Ojai Playwrights Conference facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ojai Playwrights Conference |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Theatre festival |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Besant Hill School, Ojai, California |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1998 |
The Ojai Playwrights Conference is an exciting theatre festival that happens every August. It takes place in Ojai, California, mostly at the Besant Hill School. This event helps writers create brand new plays for American theatre.
What is the Ojai Playwrights Conference?
The conference is a special workshop for playwrights, who are people who write plays. For about ten days, writers work on their new plays. They get help from a director, a dramaturge (a theatre expert), and a full cast of actors.
This workshop helps make sure the plays are ready for the stage. At the end of the conference, there is a public festival. The new plays are read aloud for an audience. People can then talk about the plays together. These readings happen at the Zalk Theater on the Besant Hill School campus.
How it Started
The Ojai Playwrights Conference began in 1998. It was started by members of two theatre groups. These were the Echo Theater Company from Los Angeles and Theater 150 from Ojai.
Later, the conference became its own non-profit group. This means it focuses on its mission, not on making money. A board of directors and a small team now run the conference. Robert Egan is the Artistic Director. The conference does not have any business partners. It also does not produce plays for sale.
Plays on Stage!
Many plays worked on at the Ojai Playwrights Conference later become full productions. These plays have been shown in big cities. You can find them in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, and New York.
Some of these plays have even made it to Broadway and Off Broadway theatres. Famous theatres like The Mark Taper Forum and The Public Theater have shown plays from the conference. Other venues include Playwrights Horizons and Victory Gardens Theater.
Who Participates?
The conference invites many different kinds of writers. Some are very famous and have won big awards. These include Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winners. Other writers are new and just starting their careers. The conference helps all of them develop their creative ideas.
