Script Development
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Goals
Centering the creative development of women, non-binary and trans playwrights through workshop rehearsals and performances of new plays, our Script Development programming provides opportunities for playwrights to see their scripts move from words on a page to life on a stage.
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The Playwright's Table
A monthly opportunity for a local playwright to have a new work read aloud by actors, lifting the story from the pages and into a live space as they continue their drafting process.
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Plays in Progress
An on-going series of script development workshops capped with staged readings - includes 12 hours of rehearsal with a director and up to 5 actors.
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Our History of Script Development
New plays have been at the center of our programming since we started up in 2019. Check out the plays we have worked on.
l to re: Sara Glauser, Adrian Prendergast, Karin Rogers, Lilian Furlong, Monica Domena. Not visible, Gretchen Douma. Photo by Rebecca O’Neil
The Playwright’s Table
The Playwright’s Table is a new monthly opportunity for a local (Seattle or Puget Sound-area) playwright to have a new work read aloud by actors. Readings take place on the 4th Monday of most months, with allowances for major holidays.
Objectives for this format
The purpose is to help a playwright review character, plot, dialogue, theme, etc. by lifting the story from the pages and into a live space as they continue their drafting process. A play does not need to be on its first draft to come to The Playwright’s Table, but it must be unproduced/unpublished. Here, we give the playwright control, allowing them to host the evening as is most helpful to their process. You may select the actors you want to read, or we can help cast it. We can hold a discussion after the reading and ask specific feedback questions, or you can simply listen to the read-through, take your notes, and be done. The reading is moldable to whatever best suits your needs as a writer.
Includes
This is a one-night-only event per play. There is no rehearsal period, and The Shattered Glass Project cannot promise further involvement with the work. A playwright may invite a small number of individuals to observe the reading if they are interested in particular feedback; however, these readings are not open to the public. Actors involved are volunteers. There will be snacks and refreshments provided and the venue has free parking.
Who does this activity center?
While the TSGP mission centers the voices of theatre artists who have been marginalized on the basis of their gender or sex, we welcome playwrights of all gender identities to participate in this development process. We ask that those who do not identify with a marginalized gender identity to bring plays that prominently and comprehensively feature characters of marginalized gender identity to this opportunity.
l to re: Merri Ann Osborne, Cara, Thomas, and Tim Takechi, in Anatomy of Flight, January 2026. Photo by Carolynne Wilcox
Plays in Progress
The Plays in Progress format centers the growth and development of plays, with a focus on the needs of the playwright, while providing an opportunity to bring directors into the script development process and build relationships between theatre makers.
Includes
A director and up to 4 actors who are compensated. Playwright receives a small royalty.
Up to 12 hours of rehearsals. Workshops are scheduled the 2nd or 3rd week of the month with rehearsals between Tuesday-Saturday and a Sunday afternoon performance.
1 public performance in-person at the MLK FAME Center Studio Space, including audience participation and a recording of the performance using the Zoom platform.
Intended for
Women, nonbinary and transgender playwrights who are resident in Washington State.
Complete scripts which have been through a more extensive artistic development process and would benefit from a public performance.
Plays which have received a full production or which are currently being workshopped by another company are not eligible for this program.
Objectives for this format
The staged-reading format offers the playwright an opportunity to:
Learn how their script is handled in a basic production format by a director and cast.
Collaborate with a director and cast to answer questions and guide the interpretation of their script.
Witness the impact on their story of minimal production elements, as determined by the director.
Evaluate the impact of their story through feedback from audience members as well as other theatre artists.
Receive usable inquiry-based feedback through facilitated feedback discussions.
Build connections with Seattle-based directors and actors.
Past Programming
l to r: director Buddy Todd and playwright Zoe Barker-Aderem, hold post show discussion for Zoe’s play Shape Of, May 2025. Photo by Rebecca O’Neil
Directors for Plays in Progress
While the primary focus in this program is on the playwright, the Script Development Workshops offer an opportunity for current and emerging directors to practice their skills in a collaborative environment.
Director’s Responsibilities
Preparation, Rehearsals and Casting: Directors are asked to read the script and to make any of their own usual preparations for directing in terms of script analysis; to assist the producer with casting; and to assist the producer in scheduling the Zoom read-through and the rehearsals during the week of the workshop. Directors are also asked to review the basic CRP outline, to have a sense of the feedback process that will be followed; directors will be part of the response group after the performance of their script.
Meetings: TSGP will schedule at least one Zoom meeting prior to the workshop including one team meeting between the playwright and their director to allow the director to ask questions and talk with the playwright about their script and their goals.
Deadlines: Following the Zoom-based readthrough, the playwright will have an opportunity to revise their script. The due date for submitting the script which will be used for the workshop will be no later than two weeks prior to the beginning of rehearsals, to allow the director sufficient time to prepare.
Prepare to apply:
Director Biography - 75 words maximum.
Resume (PDF format)
Headshot (PNG or JPG format)
Response to the following questions:
Tell us about your rehearsal process as a director working with new scripts and playwrights. How do you approach a new script? What is your favorite question for a playwright?
Many scripts submitted to TSGP are stories centered on trauma of different kinds, including racial, sexual, and gender-based. Tell us about your experience (as a director, an actor, a stage manager or other creative role) working with actors on scripts where characters have experienced trauma or where the story told is difficult or emotionally draining. How have you led a rehearsal or resolved such situations?
A History of Script Development at The Shattered Glass Project
January 2021 - Familiar Kill by Barbara Lindsay (renamed Want, produced by TSGP August 2022), directed by Maureen Hawkins
February 2021 - All New Cells by Aliza Goldstein (produced by TSGP June 2023), directed by Alison Kozar
February 2021 - Leal’s Last Stand by Suzanne Baillie, directed by Alma Davenport (Zoom-based reading - no public performances)
March 2021 - Loom by Carolynne Wilcox, directed by Rebecca O’Neil
March 2022 - Privileged by Alma Davenport, directed by Sandra L. Holloway (Zoom-based reading - no public performances)
April 2022 - Fire Country by Jessica Chisum, directed by Helen T. Merriam
March 2023 - Rockhound by Karen Saari, directed by Cindy Geise French
March 2023 - A Lonely Realization created, directed and performed by Darby Sherwood and Emily Stone (produced by TSGP in October 2024, directed by Rebecca O’Neil
September 2023 -A Witness by Jordan Elizabeth Henry, directed by Rebecca O’Neil
January 2025 - A Scythe and a Sandglass the Skeleton Bore by Mariah Lee Squires and S.W. Jones, directed by Shana Bestock
February 2025 - (((god/hole))) by Nelle Tankus, directed by Zenaida Smith
March 2025 - Inside the Head of Mimp by Miriam BC Tobin, directed by Adrienne Mackey
April 2025 - In Between Places by Carolynne Wilcox, directed by Zanne Gerard
May 2025 - The Request (or Prison Fan Fiction) by Brittney S. Harris, directed by Jordan-Michael Whidbey
June 2025 - Shape Of by Zoe Barker-Aderem, directed by Buddy Todd
January 2026 - Mother/Daughter² A Kind of Math Problem by Vanessa Miller, directed by Aidyn Stevens
January 2026 - Anatomy of Flight by Lisa A. Price, directed by Zanne Gerrard
May 2026 - Plays in Progress Salon Series
Annie, Mary, Frances by Betsy Hanson, directed by Shana Bestock
Toil and Trouble by Kathryn Keller, directed by Lillie Wirth
Attention Must Be Paid by Anna Tatelman, directed by Emily Fortuna
The Accident by Miriam Tobin, directed by Aidyn Stevens
The Polaroid by Nikita C. Anderson, directed by Aviona Rodriguez Brown
The 2025 Plays in Progress Series free and reduced tickets are supported by the 4Culture Public Free Access Grant. Thank you to 4Culture for this valuable support.