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National New
Play Network'S
At Work...
From 2003-2005, the pilot project of NNPN's Continued Life of New Plays Fund program featured Thomas Gibbons' PERMANENT COLLECTION. As part of the project, five independent "rolling world premieres" were presented across the United States by NNPN member theatres. Beginning with InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA; pictured above featuring Tim Moyer and Frank X), the play was subsequently performed at Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL), Kitchen Dog Theater (Dallas, TX), Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis, MN), and Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO).
Since completion of the pilot, PERMANENT COLLECTION has become one of the most produced new plays in recent years, having received 22 productions across the United States and 2 international productions, resulting in an estimated total audience of 68,250 people. Productions include NNPN member company New Repertory Theatre (Boston, MA) , as well as and non-member companies Northlight Theatre (Skokie, IL), Arizona Theatre Company (Tucson, AZ), CENTERSTAGE (Baltimore, MD), Robey Theatre Company (Los Angeles, CA), TJX Companies (Framingham, MA), Deep Dish Theater Company (Chapel Hill, NC), Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH), Center Theatre Group (Culver City, CA), Horizon Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA), Indiana University Northwest/Theatre Northwest (Gary, IN), Karamu Performing Arts Theatre (Cleveland, OH), Florida Studio Theatre (Sarasota, FL), Northwest School of the Arts (Charlotte, NC), Amphibian Productions (Fort Worth, TX), Community Theatre (Korea), Music/Theater (Korea), The Studio @ 620 (St. Petersburg, Florida), and Dignity Players (Annapolis, MD).
List current as of Summer 2007. Photo by Seth Rozin
and courtesy of
InterAct Theatre Company. |
The flagship program of NNPN is the Continued Life of New Plays Fund (CLNPF). The CLNPF program grew out of NNPN’s belief that the continued life of new plays of quality is vital to the health of the American Theatre. All over the country, hundreds of new plays are developed each year, yet only a handful receive full productions. Among the plays that do, only a fraction receive second, third or fourth productions outside their immediate regions. Without subsequent productions, plays have little opportunity to evolve artistically or to generate significant critical attention and momentum. In addition, without the "hype" generated by an Off-Broadway run or a major festival, new plays struggle to attract audiences equal to those enjoyed by classic plays, musicals, and star-studded pre-Broadway tryouts. Nationwide statistics consistently reveal that traditional theatregoing audiences respond more positively to familiar titles and authors; and people who are not regular theatregoers are generally even less adventurous in attending new plays. The CLNPF program helps develop an alternative model to the “New York-down” method of a play’s continued life on the regional theatre circuit.
NNPN's Continued Life of New Plays Fund is a cooperative venture designed to insure that new plays will see future productions beyond the initial world premiere. Partnerships of three theatres receive funds in support of multiple productions of the same new play. In this way, each theatre takes part in a "rolling" world premiere that guarantees an opportunity for the play to grow and flourish through contact with a wider national audience.
In 2003, NNPN established the pilot project for the CLPNF, in which five theaters committed to producing a new play prior to the official opening of the first production. Thomas Gibbon's PERMANENT COLLECTION saw its first production at InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA) and then went on to subsequent "rolling world premieres" at Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL), Kitchen Dog Theater (Dallas, TX), Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis, MN) and Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO).
PERMANENT COLLECTION, as with all subsequent CLNPF projects, was chosen as the pilot script for the CLNPF through a self-selecting process. Potential scripts for CLNPF projects are submitted by and circulated to all NNPN member theatres. From there, artistic directors (at least two of whom must work at NNPN member theatres) agreed in writing to produce the selected play prior to and within eighteen months of the official opening of the first production. NNPN believes that if three or more artistic directors are willing to commit to the same new play, before it has been reviewed, it merits the investment. Each theatre works with the playwright directly to aid in the development of the script, however each production is mounted independently of one another.
Inspired by controversies at the storied Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, PERMANENT COLLECTION explores racial politics in American, focusing on the amount of space - literally and figuratively - offered to African-Americans by the white-dominated culture. The play follows the conflict between the newly appointed African-American director of a traditionally "white" suburban museum and the museum's longtime Caucasian Education Director. When the new director seeks to violate the museum's charter by changing the number of African versus European art works on display, the museum becomes a battleground fueled by both racial tension and political motivation.
Since completion of the pilot, PERMANENT COLLECTION has become one of the most produced new plays in recent years, having received 22 productions across the United States and 2 international productions, resulting in an estimated total audience of 68,250 people. Productions include NNPN member company New Repertory Theatre (Boston, MA) , as well as and non-member companies Northlight Theatre (Skokie, IL), Arizona Theatre Company (Tucson, AZ), CENTERSTAGE (Baltimore, MD), Robey Theatre Company (Los Angeles, CA), TJX Companies (Framingham, MA), Deep Dish Theater Company (Chapel Hill, NC), Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH), Center Theatre Group (Culver City, CA), Horizon Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA), Indiana University Northwest/Theatre Northwest (Gary, IN), Karamu Performing Arts Theatre (Cleveland, OH), Florida Studio Theatre (Sarasota, FL), Northwest School of the Arts (Charlotte, NC), Amphibian Productions (Fort Worth, TX), Community Theatre (Korea), Music/Theater (Korea), The Studio @ 620 (St. Petersburg, Florida), and Dignity Players (Annapolis, MD).
Since the pilot project, NNPN's CLNPF has continued to grow and flourish as a direct result of PERMANENT COLLECTION's success. From 2005-2007, NNPN continued the life of four new plays, two of which were produced by theatres both inside and outside the NNPN membership:
ICE GLEN by Joan Ackerman
A touching period comedy set on a Berkshire estate, in which a beautiful poetess challenges a Boston editor's notions of art, success, possession and passion, when her famous neighbor, Edith Wharton, passes her poems to the publisher without the writer's consent.
- Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL)
- Shakespeare & Co. (Lenox, MA) (non-NNPN member)
- Performance Network (Ann Arbor, MI)
HAZARD COUNTY by Allison Moore
When a young producer stumbles into a small southern town looking for stories to feature on his reality TV show, he thinks he's found the perfect subject in Ruth, a broke young widow whose husband's murdered is tainted by allegations of racism. Interspersed with memorable monologues from fans and critics of the hit TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard, HAZARD COUNTY blows apart the Southern stereotypes that up to now has defined Ruth's world.
- Actors Theatre of Louisville (Louisville, KY) (non-NNPN member) as part of the 2005 Humana Festival
- Kitchen Dog Theatre (Dallas, TX)
- Actor's Express Theatre (Atlanta, GA)
THE ICE-BREAKER by David Rambo
THE ICE-BREAKER features the developing relationship between two scientists - one a brilliant academic completing her thesis on climatology and the other a once-legendary polar ice researcher who is now living in self-imposed exile. When the two meet, sexual and intellectual sparks fly, but both learn that their attraction is as volatile and mysterious as the climate changes they fear.
- Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)
- New Repertory Theatre (Boston, MA)
TEMPODYSSEY by Dan Dietz
From the Big Bang to the basement file room of a Seattle skyscraper, mythology and corporate absurdity collide in the epic adventures of Little Genny, a temp receptionist who believes she is the Goddess of Death, on a quest for the meaning of life in this fantastical surreal comedy.
- Curious Theatre (Denver, CO)
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)
- New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ)
Currently, NNPN is in the midst of five CLNPF projects:
A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS by Thomas Gibbons
Written by the author of NNPN's first CLNPF project, PERMANENT COLLECTION, this dramatic and thought-provoking play presents a conflict between two African-Americans - a conservative academic and a liberal activist - as they battle over the location of a new museum dedicated to American Liberty, which ironically sits on the grounds of the former slave quarters of George Washington's Philadelphia home. Juxtaposing the fictionalized present day conflict with the true story of one of Washington's slaves as she contemplates escape, A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS explores how society decides which elements of our history will be commemorated and which will be erased.
- InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
- Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL)
- Curious Theatre (Denver, CO)
- New Repertory Theatre (Boston, MA)
- Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO)
FOR BETTER by Eric Coble
In this plugged-in world of email, text-messaging and camera phones, FOR BETTER poses the question, 'Do the bride and groom really need to be in the same country to go on a honeymoon?' This is a technological farce about love and personal relationships in a world where no one keeps the same address for more than a few months, but where everyone can be found with the click of a button.
FOR BETTER represents the first time a play has moved from NNPN’s New Play Commission program into the Continued Life of New Plays Fund program, proving NNPN’s mission truly works.
- Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO)
- New Theatre (Miami, FL)
- Southern Rep (New Orleans, LA)
END DAYS by Deb Laufer
END DAYS is a dark comedy that explores the conflict between science and religion in post-9/11 suburbia. Sixteen-year-old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn’t changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all.
- Florida Stage (Palm Beach, FL)
- Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO)
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)
AND HER HAIR WENT WITH HER by Zina Camblin
Hairstyles have always been central to women of the black community and in AND HER HAIR WENT WITH HER, two actresses transform themselves, with the aid of countless wigs, into an entire community of women rich with character and history in this passionate comedy set in a neighborhood beauty shop.
LOVE PERSON by Aditi Kapil
LOVE PERSON is a four part love story in Sanskrit, ASL and English featuring four characters whose various languages define who they are and their place in the world. As the result of a deceptive email correspondence, a deaf woman in a long-term relationship with another woman, begins to fall in love with a male Sanskrit professor – a connection based largely on an affinity for each other’s unique language. Love Person transcends sexual orientation, physical attraction, and social structure, showing how communication can bond or break us.
- Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
- Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA) (non-NNPN member)
- Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)
The National Showcase of New Plays (NSNP) is a rotating festival, or trade show, that showcases new plays, new playwrights and theatres from across the country in a staged reading format. NSNP creates a unique and invaluable opportunity for dozens of production-ready new plays to be viewed by artistic directors, literary managers, literary agents, publishers, and independent producers from around the country.
To date, 67 plays have been showcased, of which 35 have been subsequently produced at professional theatres inside and outside NNPN.
In November 2007, the National New Play Netword presented the National Shocase of New Plays in conjunction with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C. The three-day event featured readings of six new plays;
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Ward 57 by Jessica Goldberg
- submitted by Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL)
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The First Day of School by Billy Aronson
- submitted by Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
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Our Dad Is In Atlantis by Javier Malpica, translated by Jorge Ignacio Continas
- submitted by Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ)
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The Gingerbread House by Mark Schultz
- submitted by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington D.C.)
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Sick by Zayd Dohrn
- submitted by Kitchen Dog Theatre (Dallas, TX)
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Harm’s Way by Shem Bitterman
- Finalist for NNPN’s 2007 Smith Prize
In December 2006, NNPN presented the National Showcase of New Plays in conjunction with New Jersery Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ). The three-day event featured readings of six new plays:
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BLACK GOLD by Seth Rozin
- submitted by InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
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GREEN MAN by Jim Knable
- submitted by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
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LOVE PERSON by Aditi Brennan Kapil
- submitted by Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
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OCTOBER 1962 by D.W. Gregory
- submitted by New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ)
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RISING WATER by John Biguenet
- submitted by Southern Rep (New Orleans, LA)
- Recipient of NNPN's 2006 New Play Commission
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SIN FULL HEAVEN by Ricky J. Martinez
- submitted by New Theatre (Miami, FL)
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TOPSY TURVY MOUSE by Peter Gil-Sheridan
- Winner of NNPN's 2006 Smith Prize
In June 2005, the National New Play Network co-presented the National Showcase of New Plays in conjunction with The National Center for New Plays at Stanford University; NNPN member, Magic Theatre; and the Bay Area League of New Play Theaters. The week long festival, held on the campus at Stanford University, featured 36 readings of 18 new plays submitted by 16 theatres across the country.
Plays included:
- Auto Delete written by Honour Kane; submitted by Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO); produced by Bay Area Playwrights Foundation (San Francisco, CA)
- Big Death, Little Death by Mickey Birnbaum; submitted by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.); produced by Crowded Fire (San Francisco, CA)
- The Cataract by Lisa D'amour; submitted by Perishable Theatre (Providence, RI); produced by Encore Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
- Exits and Entrances by Athol Fugard; submitted and produced by Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
- Next of Kin by Ron Simonian; submitted by Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City); produced by Crowded Fire (San Francisco, CA)
- Sexsting by Doris Baizley; submitted and produced by Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
- Dust Eaters by Julie Jensen; submitted by Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City, UT); produced by Bay Area Playwrights Foundation (San Francisco, CA)
- New House, New Dog by Toni Press-Coffman; submitted by Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN); produced by Z Space Collaborative (San Francisco, CA)
- St. Barbara by Mark Glinski; submitted by Borderlands Theatre (Tucson, AZ); produced by Fool's Fury (San Francisco, CA)
- Echoes of Another Man by Mia McCullough; submitted by Actor's Express (Atlanta, GA); produced by Encore Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
- Reinventing Eden by Seth Rozin; submitted by InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA); produced by Encore Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
- Resignation Day by Charles Pike; submitted by PROP Thtr (Chicago, IL); produced by Fool's Fury (San Francisco, CA)
- Braising by Idris Goodwin; submitted by PROP Thtr (Chicago, IL); produced by Z Space Collaborative (San Francisco, CA)
- Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven by Russell Davis; submitted by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ); produced by Shotgun Players (San Francisco, CA)
- Touch of Rapture by Mary Fengar Gail; submitted by New Jersey Rep (Long Branch, NJ); produced by Bay Area Playwrights Foundation (San Francisco, CA)
- Hanging Fire by Claudia Allen; submitted by Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL); produced by Shotgun Players (San Francisco, CA)
- Rust by Kirsten Greenridge; submitted and produced by Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
- The Stillness Between Breaths by Joseph Zettelmaier; submitted by Performance Network (Ann Arbor, MI); produced by Shotgun Players (San Francisco, CA)
In July 2004, Prop Thtr Group, Phoenix Theatre, Performance Network and Chicago Dramatists co-presented the second bi-annual National Showcase of New Plays in cooperation with NNPN. The one-week festival featured 36 readings of 18 new and noteworthy plays presented by 17 theatres from across the country.
Plays included:
- Rock Shore by Lisa Dillman, Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
- Patty Red Pants by Trista Baldwin, Bloomington Playwrights Project (Bloomington, IL)
- Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort, ShenanArts (Staunton, VA)
- Devil Dog Six by Mary Fengar Gail, InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
- The Katydid by Michael Davis Sutton, Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)
- Running With Scissors by Michael McKeever, Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL)
- Wait! by Julie Jensen, Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Flags by Jane Martin, Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
- Jump/Cut by Neena Beber, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington D.C.)
- (W)hole by Tracy Shaffer Witherspoon, Curious Theatre (Denver, CO)
- The Home Team by Kim Carney, Performance Network (Ann Arbor, MI)
- The Age of Cynicism or Karaoke Night at the Hog by Keith Huff, Chicago Dramatists (Chicago, IL)
- Hazard County by Allison Moore, Kitchen Dog Theatre (Dallas, TX)
- Men on the Verge 2 by Guillermo Reyes, Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ)
- Ice Glen by Joan Ackerman, Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN)
- Direct from Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys by Mark Stein, Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
- The Playgoer by Christopher Bomba, Prop Thtr (Chicago, IL)
- The Adjustment by Michael Folie, New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, NJ)
In June, 2002, InterAct Theatre Company presented the first National Showcase of New Plays in cooperation with NNPN. The two-week festival featured 36 staged and concert readings of 18 new and noteworthy plays presented by 14 theatres from across the country.
Plays included:
- Foreign Exchange by Peter Hays, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison NJ)
- The Why by Victor Kaufold, InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
- Death of the Sun by Sonya Aronowitz, Passage Theatre Company (Trenton, NJ)
- Mourning Dove by Emil Sher, Necessary Angel Theatre Company (Toronto, Canada)
- A Memory of Resistance by Lou Lippa, The People's Light and Theatre Company (Malvern, PA)
- The Queen's 2 Bodies by Jeanne Murray Walker, InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
- Mayhem by Kelly Stuart, Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN)
- A Stronger Faith by Ken Prestininzi, ShenanArts (Staunton, VA)
- The Ballad of John Wesley Reed by Larry Loebell, InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
- Eighteen by Allison Moore, Kitchen Dog Theater (Dallas, TX)
- Slight Defect -- A Desert Holiday by Ron Simonian, Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO)
- Central Avenue by Stephen Sachs, The Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
- Happy New Century, Dr. Freud by Sabina Berman, The Lark Theatre Company (New York, NY) and Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ)
- phidias8 by Michael Whistler, presented by InterAct Theatre company (Philadelphia, PA)
- Spain by Jim Knable, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.)
- Essanay by Paul Peditto, Prop Thtr Group (Chicago, IL)
- Rosemary by Jim O'Connor, Prop Thtr Group (Chicago, IL)
- How His Bride Came to Abraham by Karen Sunde, Playwrights Theatre in New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
NNPN awards one commission annually, to a playwrights nominated and selected by member theatres. Nominating theatres are responsible for the administration and development of the commissioned play. Commissioned playwrights agree to grant right of first refusal to produce their play to all NNPN members in their respective markets. Both NNPN and the nominating theatre participate in the subsidiary royalties from the commissioned play.
Since the program’s inception, NNPN has awarded eleven commissions:
- Mary Fengar Gail & Dennis McCarthy’s Soul on Vinyl, sponsored by New Jersey Rep (Long Branch, NJ)
- John Biguenet's Rising Water, sponsored by Southern Rep (New Orleans, LA)
- Eric Coble's For Better sponsored by Curious Theatre (Denver, CO)
- Deborah Laufer's The Gulf of Westchester, sponsored by Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL)
- Mary Fengar Gail's Devil Dog Six, sponsored by InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA)
- David Bucci's Possum Carcass, sponsored by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington D.C.)
- Syl Jones' New Math, sponsored by Mixed Blood Theatre Company (Minneapolis, MN)
- D.W. Gregory's The Million Dollar Fight, sponsored by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ)
- Toni Press-Coffman's New House, New Dog, sponsored by Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)
- Julie Jensen's Dust Eaters, sponsored by Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Jordan Harrison's untitled play, sponsored by Perishable Theatre (Providence, RI)
Through monthly, online meetings, Literary Managers from NNPN member theatres regularly exchange information on plays and playwrights in an effort to help identify, cultivate, develop and produce promising new plays. Aside from the plays that have been a part of the CLNPF, many other plays have also benefitted as a direct result of the National New Play Network. Since 1998, at least twenty-five plays have had or will have over 60 full productions, collectively, by the end of the 2006/2007 performance season:
- Bee-Luther-Hatchee by Thomas Gibbons, initially premiered by InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA), was subsequently produced by Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis, MN), Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ), Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO), Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL) and Actor's Express Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA).
- Bright Ideas by Eric Coble, premiered at Curious Theatre (Denver, CO) and was subsequently produced at Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO).
- Charlie Cox Runs with Scissors (a.k.a. Running with Scissors) by Michael McKeever, premiered at Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL), was included as a staged reading at the 2004 National Showcase of New Plays, and then saw its second full production at Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN).
- Circumference of a Squirrel by John Walch, read at Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN), went on to full productions at both Playwrights Theatre Of New Jersey (Madison, NJ) and Kitchen Dog Theater (Dallas, TX).
- Curanderas by Elaine Romero, initially premiered by Kitchen Dog Theater (Dallas, TX), was produced at Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN).
- Exits and Entrances by Athol Fugard, premiered at Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles, CA), was included as a staged reading at the 2005 National Showcase of New Plays, and then went on to a full production at Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL) and is currently being considered for the 2006/2007 season at New Repertory Theatre (Boston, MA).
- The Gene Pool by Christi Stewart-Brown, initially premiered by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington D.C.), was subsequently produced by Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ), Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis, MN), Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN) and Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO).
- Good German by David Wiltse, received its second full production at Florida Stage (West Palm Beach, FL) and is scheduled for another at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ).
- The Home Team by Kim Carney, initially premiered by Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN), was also produced by Performance Network (Ann Arbor, MI).
- How His Bride Came to Abraham by Karen Sunde, initially showcased by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ), was premiered at Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO).
- phidias8 by Mike Whistler, initially showcased by InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA), was premiered at Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN).
- Rosemary by Jim O'Connor, initially produced by Prop Thtr (Chicago, IL), was subsequently produced by InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA).
- Rust by Kirsten Greenridge, which was first read by Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN) and included in the 2005 National Showcase of New Plays (Stanford, CA), is scheduled to premiere during the 2006/2007 season at Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA).
- Sexsting by Doris Baizley, orginally part of the 2005 National Showcase of New Plays, is currently scheduled for prodtuctions in the 2006/2007 seasons of both Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City, UT) and Prop Thtr (Chicago, IL).
- Spain by Jim Knable, initially premiered by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington D.C.), was subsequently produced at Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis, IN), New Jersey Repertory Theatre (Long Branch, NJ), Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ) and Actor's Express Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA).
- Sunken Living Room by David Caudle, was a co-production between Southern Rep (New Orleans, LA) and New Theatre (Miami, FL).
- Sweet Nothing in My Ear by Stephen Sachs, initially premiered by Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles, CA), was subsequently produced by Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis, MN).
- When Something Wonderful Ends by Sherry Kramer, which had its world premiere at InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA) during the 2006/2007 season, and its second production at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ).
- Whores by Lee Blessing, was produced by both InterAct Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA) and Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, NJ).
In keeping with the NNPN's mission to create an informed and collegial community of member theatres, NNPN reimburses members for up to $500 in travel expenses, annually, to facilitate artistic exchange, networking opportunities, professional development and collaborations.
NNPN hosts an annual conference of its member theatres, which also serves as the annual meeting of the Board of Directors. The conference features member presentations, pitches of new plays, brainstorming of new programs, evaluation of existing programs, discussion of prospective new members, approval of the annual budget, and other administrative business. The annual conference is hosted by different members each year.
In the Spring of 2006, NNPN announced that it will administer a new, annual play prize. Funded by a gift from novelist and playwright Timothy Smith, The Smith Prize will be awarded to a play that specifically focuses on American politics - examining our civic institutions, particularly our democratic institutions, and asks: Who are Americans as a people? What are we becoming? What are our global responsibilities? The prize carries a $5,000 cash award, which will be split between the playwright and the first National New Play Network member theatre that chooses to produce the winning play.
The winner of the first annual award, announced in December 2006, was Topsy Turvy Mouse by Peter Gil-Sheridan. In November 2007, Black Gold by Seth Rozin was announced as the winner of the second Smith Prize. Black Gold is currently scheduled to be produced by two NNPN member companies: InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA and Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis, IN during their 2007/2008 seasons.
Keeping in mind that many of our patrons travel across the country on business and pleasure, member theatres have joined together to provide ticket discounts to visiting patrons from other NNPN theatres. Discounts range from "two-fers" to half price seats, subject to availability.
NNPN currently shares a partnership with Playscripts, Inc. whereby Playscripts is the official publisher and licenser of NNPN-generated plays. Through this partnership Playscripts receives a 'first look' at NNPN-generated plays, and NNPN plays receive special promotion on Playscripts' website and in their printed catalogue. Playscripts, Inc. provides a venue for new plays to be easily seen, distributed, and ultimately, performed by a wide circle of theatres.
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