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Let’s talk about production NOT Just development of New plays. We are living in an age of Australian playwriting where development is the major concern of playwrights.

I say. No.

Time to stop being behind the door. Stop developing… Stop being academic about this. Time to just put the thing on. Where’s the money for new play production – I dunno – tied up in the production of old plays or paying overseas royalties? Time to just do it. Let’s get the work on.

Nothing makes a playwright work like a deadline. Especially a deadline of an audience. It’s gotta be ready.

For me the major thing is – playwrights need to be empowered.

I reckon this: playwrights know what’s wrong with their plays 80% of the time. I reckon Playwrights know what they are doing. I reckon more comes out of having faith in playwrights then being suspicious of their plays. I reckon audiences are a great judge of quality.

What if playwrights were granted more opportunity, more prodcution (shorter runs).. what if companies regarded their playwrights as their rock stars?

NEW STRATEGIES FOR GETTING NEW AUSTRALIAN WRITING ON OUR STAGES.

Lachaln Philpott – one of Australia’s most celebrated writers had the idea of convening this discussion a little differently than the rambling browns cow on bizarre tangents… He asked us all to provide to things we would like to see that we believe would be a useful strategy for the development of new Australian plays…

Lachlan Philpott (kicked off the conversation) – Writer lead assessment of plays and Writer centred development.

Laura Scrivano – Using a writer in a devised process

Glyn Roberts – Build a theatre

Jane Howard – Brand New plays being on syllabus – not just old work

Anthea Williams – Different stages – music festival model of creating opportunities of staging work.
and selecting a team of writers writing towards a project which is content driven and give them a 6 month period to create a work.

A place to learn where to write.

Me – Program playwrights and their plays – sight unseen. (trust the playwright)
Multi-playwright projects that are playwright lead and site specific.

THE FLOOR – Inter state Co-productions.

THE FLOOR -Quick and dirty, grass roots production.

Alison Croggon -The dirty DIY model is valuable.

THE FLOOR – Processes that embrace collaborative processes with multiple languages.

THE FLOOR – Working within different contexts eg Visual arts galleries.

THE FLOOR – Working with community.

THE FLOOR – How do we resource diversity of writing?

Chris Mead – PWA residencies for writers within theatre companies and the outreach model – working with young people form NESB

THE FLOOR -This is about artist management. How do we manage playwrights through their careers.

Leland Keane -– Strengthening and getting behind companies that are investing in new work.

Candy Bowers – Developing plays and pitches from people of colour. Interested in the subject’s voice. Not interested in the anthropological study.

Polly Rowe – Happy to spruik what the STC are doing… namely the Patrick White Award and the PW Fellowship.

Luke Mullins -What happens in a rehearsal room in a week development with a new play? Interested in the process of play development.

THE FLOOR – An absence of Dramaturgs. And a suggestion that writers dramaturg each other’s work.

THE FLOOR – I miss the idea of applying for small amounts of cash from Playworks for dramaturgical support.

THE FLOOR – exposing high schools and their students to new plays. Encouraging students to become new play literate.

Lachlan Philpott’s big question – WHO IS DIRECTING PLAY DEVELOPMENT?

The work of Playlab is to promote the writer.

Candy Bowers – asks for writers who don’t even call themselves writers, How do they even begin the journey? How do writers begin to play?

Chris Mead – The New York based National New Play Network has tapped into a obsession with premieres is destructive – the solution of this as the rolling world premiere.

(The bell rings – It’s lunch time… thank Robyn Archer!)