New Play Development Factory

What It Is Dragon Productions' Artist in Residence, Jeffrey Lo, will produce three staged readings of plays written by Bay Area playwrights in 2012. The New Play Development Factory seeks to provide an opportunity for local playwrights to hear their new work out loud and to give them time to continue to develop their piece throughout the festival. Three full-length new works will have staged readings at the three-week festival, which runs from April 17 to May 6th, 2012. The selected plays will have one staged reading each week of the festival with time for the playwrights to fine tune their piece in between each reading. Each play will get their own director and cast of local talent from throughout the Bay Area. The new works will be directed by up and coming local directors Jeffrey Lo, Cara Phipps, and Heather Noelle Robinson. The playwrights will be on hand at each performance to take audience feedback and discuss their writing process. Final Selections Chosen The New Play Development Factory has chosen the three plays that will be a part of their inaugural festival. Hosted by Palo Alto's Dragon Productions Theatre, the New Play Development Factory will workshop three original plays by three Bay Area playwrights over a three-week period. Each play is developed with a director and actors who will rehearse and perform a staged reading of the piece at the end of each week of the festival. After each performance, the playwrights will take what they heard during the reading, as well as audience feedback, and will further refine the piece for the following weekend's reading. ''We've tried to set up the New Play Development Factory in a way that puts the focus on the playwrights and what they need to take their work to the next level,'' said NPDF producer Jeffrey Lo. ''The festival really embodies the Bay Area's commitment to supporting work from our local artists. Our plan is to make this an annual festival that Bay Area playwrights can rely on as a