Play Haven incubator reveals first season of new work showcasing Atlanta playwrights

Play Haven, an incubator for new dramatic works from Atlanta writers, announced at a Theatrical Outfit event on January 19 the inaugural round of new plays that will receive readings and development workshops.

Founders Joey Davila and Charis Sellick said in an interview that Play Haven seeks to give playwrights a safe place to bring their scripts to whatever their “next step” is.

Their first call for submissions received 54 replies.

“For works in development, the next step may not be a reading,” Sellick said. “Some of our development submissions that got selected were only 10 to 25 pages of a play. In that case, our goal is to help nurture the idea.”

For its first season, Play Haven selected new scripts by Bobbi Twiggs, Melissa Simmons and Jeilianne Vazquez for its five-day development workshops.

“We’re in a unique position to respond to the needs of the playwriting community in this town,” Davila said. “We want to demystify the steps between a first reading and a world premiere or being produced. Often, playwrights get a reading and then are unsure about what’s next.”

Theatrical Outfit will also host Play Haven’s reading series of completed works, beginning with Claire F. Martin’s The Poet’s Comedy on February 1 at 7:30 p.m. Future events will showcase Impossible Theories of Us by John Mabey; Spicy White by Quinn Xavier Hernandez; Rural by Tiffany Roshae Williams; To Serve the Hive by Julia Byrne; and Space Bound by Kira Rockwell.

Mabey is thrilled to be part of Davila and Sellick’s first season.

“Their excitement over new plays is contagious,” Mabey said in a text message. “It’s incredibly difficult to get new work produced, and I love how they match what the playwright needs with local resources. It builds a stronger play and builds a stronger community at the same time.”

The planned readings are going to be more than just a bunch of actors sitting in chairs, the founders said.

“Right now, the structure we want is one day of rehearsal, then a blocking rehearsal and then we put it on,” Sellick said. “But Atlanta’s professional actors are going to bring their A-game, so these readings are going to be awesome.”

To prepare for their work with Play Haven, Davila and Sellick went through the dramaturg training program with Working Title Playwrights, another group that develops scripts with local writers.

Additionally, Davila now serves as audience engagement manager at Theatrical Outfit.Sellick, last onstage in The Cottage at Stage Door, will return in the remount of Hot Jambalaya at Horizon Theatre this year.

They started Play Haven as a way to embrace new work, their favorite aspect of working in theater.

“We want our events to center around the playwright,” Sellick said. “Every reading will be like an art exhibit where the writer is the focus.”

Davila agreed.

“It’s a pretty important goal of mine that audiences will leave these experiences feeling that new stories are possible,” Davila said. “Isn’t that magical? Developing new work can feel really academic in this town, and I would like it to feel more communal, almost spiritual. Storytelling is one of the best rituals humanity has ever done. It should be celebrated more.”

Where & When

The first reading from the Play Haven incubator is Claire F. Martin’s The Poet’s Comedy, which will take place February 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Theatrical Outfit’s Balzer Theatre. Tickets, $5.

::

Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, Impacted, was published by The Story Plant.