For Immediate Release: December 2, 2021

Media Contact: Ann Turiano, Co-Artistic Director

410-929-3157

[email protected]

Growing Together: Horticulture Playwrights Workshop is now a program of Sisters Freehold

BALTIMORE, MD - Sisters Freehold is proud to announce their merger with Horticulture Playwrights Workshop.

Horticulture, which has served local playwrights since 2017, provides the essential safe space, time, and structure to bring new full-length plays into the world. Over the course of a full year, playwrights are paired with a dramaturg, director, and team of actors in order to support them as they go from idea to finished script.

Abby Cady, who will remain the director of Horticulture Playwrights Workshop in its new home, shares more: “Horticulture Playwrights Workshop is beginning another exciting phase in its evolution by becoming a program of Sisters Freehold. This step ensures that the program can continue to support playwrights as they experiment and write in the early stages of the play making process. Horticulture and Sisters Freehold share values, vision, and a dedication to Baltimore's vibrant theater scene, and I look forward to working with many more of our city's brilliant artists as Horticulture grows.”

The workshop will continue on in its current form, complemented by a new opportunity that creates a bridge from working draft to world premiere. Once launched, Hot House will act as an extension of the Horticulture program by selecting certain plays from the cohort for a bespoke new play development process that culminates in a fully staged production.

“Sisters Freehold seeks to create a space where Baltimore theatremakers can grow and Horticulture has a proven track record of doing just that. Both of us are invested in unlocking unique stories and building relationships with artists. And this kind of deep, long-term development opportunity is all too rare in the region. We believe wholeheartedly in its value to our community,” says Ann Turiano, co-artistic director of Sisters Freehold. “Basically,” adds fellow co-artistic director Makeima Freeland, “If Sisters Freehold is peanut butter, Horticulture Playwrights Workshop would be jelly.”

A new application round for Horticulture Playwrights Workshop will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit: https://www.sistersfreehold.org/horticulture 

About Sisters Freehold

Founded in 2021, Sisters Freehold is a new theatre company with a mission to grow Baltimore theatremakers. We create robust, supportive experiences for artists--with a focus on emerging BIPOC and female directors--through hands-on production opportunities and intentional theatremaking.

About Horticulture Playwrights Workshop

Horticulture Playwrights Workshop supports the development of new, full-length plays by playwrights in the DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region for DMV audiences by providing the essential safe space, time, and structure for playwrights to experiment and bring their new plays into the world.

Horticulture Playwrights Workshop originated as the Playwrights Fellowship at Cohesion Theatre Company. The process encompasses the new play development process from idea to finished script with monthly meetings and two opportunities to hear the developing scripts aloud. From beginning to end, the process adapts to serve the needs of the playwrights as their scripts develop.

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