101 Stage Adaptations

National New Play Network + New Play Exchange with Nan Barnett (Ep. 9)

Nan Barnett Episode 9

The incomparable Nan Barnett graces the podcast this week with her wisdom, storytelling, and the amazing work happening at National New Play Network (NNPN) and the behemoth that is New Play Exchange (NPX).

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Her various roles in 24 seasons at Florida Stage and how she built her career there
  • Why she considers herself a "connector"
  • What NNPN & NPX are and who they're for
  • What playwrights can expect from putting their work on NPX and tips from both Nan and Melissa to make the most of it

And more!

Resources Mentioned

National New Play Network
New Play Exchange

About Our Guest

Nan Barnett is a new play developer and producer and an advocate for theater-makers and the theater they make. She is the Executive Director of National New Play Network, the country’s alliance of theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays. While on NNPN’s Executive Committee she worked to create the organization’s revolutionary Rolling World Premiere and Residency programs. She came to the Network full-time in 2013 and guided it through the development and launch of its field-altering database, the New Play Exchange ®, now home to more than 40,000 plays by living writers, and its recent planning process, which resulted in the organization’s much-lauded new governance and membership structure and plan for leading the field towards a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive new play ecosystem. Nan spent 24 seasons at Florida Stage, a LORT theater producing exclusively new and developing work, was a member of the inaugural Helen Hayes Awards’ New Play Panel for the nation’s capital region and Coordinating Producer for the 2015 and 2018 iterations of DC’s Women’s Voices Theater Festival. She serves on the Artistic Council of the O’Neill Theater Center and was inducted into the National Theatre Conference in 2017.

Connect with Our Guest

National New Play Network

Connect with host Melissa Schmitz
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Read Melissa's plays on New Play Exchange
Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn

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