Professional Play Development Programs
In 2008, Theater Masters initiated the Visionary Playwrights Award, in partnership with the Aspen Institute and three of America's top regional theaters: Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, La Jolla Playhouse in California, and Playwrights Horizons in NYC. One playwright from each theater, was chosen jointly by Theater Masters and the participating theater, received a pass to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival and was commissioned to write a new full-length play. The playwrights were to draw inspiration from the Festival and reflect the Institute's philosophy of timeless values and powerful issues.
As this program has evolved, we now instead draw from Theater Masters' own pool of alumni, choosing two of our own playwrights each year to receive this prestigious Award, participate in The Aspen Ideas Festival, and receive a full-length play commission.
Since 2014, we have been able to add the additional commitment to this Award that Theater Masters will either do a developmental workshop and reading of the playwrights Visionary Play or will connect them with a theater able to so. This added commitment is meaningful to the playwrights as it gives them additional support to develop the play to the point of being ready for a production.
This program can boast an impressive list of alumni. Among the many Visionary Plays that have been written through this program, our first commissioned play, Milk Like Sugar, by Kirsten Greenidge, ran at La Jolla Playhouse, then at Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway where it won the Obie for Best Play. Another commissioned play, Marjorie Prime, by Jordan Harrison will run at Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway in November 2015 and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer.
As this program has evolved, we now instead draw from Theater Masters' own pool of alumni, choosing two of our own playwrights each year to receive this prestigious Award, participate in The Aspen Ideas Festival, and receive a full-length play commission.
Since 2014, we have been able to add the additional commitment to this Award that Theater Masters will either do a developmental workshop and reading of the playwrights Visionary Play or will connect them with a theater able to so. This added commitment is meaningful to the playwrights as it gives them additional support to develop the play to the point of being ready for a production.
This program can boast an impressive list of alumni. Among the many Visionary Plays that have been written through this program, our first commissioned play, Milk Like Sugar, by Kirsten Greenidge, ran at La Jolla Playhouse, then at Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway where it won the Obie for Best Play. Another commissioned play, Marjorie Prime, by Jordan Harrison will run at Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway in November 2015 and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer.
Palm Beach New Play Festival
Since 2014, Theater Masters and the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts have partnered to develop and present new plays by emerging playwrights, while also providing the high school students at Dreyfoos with the chance to observe and work with professional theater artists.
The Palm Beach New Play Festival brings two playwright/director teams to Palm Beach, FL each year for a developmental workshop and reading of their full-length plays. The playwrights are selected from our past National MFA Playwright and Visionary Playwright alumni, providing these writers an opportunity to continue their career development. Theater Masters brings to Florida a director of the playwrights' choice and cast their plays using local actors and students.
The playwright/director teams are given 4-5 days with the actors to workshop, re-write, and rehearse the play. The playwright receiving the benefit of getting to both work with actors on their text and re-write, often working from a new draft each day. The two plays are then given public readings for local Palm Beach audiences.
The Palm Beach New Play Festival provides a venue for two playwrights a year to develop their work and enriches Palm Beach theater audiences by giving them insight into and participation in the process of new play development.
The Palm Beach New Play Festival brings two playwright/director teams to Palm Beach, FL each year for a developmental workshop and reading of their full-length plays. The playwrights are selected from our past National MFA Playwright and Visionary Playwright alumni, providing these writers an opportunity to continue their career development. Theater Masters brings to Florida a director of the playwrights' choice and cast their plays using local actors and students.
The playwright/director teams are given 4-5 days with the actors to workshop, re-write, and rehearse the play. The playwright receiving the benefit of getting to both work with actors on their text and re-write, often working from a new draft each day. The two plays are then given public readings for local Palm Beach audiences.
The Palm Beach New Play Festival provides a venue for two playwrights a year to develop their work and enriches Palm Beach theater audiences by giving them insight into and participation in the process of new play development.
New Play Development
Our New Play Development series invites a director, playwright, and cast to Aspen, New York, or Palm Beach, where workshops of a new play-in-progress culminate in a reading for the community and/or industry. In 2015 Theater Masters additionally launched a partnership with the O'Neill Playwrights Center for them to offer a residency to a Theater Masters playwright in the Fall. Plays and musicals developed have received a 1st Place in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the honor of being the critics choice as one of the 10 best plays of the year, Off-Broadway productions and a production at the Berkshire Theater Festival.
Talkabouts
As part of Theater Masters' education for audiences, our Talkabout programs feature world-renowned artists in a series of lectures and theatrical readings on a variety of topics. Past Talkabouts have included director Richard Digby Day and actress Dana Ivey discussing what theatre's great characters reveal about political ambition; Denver Center Theater's Kent Thompson on what it takes to be an artistic director; and Cheers' star Shelley Long on mastering stage, film, and television.
Theater Masters Presents
Theater Masters presents distinguished professional productions for Aspen/Roaring Fork audiences. These popular events have included Gareth Armstrong's Shylock, Frank Barrie's Playing Shakespeare, and the provocative plays Dearborn Heights and Open Admissions.
Our School Outreach program uses a Theater Masters production as a springboard to bring arts education to the high schools in the Roaring Fork Valley. A study guide is produced for students and teachers. The Theatre professionals visit classrooms to discuss the play Theater Masters is presenting, with a focus on how the themes relate to the students' studies and their own lives. This is followed by a trip to the theater where the students see the play for themselves and deepen their discussion.
Our School Outreach program uses a Theater Masters production as a springboard to bring arts education to the high schools in the Roaring Fork Valley. A study guide is produced for students and teachers. The Theatre professionals visit classrooms to discuss the play Theater Masters is presenting, with a focus on how the themes relate to the students' studies and their own lives. This is followed by a trip to the theater where the students see the play for themselves and deepen their discussion.
PO Box 899, Aspen, CO 81612
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info@theatermasters.org
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