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| 2008 Media Material List of Plays and Cast Press release Article Calendar Notice ASWP 2008 Playwrights (left to right) Top - Nick Boretz, Bill Welborn, Steven Broyles, ,Jim Walsh, Raymond Fast Lower - Syliva Davenport-Veith, Marian X, Lucretia Gibbs, James Beck (not pictured David L Fisher) ASWP 2007 Playwrights (left to right) Top - John Drago, Jim Walsh, James Beck Lower - Patrick Cuccaro, Valetta Anderson, Roz Ayres Williams, Marian X, Bill Welborn, Nick Boretz ASWP 07 First Draft Reading with Working Title Playwrights |
| Atlanta Stage Write Productions History In July 2007, Atlanta Stage Write Productions (ASWP) staged its first series of short plays at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. 9 X 9: Nine Plays by Nine Playwrights, culminated a six-month process of writing, critiquing, rehearsing and staging nine original short plays that also provided sixteen actors, five directors and the playwrights themselves with an opportunity to create and grow as artists and as a production team. The idea grew directly out of an experience playwright, James Beck, had in Chicago where he participated in a similar effort by B.U.M.S. (Blatnoi Underground Music Society). Back Porch Secrets, the title taken from the concept of ten playwrights creating ten short plays all using a back porch as setting, was produced by B.U.M.S in April 2005 at Chicago Dramatists. Returning to Atlanta, his hometown, James Beck decided to put out a call to area playwrights who might be interested in a similar project. Those who answered the call (most associated with Working Title Playwrights, as is James) were Valetta Anderson, Roz Ayres-Williams, Nick Boretz, Patrick Cuccaro, John Drago, James Walsh, Bill Wellborn and Marian X. In February 2007, the group began the process of writing ten-minute plays, utilizing as a starting point the theme "Fame and Fortune or the Lack Thereof." Weekly meetings focused on reading, encouraging and critiquing one another’s work. The result creating nine distinctive interpretations by nine very different playwrights; therefore the show’s title: 9 X 9. In April and May 2007, the focus shifted to facilitating a production of this work. The result of that endeavor was two sold-out shows that returned the group’s original investment and an audience at the end of each show with smiles on their faces. Earlier this year, with that successful outing in mind, James put out a call to develop another collection of short plays. Five playwrights from the 2007 group signed on: James, Nick Boretz, James Walsh, Bill Wellborn and Marian X, joined by five new writers, Steve Broyles, Ray Fast, David L. Fisher and Sylvia Davenport-Veith. Lucretia Gibbs, whose work is in development with ASWP, makes the tenth member of the team. ASWP 2008 playwrights began meeting in January, this time utilizing the theme "Life’s Journeys and Transitions" to jump-start the creative process. The result of this second collaboration will be staged in June, this time extending a two-evening run to a two-weekend run. Look for ASWP’s 9 X 9 2008 on June 6, 7, 8, 14 and 15 at the Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center, 10 Britt Avenue NW, Norcross, GA 30071. |
