Dramatists Guild of America Launches Writer's Intensive

The Dramatists Guild Fund, the Dramatists Guild of America, and Northwestern University announce the launch of the out-of-town arm of the successful Dramatists Guild Fellows program, linking emerging playwrights and musical theater writers in a close-knit and safe atmosphere for work and critique, as well as encouraging a sense of community with established New York and Chicago theater professionals. The Dramatists Guild Writer's Intensive will be supported by the Dramatists Guild Fund and hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

A team of Chicago theatres and educators will nominate writers from the Midwest region for the Intensive. From those nominations, five playwrights and five musical theatre writers or teams will be selected to participate in the four-day intensive on the Northwestern University campus in September, 2010. The Intensive will be led by the Tony Award-winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, creators of Once On This Island, Seussical, and the recent Broadway revival of Ragtime; playwright, composer and educator Janet Neipris (Jeremy and the Thinking Machine, To Be A Playwright), Obie Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning playwright Susan Miller (My Left Breast, A Map of Doubt and Rescue); Andrea Lepcio (Looking for the Pony); Laura Schellhardt (The K of D); and Rebecca Gilman, author of Magnolia, Spinning into Butter, and Blue Surge, all produced at the Goodman Theatre. Gilman and Schellhardt are both faculty members at Northwestern University.

"For ten years, the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program has been a bridge between the academic and the professional worlds for many emerging writers by creating a sense of artistic community, which is reinforced through positive critique and master classes by many theater professionals," says Stephen Flaherty, Intensive master teacher and Dramatists Guild Council Member. "We try to create an atmosphere of utter security and support, where works-in-progress can be presented without fear," adds Council member Lynn Ahrens.

"Now this wonderful program will be coming to Chicago," says Rebecca Gilman, Northwestern professor and Dramatists Guild Council member. "This is a terrific opportunity for area playwrights, composers and lyricists to come together and study their craft in a collaborative, supportive atmosphere."

The Dramatists Guild Chicago Intensive will include presentation of works in progress, critiques and writing assignments. Also planned is a public discussion featuring the Intensive's master teachers to focus on the craft of dramatic writing.

The Dramatists Guild of America is the professional association of playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists. Now in its tenth year, the Dramatists Guild Fellowship Program augments the training of emerging American dramatists and enhances the sense of community among them. The program is unique, not only in the kinds of opportunities it offers, but also because it brings together both playwrights and musical theater writers to discuss their work and common interests. Each year ten playwrights, composers, and lyricists are selected to participate in New York. The Guild and its Council created the Fellows Program to nurture the next generation of American Dramatists. Previous Fellows include Rajiv Joseph (2009 Whiting Award); Adam Gwon (2009 Fred Ebb Award); Neil Bartram (Broadway's The Story of My Life and the upcoming Not Wanted on the Voyage with the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern) and Rachel Axler, staff writer and Emmy-award winner for Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Both Andrea Lepcio and Laura Schellhardt were Dramatists Guild Fellows. The Dramatists Guild Fund is pleased to expand this already successful program to Chicago. For further information go to www.dramatistsguild.com.

At Northwestern University, the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program will be hosted by the American Music Theatre Project, the Department of Theatre, and the Department of Radio, Television and Film's MFA in Writing for the Stage and Screen. Northwestern University is one of the country's leading private research and teaching universities. With its impressive infrastructure of facilities, faculty and students, and its progressive methods for teaching and learning, Northwestern welcomes artists and projects that benefit from a nurturing creative process and a means of introducing new work to the broader creative community.

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