Rules of the Lab:

Twice a month, directors meet to discuss: dramaturgy, literature, art movements, theatre scholarship, or any approved piece of literature that informs the interests of any director.

For those interested in mounting work: The Lab breaks down its mini-seasons into 3 paradigms — moving in sequence from Realism, to Non-Realism, to Classics. These mini-seasons are approved and rehearsed over the course of 3 months. All pieces then run in repertory for a period of two weeks. This schedule allows directors to move through the cycle, and have one quarter break, in a single calendar year.

We believe experience in the roles of stage managers, producers, and dramaturgs is imperative to those looking to take on the task of directing theatre. Therefore all directors in the group must volunteer to fulfill one of these roles for at least one play in a calendar year.

Benchmark showings are scheduled for directors preparing work — these give the members an opportunity to discuss how the play is progressing and offer the directors a chance to respond to artistic feedback. These showings are moderated by the dramaturg of the project.

Once the work is up, one performance with a talkback is scheduled during the second week of the run — also moderated by the project’s dramaturg. All performances are open to the public with a donation option for those who wish to contribute. 

A final discussion about each project take’s place after closing to discuss the director’s experience mounting the work, the challenges they encountered and a collective response to how to strengthen the directors ability to overcome those challenges the next time.

To build community, challenge directors, and nurture a company of theatre makers is the ultimate goal.