You don't need me to tell you about the conflict involved in running a theater company. You have a fiscal responsibility, and seats need to be filled. And dang if they don't seem to fill faster with revivals and familiar titles. Then there's the little character on your other shoulder, reminding you that new work is the life blood of the theater, and it would be the death of all creativity everywhere if nobody took a chance on some new work now and then.

If you have the resources and/or the intestinal fortitude to do nothing but new work, then you are amazing. And may I say how nice you look today? But most companies with a conviction to do new work can only dedicate a show or two from their mainstage season, and maybe also a minimalist reading series. And you know what happens when you put that little, tiny notice in the Dramatists Sourcebook saying that you're accepting original scripts? Answer: too many scripts, too little time. A looming pile on the floor by your desk.

How Big Is Your Pile?

I'm not here to change your season, or inflate your budget and give your Managing Director or Board conniptions. And, though I'm not averse to being a resident Dramaturg/Literary Manager/New Works Director in a new city, I'm pretty content where I'm living now, in Southern California.

But if you'd like to be doing more new work than you thought you could, I'd like to help the cause. Not for free, of course, but reasonably. Perhaps you just need a freelancer to read down your pile of scripts intermittently.

Or maybe you want a consultant to come in and establish (or expand) a New Works program for you. You can start a rehearsed readings series on a shoestring, you know. With original writing, and actors, and post-reading audience feedback sessions, and everything. And it might surprise you how synergistically it affects your company and community. The good karma involved with new work is palpable (yes, I said karma; I'm from Southern California).

I already started one New Works program from scratch, and I continue to read and analyze script submissions for more than one theater. Nothing makes me happier than helping new work happen. If you've read this far, you probably know what I'm talking about. Would you like some help?