A hand for playwrights

The only thing that makes good local theater even better is when the troupes get a chance to produce local, original plays. The problem—unless you’ve got an in-house playwright or two, and maybe a dramaturge—is how to take a new play from an early working draft to a piece that is actually ready for the stage. It’s a long haul, and involves a bit of workshopping and staged reading, interspersed with copious rewrites. But there are a couple of options for playwrights (even novices) in Sacramento. The long-running playwrights’ workshop at Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre meets on Monday nights. For more information, e-mail <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">{ document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,97,32,104,114,101,102,61,34,109,97,105,108,116,111,58,116,104,105,115,116,108,101,100,101,119,112,108,97,121,119,114,105,103,104,116,115,64,121,97,104,111,111,46,99,111,109,34,62,116,104,105,115,116,108,101,100,101,119,112,108,97,121,119,114,105,103,104,116,115,64,121,97,104,111,111,46,99,111,109,60,47,97,62)) } </script>. A newer group, the Playwrights Collaborative, has been alternating between Big Idea Theatre and Lambda Players. For more information, e-mail Gary Agid at <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">{ document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,97,32,104,114,101,102,61,34,109,97,105,108,116,111,58,103,97,114,121,64,97,103,105,100,46,99,111,109,34,62,103,97,114,121,64,97,103,105,100,46,99,111,109,60,47,97,62)) } </script> or Leo McElroy at <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">{ document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,97,32,104,114,101,102,61,34,109,97,105,108,116,111,58,109,99,101,108,99,111,109,49,64,97,116,116,46,110,101,116,34,62,109,99,101,108,99,111,109,49,64,97,116,116,46,110,101,116,60,47,97,62)) } </script>.