The plays the thing....the unread thing.

American theaters says they are looking for exciting new plays to produce. In many publications they plead for such exciting new plays, promising to respond in three to six months. That's a long time, but not really when you consider that most never respond at all. Why? Did they not read the play. Possible. Did they not like it? If so, why not send a quick rejection?  I think the answer is that most theaters are run by pretty ordinary people. The kind of people who wouldn't recognize an exciting new play. Or don't have the confidence to produce it. Or prefer to play it safe with all the endlessly performed tried and true productions of the past. Or are just too lazy and rude to even read many of the submissions they received. I am particularly annoyed by this because my play The Gray List is a proven crowd pleaser. It was done in New York twice by actors and producers who appreciated its value. And it was well-received both times. But I have sent it out to over 50 theater companies and have not received a single positive response, which suggests to me it went mostly unread. Our local theater, The Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables has never read it, though I have sent it three times in ten years. Part of their mission is to support local playwrights. But it would seem they prefer to do tried and true Broadway musicals and plays, especially if there is a lead role for the Artistic Director. Bitter? Of course I am. I have a powerful play that isn't even being considered for production. And I, like hundreds of other playwrights in America, are spending my time and money to send out plays which are completely ignored. And, in most cases, we do not even receive the courtesy of the promised reply. On the few times when I have challenged this rudeness, I was told there are so many submissions, we can't read them all. I submit that you can tell in five pages if a play is any good. Thus one could review dozens a day.  I think this dismissal of playwrights speaks very badly for theater in America.

Note: The above photo is from the most recent New York production of The Gray List. The three brilliant performers are Kittie Hendrix, Thomas J. Kane, and Marilyn Duryea.