@dramatistsguild @mkconroy 

The Boston theatre scene is thriving with great theatre. I open with this because I was recently asked how many times a year do I go to New York to see shows. I didn’t have to think more than a second. I don’t. No offense, Broadway, but I don’t need to leave my own backyard for quality productions. As a matter of fact, Boston was the home to critically acclaimed world premieres this year. The musical Waitress had its world premiere at the American Repertory Theatre to sold out audiences. This spring the Shubert Theatre will offer the world premiere of Crossing, an American Opera. And if you head outside of the city, you are bound to find great theatre in every part of the Commonwealth.

Now that we know we can see great theatre, the million-dollar question remains: How does a local playwright get a theatre company to produce their play? I get more emails asking that question than I do spam mail. I have my own theories but I felt it would be best to hear from someone who works full time in the theatre community, who is a playwright and also a proud member of the Dramatists Guild. Walt McGough is the Administrative and Artistic Associate for Speakeasy Stage Company. His plays have been produced in Boston and throughout the country not to mention he was a Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award finalist this year. I asked Walt about the beginning of his career path and what he did as a new playwright to get one of his plays produced. The first thing he did was read mission statements of local theatre companies.

Mission statements give you a real sense of what a theatre is looking for. Every theatre company has a mission statement on their website. He would also go out and show his face, meet other writers, but more importantly, meet producers and directors. If a theatre company offered a reading series, he would go. Chances are high that theatre company’s decision makers are going to be in attendance of a reading. Walt became a familiar face at one specific readings series and eventually had a conversation with the assistant artistic director who then (and this may be luck) asked Walt to send her some of his work. He did and thus began their relationship. It didn’t hurt that he wrote and rewrote his play to a level of professionalism that was noticed. He also stressed that the fringe theatre scene is a great place for new writers. They look to invest in the writer and involve them in the collaboration process. Make note new writers, this is good advice. Walt works for SpeakEasy Stage Company, which is a mid-size theatre company that looks for a fresh voice and a writer to collaborate with. I asked Walt what he looks for in a script (considering he’s the guy that reads the submissions). He said he looks to see if the writer is excited to send their script to SpeakEasy and has done their homework on what type of plays SpeakEasy produces. For example, they don’t do one person shows. Any writer that researches the theatre company they are submitting to will learn the type of plays they produce; theatre of the absurd, period pieces, diverse casting, one person shows, etc. During the reading process, two questions arise for Walt, one, “Is this play exciting to me as an artist?” and two, “Is this play exciting to SpeakEasy and their mission?” Part of the SpeakEasy mission is to produce plays that invite the audience in and challenges them all the while giving them something to hold on to at the end of the night. Walt poses an interesting question. “What is the conversation the audience is having on the way out the door?” I had to think about that. More often than not, as writers, we solely think of our characters and our story. When do we think about the audience? Do we? We write great plays that deserve a home. What happens after you write, ‘the end’? Perhaps engaging in relationships, research, and the resources of your theatre community will help you and your hard work find a production.

I leave this report with more information about a wonderful project that Walt advocates for and is passionate about, as well as the websites for theatre companies that take open submissions from New England playwrights.

The Boston Project

Last season, SpeakEasy put out a call for proposals for two plays set in contemporary Boston. We selected two plays—Ward Nine by Bill Doncaster and Born Naked by Nina Louise Morrison—and spent the season working with the two writers as they wrote and developed their drafts. The project culminated in a two-week workshop process with local directors and actors, and invited staged readings of both plays on February 20th. The project was made possible by exclusive support from the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. We’re still finalizing the posting for next season, but we’ll be soliciting proposals for as-yet-unwritten full-length plays set in contemporary Boston (which, for our purposes, means plus or minus ten years).

SpeakEasy http://www.speakeasystage.com. Also check out: Company One https://companyone.org and Fresh Ink http://freshinktheatre.org.

mconroy@dramatistsguild.com