American Voices New Play Institute to Host Convening IN THE INTERSECTION

The American Voices New Play Institute will hold the first of its three convenings in the 2011/12 season November 4-5, 2011 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. This convening, IN THE INTERSECTION: Non-Profit and Commercial Producers in the New Play Sector, will bring together about 30 theater practitioners and producers who have worked in both the non-profit and commercial theater industry. The event will be closed to the public and the media. A report summarizing the panels and roundtable discussions will be written by Diane Ragsdale and shared a week after the convening on the Institute's online journal, HowlRound.com, followed by an officiAl White paper this winter.

As of October 28, 2011, participants for the convening include Christopher Ashley, Jamie Bennett, David Binder, John F. Breglio, Robert Brustein, Polly Carl, Michael David, Edgar Dobie, David Dower, Oskar Eustis, Zelda Fichandler, Amy Freed, Michael Friedman, Sue Frost, David Hawkanson, Mame Hunt, Mara Isaacs, Rocco Landesman, Margo Lion, Kevin McCollum, Kevin Moore, Gregory Mosher, James Nicola, Loren Plotkin, Diane Ragsdale, Michael Ritchie, Molly Smith, Tony Taccone, Charles Randolph-Wright and Karen Zacarías.

Friday, November 4 features themed panel discussions: Historical Viewpoints - Rocco Landesman and Gregory Mosher moderated by Diane Ragsdale; How We Got Here - Robert Brustein and Zelda Fichandler moderated by Oskar Eustis; Evolution of the Intersection: Contracts - John F. Breglio and Michael David moderated by David Dower; and Reflection, Refraction, Response, a panel featuring Resident Playwrights Amy Freed, Charles Randolph-Wright and Karen Zacarías. Saturday, November 5 includes all-day roundtable discussions focused on commercial producers, non-profit producers, artists and reactions. Each discussion will be followed by a breakout session, and the weekend will conclude with a final wrap-up.

For post-event updates including the summary report visit HowlRound.com.

The American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage is designed as a center for research, development and dissemination of effective practices, programs and processes for new play development in the American theater. The Institute includes a suite of interrelated programs, all of which are built upon innovative models currently operating in the field that demonstrate potential for replication in other communities. For more information visit www.arenastage.org/new-play-institute.

The last convening held by the Institute was January 2011's four-day event From Scarcity to Abundance: Capturing the Moment for the New Play Sector, which brought together more than 100 theater practitioners from across the country to further the dialogue around new play development. It focused on identifying the vital activity that already exists in the new play sector, exploring the gaps and challenges facing the field, and strategizing the means of continued and closer collaboration to advance the new work infrastructure moving forward. It built upon the outcomes and initiatives that grew out of the Institute's 2010 convenings: Defining Diversity; Black Playwrights: The Stories We Tell; and Theater Outside the Box: Devised Work.

Follow activities of the American Voices New Play Institute on Twitter @HowlRound, @NewPlayTV and #newplay.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center dedicated to the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Arena Stage is the largest company in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Arena Stage produces huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays through the American Voices New Play Institute. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. www.arenastage.org.

Follow Arena Stage on Twitter @arenastage or http://twitter.com/#!/arenastage and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/arenastage.

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