@dramatistsguild  @robflorence_rob

While the Dramatists Guild was hard at work on The Count, Lafayette, Louisiana’s Acadiana Repertory Theatre was planning an all-female playwright season, including DG members Bridgette Dutta Portman and Kat Ramsburg. Clearly Acadiana Rep was working on the same page as the Guild, though at the time they were unaware of The Count. The following interview is with their Founder and Managing Artistic Director, Steven R. Landry.

Rob Florence:  How would characterize your theatre company?

Steven R. Landry:  Acadiana Repertory Theatre was founded in 2010 and was born out of a desire to be a place where artists from various backgrounds could come together and work as a resident group of artists—a family if you will—and produce theatre that was new to the Acadiana region. Acadiana Rep’s original mission did not include purely new works, but plays that had never been produced in the area. At the end of our 2013 season, after circumstances led to us producing a developmental production, a world premiere, and two regional premieres, I, along with my Associate Director, felt compelled to change our mission to focus solely on the development and
production of new works. We now function as an incubator for plays, with our four-show season consisting of plays with limited to no production history. We are truly passionate about the idea of new works and new voices in American theatre, and we feel honored to work with playwrights from across the country to assist in the development of their work.

RF:  What is your approach to developing new work?

SRL:  We try to create a place where playwrights feel comfortable and safe to have their work developed by people who have the utmost respect and passion for the words and the playwright
who wrote them. We involve the playwrights every step of the way. We have had playwrights
come to Lafayette for just one night to see their show. We have had playwrights with us for up to
two weeks, making changes, cutting, adding, and refining right up until final dress. We feel that our place at the current moment is to be a place for these works to be in a lab of sorts. Our directors
are all very good about working hand in hand with each playwright to make them feel comfortable with what is happening with their play. We believe in the idea of service-oriented theatre—service to the playwright and the script, service to fellow artists, and service to our audience. We want nothing more than to see these shows go on to have successful world premieres and long lives in the theatre after their time with Acadiana Rep. 


RF:  What inspired you to produce an all-female playwright season?

SRL:  In 2015, we produced a show about Aphra Behn, the first professional female playwright in England in the 16th century, and the struggles of female artists were in the forefront of our minds. In keeping up to date with trends in American theatre, and hearing so many of our playwrights discussing the lack of parity, we felt as though to truly be a safe place for playwrights to get their voices out there, we also needed to bring attention to the fact that some voices are not being heard. So, here we are! In addition to our four-show season of shows by female playwrights, we are also a supporting producer for The ONSTAGE Project, a nationally recognized festival and competition of short plays by women. It’s been a wonderful year for us already and we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from playwrights—both male and female—and by our community because of this decision. This is just another way
to fulfill our mission, and we’re grateful for the support we’ve gotten here in Acadiana and beyond.

Acadiana Rep accepts submissions from May 1 to July 1. For complete information, visit: www.acadianarep.org

rflorence@dramatistsguild.com