SheNYC Arts was founded in 2015 with a mission to elevate women and gender-marginalized artists in their journeys to becoming playwrights each summer. They produce a theater festival in several major US cities, one of them being in Atlanta. SheATL Summer Theater Festival opens tomorrow, Aug. 18, and runs through Aug. 28. The festival will present four full-length plays, and one of the selected playwrights, Sarahjeen François, joined “City Lights” producer Summer Evans via Zoom along with SheATL co-executive producers, Erika Miranda and Caitlin Hargraves.
Miranda explained the founding philosophy for SheNYC and its sister festival in Atlanta. “For so long, so many perspectives have been blocked out, whether or not it’s intentional,” said Miranda. “There are so many perspectives and stories that haven’t been seen, heard, or felt across our stages across the US, and it’s time that we share a light and that we give them a platform because their impact is huge.”
Over the past three years since the beginning of SheATL, submissions have tripled. This year, Miranda, Hargraves and their team of volunteer readers selected from 60 plays, each read several times by different readers to ensure a strong diversity of perspective and feedback. “We provide all of the tools that make up the ‘night-of’ of a production, so, box office, tech, sound designer, lighting designer. This year we’ve hired intimacy coordinators. We also provide a small stipend for the shows, all in order to give the playwright an opportunity to focus on the creative,” said Miranda.
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