The Envision Lab

The purpose of the ENVISION Lab is to take each selected project one step closer towards its full realization in front of an audience. The content and goals of a Lab may range from a research trip for a writer to finish her first draft, followed by an in-house reading, to a fully staged workshop production presented to industry professionals and the general public, with the intention of introducing potential producers to the work.

In September, the ENVISION Curatorial Team makes decisions regarding Lab artists and projects. Ensuing meetings between the selected artists and the ENVISION Artistic Directors determine what process will best serve each project’s next phase of development, and how ENVISION resources can best be used to accomplish these goals.

The Envision Lab: 2005-06 Lab Projects

The 2005-06 ENVISION Lab showcased the work of artists and projects that Voice & Vision has supported through the ENVISION Retreat. These Thursday night readings took place at the Manhattan Theater Club and were free of charge.

Thursday, November 10, 8pm: Jennifer Gibbs performed her solo-performance piece Edna St. Vincent Millay Speaks to the Committee on Immortality. She had a workshop production in the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival and has been working on the piece continuously since the 2003 ENVISION Retreat.

Thursday, December 8, 8pm: Kara Corthron’s Like a Cow or an Elephant, after several months of changes following Corthron’s intense development process at the 2005 ENVISION Retreat, was read.

Thursday, January 19, 8pm: Chiori Miagawa returned to Voice & Vision (which previously developed her works Firedance and Crossings) for the first public reading of her play Leaf.

Thursday, February 9, 8pm: Voice & Vision finished the series with a reading of War and High Heels, by Zohar Tzur, whom Voice & Vision commissioned as part of the 2005 ENVISION Lab. Tzur developed her My Political Israeli Play at the 2004 ENVISION Lab.

The Envision Lab: 2004-05 Lab Projects

Voice & Vision chose to work closely with two developing playwrights, first-time writer Sheila Schwartz and Israeli playwright Zohar Tzur, for the 2004-5 ENVISION Lab.

Benefit of the Doubt by Sheila Shwartz

After the conclusion of the 2004 ENVISION Retreat, Artistic Director Jean Wagner and Retreat Dramaturg Wendy Weckwerth began an intensive dramaturgical development process with Sheila Schwartz to continue work on her first full-length play, Benefit of the Doubt. During the fall of 2004, they met weekly for intensive dramaturgy sessions, and, at the conclusion of three months of work, began to plan a staged reading of the play. In March of 2005, the creative team began the rehearsal process with three New York City-based professional actors by reading the entire play aloud for the first time. This reading was followed by a week of intensive rehearsals, during which the playwright, director, assistant director and dramaturg worked together to hone the play. On April 1, 2005 Benefit of the Doubt was read at The Studio Theater at Theater Row for an invited audience. This LAB project was not only an excellent opportunity to continue the work on Sheila’s play, but also to continue her development as a playwright in her first collaboration with a director, dramaturg and actors.

My Political Israeli Play by Zohar Tzur

The second LAB project of the 2004-05 season was a commission of playwright Zohar Tzur, whose My Political Israeli Play was developed at the 2004 ENVISION Retreat. Zohar has begun work on her new play, title TBA, which will be given a staged reading in early 2006. This is the first time that Voice & Vision has commissioned a playwright, and the artistic staff is excited to collaborate in this way with an exciting developing playwright.

The Envision Lab: Past Projects

The Good Life (2002-2003)

Written and performed by Yeardley Smith. Directed by Jean Wagner. Workshop (November 2002), Benefit at Bard (February 2003), Workshop (April 2003), staged reading at The Culture Project (May 2003), performance at Women’s Centerstage (July 2003), and performance at Martha’s Vineyard (July 2003).

Crossings (2002)

Text by Chiori Miyagawa. Directed by Marya Mazor, Choreography by Naomi Goldberg, Music by Bruce Odland. Presented at the Trisha Brown Studios.