The First Draft Reading Series at the Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival.

John D. Lagozzino

Daniel Crane and Erin Weaver

Carol Pratt

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Capital Fringe

2012 Capital Fringe Festival

Capital Fringe

ANOTHER LOOK INTO THE CITY'S NEW PLAY FESTIVALS

In this Let's Play article, I'd like to introduce you to two of the largest new play festivals in the area: The Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival and the Capital Fringe Festival.  The producers of both focus more on access than on a particular theatrical sensibility.  Both seek, as The Kennedy Center's Gregg Henry puts it, a "critical mass" of theatre professionals collaborating on a wide range of new work.  Both festivals could be considered key incubators for new plays here in Washington, DC.

The Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival

For 13 years each Labor Day weekend, The Kennedy Center has flung open its doors to theatre companies from across the Baltimore-Washington, DC metropolitan region to present readings of new plays, a critical step in any process of developing a new play.  Through a reading, playwrights have the opportunity to hear their play in full and often see key moments staged.  It's also a first chance for a playwright to gauge the reaction of audience members.

In any given year, 45 or more groups — from the large and established and to new and very tiny — can be found in any corner of The Kennedy Center, introducing an audience of thousands to new plays and musicals in progress of every genre and every style.

The idea for the festival emerged from a convening at Arena Stage in 2001 led by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel, which brought the DC-based theatre community together to discuss a simple question: Who needs new plays?  The overwhelming consensus was that we all do, and the forum sparked a number of new ideas for promoting and celebrating new plays in the area.  

One of those ideas came from the late Marcia Murdock Gardner, then literary manager at Signature Theatre, and Charter Theater's Keith Bridges.  They came to Gregg Henry asking if The Kennedy Center could serve as "neutral territory" to bring the DC theatre community together to celebrate new plays. "It's breathtaking how perfect the timing was," says Gregg, because The Kennedy Center's President Michael Kaiser wanted to use the month of September to highlight local artists.

From the beginning, Gregg invited theatre companies and coalitions of theatre artists from every part of the area.  "I want any group of theater artists who are serious about new writing to participate," he says.  The result, from his perspective, is a "critical mass" that showcases the artistic health of DC's theatre community and the wide range of voices of playwrights in this community.   "It's happily overwhelming to see so much new writing in the nooks and crannies of The Kennedy Center," he says.  He's also pleased that the festival gives theatre companies and playwrights the opportunity to showcase their work at a "germinal" stage of development.

The 13th Annual Page to Stage Festival at The Kennedy Center will occur this coming Labor Day.  

Capital Fringe Festival

Over eight years, the Capital Fringe Festival has evolved into the second largest unjuried festival for all kinds of artists willing to take the risk to self-produce performance art — from dance to spoken word to puppetry to theatre.  Across the year in two festivals, one held in the summer and one in the fall, 145 productions can be seen at venues across the city.  Over the course of 11 festivals, more than 400 new works have premiered at Capital Fringe, with several going on to be produced at theatres across the region and/or to win coveted awards, such as a Helen Hayes.

A core belief at Capital Fringe is that risk-taking is inherent to the creative process, so festival staff aim "to create an environment where new work can happen without being challenged or questioned," say the festival's Executive Director Julianne Brienza.  Venues for the festival are given through an application process that is first come-first serve, so everyone has the chance to land a space for their production.  Festival staff then make themselves available to answer questions and gently guide participants in the process of self-producing.  

There is no judgment or guidance around the work itself, but rather the focus is on supporting the artist in "working their hardest to develop new work" according to Julianne, and to finding an audience for the resulting production.  Julianne stresses the importance of this benefit of the festival, the opportunity for thousands of audience members to connect with an artist or an emerging company.  Each participating group in essence has control of their own box office at the festival, retaining the names and contact information of everyone who buys a ticket for their show.  The conversation about the piece can then continue past the festival and fan base is made.

Having helped found the festival and having witnesses its evolution, Julianne is most proud that Capital Fringe has given Washington, DC a national reputation for experimental performance.  She's also proud that Capital Fringe is helping launch careers for more and more performance artists each year.

The 2013 Capital Fringe Festival begins July 11th and ends on the 28th.  Applications for the 2014 festival will be available starting August 15th.

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