McCarter Theatre Center to Host 15th Annual Sallie B. Goodman Artists' Retreat

McCarter Theatre Center is proud to welcome a group of esteemed and emerging playwrights and their artistic collaborators to Princeton for its annual ten-day Sallie B. Goodman Artists' Retreat. The Retreat is a centerpiece of McCarter's LAB platform which is devoted to the ongoing theatrical development of new plays, musicals and re-explored classics. The retreat runs from June 5th through June 14th.

Each summer, McCarter invites a select group of emerging and established artists to Princeton for ten days of uninterrupted time to work, collaborate, research, and renew at the Palmer House, Princeton University's historic guesthouse. The Retreat provides space and time for artists to focus on any work of their choosing, with no artificial parameters.

The fluid and relaxed nature of the Retreat fosters a productive, restorative, and meaningful environment for busy writers juggling production commitments, deadlines and freelance schedules. Resources are available for the inclusion of collaborating colleagues and project development (including readings and workshops with professional actors and directors). There are no requirements for artists to showcase or share their work, unless it is useful. Retreat artists have access to Princeton University's esteemed library and McCarter's artistic staff provides dramaturgical and casting support. Connecting with colleagues over group meals, intimate dinners and outdoor activities-along with personal writing time in a spectacular setting-has proven to be creatively inspiring and rejuvenating.

A sampling of past retreat artists and works they've developed while in residence include: Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays; Sarah Ruhl's Clean House; Danai Gurira's The Convert; Christopher Durang's Miss Witherspoon; Will Power's Fetch Clay, Make Man; Beth Henley's Ridiculous Fraud; Lydia Diamond's Stick Fly; and Take Flight by John Weidman, David Shire, and Richard Maltby, Jr.

McCarter's Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann says: "McCarter has maintained an impressive track record in commissioning and producing new plays that make a lasting contribution to the theatrical canon, and the Sallie B. Goodman Artists' Retreat is central to our success."

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel (Retreat 2010) commented:

"The McCarter retreat is unique; using the resources of the McCarter community, the theatre itself-I don't know of anything else like it in our field. I stopped going to the retreats because I felt my age difference keenly as well as the fact that I never escaped my day job as a mentor to writers at other places. The McCarter staff made it very clear that they were interested in my writing side, and that the day job should be left behind for those wonderful ten days. That mentoring of me in a field which I encounter as progressively age-ist-the fact that everyone was protective of my artistic voice and cared for the future of my voice-was a pretty remarkable gift."

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