Manifesto Series V.4: A People's Theatre

For over two decades, Rain City Projects has been proud to be a member of a community that embraces the risky endeavor of new theater work. In the Pacific Northwest, it is possible for a playwright to create a piece, pull together a reading or two, take advantage of a community workshop, and then to present their work on their own dime or under the umbrella of one of our many new works theaters. The bold failures become a learning ground for everyone involved. And the successes? What of the successes? One hopes that a success in our community will go on to other productions, in other places, and will help develop playwrights on a national level. But that doesn t always happen. In 2006, Rain City Projects decided to sing the praises of our successes, of our playwrights who are talented and bold and risky and funny, artists who are being shaped in the Northwest. The goal is to expose them to a wider audience and encourage the world to take notice. So, we launched the Manifesto Series. We begin with an endorser, a playwright with roots in the Pacific Northwest who has a national voice and presence. We ask them to write a manifesto of what theater is, what it should be. Then we let them choose scripts by Northwest playwrights which fulfill that manifesto. And then we publish the collection in an anthology and widely disperse the anthology with a thumbs-up. With this, our fourth collection, we are certain we are on the right track. We are delighted with Chay Yew s manifesto and in awe of the quality of scripts in the collection he chose. Read them with our blessings. Love them with the knowledge that we do, too. Becky Bruhn Rain City Projects