I am a writer served by this organization and I always feels supported and inspired by their work. Their generous "music hall" program provides a clean, spacious and beautiful space for writing in a city where such locations would otherwise be overwhelmingly expensive. New York's writers are so lucky to have DGF.
My experience as a writer/composer/lyricist with readings, is that they are very hard to do as space is at such a premium in NYC. Even if a non-profit theater sponsors you, the rehearsals for a 29 hour reading have to be held all over town. The Dramatist Guild Foundation has solved that problem for musical theater writers with its brand new and elegantly appointed Music Hall space. It includes another music rehearsal room, a Writer's Den room, and much more. The Staff are supportive and helpful. There is no other place like it for "Putting it Together"...a musical, scene by scene and song by song. And we were a big group --15 of us in total. Thank you so much for inviting my musical, "A Mirrored Monet" into your space, as its inaugural project.
I was a writer in the 2019 class of fellows and being the the DGF community has been life changing. I was able to learn about the craft, the industry, and to build friendships that will last a lifetime.
My stories center and uplift queer and trans people of color and through the course of my fellowship, I felt very supported in telling my stories on my own terms, while also building my story telling skills.
I’m forever grateful for the experience.
It has been a great honor and pleasure to serve as the president of DGF's board for the past seven years. DGF has been steadily growing but, since the start of the pandemic, our board, our donors, and our staff have stepped up and heard the urgent call from artists around the country. We have not only weathered the pandemic, we have thrived and, in doing so, helped so many more people than ever before. I fervently hope DGF will continue to sustainably grow so we may keep our stages filled with vital writing - new plays, new musicals - that tell the stories of how Americans were, are, and, most important, can be. - Andrew Lippa