1. Cory’s initial article is important because it speaks to something I think is current in many cities – there is a gap between fringe-level productions and LORT-level productions. Meaning, it’s entirely possible to get a few pieces made by the seat of your pants, for very little money a ton of goodwill, and a donated sewing machine. And if you are lucky enough to be a playwright of national scope produced somewhere like the the Guthrie or Mixed Blood, then most likely you will have most of the resources you need. But where do playwrights and other makers go for the really important mid-level work? How can a city support sterling, top-notch, $200,000 productions of highly formalist plays that move the form forward but never recoup on ticket sales? Because, while small scale productions are awesome, they are also limiting once you’ve made a few of them. At a certain point you need to be able to really spend a year in the room with people, making the work; you need designers and sets and video. And that costs money. One of the dangers of the lack of a middle-ground for local artists is that too many of us get used to shoestrings and too many audiences get used to being disappointed by a lack of clarity or what appears to be deficient rigor. So I think Cory’s questions are well-pointed.

2. It’s a lot easier to fund buildings than people. This is nowhere more true than the Twin Cities. I’d love to see fewer endowed seats and more endowed actors or playwrights. Can you imagine if the Guthrie had, say, cut out a couple million dollars’ worth of snack bars and turreted overlooks, and maybe put that money into a regular, yearly slot for a local playwright to have a full production in their studio space? Can you imagine if they went to their donors and said, “no you won’t get your name on this wall, you’ll get your name all over this community?”

3. The conversations that are starting here, and the impulses to meet in person and discuss the work, the processes, the finances – this is the most promising thing that could come out of this article. One of the main reasons I still choose to live in NY, despite its lack of ‘livability’ (although we do okay – for me livability is not needing to own a house, drive a car or spend money on daycare, since there is always a playgroup or soccer match forming in the park) is that the conversation about theater is ongoing, vibrant and contributes every day to my growth as an artist. I find that meeting the people whose work I admire, and even whose work I dislike, and hashing it out together, makes me a better artist. If you guys can do that, you’ll be growing the community even more righteously than you already have.

I admit to having always been suspicious of both Faulkner and this anecdote. Sure, writing requires down time, but it also requires maximum effort. It’s the combination that kicks out writing worth a public airing, be it plays or anything else. In raising my kids, now eleven and seven, I find it easy to make space for either one of those two polar opposites (the lazing and the hands-on-keyboard writing). Finding time for both, even with both boys in school? That’s harder.

Harder still: fitting in time for appropriately thorough research.

Hardest of all: on-site research. I have writer friends sans children who have decamped to foreign climes, distant cities, weird experiences, etc., and come home so full of ideas it’s a wonder they don’t burst. The number of parent-writers who can pull this off is itsy-bitsy small.

There. Now you know I’m a parent, ‘cos I used the word itsy-bitsy in a grown-up sentence.

Has my writing improved since having children? Yes. Has it improved BECAUSE of having children? Frankly, I sincerely doubt it. Is it a question that needs a solid answer? No. Life is messy; solid ground and firm answers are fleeting.

Now, I really must stop writing this…I have to go clean the house (with my kids, hah!), and then it’ll be time to play with them, feed them, and find an hour in the afternoon to send a play to some poor unsuspecting literary manager. Who is probably single and twenty-three years old.

: )

Cheers to one and all – M.R.

Our son motivated Mark’s strenuous breaks from writing after we read his “Young Voices” letter published in the local newspaper a few years ago:

“I can help my family in these ways. I can do more chores, because I only do them on Saturday. I can try to help my mom calculate grades and test scores. I could do a lot more cooking with my dad. I should also let my mom and dad get a bit more work done. (My dad is a playwright, so he’s busy most of the time.)”

Yep. There it is.

FOR people outside the Twin Cities, MInnesotaPlaylist.com is an online trade publication with most of the TC theater’s audition and job listings as well as a talent database, performance calendar (with aggregated critic reviews, etc.), and occasional magazine. Because it was founded and run by working artists and arts administrators, however, we simply don’t have time to cover the new work scene in the kind of depth it deserves. Thankfully, there are other websites like this one that attack the conversation in this provocative way. STILL, hopefully, adding this new feature to our article section helps people see the wealth, or lack, of local playwrighting productions.

This is a link to a discussion about race, gender, identity and authenticity addressed beautifully by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer on Tavis Smiley. It is worth the entire video clip.

I accidentally inherited another producer’s slot in the Fringe a couple of years ago — The Peanut Butter Factory — and have since tried to work it into an administrative company that helps independent artists self-produce their own work. While it may not directly solve the problem of making a “living” at this, the company does seek to have work get seen and begin/maintain a relationship with Minnesota audiences (half the battle right there).

I encourage any and all of you to buzz by http://www.thepeanutbutterfactory.com and read about the company; what it’s done so far and where it looks to go in the future. It’s all still very experimental (administratively-speaking), but I’d welcome your feedback.

…or pitches.

http://smalltheatreallianceofboston.com

Thanks to everyone who has shared in this discussion about the Twin Cities. I have to put Madness on my list of things to make sure I see…..despite sometimes feeling stressed that I can’t keep up with everything I want to and should see in town, I’m also pretty damn grateful to live someplace where that’s even a problem….

And what may also be revelant to the howlround/#newplay conversation is the fact that, coincidentally, we’re opening this Friday a world premiere production of BUZZER by the great Tracey Scott Wilson (“The Good Negro” and “The Story”), directed by Marion McClinton. Tracey has been in residence with us since last month and has been making tweaks all the way up until preview tonight. It’s great fun. O, and all our tickets are always “pick your price” so they’re accessible to everyone. We’re expecting to get our usual crowd that, as you described “does not hold back.” BUZZER runs Feb 17-March 18 for anyone who happens to be in the neighborhood.