential.”

Know is doing something right. The evening was very well attended, the discussion informed and lively, the program itself thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying. Long after the plays had ended, conversations were still going on – in the theatre, in the lobby, on the street, and for this rep on the road at least, in the car with fellow playwrights on the way home. Gleason’s conviction that theatre “increases the quality of life, and even helps people connect in ways they don’t think of,” certainly rings true.

astratford@dramatistsguild.com