The May 7 edition of The Dramatist LIVE begins with a visit from Kristoffer Diaz, chair of the Guild’s newest committee, the New Media Committee. “People will find ways to get together to make art and tell stories,” says Diaz, “but the way that it looks, when we come back, is going to be different.” That’s where the New Media Committee comes in, to help DG members navigate this “seismic, foundational, generational change.” Kristoffer stays online for a lightning round of Ten Questions LIVE. Before signing off, he reminds viewers to email us at questions@dramatistsguild.com with questions on live-streaming rights, Zoom, or other forms of new media.
Donna stops by the webinar to share more about what led to her unexpected collaboration. She was supposed to have a residency at Arts at the Palace this summer; when it was cancelled due to COVID-19, she connected Arts at the Palace with Women’s Theatre Festival in North Carolina. The two companies created a virtual production of Donna's play, which will happen this July. Staff members from both companies (Elizabeth Douglas of Arts at the Palace and Johannah Edwards and Rowen Haigh of Women’s Theatre Festival) joins Donna to discuss the process of virtually presenting her show.
Next, The Dramatist LIVE welcomes Eric “Pogi” Sumangil, writer and creator of Unalienable. The project is “a response to what’s happening around the world, and a response specifically from the Asian American community,” explains Pogi. Unalienable collaborators Kit Yan, Lucy Wang, and co-host Christine Toy Johnson also speak about their experiences writing monologues for the project, and what Unalienable means to them.
The webinar ends with an observation from co-host Joey Stocks. “We're basically watching the art that's being made in this pandemic roll out.”