fbpx New Play Development | HowlRound Theatre Commons
Howlround Theater Commons Home Page

New Play Development

New work is the future of theatre, and this is where you’ll find in-depth content about best practices for its development, as well as pieces about specific work. Consider starting with the essay “Rules of Engagement for New Play Development” and Notes to the Note-Givers; or, Embracing the Paradox.” For musings on the power of new work, watch the video of Todd London’s keynote for the 5th Annual ORIGINKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL or read the transcript.

The Latest

Suzan-Lori Parks’ Watch Me Work
Video
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Watch Me Work
A Playwriting Masterclass
Monday 20 May 2024
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Watch Me Work
Video
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Watch Me Work
A Playwriting Masterclass
Monday 13 May 2024
Creating Work in Series in the Anthropocene
Essay
Creating Work in Series in the Anthropocene
by Chantal Bilodeau
22 April 2024
Art that reads Why Did You Come Here.
Reunion
Essay

Reunion

The Before- and After-Life of a New Play

8 August 2013

Alice Reagan, with the help of Chiori Miyagawa, explores the necessity of parting ways and coming back together through revamping the process of creating plays.

Poster for I Came To Look For You On Tuesday.
Reunion
Essay

Reunion

Why Do They Keep Coming Back?

7 August 2013

Jens Rasmussen, Rachael Holmes, Meg MacCary, and Emily Morse discuss long-term engagement with their project, their unique perspectives, and the significance of reunion. 

Write Now logo.
Choosing the Kiddie Table
Essay

Choosing the Kiddie Table

7 August 2013

Courtney Sale offers an overview of the new play development conference, Write Now.

Art that reads I'd Like To Remember That.
Reunion
Essay

Reunion

Fearlessness and Candor of Reunion Storytellers

6 August 2013

Brian Otaño explores the physical and metaphorical implications of what a reunion provides for us in our journey of being.

Art that reads "We Were Disconnected."
Reunion
Essay

Reunion

Hey it’s me. Haven’t heard from you and it’s been two days…

5 August 2013

Chiori Miyagawa continues her series on her play I Came To Look for You on Tuesday. This edition: the concept of reunion and the help of friends.

The Twitter logo.
Weekly Howl on Twitter hashtag #newplay
Essay

Weekly Howl on Twitter hashtag #newplay

Collecting Your Conversation Topics

5 August 2013

For the next two Thursdays @HowlRound will be taking a summer break, but in the mean time post your topics in the comments section here that you want to talk about and/or possibly moderate for future conversations.

A photo from Giver of Light.
Poetic Drama, Guerilla Opera
Essay

Poetic Drama, Guerilla Opera

30 July 2013

Allison Vanousewrites about the premiere production of Adam Roberts' Giver of Light, an opera based on the life of the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi.

The Productions That Never Were
Essay

The Productions That Never Were

30 July 2013

Adam Szymkowicz writes of the frustrating mystery confounding many playwrights: why do their productions continue to fall through?

Stumbling Into Self-Dramaturgy
Essay

Stumbling Into Self-Dramaturgy

What My Plays Taught Me

29 July 2013

Stephen Spotswood found that self-dramaturgy can illuminate personal themes and motive deeper analysis of the purpose of the work.

A black and white photo of a mother embracing two children.
The Theater of the Furrowed Brow
Essay

The Theater of the Furrowed Brow

28 July 2013

Norman Allen shares insight into writing a play about Isadora Duncan's life in Bolshevik Russia through the eyes of her adopted daughter Irma.

Two actors embrace onstage.
The Song’s The Thing
Essay

The Song’s The Thing

Creating A Rock + Theater Collaboration

27 July 2013

Inspired by the Adele’s song for Skyfall, the artists of the new play By and By collaborated with the band The Kilbanes to reframe the experience for the audience members.

Poster for The Underground, which reads "Jump for Love".
The Paradox of Devised Theater on the Twenty-First Century Stage
Essay

The Paradox of Devised Theater on the Twenty-First Century Stage

21 July 2013

Vanessa Garcia shares an overview of working on a devised theatre piece.

Banner ad for The Living Room Theatre.
A performance of The Death of Cupid: A Whiskey Musical at The Living Room Theatre
The Living Room
Video

A performance of The Death of Cupid: A Whiskey Musical at The Living Room Theatre

Monday 15 July 2013
Kansas City, MO, United States

The Living Room Theatre of Kansas City, MO presented the livestreaming of The Death of Cupid: A Whiskey Musical livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 15 July at 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 8 p.m. CDT (Kansas City) / 9 p.m. EDT (Toronto).

Banner event ad for Crying for Lions.
Developmental Reading of Andrew Kramer's new play Crying for Lions at Panglossian Productions
Panglossian Productions
Video

Developmental Reading of Andrew Kramer's new play Crying for Lions at Panglossian Productions

Sunday 7 July 2013
Williamsburg, VA, United States

 

Panglossian Productions in Williamsburg, Virginia presented their next Plays in Progress program with an in-person and online developmental reading of Andrew Kramer‘s new play Crying for Lions, hosted by The New Town Art Gallery livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 7 July 2013 at 10 a.m. CDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 15:00 GMT.

A logo for People's Light.
Being Regional for a Reason
Essay

Being Regional for a Reason

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

23 June 2013

Zak Berkman continues his series on People's Light's New Play Frontiers. This week: the regional theater as matchmaker, and our playwrights begin their residency.

Citywrights banner.
CityWrights: A Professional Weekend for Playwrights at the City Theatre
CIty Theatre
Video

CityWrights: A Professional Weekend for Playwrights at the City Theatre

Thursday 20 June to Saturday 22 June 2013.
Miami, FL, United States

City Theatre in Miami, Florida hosted CityWrights 2013—CityWrights: A Professional Weekend for Playwrights livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 20 June to Saturday 22 June 2013.

Event banner ad for force/collision's Trust Me.
force/collision's Trust me at Arena Stage in Washington DC
force/collision
Arena Stage
Video

force/collision's Trust me at Arena Stage in Washington DC

Sunday 16 June 2013
Washington, D.C., United States

 

 

Arena Stage in Washington, DC presented a work-in-progess performance of force/collision's Trust Me livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 16 June 2013 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 7 p.m. CDT (Austin) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York).

Teaser poster for Watch Me Work, which features Suzan-Lori Parks leaning an arm against a bench.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work at the Public Theater
yellow block with orange text PUBLIC
Public Theater
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work at the Public Theater

A playwriting masterclass

Wednesday, June 12 2013
New York, NY, United States

You’re invited to join Suzan-Lori Parks from the lobby of The Public Theater forWatch Me Work which will be livestreaming for the global, peer-produced, open-source HowlRound TV project.

The eleventh performance in this series happens on Wednesday, June 12 at 2pm PDT (San Francisco) / 4pm CDT (Austin) / 5pm EDT (New York) / 21:00 GMT / 10pm BST (London). View a conversion into your local time.

Teaser poster for Watch Me Work, which features Suzan-Lori Parks leaning an arm against a bench.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work livestreamed from The Public Theater
yellow block with orange text PUBLIC
Public Theater
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work livestreamed from The Public Theater

A playwriting masterclass

Wednesday 5 June 2013
New York, NY, United States

Suzan-Lori Parks livestreamed Watch Me Work from The Public Theater in New York City on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 5 June 2013 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver, UTC -8) / 4 p.m. CST (Austin, UTC -6) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal, UTC -5) / 10 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 23:00 CET (Berlin, UTC +1)

 

Logo for LA Stage Alliance.
Dispatches from LALA Land
Essay

Dispatches from LALA Land

The Road to New Writing

31 May 2013

Holly Derr reports from LA Stage Day, where a lack of female playwrights demonstrates a larger problem: if LA has so many female writers, then how come none of them are getting produced?

Cover for a collection of 24 Gun Control Plays.
Toward a Peaceful Theater
Essay

Toward a Peaceful Theater

30 May 2013

NoPassport collaborates with The Vicious Circle for Gun Control Theatre/New Media Action Week to keep the dialoge through art alive on the subject of gun reform globally

Teaser poster for Watch Me Work, which features Suzan-Lori Parks leaning an arm against a bench.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater
yellow block with orange text PUBLIC
Public Theater
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work from The Public Theater

A playwriting masterclass

Wednesday 29 May 2013
New York, NY, United States

Suzan-Lori Parks livestreamed Watch Me Work from The Public Theater in New York City on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 29 May 2013 at 2 p.m. PST (Vancouver, UTC -8) / 4 p.m. CST (Austin, UTC -6) / 5 p.m. EST (Montréal, UTC -5) / 10 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 23:00 CET (Berlin, UTC +1).

 

Photo from a contemporary production of Hamlet.
Postcards from Russia 2
Essay

Postcards from Russia 2

Yekaterinburg

29 May 2013

Continuing the series, Christopher W. White reflects on his time viewing the strikingly contemporary art in Yekaterinburg

Wide photo of the Buenos Aires skyline.
Take (more than) Five
Essay

Take (more than) Five

The Argentine Production Model

26 May 2013

Paz Pardo explores the theatre models of the United States and Argentina.

Event banner ad for The Egypt Play.
Tori Keenan-Zelt's The Egypt Play, or The Misses Blake on a Holiday Jihad at Panglossian Productions
Panglossian Productions
Video

Tori Keenan-Zelt's The Egypt Play, or The Misses Blake on a Holiday Jihad at Panglossian Productions

Saturday 25 May 2013
Williamsburg, VA, United States

Panglossian Productions in Williamsburg, Virginia presented a livestreaming workshop performance of Tori Keenan-Zelt’s new work The Egypt Play, or The Misses Blake on a Holiday Jihad livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 25 May 2013 at 4:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 6:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 7:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 23:30 GMT. View a conversion into your local time.