History
2009
Playwrights West is founded as a platform for professional playwrights in the Pacific Northwest to have their plays developed and fully produced.
2010
Playwrights West offers anthology shows. One of these, Wet Ink, is a festival of plays less than a month old. Another, Laying Foundations, takes place in every room of a 100-year-old house.
2011
Member playwrights contribute short plays to Shaking The Tree’s The Tripping Point. Three writers take home Drammy awards for it. Ablaze, an a cappella musical thriller by Matthew B. Zrebski, is developed by Wilson High School (now Ida B. Wells High School) in association with Playwrights West and is named of the top three high school productions of 2011-2012 by the Oregon State Thespian Conference.
2012
Playwrights West presents its first full production, Patrick Wohlmut's Continuum.
2013
Playwrights West presents its second full production, Ellen Margolis' Licking Batteries. Playwrights West fully launches and education program with Teen West Project, partnering with SouthWest StageWorks (the after school production company at Wilson High School - now Ida B. Wells High School) and produces The Warning Label, featuring three short works by Debbie Lamedman, Karin Magaldi and Matthew B. Zrebski. Ablaze, is reworked and receives its premiere professional production with Staged! and wins several regional Drammy and PAMTA awards and is listed as one of the top ten productions of the year by The Oregonian. Playwrights West presents Sparks, a fundraising gala featuring short excerpts of new work by each member writer.
2014
Teen West Project presents its second full production, Patrick Wohlmut's The Waves. Playwrights West launches a new collaboration, Flash Reads, in partnership with Artists Repertory Theatre, presenting world premiere readings of Calumnies by Ellen Margolis and Carter Hall by Claire Willett. In August, Playwrights West presents its third full production, Andrew Wardenaar's The Sweatermakers. In October, Playwrights West members contribute stage adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories to Shaking The Tree’s Masque of the Red Death.
2015
Teen West Project presents its third full production, Ellen Margolis’ Prime, in February. In August, Playwrights West presents its fourth full production, Dear Galileo by Claire Willett.
2016
Playwrights West members decide to begin rethinking the original production model and put all future full productions of member playwrights on hold to focus on the education programming. Teen West Project presents its fourth full production, Andrew Wardenaar’s The Pool Behind the Old Brick School, in February. Claire Willet’s Dear Galileo is a finalist for Best Original Script at the Drammy Awards. Teen West Project’s fifth full production, The Hanging Girl by Aleks Merilo, is mounted in October.
2017
Playwrights West produces Last Broadcast, a reading of new plays by its members. Carnivora, by Matthew B. Zrebski is commissioned and premiered by Theatre Vertigo in association with Playwrights West.
2018
Teen West Project premieres plays by Claire Willett and Jeffrey Denight as part of Him Her Them Us in the late winter.
2019
Teen West Project premieres its most ambitious project to date - a site specific audience journey titled, A Short in the Wire, staged in multiple spaces in the high school, and featuring 12 plays by Patrick Wohlmut, Ellen Margolis, William S. Gregory, Aleks Merilo, Matthew B. Zrebski, Claire Willett, Karin Magaldi, Jeffrey Denight, Sara Jean Accuardi, Andrew Wardenaar, and Steve Patterson. Teen West Project begins a partnership with Franklin High School and commissions Sara Jean Accuardi to pen The Importance, developing the play with students at Franklin.
2020
Teen West Project (with SouthWest StageWorks) premieres You Cannot Undo This Action, by Conor Eifler. The play goes on to win the Oregon Book Award in 2021. Teen West Project (with Franklin High School) casts The Importance, but must cancel the production due to the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Playwrights West Education launches its inaugural Teen West Ink in-schools residency playwriting program and serves over 150 students during the 2020-2021 school year.
2021
Teen West Project partners with Lincoln High School on its Annual New Works Festival and premieres an online series of solo shows written by students entitled Snapshot. Teen West Project (with SouthWest StageWorks) also premieres an online series of solos shows written by students, entitled Impact. Both shows are released in the spring and both schools connect with each other during the process to foster mutual support during the stress of the pandemic and lack of social connection. In the summer, Playwrights West Education launches its first Playwrights of the Future (a paid apprenticeship program), commissioning four graduates of Teen West Ink to pen new one act plays, In addition, Ida B Wells student composer, Nico Vilches, is commissioned to write a new musical with Matthew B. Zrebski to be premiered by Teen West Project. In the fall, Teen West Ink launches its second season in the schools. In December, Teen West Project (with Lincoln High School) premieres the 18th Annual New Works Festival, entitled Outside the Box, featuring four plays by student writers. In keeping with COVID-19 safety standards, this innovative production requires that all the lines are pre-recorded and actors perform the work in theatrical masks using broad gesture and movement.
2022
Teen West Project (with SouthWest StageWorks) premieres four new plays by Conor Eifler, Jesse Turner, Sara Jean Accuardi, and Connor French in a festival entitled Emergence. This innovative production features heavy monologue work, masks, and devising. In the summer, Nico Vilches goes back to work with Matthew B. Zrebski on their new musical, currently titled On the Subject of Socks, which is scheduled to premiere with SouthWest StageWorks in spring of 2023. The second year of Playwrights of the Future launches, commissioning five graduates of Teen West Ink. The Importance, having been canceled in 2020, is rescheduled with Franklin High School to premiere in late winter 2023.