LMDA Twitter Project

June 18-24: Janine Sobeck  

Focus: "It's my first 'official' week as the new Dramaturgy Specialist at Brigham Young University, so this week will be all about transitioning from a regional theatre 'turg to an academic one."

For over 35 years Vancouver, BC's Touchstone Theatre, which has an institutional LMDA membership, has been a mainstay of theatrical innovation and excellence on the West Coast. The company's all-Canadian mandate has helped launch and develop some of the country's most important playwrights and actors, and its substantial body of work has garnered over 60 local and national awards.

Most of Touchstone's activities have fallen into one of the following three categories: premiere productions of plays by local playwrights, second productions of important plays premiered in other regions of Canada, and innovative collective creations developed within the company. Within each category Touchstone has explored a wide variety of styles and always stayed true to the exploratory and celebratory spirit of the company. Former Artistic Directors have included Gordon McCall, John Cooper and Roy Surette.

May 14-20: Debra Cardona-DePeahul 

Focus: "I am launching a new project at Classical Theatre of Harlem called the Playwright’s Playground. The best way I could describe it is a “living room read” of sections of plays in progress. Writers submit 10-12 pages of something they are working on and twice a month we schedule a night to hear about six of them read. We invite actors to come to these evenings and we cast them in the scenes, which are then done as cold readings. This way the writers can hear what they have and the actors can build a relationship with up and coming playwrights. Monday, May 14^th (my first day of tweeting) will be the first meeting of the Playwright’s Playground, so a lot can go right — and a lot can go wrong. The rest of the week will deal with the aftershocks of staring something new and brainstorming on ways to help the idea evolve into something valuable to both writers and actors."

Apr 23-29: Carrie J. Cole 

Focus: “This week marks the last full week of a very full spring term, so you'll be getting a bit of a snapshot of some projects wrapping up, some new projects underway, and some of the amazing people with whom I collaborate!”

Apr 2-8: Jane Barnette

Focus: "This week, I’ll be tweeting about LMDA’s upcoming conference in Atlanta—it’s perfect timing, because we’re just about to make some big announcements! In addition, I’ll post about my trip to see Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the world premiere musical opening at the Alliance, with a book by Stephen King and music/lyrics by John Mellencamp.  As if that weren’t enough excitement, I will report back from the field of teaching Dramaturgy, as I meet with my undergraduates (a class of nineteen students, ranging from a dramaturgically savvy first-year student to several seniors who have assisted me on many shows) in one-on-one consultations about their final projects—a Cityscape of Atlanta presented as part of a poster session."