SOPHIA ROOKSBERRY
Staff Writer
This weekend, creative professionals from across the American theater scene will populate the streets of Chautauqua Institution for the second annual Industry Weekend, hosted by Chautauqua Theater Company.
“It’s a way to create … exposure for these new plays to the larger industry,” said Lily Wolff, new works associate at CTC and organizer of Industry Weekend. “Not only are we trying here at Chautauqua to grow the canon of new American plays, but we are also trying to ensure that those plays have a life outside of Chautauqua and that they continue to impact the field beyond the gates.”
Visitors will have the chance to witness the second New Play Workshop of the season, The Motions by Zora Howard, one of the last performances of Best for Baby by Sharyn Rothstein and the return of both FutureNow New Play Labs — The Bone Wars by Sarah Saltwick and ERASERS: A Bloodthirsty Comedy by Jenny Connell Davis — all on the same day.
“We have four new plays running, all at different phases of the development process, so it’s a fantastic time to tell people to come down here,” Wolff said. “When you’re getting on a plane or you’re driving six hours in a car … you really want to feel like you’re going to get information that you couldn’t get by sitting at your desk and reading the script.”
Much like CTC itself, Industry Weekend exists to fill the ever-expanding gap in the world of theater created by the consistent shuttering of new play development programs and the events that accompany them.
“We’ve had some really hard hits since [COVID-19] in the new play space,” Wolff said. “A lot of these places were not only launching new work out into the field, but they were also gathering places for the industry to come together … As festivals fold, that’s where the loss becomes exponentially greater, because it’s not just the new works that program was putting on, it’s also all of the other projects that we don’t necessarily learn about because we didn’t have that opportunity to come together and talk about our work.”
Wolff’s organization of Industry Weekend was inspired in part by the Alley All New Festival at the Alley Theater in Houston, where Wolff formerly served as literary manager. The festival was founded in 2016 by Liz Frankel, whose work as a freelance dramaturge has brought her to Chautauqua three years in a row.
“What [new play professionals] get out of it is hopefully knowledge of exciting new work, or even if they’re not going to do anything with any of those plays, maybe it’s a time for them to think, ‘Oh, I like this playwright. I need to read more of their work, or personally meet the playwright and start keeping in touch with them,’” Frankel said. “… It could be a way for an industry person to learn about an exciting new actor or director in the same way, and then of course it’s so great for all the artists who are here to be able to make those connections.”
Frankel’s dramaturgical work on shows like Best for Baby, which she describes as being a “partner to the playwright” in helping them achieve their vision, is part of what makes CTC a unique place to develop new plays.
“They have dramaturges here, which is a thing that doesn’t happen as much anymore, and to have the dramaturgy work, to have people like Liz Frankel around to be able to help shape and craft stories [is crucial],” said Crystal Dickinson, a guest artist starring in Best for Baby. “Things are able to be given the time and attention that they need, and as a result, they have fantastic plays like Best for Baby.”
Dickinson became a Chautauquan four summers ago when she was invited to teach members of the Acting Conservatory. After two seasons as a teacher, Dickinson returned to work on Best for Baby as a New Play Workshop, and now is the lead actress in the mainstage production.
“I have been a professional actor for at least 20 years, and I’ve worked on a lot of new plays in my career,” Dickinson said. “I’ve found that more and more theaters are not willing — because of budgetary constraints … or trying to get audiences in — to take a risk on plays. Also, it just takes time. It takes time and money that theater companies don’t have like they used to.”
The commodity of time is given freely to new work at CTC, with many plays going through years of workshopping before a world premiere. This dedication of time and resources is not only essential to thoughtful play development at CTC, but it is also what sets the company apart from many other theaters in the country.
Frankel said she is particularly excited to see CTC’s expansion, even as other theaters are “contracting.”
“They’re either literally shutting down, or they’re not developing as many plays as they were, they’re not premiering as many plays as they were … Now more than ever, we need places that are expanding, and that’s what CTC is doing,” Frankel said.
Industry Weekend attendees will be immersed in the creative process at CTC, and they will also have the chance to engage in other opportunities offered by a weekend at Chautauqua.
“You could be a theater artist who then gets to encounter all these other forms of art, which could just be inspirational or a beautiful way to take a break,” Frankel said.
Wolff is hopeful the Chautauqua backdrop of Industry Weekend will not be a one-way street explored only by the visitors.
“I would just really encourage Chautauquans to be a part of it,” Wolff said. “We call it our Industry Weekend, but what we really love is the opportunity for these industry guests who are leading theaters across the country to encounter Chautauquans and to get an understanding of how their work impacts … the community where it’s being made as well.”
