Introducing Samples from The Lab@SCR

Fans of NewSCRipts and new-play readings? We haven’t forgotten you.

We’ve been at work reflecting on SCR’s long and successful history of new-play development, while exploring ways to build upon that rich legacy going forward. As part of that work, we reassessed the NewSCRipts series. Although we cherish its legacy, we feel the fixed format of NewSCRipts no longer serves the playwrights whose projects we are developing. Many playwrights come to us with projects that are in a stage of development that needs focused work on particular elements of a script, rather than focusing their time on preparing a cast for a staged reading of their play. With that in mind, we’ve decided to end NewSCRipts and launch a new program: Samples from The Lab@SCR.

Like NewSCRipts, Samples from The Lab@SCR will be free and open to the public. And like its predecessor, Samples from The Lab@SCR will offer audiences an exclusive sneak peek at the work being developed in The Lab@SCR, SCR’s heralded new-play development program that is responsible for unveiling many of the popular works seen on the theatre’s stages.

Samples from The Lab@SCR will feature readings and presentations throughout the season. However, these readings will be more casual and process-focused. Many of these events will be simple staged readings of new plays (similar to NewSCRipts), but some events might offer something a little different—like excerpts from unfinished new musicals, for example, or a casual table-read of a brand-new SCR commission.

Regardless of the offering, every reading will invite you—the fan of new work—to partake in the process.

“We’re thrilled to launch this new program and inspired by the sense of possibility,” says Director of The Lab@SCR Andy Knight. “We decided to make this change because, when it comes to the development of new work, one size doesn’t fit all. Flexibility and a ‘process over product’ mindset is key—and that will drive this new program. But at its core, Samples from The Lab@SCR is still very much about an audience meeting an in-process new work for the first time.”

Unlike NewSCRipts, which were three to four Monday night readings over a year, Samples from The Lab@SCR events will be scheduled throughout the season, as opportunities arise. We plan to have at least two events per season, with the possibility of adding more. Most events will be held in the intimate, 94-seat Nicholas Studio, bringing you closer to the process.

The first Samples from The Lab@SCR is planned for early December. Stay tuned for the announcement early next month!

Visit here for more information on Samples from The Lab@SCR offerings and to sign up for updates