NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES: HOW ITS STUDY IMPACTS ITS EVOLUTION

Between the years 2004 and 2009, a surge of research surrounding new play development in the United States came out of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Theatre Development Fund. This research concluded several chasms in the new play development field, chiefly between the people writing new plays and those producing them. Since that time, relatively little follow up has been done to assess if and what subsequent programs and/or cultural shifts have been put in place and what the impact has been on the field as a whole. This study explores current practices in the new play sector through observation and interviews with some of the nation's leading regional and resident theatre organizations and artists committed to new play development. The study explores several enterprising practices and programs put into place in the wake of past research, with varying outcomes and degrees of success.