Desert Playwrights' Retreat Reveals April 2024 Cohorts

Desert Playwrights' Retreat, the first fully funded, all-expenses-paid writing retreat created solely for LGBTQ playwrights, has revealed the members of the upcoming April 2024 Gay and Lesbian Cohorts. Joining Founder and Retreat Director Sean Abley, and Cohort Director Meredith Dayna Cope-Levy in Palm Springs, CA are Chicago-based playwright DC Cathro and burlesque performer Willy LaQueue; Nashville, TN-based playwright and novelist Samuel Thomas Heyman; playwright and Detroit educator Andrew Morton; writer, performer and educator based in New Orleans, Rachel Nelson; Miami-based playwright Philip Middleton Williams, and playwright and Honor Roll! executive committee member, Bayla Travis, from Oakland, CA.

"This is our most 'national' Retreat to date," says Founder Abley. "For the first time, almost every playwright is from a different city, and the two from Chicago don't know each other so they might as well be from different towns. I'll be coming in from Los Angeles, and Meredith is flying in from Roanoke, VA. We'll arrive to a wonderful group of strangers, but their reputations precede them. I'm looking forward to an exceptional week with these dedicated artists."

During the week-long Retreat, cohorts are housed by identity to facilitate open and honest conversation among peers. The agenda is quiet (not silent) writing time during the day, with one morning dedicated to writing a new 10-minute play, the exercise inspired by Paula Vogel's "Bake Off" challenges. Evenings are DIY, but tend to be filled with endless talk about all things theatre. As the week draws to a close, the playwrights gather together to share and critique each others' work.

Desert Playwrights' Retreat was founded in 2018 in Palm Springs, CA. More information can be found here.