ARTISTIC PROGRAMS
PlayClub
PlayClub is a virtual gathering to talk about a contemporary play with an intimate group, and a rotating slate of special hosts. Like a book club, participants read a designated play and then come together via Zoom for a one hour discussion. Each host lends their own perspective in leading the conversation. We draw from a treasure trove of contemporary playwriting as a way to continue our mission of introducing our audiences, in a meaningful way, to a worldwide variety of plays. Spots are limited to the first 20 people to sign up via our website, so keep an eye out for the announcements. While stages are dark, we can enjoy theatre on the page!
Admission is free but space is limited.
Previous PlayClub Conversations
Photo by Will O’Hare
March 9
Time’s Journey Through A Room by Toshiki Okada
Translated by Aya Ogawa
Facilitated by Kate Loewald, featuring special guest Aya Ogawa (translator; playwright; director)
Headshot by Jessica Osber
March 17
Facilitated by Kate Loewald, featuring special guest Leah C. Gardiner
AUGUST 2
The Attic by Yōji Sakate
Translated by Leon Ingulsrud and Keiko Tsuneda
Hosted by Tyler Micoleau (Lighting Designer)
JULY 30
Bintou by Koffi Kwahulé
Translated by Chantal Bilodeau
Hosted by Charlene Adhiambo (PlayCo Literary Intern)
MAY 28TH
The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise by Toshiki Okada
Translated by Aya Ogawa
Hosted by Dan Rothenberg (Director)
MAY 21ST
Lunch Bunch by Sarah Einspanier
Hosted by Phillip Howze (Playwright)
A Bring-Your-Own-Lunch conversation with Sarah Einspanier
MAY 14TH
Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury
Hosted by Catherine Coray (Program Director of the Lark Play Development Center US-Middle East Playwright Exchange; Arts Professor at NYU)
MAY 7TH
A Fable for Now by Wei Yu-Chia
Translated by Jeremy Tiang
Hosted by Jeremy Tiang (Playwright; Novelist; Translator)
APRIL 30TH
We’re Gonna Die by Young Jean Lee
Hosted by Diep Tran (Journalist; Features Editor at Broadway.com)
APRIL 23RD
Consent by Nina Raine
Hosted by Trip Cullman (Director; PlayCo Associate Artist and Board Member)
The Idea Lab
POST-SHOW: Every play is an opportunity to bring our community together around issues and ideas that shape our lives. We partner with cultural, educational, social justice and social service organizations to leverage stories for positive change, co-programming public events and activities. ARTIST CONVERSATIONS delve into creative process with playwrights, directors, designers and actors. Or artists might lead ACTIVITIES with audience members to share playlists, play a game or try out a foley sound technique. PANEL DISCUSSIONS investigate themes raised in a play with journalists, scholars, activists and community leaders. PLAYBACK sessions welcome audience members into a conversation with each other about the show they’ve just experienced, facilitated by a PlayCo staff member or guest artist.
ANYTIME: Idea Lab occasionally presents staged readings, teach-ins, and other special events.
All Idea Lab events are free and open to the public.
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Christopher Chen and Geoffrey Jackson Scott at an Idea Lab event
for Caught, 2016
Studio
An arena for artists to explore ideas and generate new work. Developmental tools range from in-house readings to workshops, design explorations and public lab productions.
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Lauren Worsham in Sky-Pony: Raptured, 2012. Photo by Colin Shepherd
Universal Voices
Our commissioning program for both original works and new translations of plays from abroad.
Current Commissions
Linda Bartholomai for a translation of Seymour, or I’m Only Here by Accident by Anne Lepper
Abhishek Majumdar for his new play 9 Kinds of Silence
Lee Sunday Evans for a new work with Christopher Chen
Saori Tsukada and Yuki Kawahisa in Aya Ogawa’s Ludic Proxy, 2015
Photo by Carol Rosegg
Residencies
PlayCo is an international theatre for new writing. We host residencies for visiting collaborative artists, and introduce them to the local community through events such as artist roundtables, audience conversations, and informal receptions. The Residency Program also offers local students unique educational opportunities to engage with visiting artists in special classes and workshops. Students of theatre, literature and foreign studies see the work of visiting artists in production and interact with them directly in subsequent classes to learn about different theatre traditions, practices and points of view.
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Toshiki Okada