History of New Play Development

In 2014, PBD introduced The Dramaworkshop, a lab for developing new plays. Creating new works was one of the original objectives of the regional theatre movement, and it’s a mission PBD firmly believes in: new play development is the future of American theatre. Playwrights were invited to submit their evolving scripts for consideration for further development of all kinds, from read-throughs to fully produced world premieres. In 2016, we mounted our first developmental production in the Perlberg Studio Theatre; the following season, we produced the first world premiere to have been developed by The Dramaworkshop.

In January, 2019, The Dramaworkshop launched the New Year/New Plays Festival, featuring readings on our stage of five evolving plays. It was an instant success, and The Dramaworkshop gradually began focusing its efforts almost exclusively on this popular annual event. It soon became clear that The Dramaworkshop and the New Year/New Plays Festival were one and the same. Prior to the start of the 2023-24 season, the festival was renamed in honor of its generous executive producers, Diane and Mark Perlberg, and at the end of the season we retired The Dramaworkshop.

We want to express our profound gratitude to the eight founding producers of The Dramaworkshop, without whose unstinting support there would be no Perlberg Festival of New Plays today.

THE DRAMAWORKSHOP FOUNDING PRODUCERS