The 32nd Annual Valdez Theatre Conference wrapped up another successful year.
by Dawson Moore |
The 32nd Annual Valdez Theatre Conference wrapped up another successful year on June
15. 47 playwrights from across America gathered to celebrate and analyze how to write
effective plays.
The two public evening shows were both well-attended. Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground
starred Tony-winner John Rubinstein in a one-man show about President Eisenhower finding
out that after his presidency, a group of historians have ranked him 23 out of 31
presidents. It explored the modern political climate with parallels from Eisenhower's political career.
The New York workshop production of Joanna Castle Miller's INFERNA was a call to action
for the playwrights in the room, and explored the treatment of women in theatre through
history played against an autobiographical story from the author's youth. Both shows
were powerful and beautifully presented.
In addition to the forty-seven play readings responded to in the Lab, there were also
many classes for actors and playwrights throughout the week. The Monologue Workshop's
final performance was the biggest in its 16th year, with 50 actors performing monologues
written by the attending playwrights. This year also saw the return of the highly
popular Ten-Minute Play Slam, featuring five writers' short plays directed by PWSC
staff member Jay Stevens.
There were other great activities, including a donated cruise for all participants
aboard Stan Stephens Cruises; a late-night Fringe Festival held at Magpie's On-the-Fly;
and a showing of the short film Big Sur, with a discussion afterwards with its two
stars, Laura Gardner and Alma Martinez. The week wrapped up in a gala dinner catered
by Serendipity
Catering and entertainment provided by TBA Theatre, the Anchorage-based company that
regularly provides a two-week summer intensive to Valdez children.
We are excited to announce that the 33rd VTC will be held from June 7-14, 2025. We
look forward to seeing you there. For any questions or inquiries, please feel free
to reach out to the Coordinator, Dawson Moore. Dawson's email address is dmoore@alaska.edu.
![panelists Three people smiling.](/pwsc-news/_images/panelists2.jpg)
Panelists Nan Barnett, Minita Gandhi, and Dawson Moore taking a photo after responding
together in the Play Lab.