The Welders Welcomes New Generation of Playwrights

"Three years... five plays... pass it on." Check, check, and... check!

A new generation of playwrights takes over The Welders (winner of the 2016 John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theater Company) -- Washington DC's only playwrights' collective devoted exclusively to developing and producing new work -- today, August 1, 2016. The Welders Playwrights' Collective was founded in 2013 to be an alternative platform for production in DC that would be passed on to future generations.

The Welders are now Producing Playwrights Brett Abelman, Annalisa Dias, Hannah Hessel Ratner, Rachel Hynes, Alexandra Petri, Deb Sivigny, and Stephen Spotswood. Ronee Penoi will be the company's Creative Producer. The first Lead Producing Playwright (formerly titled Artistic Director) will be Stephen Spotswood, whose literally kick-ass MMA (mixed martial arts) centered play GIRL IN THE RED CORNER will have its first preview November 3, open November 5, and run through November 20 in Lab II at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.

The company will continue the organizational structure of presenting one play by each Producing Playwright during their term. The order of production following Spotswood will be Alexandra Petri, followed by Deb Sivigny, Brett Abelman, Hannah Hessel Ratner, Rachel Hynes, and concluding with Annalisa Dias. The new team will carry the company forward through 2020, when they'll pass it on to a third generation of Welders.

The eight new Welders bring a wide range of approaches to making and producing theater, encompassing devised, traditionally scripted and design-based models. "We're excited to show how many ways there are to be a playwright," says Lead Producing Playwright Stephen Spotswood.

"Playwright collectives have caught on in recent years around the country, but the act of handing over an entire organization to a new group of artists is still unprecedented," says Creative Producer Ronee Penoi. "We hope to build on the Founding Welders' success and leave the organization stronger than we found it for the next generation."

The Welders' founding members were playwrights Bob Bartlett, Renee Calarco, Allyson Currin, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, and Gwydion Suilebhan with Executive and Creative Director Jojo Ruf.

To learn more about the new Welders, visit www.thewelders.org.

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