About the Ojai Playwrights Conference

The Ojai Playwrights Conference is unique in its process of developing new plays for the American theatre by offering a safe, productive, rigorous haven for socially, politically, culturally committed writers. This is fundamental to our vision.

OPC is passionate about developing playwrights and plays that are challenging, investigating and reimagining the values, beliefs and discourses that are fundamental to the ongoing experiment that is the United States of America.

We seek playwrights who question and rigorously explore our social moment. Plays and playwrights that make us think, re-consider and ultimately propel us beyond the polarizing limitations of racial discrimination, economic disparity, religious intolerance, political myth-making, sexual bigotry - these are the writers we welcome to the community at Ojai.

Diversity is a major factor in our selection process. We seek this diversity in order to accurately reflect and refract the many voices and faces of the contemporary American experience. This diversity is evident in the writers, the acting community and core developmental artists. Generational/career diversity is also central to the Ojai Playwrights experience, so we have structured a developmental process with a healthy mix of youth, early career, mid-career, and mature writers. Geographical diversity is also important to us as we seek a rich crucible of Southern California artists along with national and international playwrights.

What makes Ojai Playwrights Conference unique and effective also has very much to do with its retreat setting - a remote natural setting. Our artists live and work together in a secluded, soulful environment where the primary concentration is on the work and on building a rare moment of intimate community, free of commercial competition and rich in artistic collaboration. Every artist who comes to OPC celebrates the highly collaborative, non-competitive process that fosters creativity, exploration and experimentation.

Our primary goal is to fulfill the vision the playwright has for their new work. At the Ojai Playwrights Conference we are not encumbered by subscription demands or the business concerns of large commercialized institutions. We are motivated by developing challenging visions of who we are as a people today in an effort to bring us closer together in a respectful and loving community - that is the essence of who we are and what we do.

OPC: Winner of the prestigious Gordon Davidson Award for distinguished contribution to the Los Angeles theatrical community" - LA Drama Critics Circle, 2019

25 YEARS ON: A (very) Brief History of the Ojai Playwrights Conference (so far...)

By Christopher Breyer, OPC Literary Director - August 2022

It began (of course) with a playwright, Rick Cleveland, who proposed to Ojai friends Dwier Brown and Kim Maxwell and a Los Angeles friend, the director Chris Fields, that the Ojai Valley would be the ideal site for a program dedicated to helping playwrights develop their new work. Thanks to an Ojai community that enthusiastically volunteered time, skills, labor, money, food and housing, the Ojai Playwrights Conference debuted on the weekend of July 24-26, 1998.

If 1998 was the start of what one might call the First Age of OPC, the Second Age and the Ojai Playwrights Conference as it is now known to the world began with the 2002 Conference, the first under the leadership of new Artistic Director, Robert Egan, who was then also Producing Artistic Director of L.A.’s Mark Taper Forum. Robert, who had been developing new plays for over twenty years — and developed some of the era’s defining plays – was attracted by OPC’s grass-roots communitarian character and saw in it an opportunity to do playwright-focused play development at its purest. And, as he told Backstage, he intended the Conference to have a specific focus: “Not only are we looking for great quality theatre pieces that need development, but we are particularly looking for writers and projects that are attempting to grapple with the important social, cultural, and political issues of our day.”

OPC grew significantly over the next two decades but never at the cost of its mission or local roots. The original program of five readings/workshops increased to eight. The five day format expanded to two weeks, and two public events, known as “Intersections,” added. The Conference began hosting and providing dramaturgical support for Writers-in[1]Residence. The size of the artistic staff tripled, as did the Reading Committee that selects Conference projects. In 2015, the Ojai Playwrights Conference became international, inaugurating an ongoing partnership with Zimbabwe’s Almasi Arts Alliance, the organization co-founded by OPC alumna and Board member, Danai Gurira. The OPC Board expanded as well. And in everything it did, OPC was guided by a commitment to expanding diversity and representation. All of this was possible because of the steady growth of the Ojai community’s involvement in and support for the Conference.

And there has been a steady growth, evolution and refinement of the Conference’s play development process. One of Robert Egan’s most important innovations was establishing a “pre-Conference” preceding the arrival of actors and start of rehearsals, a period of first three and eventually six days during which the playwrights, directors, dramaturges and artistic staff meet together to read and discuss each play. When the Covid pandemic forced the Conference to move online, OPC seized the opportunity to extend the duration of the development process and spend months rather than weeks working with the playwright and their play. It was also an opportunity for OPC to work with more writers — and directors, actors and dramaturges — at a time when theatres were closed and theatre artists deprived of their art and community. Over the 17 months from August 2020 to December 2021, OPC developed 24 plays.

Ultimately, the history and achievement of the Conference is the plays it developed [they are listed elsewhere in this program]. It has become commonplace for OPC plays to be produced, even to get major productions and win major awards. And there are OPC plays that have not had major productions but have had a major influence on American theatre. Sometimes it’s the play a playwright writes after being at the Conference that wins accolades, and that’s fine; developing playwrights is as much the work of the Conference as developing plays. Today, the Ojai Playwrights Conference is among the most respected play development programs in America, a reputation that reflects both the plays that have come out of OPC and the opinion of the playwrights, directors and actors who have participated in the Conference.

 The 2022 Conference and New Works Festival was the final overseen by Robert Egan. OPC is about to begin its Third Age – and at a critical moment for America and theatre. The nation is riven by turmoil and strife. Over the last year, two of the largest and best known play development programs closed. The future of the Ojai Playwrights Conference is still to be written, but surely there has never been a greater need for a program which supports playwrights “attempting to grapple with the important social, cultural, and political issues of our day.”

Staff

Mark Seldis

Managing Director

Mark is a longtime member of the Los Angeles theatre community, as a producer and director. He is the Producing Director of The Ghost Road Company and has directed for Moving Arts, Playwrights Arena, and Theatre of NOTE, among others. He was the Managing Director for The Actors' Gang for 10 years and worked in Education and Programming at The Music Center for 16 years. He is a recipient of the Lee Melville Award for Excellence in Los Angeles Theater. Mark is a Senior Lecturer at Loyola Marymount University.

Christopher Breyer

Literary Director

Chris is a Los Angeles based writer and consultant on narrative, performance, and production for theatre, film, television, and non-entertainment projects. He has been a resident dramturge at the Ojai Playwrights Conference since 2005, and his earlier play and script development work includes a long association with Center Theatre Group, literary manager and dramaturge positions at Off-Broadway theatres, and projects with studios and production companies in Los Angeles and New York.

Jose Delgado

Producing Director

With the Ojai Playwrights Conference since 2012, Jose brings more than 40 years of experience in theater and artist management as a General Manager, Tour Manager, Administrator, Producer and Business Manager to OPC. As owner of Pleiades Management, he manages Mariachi Sol de Mexico and Mariachi Reina de Los Angeles. He is currently on El Teatro Campesino's Board of Directors.

J. HOLTHAM

Resident Dramaturge

A screenwriter, semi-retired playwright and blogger, J. Holtham is the newest member of the OPC Board of Directors, after serving on the Reading Committee and as a resident dramaturge for OPC. TV writing credits: Pitch (Fox), Marvel's Cloak & Dagger (Freeform), Marvel's Jessica Jones (Netflix), Supergirl (CW), The Handmaid's Tale (HULU). Theatre credits: Ensemble Studio Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bespoke Plays. He's also a board member of the 24 Hour Plays. J. is thrilled to support OPC's mission and the development of new plays, new voices and new artists.

JEFF LIU

Resident Dramaturge

Jeff is a writer and director for theater, film, and web. His productions include the LA premiere of Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, as well as the world premieres of The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas, Two Mile Hollow by Leah Nanako Winkler, The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) by Tom Jacobson, The Golden Hour by Philip W. Chung, Terminus Americana by Matt Pelfrey, and Texas by Judy Soo Hoo. He also adapted and directed the Pulitzer nominated play Yellow Face by DHH for the YOMYOMF Network on YouTube, where it is still available to watch for free. During the pandemic, he filmed Paletas de Coco by Franky D. Gonzalez, which was then presented at Ars Nova ANT Fest and Latino Theater Company’s Re:Encuentro 2021.

Kim Maxwell (SHE/HERS)

Youth Workshop Program Director

A co-founder of the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Kim has served on its board since 1997 and as its Youth Workshop director for over 20 years. A producer, director, writer and teacher, Kim also serves as the Executive Director at The Townies, Inc., is the creator of The Townies Podcast® and founder of Kim Maxwell Studio. A devoted community activist and arts advocate, Kim was honored with a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from the City of Ojai and was recognized as Visionary of the Year by Ventura’s National Association of Women Business Owners.

Tiffany Moon

Literary Manager

Tiffany is a dramaturge and producer with a passion for new works. She has worked in theatres across Southern California including Center Theatre Group, Greenway Court Theatre, South Coast Rep, the Wallis, and others. Her dramaturgy work has included projects with Artists at Play and Cal Rep. She is currently Program Producer for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles' ALOUD series. Tiffany has worn many hats for OPC and has been part of the team for a decade.

GIDEON JEPH WABVUTA

Youth Workshop Resident Playwright

Gideon is a writer, solo actor teaching artist and a graduate of the USC MFA Dramatic Writing program. He serves as programs coordinator for Almasi Collaborative Arts and a teacher in the OPC Youth Workshop. His work includes his solo show Mbare Dreams developed at OPC and Family Riots, awarded Distinguished Mention for the Rosa Parks and Lorraine Hansberry awards by the Kennedy Center in 2019. He works in film and tv as a writer/researcher for shows in development. Gideon’s artistic goal is to create works of art that will reclaim and reframe the African narrative worldwide. Gideon has been affiliated with the Ojai Playwrights Conference since 2015.

additional ojai playwrights CONFERENCE Staff

Joanne DeNaut, Casting Consultant

Phyllis Moberly, Publicist

Peggy Ryan, Photography/Social Media

Vickie Scott, Technical Director/Lighting Designer

OJAI PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE READING COMMITTEE 2023

Bryar Barborka

Christopher Breyer

Hal Brooks

Adrian Centeno

Khanisha Foster

J. Holtham

Sarah Rose Leonard

Jeff Liu

Tiffany Moon

Liza Powel O'Brien

Zharia O'Neal

Cat Rodriguez

Rebecca Wear

Hannah Wolf

For general messages and inquiries, please fill out the form below

Mail

Ojai Playwrights Conference
P.O. Box 1288
Ojai, CA 93024

Email

General Info:  [email protected]

Phone (MESSAGE ONLY)

805-633-1170

Connect