Great Plains Theatre Conference

Great Plains Theatre Conference
Name	Great Plains Theatre Conference
Formation	1982
Headquarters	Omaha, Nebraska
Leader title	Artistic Director
Leader name	Varies

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Great Plains Theatre Conference

The Great Plains Theatre Conference is an annual theatrical gathering dedicated to new play development, playwright mentorship, and regional production advancement. Founded in the early 1980s in the American Midwest, the conference convenes playwrights, directors, actors, dramaturgs, and producers from institutions such as University of Nebraska Omaha, Creighton University, University of Iowa, Iowa State University and artistic organizations including Lincoln Center Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Public Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Arena Stage. The conference operates within the landscape of national festivals and networks like National New Play Network, Dramatists Guild of America, New Dramatists, Playwrights Horizons, and Humana Festival of New American Plays.

History

The conference was established in 1982 by regional artists and academics influenced by movements at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard School, Columbia University School of the Arts, and initiatives at Kennedy Center and O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Over decades it interacted with programs at New York Theatre Workshop, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, and festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe and National Black Theatre Festival. Directors and educators with backgrounds at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, Northwestern University, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program contributed to curricular and artistic growth. Partnerships and exchanges involved regional theaters including Omaha Community Playhouse, Omaha Performing Arts, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Minneapolis Theatre Company, and Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

The conference's mission emphasizes playwright development, production-readiness, and professionalization, aligning with organizations like Sundance Institute, MacDowell (artists' residency and workshop), Bogliasco Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and foundations such as Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Activities include staged readings, workshop productions, dramaturgy sessions, and panels featuring representatives from American Theatre Wing, Theatre Communications Group, New Georges, Working Farm, and residencies akin to Cherry Orchard Theatre Company programs. Educational outreach has linked with university departments at Creighton University School of Law (for legal arts issues), Metropolitan Community College, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and conservatory tracks at Rhode Island School of Design.

A core axis is new play incubation through PlayLab-style workshops modeled after O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and National Playwrights Conference practices. Playwright Fellows work with directors and dramaturgs from institutions such as Second Stage Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, and Cleveland Play House. The program has attracted playwrights represented by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French (company), Concord Theatricals, and agents affiliated with Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. Script development processes incorporate dramaturgy techniques derived from Brooklyn Academy of Music residencies and methods used at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Annual events include staged reading series, play-in-progress evenings, actor workshops, and panels similar to offerings at Humana Festival of New American Plays, Fringe Festival, New York Fringe Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Shakespeare in the Park style outdoor programming. Guest artists have included practitioners from Broadway League, Off-Broadway venues, regional companies like Extra Mile Theatre Company, and educational partners such as Hastings College and Doane University. The conference has sometimes coincided with citywide cultural initiatives tied to Omaha Performing Arts, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and Mid-America Arts Alliance events.

Playwrights and alumni associated with the conference have gone on to work with Tony Award-winning theaters, receive Pulitzer Prize for Drama recognition, and secure commissions from Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Alliance Theatre. Alumni include writers who later collaborated with August Wilson-inspired programs, recipients of Obie Awards, Lucille Lortel Awards, and fellowships from MacArthur Fellows Program. Participants have been involved with productions at Lincoln Center Theatre, South Coast Repertory, The Old Globe, Geffen Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, Goodman Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

The conference has operated under boards and artistic leadership drawing from academic institutions such as University of Nebraska, University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University of South Dakota, and cultural organizations including Nebraska Arts Council, Iowa Arts Council, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Missouri Arts Council, and South Dakota Arts Council. Funding and governance involve grant relationships with National Endowment for the Arts, private foundations like Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Kresge Foundation, and corporate supporters comparable to UP (Union Pacific Railroad), BNSF Railway, and local philanthropic entities. Advisory councils have included members from Dramatists Guild Foundation, Playwrights' Center, New Play Exchange, and representatives from Actors' Equity Association and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Programming has primarily taken place in venues across Omaha, Nebraska including theaters affiliated with University of Nebraska Omaha, Creighton University, Omaha Community Playhouse, and public spaces supported by Omaha Performing Arts. Satellite events and collaborations have occurred in nearby cultural centers such as Lincoln, Nebraska, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City, Missouri, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Lincoln Center (New York City). Rehearsal and workshop spaces have mirrored setups at New Dramatists lofts, Actors Theatre studios, and university black box theaters used by programs at Yale School of Drama and Northwestern University.

Category:American theatre festivals Category:Theatre conferences