Dear Ashland New Plays Festival donors, supporters and friends,

It has been a year since I assumed the position of ANPF board president. As I begin my 13th year as a reader, reflecting on the success of this year’s Fall Festival, our Hamlet collaboration with Play On Shakespeare and our first ever Community Playwriting Retreat, I find myself drawn back to a different event that took place last January.

As co-leaders of our reading team, my wife Susan and I were fortunate in 2022 to have Marie-Claire Erdynast, then a college student, and Aydin Eliason, still in high school, as team members. As has been the case for years, the majority of our dedicated readers are local and a large percentage of them are retirees. That year, we encountered a play titled My Home on the Moon. It was a quirky, comic play about artificial intelligence and gentrification set in a Vietnamese Pho restaurant, and included appearances by Vietnamese gods. We nicknamed it “The Noodle Play” because there was a scene where giant noodles drop from the ceiling and the characters climb them. Marie-Claire and Aydin loved and advocated for this play; the oldsters among us were skeptical at first. The debate convinced us of the brilliance of the play, and it made the semi-finals. It wasn’t ultimately in the final 12 we sent to the artistic director; we were disappointed, but we understood that it was unlikely to be chosen due to its modern voice.

Two years later, in January, 2024, the play had its first production at the San Francisco Playhouse. Marie-Claire was instrumental, as she’s now their associate artistic director. Susan and I picked up Aydin and we traveled to San Francisco for the weekend to meet up with Marie-Claire to attend a preview performance of our beloved play. We met with the playwright, Minna Lee. She knew about us and expressed her gratitude for our help in giving her play life. Magically, they found a way to make the giant noodle-drop scene work. How can anyone who experiences theater not love it?

We had nearly 100% positive feedback from audience members who attended this year’s festival -- about the plays themselves, the quality of the productions, and the wealth of talent from our directors, actors and technicians. I want to add my grateful feedback and applause for our members and donors, who account for nearly 50% of our income, as well as our volunteers and those who generously offer their homes and B&Bs to visiting playwrights and cast members. We survive and thrive because of your commitment to ANPF.

We remain the only play-reading organization in the country that voluntarily reads, discusses and selects play without knowing the identities of the playwrights. As the saying goes, the play's the thing. We are here to nurture the creative process. We are well known and well respected. This year we received our maximum of 350 play submissions in just ten days, which speaks volumes. Playwrights know who we are and, more important, playwrights need what we offer. Not only do the four winning playwrights benefit, but so do finalists and semi-finalists. That status alone helps to get a play noticed throughout the country as theaters search for new works. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of this awesome organization.

All of you who support, love and celebrate the arts and are able to donate to the cause are no doubt aware that December is the most important donation period of the year. I encourage you to consider giving what you are able to ANPF. As we begin our 33rd season together, with your help we can assure our continuation in championing new plays. Please go to our website at https://ashlandnewplays.org/ to join or contribute.

On behalf of the board, warmest wishes for the holidays to all of you who make up our ANPF family.