Writer/Director Lab Reading Series six readings at the Soho Rep

Soho Rep launches the 10th season of its Writer/Director Lab Reading Series, readings of the very newest work by writers and directors at Soho Rep, at the Soho Rep from 7 Apr - 11 May 2008. Writer/Director Lab Reading Series will include:

• The Moon Is A Dead World
  Plawright: Mike Daisey
  Director: Maria Goyanes
• The Past Is Not A Foreign Country
  Plawright: by Mallery Avidon
  Director: Jose Zayas
• Mr. Apocope
  Plawright: Amber Reed
  Director: Alec Duffy
• Precious Little
  Plawright: Madeleine George
  Director: Miriam Weiner
• In The Labyrinth: A Spectacle With Stories
  Plawright: Dan LeFranc
  Director: Linsay Firman
• Putting The Days To Bed
  Plawright: Deron Bos
  Director: Jimena Duca

Now in its tenth season, Soho Rep's Writer/Director Lab Reading Series provides a home for new writers and directors to generate new plays. Founded and chaired by Linsay Firman and Laramie Dennis in 1998, then run by Sarah Benson and Jason Grote, and now by Maria Goyanes and Daniel Manley, the Lab provides an artistic support network for writers and directors and fosters new collaborations. What began as an informal group that met to share new work has blossomed into a comprehensive program, which annually attracts over 300 applications.

The lab commissions six writers to create a new project from scratch, working alongside a director for nine months and culminating in a free public reading series every April and May.

Paywrights who have had their works presented un the Lab Series over the last 10 years include David Adjmi, Annie Baker, Neena Beeber, Brooke Berman, Adam Bock, Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, Mallery Catlett, Steve Cosson, Eisa Davis, Melissa James Gibson, Jason Grote, Brooke O'Harra, Anne Kauffman, Davis MacCallum, Jay Scheib, Jenny Schwartz and Anne Washburn.

The writers and directors who Soho Rep first supports in the Lab often go on to work at theaters including: The Atlantic Theater, Primary Stages, The Vineyard Theatre, The Public Theater, MCC, Manhattan Theater Club, New York Theater Workshop, Sundance, The Denver Center, The Huntington (Boston), Yale Rep, Soho Theater (London), and many more.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the lab, an anthology of plays is in the works for publiciation during the 2008/2009 season.