Cover of the March/April 2022 issue of The Dramatist
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Innovation is Nothing New
“This Room Is a Broken Heart” in The Watering Hole at Signature Theatre featuring the art of Vanessa German
“This Room Is a Broken Heart” in The Watering Hole at Signature Theatre featuring the art of Vanessa German. Photo by Lia Chang.

My primary takeaway from this issue is that the act of innovating is nothing new, and what’s considered innovative often isn’t entirely new, either. Looking at innovation in theatre from the past few years, one can clearly see elements of history and tradition that exist in tandem with revolution, expansion, and disruption. Innovation isn’t created in a vacuum; it comes from somewhere, and that should be acknowledged, perhaps confronted or appreciated depending on the source.

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amelia french
amelia french

is a writer and editor from Maine.

Lynn Nottage
Lynn Nottage

is the first woman in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Recent work includes the libretto for the opera Intimate Apparel (Lincoln Center Theater), the book for the musical MJ (Broadway), Clyde’s (Broadway, 2ST), and the book for the musical The Secret Life of Bees. Other credits include the performance installation (as co-curator) of The Watering Hole at the Signature Theatre; Mlima’s Tale; Sweat (Pulitzer Prize, Obie, Evening Standard Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lilly Award); Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, Obie, Lortel, NY Drama Critics’ Circle, AUDELCO, Drama Desk, and OCC awards); Intimate Apparel (American Theatre Critics and NY Drama Critics’ Circle). She is the recipient of a PEN/Laura Pels Master Dramatist Award, Doris Duke Artist Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, and the MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship. She is a Professor at Columbia University School of the Arts and is a member of the Theater Hall of Fame and the Dramatists Guild.

Matt Barbot

is a writer from Brooklyn, NY. His play El Coquí Espectácular and the Bottle of Doom received its world premiere at Two River Theater in January 2018. He was recently a Playwright Observer at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Centers 2017 National Playwrights Conference. Matt received his MFA from Columbia University.