Overview of the GCAC May 13th Gathering of Playwrights

I went to the "Gathering of Playwrights" meeting organized by Ruby Classen, Grants and Services Manager for The Greater Columbus Arts Council, held at the Urban Spirit Loft Gallery above the Urban Spirit coffee shop. The coffee shop and gallery are located in the historic Alpha Building, the site of the first African American hospital in the United States and is next to the newly renovated Lincoln Theater. Jazz memorabilia cover the walls of the gallery.

The May 13 meeting was the third meeting so far in this series and the second I have attended. The "gatherings" are held every 3 months. The purpose is get playwrights and other theater professionals in the same room to talk shop. The meetings and discussions are generally participant directed. What made this meeting delicious is that Ruby got us some catering.

As can be expected, attendees were some of the usual suspects involved in Columbus theater. The focus of the meeting was on answering the question of, "How could we help each other to get produced?" Several playwrights shared ideas. Here are some of the more memorable conversations.
 
Rick Hole started out by mentioning that he would like to see a local theater join the The New Play Network. I shared ideas on using playwright marketing groups like the Playwrights Binge  and The Loop.

April Olt with the King Avenue Players discussed how she successfully marketed the King Avenue Players production of Six Voices as a fundraiser in order to get work produced.

Scott Tobin talked about his successes getting work produced from answering ads on Craiglist's L.A., NYC, and Chicago writing opportunities section and also from following the New York Playwrights website for opportunities.
 
Kevin Lottus explained his rather resourceful efforts at self-publishing. He started his own publishing company. He advertises online and sells his plays.

Theater directors Mark Schwamberger (ETC) and Andy Batts (Madlab) talked about working with local playwrights in producing new work and described some of the initiatives (Theatre Roulette, Madlab's Submission Guidelines, ECT Call for Scripts) their theater companies have for getting new work produced.

At the end of the meeting Ruby suggested that we start a showcase reading series for new work and invite artistic directors, producers and members of regional community arts organizations to attend. She also asked meeting participants to submit links to her of submission opportunities. If you are interested in participating in an upcoming "Gathering of Playwrights" meeting please contact Ruby Classen: rclassen (at) gcac (dot) org