The BETC Writers Group supports the work of Colorado playwrights and contributes to the national pipeline of new works in development. Writers Group members develop new plays over the course of each year, meeting for monthly discussions and table readings. The playwrights then share their plays in progress with BETC audiences in public and community partner readings.
The Writers Group accepts new members annually, through an application process that aligns with the new works we have the capacity to develop in a given year. Our next application cycle will be in summer 2024.
Café au Play
A festival of new play readings, coming June 2024
This year, we will workshop and present three readings of new full-length plays for adults and young adults, written by members of the BETC Writers Group. Watch this space for more information on the new scripts in development by writers Sam Collier, Josh Hartwell, and Colette Mazunik.
Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA)
BETC is developing three TYA plays in the Writers Group this season. Playwright Lisa Wagner Erickson is working on a script to be performed by adults for young people, while Jeffrey Wolf and Vanessa Bowie Rankin are creating plays for children to perform. We’ll share more info about these exciting family-friendly scripts in the months ahead!
Short Plays
Some of our Writers Group members are hard at work crafting short pieces that will appeal to many audiences. They’re creating ten-minute plays in a variety of genres and themes, great for entertainment and for sparking intriguing conversations. These short plays are a great way to get to know the work of writers who may be new to you, including this year’s members: Amalia Adiv, Tom Bruett, Kate Hertz, Aaron Klass, Debra Gilbert Rosenberg, Mark Sbani, Laurie Scoggins, and Quinn Smola.
Community Partnerships
Help us share new plays by hosting a reading event! BETC is looking to partner with area schools, libraries, senior centers, senior living facilities, youth centers, after-school arts education programs, book clubs, and other groups interested in hosting a reading event. We’ll bring the plays and a discussion moderator, and you can bring the readers! Ten-minute short plays for adult community readings, and one-act plays for young people to read, will be available in Spring 2024. For more information on hosting a reading event, contact program director Heather Beasley at writersgroup@betc.org.
