Each year, a cohort of two to four playwrights are in residence at Portland Stage for the festival as they continue to develop their scripts with input from professional actors, directors, and dramaturges in rehearsal and audience members during open discussions held after the public readings of each play.
Past LFU scripts have successfully moved on to full productions at Portland Stage and at other professional theaters around the country. Both Almost, Maine by John Cariani (LFU 2003) and Papermaker by Monica Wood (LFU 2014) went on to become the most commercially successful Mainstage productions in Portland Stage’s history. Meanwhile, many other LFU works have gone on to productions across the country, including successful Off-Broadway productions and TV and Film adaptations.
