NEXT RUNG PRODUCTIONS
SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A PLAY.
Knoxville playwright Harrison Young wants to help you.
Next Rung Productions is a year-long program where Harrison mentors local playwrights as they develop their ideas into full-length plays.
Here's what you can expect, if selected:
*a meeting about your creative playwriting goals for the year
*monthly meetings to read your play's newest content
*monthly meetings to read the current entirety of your play
*access between meetings for questions and concerns
*special guests for support during your play development
*guidance on submitting your completed play to theatres
*a public reading
*and ultimately, a program tailored toward you creating your best art.
ABOUT ME:
Harrison Young (he/him) is the Tennessee Regional Rep for the Dramatists Guild of America. As a Theatre graduate from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Improvisation alum from the Peoples Improv Theater-NYC, he has performed in many comedies and new works which taught him how to write his own comedies. During the pandemic, he was the Literary Manager for the Tennessee Stage Company as they converted their annual New Play Festival to an online international format. He started Next Rung Productions in 2019 and supported his first playwright through this program in 2020. Since then, Blank News named him "Knoxville's Finest Dramatist" in their 2024 readers' poll.
When away from theatre, Harrison likes to catch up on video games and play with his cat Brighton. He believes all nachos should be layered instead of topped.
"It is rare to find a creative process that works as well as the one that Harrison has developed at Next Rung Productions. His deep insight into the craft of playwriting, his established and effective system for developing new work with the playwright, as well as his keen ability to tailor that system to meet the needs of the individual, made working with him one of the most rewarding and productive experiences of my 20+ years writing for the stage. I encourage anyone at any level of experience to work with Next Rung if you can."
JP Schuffman (NRP's 2024 playwright and creator of ALAS AJAX)
