The following writers have been invited to present their work in the 2017 Play Lab:
Greg Abbott ~ Happy Holidays (Insert Name Here) Our Year Was (Insert Adjective Here) (North Mankato MN)
Hedva Anbar ~ Shockwaves (London UK)
Linda Ayres-Frederick ~ Watershed (San Francisco CA)
Joe Barnes ~ The Political Economy of Desire (Houston TX)
Jill Bess ~ Three Sisters (Anchorage AK)
Linda Billington ~ Here There Be Dragons (Anchorage AK)
Chip Bolcik ~ The Field Trip (Thousand Oaks CA)
Paul Braverman ~ Sins Borne (Fremont CA)
Daniels Elizabeth Calvin ~ Teen Issues (Fairbanks AK)
Miranda Caravelho ~ Horrifying (San Jose CA)
Shawna Casey ~ blue blue moon (Los Angeles CA)
Andrea Fleck Clardy ~ We’ve Come This Far (Jamaica Plain MA)
Randall David Cook ~ Rub-a-Dub-Dub (New York NY)
Joy Cutler ~ Anatomy Lesson (Philadelphia PA)
CJ Ehrlich ~ The Maltese Babka (Chappaqua NY)
Adi Eshman ~ Three-Body Problem (Brooklyn NY)
Joyce Fontana ~ The Road to Hell (Durango CO)
Luke Gomez ~ Boxcutters and Bubblegum (Goodyear AZ)
Derek Gray ~ Surrogates (Ashland KY)
Jeff Neal Gregg ~ Mobbin’ Minny (Eveleth MN)
Taran Haynes ~ Writing a Play (Anchorage AK)
Erin Hays ~ In The Stars (New York NY)
Nicholas Walker Herbert ~ Asylum (Brooklyn NY)
Rand Higbee ~ The Feral Child (Hager City WI)
Sandra Hosking ~ Foxgloves (Newman Lake WA)
Amanda Kohr ~ The Lighthouse (Portland OR)
Lisa M. Konoplisky ~ A Civil War (Madison WI)
Carolyn Kras ~ The Subject (North Hollywood CA)
Julia Lederer ~ Virtually Friends (Toronto Canada)
Barry Levine ~ Two Women On A Swing Set (Los Angeles CA)
Natalie Lifson ~ A Better Place (Watchung NJ)
April Littlejohn ~ Nobody’s Whore (Mission Hills CA)
Nancy Lord ~ Hi Vista, 1984 (Homer AK)
Alison Elizabeth McLaughlin ~ Lunch (Brooklyn NY)
Joanna Castle Miller ~ Sh@med (Sherman Oaks CA)
Tom Moran ~ Denier (Fairbanks AK)
Nancy Nguyen ~ A Winter Conversation (Fairbanks AK)
Sally Oberstein ~ Woogie Woogie (Homer AK)
John Perovich ~ simple (Phoenix AZ)
Jacob Marx Rice ~ Leni & Joseph (Jackson Heights NY)
Hannah Ricke ~ Schizophreniyeah! (Milwaukee WI)
Kristen Ritter ~ Dungeons and Dragons and Diplomacy (Anchorage AK)
Greg Romero ~ Door to Balloon (Missoula MT)
Jan Rosenberg ~ How To Destroy An American Girl Doll (New York NY)
Whitney Rowland ~ Wayfinding (Pittsburgh PA)
Karen Saari ~ In a Clearing (Madison WI)
Tamar Shai ~ Ugly Baby, Stupid Baby (Lake Oswego OR)
Andrea Kay Staats ~ Consciously Coupled (But Not With Each Other) (Anchorage AK)
Jericho Thomas ~ Save the Children (Tempe AZ)
Amy Tofte ~ Parts & Pieces (Los Angeles CA)
Madelyn Tomko ~ Stairwell (Chicago IL)
Donna Warfield ~ Following Protocol (Delray Beach FL)
Ethan Warren ~ Bag of Nails (Norwell MA)
Lily Werts ~ Cold Feet (Anchorage AK)
Tobin Wheeler ~ Flawless (New York NY)
Christine Whitley ~ Horse Thief (Long Island City NY)
The Play Lab, started in 1995, features developmental readings of scripts from 20 minutes to 2 hours in length. Actors are sent scripts a month prior to the Conference. The readings receive one rehearsal the day before their performance, with the playwright acting as the director. The readings are then responded to by a three-person panel, and the audience gives their feedback as well. Additionally, authors have a private meeting with one of their panelists to further discuss the script.
Currently the Lab presents readings of 50-60 plays per year. Panelists include nationally acknowledged playwrights, director, designers, and dramaturgs, as well as some of the leading figures in Alaska’s theatre.
Read advice from six-time Obie winner Marshall Mason on how to direct a reading.
Read the general advice for actors reading in the Lab.