Hello Dear Writers!

The Black Women Playwrights’ Group, in collaboration with Loyola University Chicago’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts, presents: Whisper. Laugh. Shout. Tell The Story: First National Meeting of Women of Color Writing Drama, September 4-7, 2008, Loyola University, Chicago, IL.

The meeting is historic. For the first time women writers of color will gather in a nurturing environment that assumes they should have prolific, consistent careers writing dramatic literature that illuminates the human condition. We want to ask writing women what they need to navigate the labyrinth facing writers of color in theater, film, and television. Focus groups will ask, “What do you need? How can we support you?” With the answers to these questions, we will design a national level of membership that serves not only women playwrights of color but also the American theater.

Who should come? You should. If you are thinking about writing your first play, or have just started, come. If you have written 20 plays, come. If you are writing hip hop, dramas, comedies, gospel plays, musicals, come! If you are writing for film and television, come. Your voice is unique, but we are gathering kindred spirits with stories to tell.

The four-day meeting will include a staged reading, an awards dinner, workshops, and small group discussions that center on the playwrights’ experiences. Lynn Nottage, MacArthur award-winning playwright, is a guest speaker. Scholars and professionals in the field will also be present to make this a memorable and worthwhile event.

The conference will take place at Loyola University Chicago’s newly renovated Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus. Loyola Professor Jonathan Wilson, a highly respected director at regional theaters across the nation, will direct the staged reading. For Loyola, the conference is the beginning of a year-long focus on gender, diversity, and new initiatives in the American theater.

We hope to see you in Chicago!

All the best,

Karen L.B. Evans
President and Founder

Conference Schedule At-A-Glance please click here.

For Registration please click here.