“TDB read three short semi-surreal plays of mine about what was then contemporary worklife (from a larger aggregation called The Business of Business). I was really impressed by the dedication and professionalism the actors showed prepping for the roles, so I went in with a notebook and sat in the front row, determined to be equally professional and take copious notes about what worked and what didn’t. Instead, I found that I was totally drawn into the disturbing and hysterical
3-D reality of the world they created! I took no notes: I just responded to the experience. And the last thing I had expected at that stage in my writing was to actually enjoy my words! Afterward, sure, I had some notes for myself. But in the moment, all I could do was relish the performances that brought the scripts to full-fledged, startling, brilliant life. It was a wonderful way to get a taste of what the future might hold – and memory I hold on to as I return to finishing the fifth (and, I hope, final) play of the group.” - Jessica Branch, writer
3-D reality of the world they created! I took no notes: I just responded to the experience. And the last thing I had expected at that stage in my writing was to actually enjoy my words! Afterward, sure, I had some notes for myself. But in the moment, all I could do was relish the performances that brought the scripts to full-fledged, startling, brilliant life. It was a wonderful way to get a taste of what the future might hold – and memory I hold on to as I return to finishing the fifth (and, I hope, final) play of the group.” - Jessica Branch, writer
"For me, The Drawing Board is about hanging out with friends and having a good time. With good beer and wine. It’s like Cheers, but with scripts being read. It’s the highlight of my month. I’ve made many long-lasting friendships, and worked with some insanely creative people.
I’ve been going to TDB’s readings since 2015. I look forward to them as much as I look forward to going to a Broadway show (remember what that used to be like?). I was honored to have a TDB reading of my own full-length screenplay, Fakespeare, in 2016. I’d been working on it on and off since 1999, and thought it was in just about as good a shape as it could be. But the performances, and the incisive comments in the Q&A afterward, showed me what still needed to be done. I deleted one scene entirely, combined some others, and completely changed the opening scene. Aside from that, it was just a really fun evening! All of the actors were so great, and so perfectly chosen by the host, Dan Salyer. Since then I’ve had two short screenplays read, After and The PickUp. The PickUp was then produced as a short film, which went to film festivals in Los Angeles, London, and Sydney. It was picked for distribution and is now available on Amazon Prime.
Everyone is so supportive and friendly. It’s not like a college classroom, where you’re competing with the other writers, and some people want to build themselves up by dragging other people down. We all want to help each other make our pieces the best they can possibly be." - Philip De Toledo Reissman, writer
I’ve been going to TDB’s readings since 2015. I look forward to them as much as I look forward to going to a Broadway show (remember what that used to be like?). I was honored to have a TDB reading of my own full-length screenplay, Fakespeare, in 2016. I’d been working on it on and off since 1999, and thought it was in just about as good a shape as it could be. But the performances, and the incisive comments in the Q&A afterward, showed me what still needed to be done. I deleted one scene entirely, combined some others, and completely changed the opening scene. Aside from that, it was just a really fun evening! All of the actors were so great, and so perfectly chosen by the host, Dan Salyer. Since then I’ve had two short screenplays read, After and The PickUp. The PickUp was then produced as a short film, which went to film festivals in Los Angeles, London, and Sydney. It was picked for distribution and is now available on Amazon Prime.
Everyone is so supportive and friendly. It’s not like a college classroom, where you’re competing with the other writers, and some people want to build themselves up by dragging other people down. We all want to help each other make our pieces the best they can possibly be." - Philip De Toledo Reissman, writer
"Talent borrows. Genius steals. The Drawing Board shares. I was introduced to the Drawing Board by Ed Hyland, after he had read my play “One False Cut” and found it promising. Shortly afterwards I experienced my first reading and feedback experience at the Drawing Board. Genuinely helpful feedback are much like pearls, high in demand but low in genuine supply. At the Drawing Board I found a wealth of pearls, and in my brief time I’ve made real connections and friends. In just two meetings I’ve found people who I can rely on to send my plays for insightful and actionable feedback and my artistic growth has been the better for it.
Since “One False Cut” I’ve had two other readings done with the Drawing Board. I hope to use these opportunities to move onto professional productions, but a career in the theatre is an impossible endeavor, but I have found joy in sharing my work with this group and I am eternally grateful." - Daniel Ho, writer
Since “One False Cut” I’ve had two other readings done with the Drawing Board. I hope to use these opportunities to move onto professional productions, but a career in the theatre is an impossible endeavor, but I have found joy in sharing my work with this group and I am eternally grateful." - Daniel Ho, writer
"The Drawing Board is a gift to writers. We labor so long alone in our heads, growing over- or under-confident about our creation. Then a TDB host says, “OK, let’s hear it read out loud.” Then Presto! Change-O! talented actors are breathing life into our characters—in front of receptive peers. When our words work, we soar. When they fail, we sink. But the audience, in reacting and discussing, helps us understand why. And we work on.
I’ve had three full-length and five short plays read at TDB. Each time I listen intently (mouthing lines to myself), and learn, learn, learn. "Some Other Time", my latest full-length, was a first draft teasing out the impact of AIDS-survivor guilt on creativity. Yet the quickly-assembled cast, without rehearsal, nailed what I was aiming for, and showed me where I had to go. Who could ask for anything more? The Drawing Board is the gift that keeps on giving." - Geoffrey Knox, writer
I’ve had three full-length and five short plays read at TDB. Each time I listen intently (mouthing lines to myself), and learn, learn, learn. "Some Other Time", my latest full-length, was a first draft teasing out the impact of AIDS-survivor guilt on creativity. Yet the quickly-assembled cast, without rehearsal, nailed what I was aiming for, and showed me where I had to go. Who could ask for anything more? The Drawing Board is the gift that keeps on giving." - Geoffrey Knox, writer
"I've always enjoyed hearing stories read aloud, ever since I was a little kid. And The Drawing Board reawakened that delight when I started attending in 2017. Pre-pandemic, once a month, I looked forward to a kind of radio hour with live actors. I never knew what I'd get but more often than not, I'd be transported somewhere unexpected and exciting. And while I've been lucky enough to have a number of my own scripts presented at The Drawing Board myself -- starting with Muscle Beach: Not Jayne Mansfield's Story that very first year -- my most vivid memory is the night I guest-hosted Jube Charles' Sunsets in the Congo, a screenplay about the terrifying realities surrounding coltan mining in the Congo. Charles' script -- with its big cast, and bigger ideas -- thrilled me with its reach and its vision. The acting talent we pulled together that evening was formidable. By the final page, I was humbled and exhilarated. For while I've learned a lot about my own writing by hearing it aloud at TDB, I've gleaned equally as much from listening to the passionate and soul-searching work of others at the table. It's what makes me a proud member of this community." - Drew Pisarra, writer and poet
"I was first introduced to The Drawing Board by my good friend Rory Clarke. His invite was not one made lightly. It was as if he was introducing me to a secret family he only disclosed to those worthy enough of actually being introduced! It felt like a big deal, and it was!
As a writer, generally as an artist in this City, you can often feel as though you're climbing a huge mountain with ill equipped foot wear and to make matters worse, you often feel like you're climbing by yourself. Well TDB is a community of like-minded artists, all climbing, all getting better equipped...together!
Sunsets In The Congo was and still is a passion project I've been working on for a few years now. It's my first script set in Africa and many of the themes woven in the script are topics I've been wanting to display in a story. I've known since first thinking about this script that this is a big story. The scope of its reach is global and so hearing a wide variety of people's thoughts on the script was very helpful. We writers often feel like we have a good handle on what stage of development a script may be, however, it's only when hearing the script read out loud by professional actors, and hearing productive feedback, it's only then when one can truly get a good sense of where a script is. That's what TDB did for me. It sharpened and gave clarity and for that, especially in this concrete jungle of a city, I'm beyond grateful." - Jube Charles, writer and actor
As a writer, generally as an artist in this City, you can often feel as though you're climbing a huge mountain with ill equipped foot wear and to make matters worse, you often feel like you're climbing by yourself. Well TDB is a community of like-minded artists, all climbing, all getting better equipped...together!
Sunsets In The Congo was and still is a passion project I've been working on for a few years now. It's my first script set in Africa and many of the themes woven in the script are topics I've been wanting to display in a story. I've known since first thinking about this script that this is a big story. The scope of its reach is global and so hearing a wide variety of people's thoughts on the script was very helpful. We writers often feel like we have a good handle on what stage of development a script may be, however, it's only when hearing the script read out loud by professional actors, and hearing productive feedback, it's only then when one can truly get a good sense of where a script is. That's what TDB did for me. It sharpened and gave clarity and for that, especially in this concrete jungle of a city, I'm beyond grateful." - Jube Charles, writer and actor
"I first heard about The Drawing Board from my cousin Jodi Levitan. I went to see a script of hers read and I thought, "How long has THIS been going on?" It was a fantastic performance followed by a great, thoughtful discussion of the script. Unlike any I'd experienced in other writer's groups. I immediately submitted work and, soon after, had my play BAD HEARTS presented. The reading was professionally mounted and beautifully performed. And the discussion afterward provided notes that helped me greatly strengthen the piece. The result? It went on to win the Stanley Drama Award for best play. I've had three more projects read over the years with TDB, and each experience was equally awesome. And the notes I've received from the group have always been helpful and encouraging. Just as important, I've met so many talented writers and actors there, many who have become close friends. I'm so grateful to TDB for all of that and grateful to Jodi for steering me to their door. Cheers to all!" - Mike Bencivenga, writer
"The Drawing Board experience of having my TV pilot “Reconciling Jimmy” read aloud by a roomful of fantastic actors — to hear all the parts spoken — was a valuable privilege that allowed me to materially advance the work in both character development and story. In addition to what I could hear myself in the read, it was so beneficial to have an amazing audience of writers and actors and others there to give me concrete, constructive feedback based on how the elements of script landed for them. After this wonderfully productive evening and the subsequent drafts, my script has gotten positive feedback from working TV writers, a showrunner, producers and managers. I am so, so grateful for this group, for their passion for scripts of all forms, and for their selection of my work to read.”
- Valerie Peterson, writer
- Valerie Peterson, writer
"I have been a longtime member of The Drawing Board as a writer, actor and documentarian photographer. I attended the very first reading, held in the basement of a Turkish Restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen NYC in 2010. As a writer, the workshop reading of my most personal work, ANOTHER DAY OF HAPPINESS, was monumental for me. When I brought it into The Drawing Board it was in a place where it needed to cross the threshold from personal therapy into a work “for an audience.” I have complete trust in the hosts and was lucky to get actors of such exceptional quality that I’ve never encountered in all my years as a writer and performer in NYC. Through the reading, the performances and the talk back session afterward, I gathered information that I needed to move the script forward. Over the next year or two, I re-wrote three drafts, each stronger than the last and each informed by feedback from that reading. It is the work I now consider to be my best and the one I most often submit for contests, residencies and productions. As a writer of performance work, The Drawing Board is an invaluable workshop institution like no other in NYC. I have also been lucky to have countless roles as an actor with the group. It has given me the opportunity to work on many different genres with some great writers and explore diverse characters, which has allowed me to stretch beyond my limits. I have also been lucky to work on various productions outside of the The Drawing Board, created by and/or including its members.
For minimal commitment and NO necessary, monetary cost, The Drawing Board is the best community I’ve ever encountered for an actor to get involved with writers and other actors. I have also been a longtime photographer with them and am honored to have helped document the growth of this amazing group for such a long period of time. The Drawing Board has been a center of my creative life in NYC and I continue to work with them in any capacity I can.”
- Keith Thomson, writer, actor, TDB photographer
For minimal commitment and NO necessary, monetary cost, The Drawing Board is the best community I’ve ever encountered for an actor to get involved with writers and other actors. I have also been a longtime photographer with them and am honored to have helped document the growth of this amazing group for such a long period of time. The Drawing Board has been a center of my creative life in NYC and I continue to work with them in any capacity I can.”
- Keith Thomson, writer, actor, TDB photographer
“The rehearsals for TDB Zoom presentation of “Horseshoe Empire” were extremely useful to me in finding the through-line and contemplating the meat of my play. I was invited to observe the director (Diana Henry) while she and the actors earnestly explored and then I was delighted to see them bring it to life. For future possibilities, the Jersey City Cultural Affairs Dept. has shown interest in this play as have two local theatre companies. Fingers crossed for a production sometime in the not-too-distant future.
My play “Blades” was included in TDB’s evening of short scripts with actors Ellen Dolan and Joe Franchini. What a fun night! After that auspicious event, “Blades” went on to be produced by Artistic New Directions and will soon be published in Applause Books’ “Best New 10-Minute Plays of 2021”.
The Drawing Board gives me a positive place to present my new plays. Comments are smart, thoughtful and very helpful. I especially appreciate the warm atmosphere that our kind leaders nourish. Thank you to Diana, Dan, Brady and Linda!” - Margo Hammond, writer
My play “Blades” was included in TDB’s evening of short scripts with actors Ellen Dolan and Joe Franchini. What a fun night! After that auspicious event, “Blades” went on to be produced by Artistic New Directions and will soon be published in Applause Books’ “Best New 10-Minute Plays of 2021”.
The Drawing Board gives me a positive place to present my new plays. Comments are smart, thoughtful and very helpful. I especially appreciate the warm atmosphere that our kind leaders nourish. Thank you to Diana, Dan, Brady and Linda!” - Margo Hammond, writer
“I am so grateful to have had The Drawing Board read several of my scripts over the last nine years. That first script, “The Messiah Complex”, went so well, I wouldn't have thought it needed any changes until the feedback session with the actors and attendees. They gave insightful and thoughtful notes and a year later it won numerous awards and, a year after that, I was on the NBC lot pitching it to the SyFy channel, none of which would have happened if it wasn't for The Drawing Board. My last script read, “Shocks”, had a diverse cast and once again, The Drawing Board came through for me, gathering another talented cast to bring my words to life and help me see what works and what still needs work. But what The Drawing Board has really done for me goes beyond creative help. These are my friends, my tribe. I have made life long friends here and I am damn proud to be a member.” - David Baugnon, writer
"It’s actually hard for me to put into words how much I’ve grown from being a member of The Drawing Board. I’ve grown as a writer, as a person and as a friend. Being in this group of such talented writers, directors, and actors has been the highpoint of my writing career. I’ve been lucky enough to have three of my scripts read at The Drawing Board, the notes I received and encouragement has made those scripts into better works. Two of those scripts, LEGACY and THE LESSON PLAN are now in pre-production and I have The Drawing Board to thank for that. This is a group I will be part of for the rest of my life and career; and I will be stronger person and writer because of the connections I have with the talented friends of The Drawing Board." - Jodi Levitan, writer
"Working with The Drawing Board on PROFESSOR BASTER’S GREATEST ADVENTURE led me to find so much about the play that I loved, but also so much that I missed. The play is a farce; a love letter to my dad, and to Indiana Jones - so being able to see it come to life and bring so much joy and laughter to people was amazing for a relatively new New Yorker. I saw it connect with them - and that was such a gift. It’s so important to have a community of thoughtful talented artists who can love and cherish your play, as well as show you it’s flaws and missing pieces. After reading at TDB we went on to produce a workshop production of the play with some of the original cast from The Drawing Board reading to great success - and even there, I continued to learn about my play! But it all begins with the confidence and joy brought forth by a trusting playful group like The Drawing Board.” - Michael Perrie Jr., writer and actor
"The Drawing Board created a safe space for me to bring the pilot script of MOMMY MAFIA at a key moment in development. Their producing of the reading helped me to gauge audience reaction and develop the script to a place where I felt confident to shoot it. The Drawing Board experience was invaluable, hearing the script come alive with great actors reading was amazing. I am forever grateful for this experience. Additionally I cast two talented actresses, Shawlini Manjunath-Holbrook and Erin Nelson from the Drawing Board in lead roles and they did an incredible job. The Drawing Board is a great place for writers to workshop material and connect with talented actors, producers and directors. These intermediate supportive steps between writing to full production are incredibly important to my creative process and I have been consistently impressed with The Drawing Board." - Laura Sweeney, writer
"The reading of the full-length MOLIÈRE: A LIFE at The Drawing Board allowed me to finish the piece and short of a few tweaks that can happen at any point, it is done. I am looking for places to have additional readings and get people excited about a full production.
I have to say, no matter what happens with the play going forward, it will NEVER BE DONE AS WELL as that reading of MOLIÈRE: A LIFE (the full-length) at The Drawing Board in May 2018. THAT READING WAS SUBLIME, and truly the best thing I've ever been part of professionally. I thought each and every actor was brilliant in his/her own way, and they were all brilliant together. Afterwards people seemed psyched, and I remember that reading, as I am out pounding the pavement to help keep me inspired." - Vivian Vertes, writer
I have to say, no matter what happens with the play going forward, it will NEVER BE DONE AS WELL as that reading of MOLIÈRE: A LIFE (the full-length) at The Drawing Board in May 2018. THAT READING WAS SUBLIME, and truly the best thing I've ever been part of professionally. I thought each and every actor was brilliant in his/her own way, and they were all brilliant together. Afterwards people seemed psyched, and I remember that reading, as I am out pounding the pavement to help keep me inspired." - Vivian Vertes, writer
"I have had no better experience in the world of New York Theater than the process of bringing my play from script to stage with The Drawing Board. From the earliest table reads to the performance at the legendary Players Club, I was fortunate to collaborate with top-flight producers and directors and the best acting talent in all of New York City, who nurtured my play, made it better, then brought it to life. As a writer, I cannot think of a more educational and rewarding way to develop one's work." - Matt Jordan, writer
"Thank you all for sharing your wonderful, insightful, creative brains with me tonight. I'm sure the next draft of "Scared of Sarah" will benefit greatly from your energy and support. Many thanks!" - Laura Brienza, writer
"The Drawing Board is a great group of collaborative artists. With a large pool of contributors, The Drawing Board provides a strong environment for networking and peer review of new works." - Case Aiken, actor and writer
"The energy, creativity and the constantly unexpected surprises are like great revelations in the Universe." - Anthony Call, actor
"The audience of The Drawing Board is always eclectic, ranging in age, experience, involvement and knowledge which allows all involved to feel like part of a diverse group of individuals, and allows the author to see their work through the eyes of many different audience members. Also they never fail to have the best prices for beer, wine, and snacks anywhere in NYC to accompany the relaxed and open atmosphere. The Drawing Board is helping foster the growth of new works, and because of that, they are a powerhouse of potential brilliance." - Michael Perrie Jr., actor and writer
"A fantastic group of talented and multifaceted members. It's been wonderful to see my own writing come to life as well as perform the work of others. I've gained a tremendous amount from the experience; The Drawing Board has truly benefited my writing and creative process." - Monique Peterson, writer and actor
"What has always impressed me about The Drawing Board - from the very first night I attended - is the level of talent sitting around that table. I find myself both flattered and in awe at every session." - Lane Luckert, actor
"We had a perfect environment in which to explore the world of the play. I could not be more pleased and inspired by the results." - Dean Poynor, writer
"The Drawing Board is a group that is warm, open, passionate, honest, talented and is truly about the love of the craft and the intimacy of creation."
- Duncan Murdoch, actor
- Duncan Murdoch, actor
"I've been to countless readings as a writer, actor, director and producer. This group is talented, smart, and organized. Extremely present and intelligently focused on the material. Best of all, there is no cloud of ego hovering over the group. The straightforwardness and clarity that results from that is priceless. I don't expect a ton from readings. I just want to hear the material out loud. The actors don't have a lot of time to prepare, and whatever feedback there is usually requires a lot of filtering and translation. In this group, there were several pitch-perfect performances, and some of the feedback was exceptional in its clarity, specificity and helpfulness." - Jonathan Schaefer, writer
"The talent, insight and encouragement that our members share are second to none.
It’s a pleasure to be part of such an amazing group." - Stephen Alan Wilson, actor
It’s a pleasure to be part of such an amazing group." - Stephen Alan Wilson, actor
