The Playwrights' & Directors' Lab at Burning Coal was founded in April of 2004 in order to encourage and support the creation of new work for performance by North Carolina playwrights and to attract new and exciting artists to the area. It was expanded in 2008 by current LAB directors Sylvia Mallory and Johannah Maynard to include directors. The idea is to start playwrites to thinking more like directors and directors thinking more like playwrites. The LAB is a workshop environment where group members can give and receive constructive criticism and feedback on new works-in-progress. In addition to regular group meetings, Lab members also present local public readings of new plays, and send their work on for production at professional theatres. The LAB members come from diverse backgrounds, but tend to be artists who have had at least one professional production or publication of their work. Membership is by invitation or referral, and interested playwrights and directors from North Carolina are welcome to apply.

To Apply Call 919-834-4001 or write us at burning_coal@ipass.net