Playwriting in 3D Workshop coming April 25, in Cambridge, MA

I'm leading a workshop with StageSource on Saturday, April 25: Playwriting in 3D. Here's the general description:

As playwrights strive to create work that takes full advantage of the three-dimensional world of the theatre, they need to understand how designers think and how they use design to shape the environment and impact of a production. What are the possibilities? What confuses designers in a script and what delights them? Are there ways to start the interaction between playwrights and designers sooner? What vocabulary will allow playwrights and designers to work more effectively together? These are just some of the questions that we'll address in an extended conversation with four designers ? Karen Perlow and P.J. Strachman (lighting design), and David Reiffel and Dave Remedios (sound design). Moderated by Rhombus Group's Patrick Gabridge This is an afternoon for anyone interested in new work, design, and the collaborative process.

Join us on Saturday, April 25th, 12-3pm, at Central Square Theatre (450 Mass Ave, Cambrige) for this discussion, presentation and audience Q&A. Admission is $15 for StageSource and Rhombus members, $25 for non-members. Payment is due at time of sign-up. Sign-up on-line or by phone by calling 617-720-6066.

I'm trying to get our theatre community to think about how we create work, in lots of ways. In this case, I want us to ask who is involved and when, in the process of creating plays. My hope is that it'll start helping improve the quality of work that we put up on stage and make it more fully inhabit all the dimensions of the stage. No matter how the discussion ends up, it should be a fun and interesting afternoon--the designers we've got on board are experienced and have lots of good stories and strong opinions.

Part of what motivated me to get into this is that I feel that as artists, we have lots of training options open to us early in our careers, but later on, we seem to be on our own. I want us to take a more active role in setting up peer-to-peer education and training opportunities throughout our discipline. This particular idea came about during last year's Rhombus Six Views festival's panel with Gary Garrison and various Boston artistic directors about methods of new play development. (If this one goes well, we hope to do another with set and costume designers.)