Chicago Dramatists

Two's company, three's a crowd, and 160 is the number of playwrights in the diverse roster of Chicago Dramatists' playwrights' network.  But if you think they're worried about overdoing it you should guess again. Over the last year this group of playwrights received some 700 productions, awards, and honors around the world, and there's no sign of slowing down. Part support group, part union - for a theater dedicated above all to the nurturing and development of plays and playwrights, this network of writers local and international at all stages of their careers, is a big part of what makes Chicago Dramatists so special.

Indeed in the words of Richard Perez, the associate artistic director of Chicago Dramatists since the fall of 2009, "We consider production as a part of the play development process." Most theaters see show time as the ultimate culmination. It's a testament to Chicago Dramatists' real dedication to its playwrights and their personal and professional development that opening night is not the end of the process, but just another chapter.  "It doesn't seem that odd because we're in it everyday," Perez continues, "but the more we travel and read the more we're reminded - this a unique place."

A unique place that has received a lot of well-earned attention recently after a play developed on its stage, Keith Huff's play A Steady Rain, opened on Broadway with huge Hollywood clout and rave reviews.  The story of this success is both remarkable and perfectly formulaic considering Chicago Dramatists' gradual nurturing process of play development. 

"A Steady Rain started out at a table-read," Cynthia Frahm, development director says, referring to one of the earliest tools for honing a script. After that it received a staged reading with an audience, and finally a full-production at the Chicago Dramatists' intimate West Town space. But A Steady Rain didn't stop there.  It was transferred to the much larger Royal George Theatre and shortly after received a brand-new big-budget production in New York.

The possibility for this kind of success is always on the table, but for the day-to-day work of Chicago Dramatists they see their most important function as the development of playwrights and their work over the course of their careers. Says Perez, "To me it's obvious that unless we give a new generation a voice then we will be stuck in the past."

Perez admits that for a theater that solely produces new work by mostly emerging playwrights, it can be difficult for an audience to feel confident that a ticket will guarantee a good time, "There's a lot of risk."  In a sense the breakout success of a show like A Steady Rain serves to validate the work Chicago Dramatists does while inspiring the kind of curiosity demanded to make new plays thrive, "When you have a big hit people get excited about it, and are willing to take more risks in the future." 

You can find out more about Chicago Dramatists by visiting their website or becoming a fan on Facebook.

Benno Nelson

You can read more of Theatre In Chicago contributor Benno Nelson's writing at The@er (http://the-at-er.blogspot.com)

Full Storefrontal

Read the other articles in Benno Nelson's "Full Storefrontal" series that focuses on small theatre companies around Chicago on the Full Storefrontal page.