They say 99 percent of all plays written never see a first production, which is being generous. “And 99 percent of those that do never see a second production,” said playwright Dan Dietz, author of Curious’ upcoming world premiere staging of “tempOdyssey.”
“It’s usually that second production that’s trickiest to get, because there is a certain prestige in being able to say you gave a play its world premiere,” he said.
And the prize for being second? Is there ever a prize for being second?
“Exactly,” said Dietz. “And at the same time, there’s still a tremendous risk to any company that’s second because it’s not an established hit yet. It hasn’t had enough productions to establish itself. So it has no cachet.”
Enter the National New Play Network, an alliance of 21 midsized professional theaters, including Denver’s Curious, that champions the development and production of new plays for the American theater through its Continued Life Project.
Here’s how it works: When a play such as “tempOdyssey” is chosen by the network, the alliance guarantees at least four separate full productions within one year. It’s called a “rolling world premiere,” and it is revolutionizing the development of new work in America.
“I could not have been given a greater gift,” said Dietz, whose “tempOdyssey” debuts Saturday at Curious before being mounted by the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.; the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis; and the New Jersey Rep – all by the end of February. This is not a touring production – each is a separate staging. And the new play network pays $5,000 for each new play that any company stages.
“So all of these theaters get the prestige of calling your play a world premiere, and your play gets the benefit of receiving, in my case, not one, not two, but four productions to really establish itself in the national theater scene,” Dietz said.
“So now, when someone is deciding whether they want to do your play, they can look and say, ‘Wow, this has gotten four productions already; there must be something there.’ “It puts you on a completely different footing as a playwright when you are approaching other theaters with your work.”
Later this year, Curious will become the third NNPN company to stage Thomas Gibbons’ “A House with No Walls.” Gibbons’ “Permanent Collection,” went through the Continued Life Program and the next year became one of the 10 most produced American plays.
“On a practical level, this program gives a lot of theaters that don’t have the resources for commissions to still be part of the development of new work in America,” said Curious artistic director Chip Walton.
