| Art
Within's 2nd Annual Symposium and Showcase inspires
"hopeful" future
by
Bryan Coley
Art Within welcomed more than 20 writers and
producers of faith to Atlanta for its 2nd annual
showcase and symposium.
The event featured daily think tank sessions and
nightly showcase readings of new plays and screenplays.
The theme for this year’s symposium was
“Restoration,” as writers and producers were challenged to
imagine innovative and personal ways to blend Hope with their
artistry. “I believe we have an exciting opportunity as
Christians and storytellers to dispel cynicism and restore
Hope to our culture,” maintains Bryan Coley, Art Within’s
Artistic Director, “providentially, we are uniquely equipped to lead the culture to a hope that is authentic and
eternal.”
 The
Symposium and Showcase kicked off with a welcome dinner at the
Margaret Mitchell House.
Art Within supporters were paired with a writer or
producer and had the opportunity to introduce and pray for
them during the course of the evening’s activities.
This relational approach was intentional in allowing
Art Within donors to put a face to their investment.
In
the daily think tank sessions exploring Hope, each writer and
producer was asked to bring their favorite ending from a play
or film.
An ending would be screened or read, and the artist
would share why they chose the clip.
The exercise served to foster community through
sharing, but also encouraged participants to glean from the endings how, through
craft, the stories expressed Hope.
”This
gathering has produced and should continue to produce cutting
edge thinking and creative exploration into the questions of
our Christian faith as it is integrated in our play and screen
writing efforts,” said Dr. Gillette Elvgren, professor of
theatre arts at Regent University.
At night, the writers and producers, along with
Atlanta patrons were invited for a first glance at showcase readings
of plays and screenplays from symposium attendees.
Art Within showcased the first drafts of
two original screenplays that were commissioned this
year: THE SANTA TRAP by Steve Broyles and
NAUGHTY LITTLE CURSES by Terri Adams.
Out of the six showcased works, two were written as a result of
last year’s symposium.
“ I had five
producers speak to me that very evening, with three offers to
produce and one to have a workshop next year with the next
draft,” relates playwright, Dennis Hassell about his
showcased script, FIREWALKING,
“And the quality of input, of critique, from the
audience and the artists was terrifically useful.”
While
exploring craft and showcasing new work are valuable
ingredients to the event, community
building is rated as the highest take-away for the attendees.
“The
easiest way to get undermined, depressed, despondent is the
sense of isolation,” explains writer, Michael Harris,
“Being at the Symposium gave me reason to believe.
Here are people who have done and are doing what I want
to do.”
The
writers and producers stay at the Ansley
Inn, a bed and
breakfast just blocks away from the 14th Street
Playhouse, the venue for the event.
The writers/producers are breakfast together at the
Inn, walked together to the Playhouse and talked late into the
night in the Inn’s parlor.
“I can have lunch with a playwright, I can have lunch
with a fellow producer/director, I can sit in on readings of
new works, we can assess them together, we can dream out
loud,“ explains Scott Nolte, artistic director of Taproot
Theatre in Seattle, “It becomes pivotal for creation of new works, for
maintaining relationships across the continent, and to a
degree a kind of spiritual artistic strategizing for the next
decade of work."
While last year’s event was primarily attended by
playwrights, this year, Art Within intentionally included more
producers.
Art Within envisions connecting the producer to not only
scripts, but also the writer  behind the scripts.
"Bryan’s got a unique vision for what he wants to see
here, and I think it’s a clarity that is a unique thing in
the country, “ explains
Robert Smyth, producing artistic director of Lamb’s Players
Theatre in San Diego, “There are a lot of workshops,
but to find a place that’s both a place of encouragement and
a direct showcase for new work and to do that for both screen
play and stage play, is remarkable to find that in one
place.”
The future of the Symposium and Showcase certainly
looks hopeful.
“This
could become a program of a national reach that could really
make a difference to our culture,” asserts writer/producer
Buzz McLaughlin, “It takes a number of years of energy and
momentum, and I sense that beginning here now.”
LINK TO MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOWCASE AND
SYMPOSIUM
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