The Labyrinth Barn Reading Series gives playwrights the opportunity to present their works-in-progress to significant audience feedback. https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2013/the-labyrinth-barn-reading-series-gives-playwrights-the-opportunity-to-present-their-works-in-progress-to-significant-audience-feedback https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

The Labyrinth Barn Reading Series gives playwrights the opportunity to present their works-in-progress to significant audience feedback.

Additional Information
Used for	Labyrinth Theater Company would like to request a contribution of $10,000 from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation towards our Barn Reading Series, a pivotal part of our play development efforts. This free series of readings of plays-in-progress allows playwrights to get direct feedback from audience members, providing artists a chance to hone their ideas while participating in an interactive and collaborative creative process. Last year, 1,650 theatergoers attended the Barn Reading Series, creating an artistic dialogue that reached out to many corners of the city.
Benefits	Now in its 14th year, the Barn Reading Series is a longstanding and central piece of Labyrinth’s programming, advancing our mission to serve as a home for artists developing daring new work. Many plays initially introduced through Labyrinth’s development programming have ultimately graced our stage at Bank Street Theater and other stages across the country, making an impact on the American theater landscape. Over our 21-year history, Labyrinth’s creative process has resulted in more than 60 new American plays and, among many accolades, six Tony Award nominations, 15 Drama Desk Award nominations, and an Edinburgh Fringe First Award.
Proposal Description	On behalf of the board, staff, and artists of Labyrinth Theater Company, I’d like to thank the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation for its generous contribution of $10,000 in 2012. Below is an update on our current activities and information on our upcoming programming. We’d be thrilled if the Foundation would consider supporting Labyrinth’s play development efforts in 2013-14 by helping to underwrite the cost of our Barn Reading Series, a crucial component of our unique play development process. Labyrinth Theater Company was founded in 1992 by a group of thirteen Latino actors whose intent it was to push artistic limits and tell innovative, inclusive stories from within an ensemble structure. Twenty-one years later and now comprising 137 members, Labyrinth is a multicultural Company working to introduce vital new pieces into American theater. Artists particularly active in today’s ensemble include Eric Bogosian, Bobby Cannavale, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz, John Patrick Shanley, and Lynn Nottage - some of the most talented and respected people working in theater today. Thank you again for your past support. We hope that the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation will consider a renewed contribution of $10,000 towards Labyrinth’s 14th annual Barn Reading Series, partnering with us to bring exciting new works to the New York City stage. Mission and Current Activities Labyrinth’s mission is to provide an artistic home to diverse theater artists and the daring and visceral work that they create. We are particularly committed to supporting both established and emerging artists in the development of new pieces, and encourage dialogue between artists at different stages of their careers. In 2012, Labyrinth named long-time Company member Mimi O’Donnell our first paid, full-time Artistic Director, bringing a cohesive vision to our expanding artistic and educational programming. Under her leadership, we are already broadening play development to include the voices of a wider range of artists, such as student actors and non-company members, and embrace a national scope. In support of this mission, we run the following activities: • The Main Stage Season: We feature three world or US premieres at our Bank Street Theater in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. This year’s season includes Eric Bogosian’s "100 (Monologues)," Dominique Morisseau’s "Sunset Baby" and Stephen Belber’s "The Muscles In Our Toes." • Salon Series: Labyrinth offers intimate glimpses into the lives and work of Labyrinth’s multi-talented Company members. • New Play Development: Labyrinth’s play development programs include the Summer Intensive, Barn Reading Series, and Emerging Writers Track, all geared towards guiding the creative process from the generation of an idea through its final completion. • Education Programs: Adding to our Ensemble Workshop and Intensive Ensemble, this year we have launched a yearlong, tuition-free Acting Fellowship program. • Weeklong Theater Festival: In March 2013 we presented NEWYORKNEWYORK, a free festival that drew over 1,000 people to our theater, many of them young, a testament to our ongoing audience development efforts. This season we will be presenting a similar festival of symposiums and readings of Pulitzer Prize-winning plays performed by Company members. Project Description The Barn Reading Series forms a pillar of Labyrinth’s mission, allowing playwrights the opportunity to present their works-in-progress to significant audience feedback. This year, the 14th annual Barn Reading Series will take place for two weeks in January. Playwrights will include Dominique Morisseau, Tommy Smith, Bob Glaudini, Melissa Ross, Ben Snyder, David Bar Katz, John Kolvenbach, Frank Pugliese, and Stephen Belber (participants subject to change.) As a core component of Labyrinth’s play development programming, the Barn Reading Series allows writers to develop ideas with an eye towards staging their final plays at Labyrinth and other companies across the nation. Each year, our play development process begins with the Summer Intensive, a weeklong event that brings together actors, playwrights, and directors to generate and workshop new play ideas. The 2013 Summer Intensive took place this past July and was attended by over 50 artists, including Company members Stephen Belber, Eric Bogosian, Bob Glaudini, Lyle Kessler, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Melissa Ross, and Daphne Rubin-Vega as well as a select number of Guest Artists. The Barn Reading Series, which is the next step in the process, may have added production values such as sound, lighting, and blocking, depending on whatever manner best serves the needs of the playwright. Each play will be presented twice after 15 hours of rehearsal, ideally featuring the same cast and director as the Intensive whenever possible, and the playwrights remain actively engaged throughout this stage of the process. Through workshop rehearsals and the presence of an audience at culminating performances, the Barn Reading Series helps writers to focus on "what works" and "what doesn't.” Playwrights are encouraged to deeply analyze their work through the guidance and support of Labyrinth's artistic staff and selected directors. This series, which is presented free to NYC audiences, gives our artists new opportunities to make their voices heard and gives audiences the chance to play their part in the process. Last year, 1,650 theatergoers attended the Barn Reading Series, creating an artistic dialogue that reached out to many corners of the city. Along with the Summer Intensive, the Barn Reading Series is offered not only to Labyrinth Company members and established Guest Artists but also to emerging artists under Labyrinth’s support. Last year, Labyrinth launched its first Emerging Writers Track, serving early-career playwrights developing works-in-progress. Artists enrolled in the Emerging Writers Track have the option to participate in the Summer Intensive and Barn Reading Series, as well as receive comprehensive mentorship, guidance, and other support. Over our 21-year history, Labyrinth’s creative process has resulted in more than 60 new American plays performed in New York City, garnering six Tony Award nominations, 15 Drama Desk Award nominations, eight Lucille Lortel Award nominations, four Drama League Award nominations, and an Olivier Award nomination, among others. Labyrinth works, such as "Motherf***er With The Hat" by Stephen Adly Guirgis and "Jack Goes Boating" by Bob Glaudini, are widely performed nationally, helping to form a new generation of audiences and theater professionals. Many plays initially developed through our programs have traveled elsewhere. Stephen Belber’s "Power of Duff," which was originally developed at our Intensive and Barn Series, played the Huntington Theater Company in Boston this season to wide acclaim. And longtime Company member John Patrick Shanley has been commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club to develop a full length play from a 10-minute play he developed in our 2012-13 Barn Series. Conclusion Support of Labyrinth’s programming will help serve our broader community of emerging and established artists and theater audiences. At the heart of Labyrinth is an ethos of diversity that affects every aspect of programming, including our collaborative play development process, many free performances, and opportunities for audience participation. Many of our pieces tell underdog stories or stories with a working class ethos, giving voice to people and neighborhoods that might otherwise go unseen on the American stage. Labyrinth would like to thank the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation again for its generous past support. As Labyrinth moves into the 2013-14 season, we’re committed to nurturing creativity and staging untold stories that illuminate the current American experience. It would be an honor to partner with the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation in the production of our 14th annual Barn Reading Series which helps produce exciting pieces for the Bank Street Theater and beyond. Thank you so much for your consideration, and please let me know if there is any further information I can provide. I can be reached by phone at 212-513-1014, or via email at danny@labtheater.org. Sincerely, Danny Feldman Managing Director