Dramatists Guild of America to Welcome Theresa Rebeck to Mentoring Artists Tour in LA, 2/14

The Dramatists Guild's Mentoring Artists Tour included a recent stop featuring Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis at the Region I Kennedy Center American Theatre Festival held at Cape Cod Community College on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. As part of their outreach to theatre artists across the country, the Dramatists Guild has established The Mentoring Artists Tour, utilizing its prestigious Council members to engage in conversations with young artists.

The Mentoring Artists Tour facilitates a much needed discussion of how all artists work together in the collaborative process of creating theatre, and particularly how living dramatists function in that environment. It educates all artists on the intricacies of working with the text of plays or musicals and how, when and if it's appropriate to alter content. Additionally, it educates artists on the variety of paths to pursue a professional career in the arts.

Composer and lyricist Mark Hollmann ( Dramatists Guild Council member) and playwright Greg Kotis ( Dramatists Guild member) joined Executive Director of Business Affairs Ralph Sevush for a session titled Urinetown- The Path to Broadway. Hollmann and Kotis spoke to KCACTF Region I attendees about their journey with Urinetown and what they learned from the many workshops, Fringe Festival, off-Broadway and finally with their opening on Broadway soon after 9/11. Later that evening, Hollmann and Kotis met with student playwrights at the festival in an informal setting allowing students to ask questions about craft, career and collaborations. Ralph Sevush and Gary Garrison, Executive Director of Creative Affairs of the Dramatists Guild, were also available to provide additional support and advice. Additionally, Hollmann and Kotis met with several musical theatre students in a separate session and answered questions from actors, directors and choreographers.

The Dramatists Guild's Mentoring Artists Tour will include an upcoming event on February 14, 2013 in Los Angeles, California at the Region VIII Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The Mentoring Artists event will be held at the Los Angeles Theater Center and will feature NBC Smash creator and playwright Theresa Rebeck.

The Dramatists Guild of America was established over eighty years ago, and is the only professional association which advances the interests of playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists writing for the living stage. The Guild has over 6,000 members nationwide, from beginning writers to the most prominent authors represented on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in regional theaters. The Dramatists Guild of America was established for the purpose of aiding dramatists in protecting both the artistic and economic integrity of their work. The Guild believes that a vibrant, vital and provocative theater is an essential element of the ongoing cultural debate which informs the citizens of a free society. The Guild believes that if such a theater is to survive, the unique, idiosyncratic voices of both men and women who write for it must be cultivated and protected. In addition to its contract services, the Guild acts as an aggressive public advocate for dramatists' interests and assists dramatists in developing both their artistic and business skills through its publications, which are distributed nationally, and the educational programs which it sponsors around the country. Through a variety of activities, the Dramatists Guild of America works to ensure that theater in America will continue to flourish and that the voices which give it life will continue to reflect and celebrate the richness and diversity of the American experience.

For more information, visit www.dramatistsguild.com.

Pictured: Ralph Sevush, Executive Director of Business Affairs, Mark Hollmann, Greg Kotis. Photo Credit: The Dramatists Guild.