Dedicated to the Playwright

In the aftermath of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., playwright Caridad Svich put out a call to theater artists to submit short plays related to the intensifying debate over gun control. The instructions were rather demanding—not only did the pieces have to be between three and seven minutes long, but they had to be completed and submitted in less than 10 days. "This all happened fairly fast," she said.  Read More

During both 9/11 and the Marathon bombings I have been surrounded by children. In 2001, I was a nanny to four in Newton, and right now I’m a parent to two in Waltham. So after both of these tragedies — and after Newtown, Conn., too — my reaction to the violence has been to focus inward, to maintain calm, to keep up the routine of daily life.  Read More

New Dramatists proudly announces that we will honor entertainment lawyer and New Dramatists Chairman of the Board Seth Gelblum with our 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 64th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute, to be held Tuesday, May 21 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Among those performing tributes will be Tony Award nominee Keith Carradine (Hands on a Hardbody, The Will Rogers Follies) and Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change; Jelly’s Last Jam). The event co-chairs are Roger Berlind, Roy Furman, and Barry and Fran Weissler.  Read More

I take my title today from that great triumvirate of American philosophers: Moe, Larry, and Curly, known in poststructuralist circles as Les Trois Stooges. With unerring precision they captured the complicated essence of American life—and by extension American theatrical life—in their expert revision of the motto of Alexandre Dumas’ three Musketeers: “One for all and all for one.” To which the incisive Curly added, “And every man for himself.” Yes that’s my subject, the one and the all, for each other and for themselves. In the spirit of the Stooges, I will digress whenever possible, including now, before I get to the point.  Read More

Experimental theater too often gets a bad rap for being dour—weirdness and seriousness in equal measure. But what about humor? That factor may help explain why the plays of Sibyl Kempson, who can be both seriously weird and seriously funny, have gained such a following.  Read More

In the theater, as New Dramatists artistic director Todd London reminds us, the difference between critics and artists is the power of Yes. A critic is the spirit that says No. An artist is the spirit that says Yes.  Read More