BOSTON: SpeakEasy Stage Company has selected playwrights Phaedra Scott and Emily Schwend to develop original plays set in Boston as part of the company’s new works initiative, the Boston Project. In addition, 2016-17 Boston Project Playwright Obehi Janice will return to continue developing her play Ole White Sugah Daddy.
These three Boston Project playwrights will have nine months to complete their works, and will each receive a commission. SpeakEasy Stage Company will provide directors and dramaturgs for each project and research assistance, made possible through funding from the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. The development process will include a two-week workshop and an invited staged reading in May 2018.
Scott’s work Diaspora will explore questions of created identity and biological fact. Schwend’s play, currently referred to as Untitled Teenager Play, will tackle the dangers, misogyny, and setbacks women encounter in a world where success and safety are not guaranteed. Ole White Sugah Daddy, by Janice, will continue to explore race, gender, and the startup culture.
