@dramatistsguild @mkconroy 

Do you feel it? The excitement in the air, a new season of theatre in Boston is upon us. I love it. I have the highest hopes for quality production, superb acting and, of course, sensational storytelling on the stage. Every year I buy my season tickets or single ticket and know that somewhere somehow I will be transferred into another time, world, or emotion. Thank you, Boston theatre artists, for all you do!

This past June, the Boston Roundtable meeting was held with members of the Dramatists Guild of America. We sat on a stage in a circle and talked about theatre in Boston past and present. I would like to dedicate this report to the Voices of the Roundtable.

“Some of the biggest theatre companies continually choose to produce plays of the same ‘local’ artists. Why? Wouldn’t it be great to see the Artistic Directors collaborate on a new play festival where new voices can be heard.”

“There are some people in Boston theatre I like a lot, and some who do very good work. But I find it a very ‘closed system.’ Please give a shout out to the Women on Top Festival that ran from 1997-2001 (five years, at least), and what a tremendous (and tremendously successful) festival it was. And a model of originality and excellence. I don’t know about its diversity quotient (not being a play going person those days), but I know it needs to be kept alive in people’s memories. As far as the ‘future’ in Boston, count me among the pessimists. I think things will dramatically (pun intended) stay the same. I just saw a play by a fringe theatre at a reputable space that was not only terribly written, racist, misogynist, and creatively insulting, but had a THREE WEEK RUN. And not well-directed nor acted (except for the lead and one other actor). Mediocrity reigns.”

“I am cautiously optimistic for production in Boston for emerging artists. I think in the past it was harder to get a production but now there are many pop-up production companies that are self-producing. In saying that, I feel that it’s an every day struggle to get our work seen if we don’t self-produce. There are politics of who you know. That’s fine because that is everywhere. What I’d like to see in the future is a process of ‘blind’ script reads for local artists. Give us a chance, we’re right in your own backyard.”

“We talked briefly about the new money available for theater and dance in Boston, in part through the city’s “Boston Creates” initiative and new philanthropic investments from the Boston Foundation and the Barr Foundation. Folks may want to check out this recent story in the Globe for more details.”

“Where are the theatre’s of diversity? There seems to be only one that I know of. Are there any playwriting groups of diversity?”

“If I want to know what’s happening in Boston, I use New England Play Alliance as a resource tool. Patrick Gabridge has his thumb on everything happening in Boston.”

Suggested resources by members:

• New England Play Alliance www.stagesource.org/page/NewPlayAlliance
  
• Women Playwrights www.womenplaywrights.org
  
• Women Arts Media www.womenartsmediacoalition.org
  
• Playwrights’ Platform www.playwrightsplatform.org
  

Please feel free to contact me for suggestions, thoughts or comments.

mconroy@dramatistsguild.com