Development Hell Panel: The Cliff Notes

As usual Mr. Excitement has some exciting notes recapping the panel discussion last night on the whole "development hell" debate.

Among the many quotable quotes, this stuck a chord for me:

Madeline George of 13P elaborated on the origins of that group, offering that “emerging playwrights were…anticipating the music stands and the chairs”, leading to 13P’s concern “about what the trend of endless readings and new play development programs is doing to the texture and ambition of new American plays”. Development structures have “lots of implications for people who are writing”, she said, including stage directions, cast size and content...

Reminds me of a joke I used to fall back on as a literary manager when the Artistic Director and I were narrowing down scripts. "What's this one about?" he'd ask. I'd say, "It's about 2 men and 2 women."

Richard Nelson also says some good things, including:

Following the money trail is one way to assess what’s happened, Nelson said. Over the course of his career, he’s seen the new play move from the mainstage to the second stage and now into non-production situations.

Hey, there's always the parking lot.