2011 Great Plains Theatre Conference Feedback

I cannot begin to tell you what a tremendous shot in the arm the GPTC was for me.

I can't believe what an honor it was for me to be there. The response to my play, of course, was the best part about the trip. People really got it, felt for it and gave me amazing feedback. I am so happy and grateful that you have organized and cultivated this epic undertaking that is GPTC.

People have been asking me how Omaha was since I've been back in NYC and I've literally been just saying "It was a life-altering experience."

So thank you thank you thank you.

Until next year!!

Sara Farrington (Asselin)
PlayLab Playwright

What an impressive Conference this was! This was one of the best organized, carefully planned and well executed Conferences I've ever attended. I'm still astonished at the breadth and depth of the Workshops and the excellence of the plays, not to mention the kindness and thoughtfulness of all the people involved. I will happily submit again next year and would be thrilled to be able to attend again. My deepest thanks to all who made this possible.

Bob Barr
PlayLab Playwright

Kevin:

A great big thank-you to you, Scott, everyone at MCC, and all the incredibly imaginative, energetic, generous people of Omaha who work so hard to make the Great Plains Theatre Conference such a positive, invigorating, challenging, and heart-warming event.

I applied to the Conference for a couple of reasons.

First, I wanted my play to have a reading that was more than just something thrown together at the last moment. Readings that happen at local theatres are, more often than not, slap-dash affairs that offer little, if any, illumination of the text. I was thrilled to have a chance to work with quality artists (director and performers) for nine hours! The great gift of time that GPTC offers writers is a tremendous boon to the creative process. Spending that time together allowed us to make a performance that truly allowed me and the audience to see what I'd put on the page. The work that week gave me a clearer understanding of the state of my play. Working with other artists, sitting with an audience I learned what I needed to do in order to make the play tell the story I want it to tell. This is an invaluable gift for a writer working on a new play.

Second, I wanted an opportunity to connect with other writers. Play writing is a lonely profession. I sit in a room, banging out ideas that come from inside my own little head. It's a very closed world.

Meeting other writers; eating meals with them, riding the bus, watching readings, watching performances, all the time bounding ideas and theories, sharing strategies for creating and selling work, drinking, laughing, shouting. . . Rubbing up against other artists, I feel sharper and brighter, more connected to others living the craft and less alone. The breadth and depth of the week's work was incredibly inspiring. New stories and new techniques; my mind exploded. I feel better able to open my stories to new tellings.

Third, I came to Great Plains hoping to expand my reach beyond Los Angeles. I feel it's time for me to move beyond the local and embrace a national audience. I'm not sure how far I've moved on that hope.

But I'm taking the first steps. I made some good friends during that week, some people who I want to connect to theatres here in LA. I think they'll return the favor. Circles rise.

Lastly, I want to commend the Conference on making such an important art event in Omaha. As a son-of-the-Midwest, I was thrilled to see so much talent and energy and commitment to art-making happening on the Great Plains. It's too easy to think that art happens only on the coasts. My week in Omaha restored my trust in the heartland. There are good, intelligent, brave people everywhere who need, and are capable of appreciating, challenging, important art.

Okay. Enough rambling. It's kind of like trying to put into words what you feel the first time you express yourself to someone you have a crush on. The words seem puny, and you're not sure the other person really understands. You end up talking and talking hoping to find the right thing to convince them you are sincere and you end up sounding like an idiot.

Be happy and well--

Steven Totland

Wow. You are all doing incredible work on this conference. This is a remarkable lineup of diverse real-world activities. It should induce the euphoria of theatrical sensory overload for every attendee. It is an honor to be involved in this conference. You are taking GPTC to a new level.

D. Scott Glasser
Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Theatre
University of Nebraska
PlayFest Director

Hi Kevin,

Thanks so much for the hard work you and your colleagues put into arranging the Great Plains Theater Conference this year. I was thrilled to be able to attend, and am grateful to everything you, your staff, and the lovely Ellen Struve did to make it possible.

I was really thrilled by the talent and camaraderie of the Nebraska theater folks.  The dedication of those who worked so hard on the one-shot performances of Fortinbras and A Walk in the Woods staggered me. It was wonderful to get to meet all these people and see you working together across many boundaries--academic, professional, community theater makers, people of different ages, races, and aesthetic tendencies all collaborating to welcome playwrights from beyond Omaha and to make the conference happen.

I appreciated some of the folks you brought in from the larger world as well--Mac Wellman's courage and precision during the feedback process, Tom Riccio's Subliminal workshop (which gave a much needed reminder of the creative depths from which my plays emerge), and Sibyl Kempton's refreshing openness and energy. And I made so many connections among playwrights from all over the country--some just brief thoughtful exchanges, others I think may develop into lifelong friendships.


Thank you again for your dedication to playwrights and for your effort in making this happen.

all the best,

Monica Raymond
PlayLab Playwright

Dear Kevin,

At the close of a whirlwind week of inspiration, stimulation, and education, we are happily exhausted, yet invigorated by the creative catalysts we've encountered at GPTC. How do we begin to thank you for the incredibly fertile environment you created in Omaha? And, how do we begin to express our gratitude for including us in the 2011 PlayLabs?

We are indebted to you for allowing us the space and time to create, create, create.

We are also very proud to tell you that GPTC inspired us to write feverishly into the wee hours of the morning, throughout the week. That has resulted in a nearly complete first draft of Act 1 of our next project! You and the space GPTC created helped to midwife this project. Again, we thank you.

Kevin, please extend our heartfelt gratitude to Scott, Kay, Katie (and her army of interns and volunteers) for making our stay at GPTC secure, smooth, and comfortable. Also, please extend our appreciation to the generous donors and benefactors, who from year to year, ensure that GPTC continues to foster and nurture playwrights, with special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Simon and the Holland Family. We would also like to particularly extend our gratitude to several of the donors whom we had the pleasure to meet at the Le Chat Noir reception: Todd and Betiana Simon; Paul and Annette Smith; and Rick and Carol Russell.

We look forward to supporting GPTC in any way we may, and to heralding this most unique and supportive artistic community of Omaha. Until we meet again, we are
Sincerely and most gratefully yours,

Kara Revel & Sherry Bokser
PlayLab Playwrights

Published in the Omaha World Herald - Public Pulse

Omaha stage fits for conference

I recently visited Omaha to participate in the Great Plains Theatre Conference. It was my second visit, and I'd like to compliment the city on its beauty and affability.
I loved the flavor of the Old Market, the architecture of the Durham Museum and its fabulous photo exhibit, and the enjoyable experience of walking along the waterfront.
I had a reading of my play at the conference and found the comments from the audience, about half of whom were local residents, to be insightful, intelligent and extremely helpful.
I thank Omaha for hosting this world-class cultural event and welcoming me as a guest. I certainly hope to return.

Francine Dick, Toronto
PlayLab Playwright

Feedback from our 2011 post conference survey:

"…I am amazed by the citizens of Omaha, both the artists, academics, and sponsors who are so engaged in the contemporary theatre scene. This community may certainly be considered a model for theatre in the 21st century."

- GPTC Participant

“I love working it; and theatre is my profession; it’s invaluable to my career and the community”

– GPTC technician

"Every year my love and commitment to theatre is rejuvenated by attending GPTC. Seeing new scripts and voices emerge gives me confidence in our future, and this year especially I left with a high that stayed with me long after the conference was over".

-GPTC Actor

"I'm currently a graduate student studying theatre and I firmly believe that GPTC has been a vital part of my educational experience – participating in the conference has helped me grow as an actor, writer and teacher. The opportunities that GPTC gives to young artists are unparalleled in the Midwest. Perhaps most importantly, GPTC has helped me become a more confident, creative and dynamic member of the Omaha theatre community. Each year, my experiences at GPTC remind me of why I fell in love with the theatre in the first place."

- GPTC Actor

“The GPTC is a terrific “meeting in the middle of the middle of the country” for theatre professionals and aspiring professionals from all over.  I’ve never felt so welcomed by an event that is at the same time stimulating and challenging”

- GPTC Playwright

"It's the best part of my theatrical year, every year. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

- GPTC Director