OF: 7

The conversation will be audiotaped instead of videotaped. Will still be on our site.

Keep in mind: Theatres see themselves as exceptions to what the playwrights say. All theatres have good practices. If you're from a theatre [here], think for the field. Playwrights have rallied around the book, but playwrights shouldn't "shroud themselves in self-righteousness. There's lots of info from theatres about how they see your work." "There are gaps here; it's important to listen to what's being said on the other side." --Todd London

Tory Bailey (TDF): These conversations are useful. Out of this we will do a distillation process. We will give info to other funders.

Questions/thoughts:
"In your final part, you said what's working. What do you mean by 'working'?"
A: What's a successful journey. They're from different perspectives.

"Age breakdowns?"
A: No age spread that would have been surprising. Nothing glaring. Age only came up in context of professional track, that is, MFA is a recent phenomenon.

"How does the track of self-production fit in to conversation?"
A: While it comes up in the book, it's small note because we studied established theatres. Playwrights will talk about creating their own opportunities, but they seem to really want to be in the other theatres.

"What are theatre's defense of seasons and large staffs?"
A: There's been a shift in how theatre is produced from the individual producer to the regional theatre movement. Our study asks what are the unintended consequences of that movement. The defense of that is the fact that these institutions exist and are bringing plays to a larger audience. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't [about seasons]. It's a problem and we have to figure out what that means.

"What is pay range among artistic directors?"
A: We didn't study it but it's available online. But it does have a wide range, depending on size of theatre. There are many people employed in arts institutions with health insurance and stability. We heard more about the stabbility, security and health insurance.

"I was interested in how few plays get second or third productions. I think we should abolish the term 'world premiere'. It puts so much pressure on the poor playwright. I've had so much fun directing second or third productions because the playwright is ready to see it in a new way and find new things. I think that's better way for a play to grow rather than through development."
A: The funder emphasis on premieres. The slippage of language (claiming and reclaiming premiere status), audiences don't care about premiere status but everyone else does. Some of the world premieres in our findings have to be second productions. How do you define premiere, a new play? Playwrights are denying world premiere credit so they can get play produced again. Theatres get cred on world premieres.

To be continued....