The First Listen: Why the DRAFTS Moment Matters
At Drama Club, we don’t believe in “finished” work. We believe in a continuum of development.
For a writer, the journey from a solitary laptop to a global stage is long, but the most transformative step happens in a small room with a few music stands. That is the essence of our DRAFTS series - a high-intensity laboratory designed to move a script from the silent page to words spoken in the air.
Breaking the Three-Year Silence
For many creators, a script exists only as an internal monologue for years before it ever meets an actor. DRAFTS breaks that silence.
“We’ve been living with this piece in our heads for three years,” says Pete White, co-writer of the hip-hop Odyssey BLUDLINE. “It’s crucial we start to hear it in the mouths of other people, so that we can further clarify the story, characters, and tone.”
By ignoring spectacle, DRAFTS exposes the bones of the storytelling, a crucial step for teams to experience if they are to make the most of their Drama Club Camp Writing Residency. Zonia Tsang (composer of A Pain in the Neck) notes that this is about more than just the script; it’s about the musicality of human interaction:
"Hearing the musicality of the piece - not just the music, but the rhythm and dynamics of the characters, the words they use, what beats are created - is so important. As writers, we only hear the version of how the show sounds in our heads. This allows us to look into the story through new lenses and reshape it with others’ voices as part of the journey."
Professional Structure as a Creative Engine
At Drama Club, we provide the infrastructure so writers can focus on the writing. By removing the logistical burden of self-producing a first reading - finding space, funding, and organizing - we allow artists to dedicate their energy to creative choices.
Taylor Fagins (Living: A Now Musical) emphasizes that this support is a game-changer: "A reading produced by Drama Club supports us in an invaluable way - not just the physical space and organizational structure - but allows us to better focus on our creative choices and the musical itself."
Beyond the logistics, the DRAFTS series acts as a professional "deadline" that forces the work forward. As Dylan Schifrin and Charles Gershman (Cole Porter is My Imaginary VR Boyfriend) put it, "This reading from Drama Club gives us a firm deadline and lights a fire under our asses! We will have completed more of the show by our reading date than we likely would without this help."
A Crucial Link in the Continuum
DRAFTS isn't a standalone event; it is a vital step in the Drama Club ecosystem. It represents a protected, iterative moment in a developmental pipeline that leads directly into our summer programming: The DRAFTS readings are the "first listen" phase where the work finds its voice. Drama Club Camp is the summer residency where works are interrogated and refined.
Shaping the Vase: The Road to Camp
The feedback gathered during DRAFTS becomes the fuel for the next stage of the journey. By identifying what works (and what doesn't) now, writers can arrive at Drama Club Camp with a clear roadmap.
As Zonia Tsang beautifully puts it: "This puts us one step ahead as we get to explore, rewrite ideas beforehand and do hands-on work during Camp. Instead of kneading the clay, we get to shape the vase."
The Spring 2026 DRAFTS Lineup:
A Pain in the Neck (Zonia Tsang & Erin Reifler)
Living: A Now Musical (Taylor Fagins & Michelle Kuchuk)
BLUDLINE: A Hip-Hop Odyssey (Pete White & Fermin Suero Jr.)
Cole Porter is My Imaginary VR Boyfriend (Dylan Schifrin & Charles Gershman)
These private readings will all occur throughout April, situated to give teams the space, time, and budget support they need to hear their work aloud before coming to Camp for Writer Residencies, which commence in late May.
