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WordBRIDGE Offers Next Generation of American
Playwrights The Chance To Work With Leading
Playwrights, Actors, And Others
Noted playwright and author Gary Garrison will serve as the playwright-in-residence at the 2009 WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory taking place at Clemson University June 5-20. Other guest artists taking part in the two-week playwriting lab are award-winning film/television actress and singer Rain Pryor, voice and dialect artist Eliza Jane Schneider, and Bill Bowers, an internationally acclaimed actor and mime.
WordBRIDGE is a writing laboratory that provides a bridge for gifted emerging playwrights between the theoretical and academic sides of playwriting and the real
world of theater. “WordBRIDGE provides pre-professional playwrights a place to experiment free of production pressures. It offers the resources to ‘bridge’ the distance between their internal vision and their final goal – production,” said Mark Charney, Clemson University’s director of theater and the co-artistic director of WordBRIDGE.
Garrison, who serves as the executive director for creative affairs for the Dramatists Guild of America, is the author of several books about playwriting. He has written nearly 20 plays, seven full-length and short film scripts, and edited or authored five books about dramatic writing, including “The Playwright’s Survival Guide: Keeping the Drama in Your Work and Out of Your Life” and “The Perfect 10.”
“We are pleased to have Gary at this summer’s laboratory,” said Charney. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to WordBRIDGE that will benefit all who participate, and even better, he is also working on a new play, ‘Buddy.’”
Five up-and-coming playwrights from around the country have accepted invitations to take part. During WordBRIDGE, the writers will not only work with Garrison but with other professional artists, among them directors and actors, production designers and dramaturges. They can also receive advice from a team of resource professionals—behavioral scientists, musicians, storytellers, movement artists, and others.
“By bringing playwrights together with artists from a variety of disciplines, who are available to share whatever talents they possess, we hope to create the conversation that brings these scripts to life,” explained David White, co-artistic director of WordBRIDGE.
Among this summer’s roster of guest artists are voice and dialect artist Eliza Jane Schneider. Her voice is heard regularly on Comedy Central’s animated series “South Park.” Schneider has also created characters for MTV, NBC, Cartoon Network, and PIXAR films. Actress Rain Pryor has appeared on several network television comedies and dramas, including “The Head of the Class,” “Rude Awakening,” “The Division,” and “Chicago Hope.” Bill Bowers is an actor, educator, and internationally renowned mime. He has performed in all 50 of the United States and throughout Europe. His original mime shows, “‘Night Sweetheart, ‘Night Buttercup,” and “Under a Montana Moon” have been produced Off Broadway to critical raves.
After a lengthy selection process, playwrights whose scripts exhibits great promise are invited to participate. This summer’s selected writers and scripts are Will 
Fancher’s “The River Was Whiskey,” Dana Lynn Formby’s “Corazon De Manzana,” Antionette Nwanda’s, “Flat Sam,” and Deborah Yarchun’s, “Portmanteaux.” Kendall Sherwood, a recent Clemson University graduate rounds out the selected writers with her play “Wade and Women.”
The process begins with a reading of the plays for the assembled company of professionals. The playwrights then spend the rest of the time in rehearsals, revising their scripts, and meeting with artists before having a second reading. “The writer is the center of what we are about. The laboratory exists to best serve his or her ideas,” said White.
As part of the WordBRIDGE, the laboratory will present a Tribute to Playwrights where the participating artists can spend time with the Clemson community. The event will include a performance of Yury Klavdiev’s “I Am The Machine Gunner” translated by John Freedman, theatre critic for “The Moscow Times.” “I Am The Machine Gunner” is a violent and aggressive play that captures the struggle of a young Russian gang member trying to find the same honor in his own battles that his grandfather found while fighting the Germans in World War II.
The Tribute to Playwrights showcasing “I Am The Machine Gunner” is Saturday, June 13, at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts’ Bellamy Theatre. “I Am The Machine Gunner” contains adult language and content is not suitable for all audiences. For tickets and information, go to www.clemson.edu/Brooks or call the Brooks Center box office, Monday-Friday, 1-5 p.m., (864) 656-7787.
In addition, the public is invited to participate in WordBRIDGE’s Guest Artist Hours. The interactive workshop will feature the lab’s guest artists sharing their expertise on a variety of topics, among them playwriting, voice and dialects, Feldenkrais movement, and storytelling. Guest Artist Hours are free and take place at 4:30 pm on Wednesday-Friday, June 10-12, and Monday-Wednesday, June 15-17 in the Bellamy Theatre.
For nearly 15 years, WordBRIDGE has developed the plays of more than 70 writers from all over the United States. Started in Eckerd College by Richard Rice, the playwriting laboratory has been held at Clemson since 2007.
