Participants Announced For 2021/2022 Cycle Of The Writers' Room

Geffen Playhouse today announced its selection of eight local writers to participate in the 2021/2022 cycle of The Writers' Room, a forum for engagement and collaboration between Los Angeles playwrights. The participants are Vivian Barnes, Lisa Sanaye Dring, Weston Gaylord, Nicholas Pilapil, Michael Shayan, and the musical-writing team of Alexandra Kalinowski, Tova Katz and Katie Lindsay.

Originally founded in 2018, The Writers' Room is a product of Geffen Playhouse's commitment to supporting new plays and specifically to fostering bold, relevant works by the vibrant artistic community in Los Angeles.

During this one-year residency, playwright members gather monthly to share their work and receive feedback from their peers in a forum facilitated by Geffen Playhouse Director of New Play Development Rachel Wiegardt-Egel.

In addition to the feedback from their fellow writers, members receive dramaturgical support from the theater's artistic staff, a ticket to all Gil Cates Theater shows at Geffen Playhouse for the season in which their residency takes place, and the opportunity to further develop their work with a director and actors in a culminating reading that may be open to the public.

The Writers' Room 2021/2022 is made possible through the generous support of Jerry and Terri Kohl.

Playwrights who have developed work as part of The Writers' Room include: Juan José Alfonso, Boni B. Alvarez, Meghan Brown, Diana Burbano, Angelica Chéri, Inda Craig-Galván, Dipika Guha, Chloé Hung, Donald Jolly, Chelsea Marcantel, Ramiz Monsef, Matthew Paul Olmos, Brian Otaño, Liza Powel O'Brien, Matt Schatz, Ruby Rae Spiegel, T. Tara Turk-Haynes and Ali Viterbi.

The Writers' Room was originally launched through the generous support of Patricia Kiernan Applegate.