Playwriting often begins in solitude: a writer hunched over a laptop or notepad, coaxing characters into existence. But a play doesn’t truly breathe until actors give those characters a voice. Only then – when words are spoken aloud and tested against an audience’s reaction – does a playwright know if the story works, stumbles, or deserves more blood, sweat and late-night revisions.
That’s where new play development festivals like Durango PlayFest come in. Across the country, there are more than two dozen festivals that provide a bridge between the quiet of the writer’s desk and the energy of live performance. Some are well known like the O’Neill Playwrights Conference founded in 1964, while others are quite new and smaller in scale.
So, what exactly happens at a play development festival? Here’s the short version: Playwrights spend a week or more working closely with directors and actors in an intensive rehearsal process. They rewrite, reimagine and polish their scripts. The public then gets to experience staged readings – no sets, no costumes, just actors with scripts in hand. It’s theater stripped down to its essence: story and character.
The first time I attended one of these readings, I was floored. Without the distraction of scenery or elaborate staging, I was pulled completely into the story. At some point, I forgot the actors even held scripts – the words were that engrossing.
And here’s where audiences come in. After the reading, the playwright, director and cast stay onstage for a “talkback,” inviting questions and reactions. These conversations matter. Did the story or themes in the play resonate? Were there moments that confused you – or ones that you’ll carry with you long after the lights go down? Were the characters realistic or stereotypical? This feedback often reshapes the play in meaningful ways. (One Pulitzer-nominated playwright at PlayFest changed the ending of his play after audience feedback.)
Of course, the process is deeply subjective. Choosing which plays to develop is equal parts expertise and leap of faith.
I believe the responsibility of festival organizers is to choose works that will resonate with audiences, spark dialogue and shed light on the human experience. But these decisions are based solely on words on a page, and those selecting the plays often disagree on which are the strongest. That’s the subjective nature of theater – and any art form, for that matter.
As PlayFest gains national attention, the number of submissions we receive has soared – 120 scripts in just the first three weeks of August alone, with many more on the way before our Oct. 1 deadline. And choosing four out of a field of 200? Daunting, to say the least. But also incredibly exciting.
While there’s no crystal ball to tell festivals which plays will soar in performance, this much is true: When audiences show up, listen with open hearts and share their honest feedback, they become a vital part of a creative, collaborative process that could well determine what plays theatergoers of tomorrow will enjoy.
And that’s the real magic of play development.
Mandy Mikulencak is managing director of Durango PlayFest and an author of historical fiction. She’s worked in the nonprofit sector for 35 years.
