Bloomington Playwrights Project

Bloomington Playwrights Project is a nonprofit theatre company based in Bloomington, Indiana, focused on the development and production of new plays and playwrights. Founded in the late 20th century, the organization has cultivated regional and national reputations for incubating original works and supporting playwrights through readings, workshops, and full productions. The company has engaged artists associated with institutions, festivals, and professional organizations across the United States and internationally.

History

The company was founded in 1979 amid a landscape shaped by institutions such as Indiana University Bloomington, New York Shakespeare Festival, Regional Theatre Movement, Arena Stage, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Early seasons featured collaborations with individuals connected to Guthrie Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival, Sundance Institute, and Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, reflecting influences from Eugenio Barba, Jerzy Grotowski, Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, and August Wilson. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the company developed ties to playwrights and institutions including Lanford Wilson, T. S. Eliot Prize, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, William Inge Theatre Festival, New Dramatists, Playwrights Horizons, Smithsonian Institution, and Theatre Communications Group. In the 2000s and 2010s the organization participated in networks linked to National Endowment for the Arts, Indiana Arts Commission, American Theatre Wing, Actors' Equity Association, and touring circuits that included stops associated with Edinburgh Festival Fringe, O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, and Humana Festival of New American Plays.

Mission and Programming

The company's mission centers on playwright development, residencies, and premiering contemporary works in partnership with universities, festivals, and arts agencies such as Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, School of Theatre and Dance (Indiana University), Ball State University, DePauw University, Purdue University, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Butler University, Ivy Tech Community College, National New Play Network, Dramatists Guild of America, Playwrights' Center, New Georges, and Women’s Project Theater. Regular programming has included staged readings, world premieres, short-play festivals, and dramaturgy exchanges influenced by practices at The Public Theater, Signature Theatre, Second Stage Theater, and Clubbed Thumb. Fundraising, commissioning, and production models involved partnerships with philanthropies such as Lilly Endowment, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and local foundations tied to Monroe County Community School Corporation initiatives.

Notable Productions and Premieres

The company has premiered works that later saw production in cities and institutions like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Baltimore Center Stage, Sacramento Theatre Company, Alaska Repertory Theatre, Minneapolis Theatre Company, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, and regional festivals such as Fringe Festival (Edinburgh), New York International Fringe Festival, and Spoleto Festival USA. Some premieres engaged playwrights with awards and affiliations including Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony Award, Obie Award, Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, MacArthur Fellowship, Obie Awards, and Lambda Literary Award. Productions have drawn directors, actors, and designers who also worked at Royal Shakespeare Company, Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, Off-Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, Vienna State Opera, and major regional theatres.

People (Artistic Leadership and Notable Playwrights)

Artistic leaders, company members, guest artists, and resident playwrights have included figures connected to Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Neil Simon, Lorraine Hansberry, David Mamet, Sarah Ruhl, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Paula Vogel, August Wilson, Sam Shepard, Annie Baker, Lisa Kron, Nilo Cruz, Suzan-Lori Parks, Martyna Majok, Lynn Nottage, Tony Kushner, John Patrick Shanley, Tina Howe, Ken Ludwig, Christopher Durang, David Henry Hwang, Heidi Schreck, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Jeanne Sakata, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Craig Lucas, Donald Margulies, Theresa Rebeck, Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill, Femi Òsófisan, Wole Soyinka, Eugène Ionesco, Arthur Kopit, John Guare, Larry Kramer, Marsha Norman, and Terrence McNally. Administrative and producing staff have liaised with funders and cultural partners such as National Endowment for the Arts, Indiana Arts Commission, Lilly Endowment, and university arts administrators from Indiana University and peer institutions.

Education and Community Outreach

Educational initiatives targeted students, faculty, amateur ensembles, and community organizers in cooperation with entities like Bloomington High School North, Bloomington High School South, Monroe County Community School Corporation, Monroe County Public Library, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, YMCA, NAACP (local chapters), IU Wells Scholars, Risky Business Theatre, and campus organizations at Indiana University Bloomington. Workshops, playwright labs, and youth programs paralleled curricula and models used by Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Young Playwrights Inc., Urban Stages, Lincoln Center Education, and Teaching Artists Guild. Community engagement included talkbacks, panel discussions, and collaborative projects with civic institutions such as Monroe County Courthouse, City of Bloomington Cultural Resources Commission, Visit Bloomington, Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington, and statewide arts networks.

Category:Non-profit theatre companies in the United States