Atlanta is on the rise when it comes to new play development, and Theatrical Outfit is jumping into the fray with its new program, Made in Atlanta. In its inaugural year, this program aims to champion Southern and Georgia-based voices. This season will feature workshops and readings of three new plays, including one commission written exclusively for Theatrical Outfit.
The brainchild of artistic director Matt Torney, the program has been in development since 2020 but met unexpected delays when the pandemic forced Theatrical Outfit to temporarily close its doors. However, it’s now up and ready to go, and associate artistic director Addae Moon could not be more thrilled.
“When I first applied for the job at Theatrical Outfit, it was this program that made me want to apply,” Moon says. “This shift of focus into new work is where my passion lies.”
Theatrical Outfit does have some history with new play development, primarily with the Graham Martin Unexpected Play Festival, a yearly co-production with Working Title Playwrights. However, in the case of Made in Atlanta, a push is being made to center specifically Southern stories and playwrights.
“We really want to be a part of the development of a new Southern dramatic canon,” explains Moon. “What is the South? How can we expand people’s perception of what Southern narratives are?”
The program kicked off on Nov. 1 with Lee Osorio’s “Providence Canyon,” which is inspired by Osorio’s own experiences in his small hometown of Lumpkin, Georgia and deals with issues of immigration. The play was previously developed as part of the Alliance Theatre’s Reiser Artists Lab as well as the Unexpected Play Festival.
Two other readings are forthcoming. This weekend, Theatrical Outfit will stage a reading of “Young John Lewis: The Prodigy of Protest,” which tells the story of the late congressman in the years before he became a politician, including his early experiences with nonviolent activism and the civil rights movement. Penned by Psalmayene 24 and with original music by Eugene H. Russell IV, “Young John Lewis” was commissioned by Torney in an attempt to speak to young people in the midst of their own political awakenings.
The series will conclude on Nov. 19 with a reading of “Marry Me, Bruno Mars” by Megan Tabaque. This play is set in the suburbs of Atlanta and deals with the trauma of the shootings that occurred last year at a number of Asian-American spas. It is making the trip to Theatrical Outfit after first debuting in 2021 as part of Theater Emory’s Brave New Works festival.
The goal of each of these plays is to center Southern experiences in a way that defies traditional expectations. The fact that each centers non-white Southern voices was not an intentional focus on the part of Theatrical Outfit, but is certainly not one that they are shying away from as they look to bring in more diverse experiences.
Each play will go through a development process consisting of a weeklong workshop followed by a public reading. The workshop will feature the playwrights working together with a group of actors, a director and a dramaturg to determine what works about the script and what needs changing. The objective of the workshop is not to create a perfect final product, but to help the writer’s voice be heard as clearly as possible. It is unlikely that any of these workshops will result in a polished, world-premiere-ready script. Rather, these workshops are about the process itself, and all of the discoveries that can be made along the way.
Of course, the process is a bit different for “Young John Lewis” than either of the other two plays, both of which have had previous development at other locations. Moon makes clear that Psalmayene and the rest of the creative team are still working to fine-tune the piece — a process that will make up most of the workshop time. As more established pieces, “Providence Canyon’ and “Marry Me, Bruno Mars” will focus more on preparing for a presentation. However, as is the nature of new play development, these are all works-in-progress, and Theatrical Outfit is not looking to rush the playwrights into producing a final product that they are not comfortable with. This spirit of discovery is shared not only by the writers but by the artistic staff at Theatrical Outfit as they all figure out what formats and structures work best moving forward.
“We’re sort of experimenting with what we know,” Moon says. “I’ve been in new play development for a little over 20 years now, and Matt did a lot of that stuff before he came here as well. So, we have some ideas, but we also want to make sure that it fits for Made in Atlanta and the kind of work that we want to do moving forward.”
THEATER PREVIEW
“Young John Lewis,” 6:30 p.m. Nov. 13. Sold out. “Marry Me, Bruno Mars,” 2 p.m. Nov. 19. Free. Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 1700 North Decatur Road, Atlanta. 678-528-1500, theatricaloutfit.org.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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ArtsATL (www.artsatl.org), is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. Founded in 2009, ArtsATL’s goal is to help build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.
If you have any questions about this partnership or others, please contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams at nicole.williams@ajc.com.
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