SARASOTA, FLA.: Florida Studio Theatre (FST) has named seven new members to its Playwrights Collective, a coalition of writers dedicated to creating new works for FST’s stages. The selected writers include Deborah Brevoort, José Casas, Jeffrey Couchman, Sean Daniels, Kate Hamill, Rachel Lynett, and Sandy Rustin.

“These writers are crafting plays featuring a diversity of voices and sharing a range of experiences that will speak to a living, breathing, fully engaged Sarasota audience,” said Richard Hopkins, FST producing artistic director, in a statement. “They’ve created more than a dozen new plays that are headed for production.”

FST will provide the Playwrights Collective members resources and creative feedback to develop new plays, from inception to production. The writers will work with FST’s creative team and will collaborate with other Playwrights Collective members throughout the development process. As part of the initiative, the writers will ALSO participate in forum discussions with FST patrons, help mentor early career playwrights, and serve as guest teachers with the FST School.

The Playwrights Collective, which was founded in 2017, also includes Sarah Bierstock, Thomas Gibbons, Jacqueline Goldfinger, Kenneth Jones, Jason Odell Williams, and Mark St. Germain. The collective is a key component of FST’s New Play Development program, which has produced more than 30 world premieres and 89 regional productions since 1983.

“We treat each artist as an individual, not some faceless word processor,” said FST associate artistic director Jason Cannon in a statement. “The playwright will, at various times, need encouragement, resources, provocative notes, kindness, and deadlines. We must has the courage to invest in them, while releasing expectations, so that the playwright has the space to surprise and surpass.”