Play Incubation Collective is a local launchpad for new theatrical works that foster civic dialogue. PIC’s mission is two-fold:
To provide long-term developmental opportunities for plays that challenge the status quo
To build a collaborative network of local multidisciplinary artists and supporters
We aim to revolutionize the process of theater-making, as well as the experience of theater-going, and we believe the key to this transformation is a radical investment in our local creative economy. We provide meaningful opportunities for under-resourced artists in the Connecticut River Valley to engage in process-driven work. By creating bridges connecting the varied communities in our region we are able to produce locally sourced theater that is by and for all people in our community. In order to create a more sustainable and equitable theater landscape, PIC provides a number of access points for artists of all ages to get involved including free works-in-progress arts salons, workshops, mini-residencies, full residencies, and summer programs for youth.
Our first long-term project was an eight-month developmental workshop for Darcy Parker Bruce's "Piedmont Plays" (a 4-play cycle consisting of "Soldier Poet," "The Place That Made You," "Kingdom of Ghosts" and "Oh Captain! My Captain!") which culminated in a public showing and dialogue in August 2021 outside the Northampton Center for the Arts. Since then, PIC has shepherded 3 works-in-progress arts salons (with 2 more on the way this fall), mini-residencies for “The Flame,” an LGBTQ musical by Ellie Brigida, Leigh Holmes Foster, and Caitlyn Clear, and “Invitation to the Dance,” by Nina Dabek, online workshops for theater artists, and a creative arts summer program for youth. PIC's 2022 Full Residency is Aria 'Lune' Acevedo's "Return to Abya Yala," a play exploring identity within Latinx and Indigenous communities, which will have a public reading in Dec 2022.Company of the Piedmont Plays Project, 2021
