Sanctuary will pursue this rather opinionated agenda related to the creation and production of new work.

Productions

The primary purpose of Sanctuary:'s operations will be play production and the garden steps leading to it. The company will produce no fewer than two new productions each season, one of which is a full commission from a previous year and the second a staging of a bold & original new work.

The Playwright Producer

All aspects of each production are under the direction of the playwright we produce. Within the constraints of our budget, the playwright may choose a theatrical or non-theatrical space, a cast of any size, their director of choice, and technical machinery and staff to support the production.

The playwright receives constant assistance from the Sanctuary: staff to bring their project to fruition. Our emphasis is to help the playwright bring forth their vision and make it real in front of an audience and to provide the playwright with whatever material support or training is required. A stipend to give the playwright business or production training is possible.

Apprenticeship

We believe strongly that all playwrights have a parallel destiny as a producer. 

To further this, each playwright needs to stand at or near the helm several times. We tend to announce our season plans ahead of time and this means each playwright later to be produced will apprentice produce on other playwright's work. 

This builds the playwright's confidence, because they have a chance to learn how most effectively to make decisions on their own productions before the whirlwind of their own production commences. And they have a chance to honor the playwright currently being produced and lend a hand. Everybody wins.

Commissions

There will always be important projects which can only exist with sponsorship during the stage of their initial creation. 

It's critical that Sanctuary do more than simply facilitate the full production of many new scripts each year. We must also reach farther back in the process and actually commission new work.

Sanctuary: will attempt to commission at least one new full-length play per year. The process for awarding a new play commission is:

1. Throughout the year, Sanctuary: staffers and Artistic Associates read new scripts and do everything possible to research worthy new work, wherever it might be presented.
2. The staff and artistic associates make a next-round selection of five to ten playwrights. From these playwrights, we elicit an application for the commission. 
3. When evaluating commission applications, emphasis is placed on the playwrights ability to create work that involves (1) outreach to a community somewhere in the US (2) novel or renewed use of the stage machine (3) a specific and concrete sense of the quality of the production and presentation experiences

The final commission award involves an equal split between two stipend payments to the playwright:

• A main commission which will serve to cover the playwright's living expenses while working on the play
• A travel, research and development budget, which allows the playwright to perform needed research with the selected communities to complete the commission. The playwright can continue to draw on this budget during the run-up to production.

Sanctuary: is committed to producing every play commissioned. This intent is core to our philosophy that the proof of a new play is only demonstrated through production. We see this as having the courage of your convictions. It does not make sense to award a playwright a commission for a play that will not find an audience under our stewardship.

Playwright selection

Both the commissioning and the production processes involve selecting new playwrights. Throughout the year, Sanctuary: staffers continually read new scripts (as quickly as possible, which isn't ever going to be quick enough) to bring these new writers into the conversation.

Selection is done by a vote of current playwrights in residence with Sanctuary: and by consulting the playwrights on the advisory board. The Managing Director has the role of finding consensus on the selection; in the event of a no-consensus pool, the Managing Director will select a small committee to make the final choices for that year.

Community

Sanctuary will also pursue projects devoted to the creation of a network of playwright members and professional collaborators, artistic advisors, subscribers, friends, and donors. This includes those who support and develop Sanctuary:'s strategy, who help pay Sanctuary:'s bills, and who work on and attend Sanctuary: shows.

Tools

NYC: Think process

Development of new productions (not plays) is core to the way we work. The process of discovery uncovered in developing a production extends our craft and so is absolutely essential to our operation.

The think process is how we make decisions. We meet up to 24 times a year to read works in progress with the aid of terrific actors; from these readings we discover what plays we should be producing.

Table Readings and Workshops

The Production Lab is essentially a private screening and sketch area for our production process. Plays are regularly brought back in for table readings and, if needed, workshops. These includes the playwright, actors, and can also involve design or production logistics staff at the playwright's discretion. A play can use these fora to meet to explore and develop a project up to several years before any project reaches a public stage of production. We are in it for the long haul.

Production

Sanctuary is a producing organization, not a play development company. Production teams form during the process for each play we'll be producing. At some point in a project's evolution, it's ready for production with the playwright's choice of director and design staff.

Vermont: The WIP Lab (Location TBA)

The WIP retreat is a program currently under development; it's a safe haven where Playwrights can "go underground" to create new work. Sanctuary: will make a retreat space available for crafting plays at no charge to the playwright and whatever others are working on the project, and has a commissioning process that is budgeted to allow playwrights needed research funds to bring a play into being.

Playwright/Producers use the Sanctuary: Retreat program as their chosen medium for performing their own project labs.