{photo: Rose Riordan, JAW Festival Director turns 10 too!}

The festival is turning ten. Chris wrote a great blog last week called What Is JAW? While he had it mostly right… reading his post took me back to that fateful day when Elizabeth Huddle, then the artistic director of Portland Center Stage, told me she had called Jim Nicola of the New York Theatre Workshop about partnering on a new plays festival and how would I like to pick him up at the airport and get this party started? (I’m paraphrasing but you get the idea) - I was swimming in new territory - I had worked for a new plays festival but had never started, planned or organized one before. Not only that, in 1999 the artistic staff consisted of ME. No interns, no assistants, no nobody. Just me and a telephone. While I was terrified it would be a horrific disaster, nobody would come and everyone would go home crying, I was excited as well. I decided that I would plan everything like I would like an experience to be and go from there. Long story short that first year was magical, crazy and we did, in fact, go home crying - because it was over.

The NYTW involvement was mainly collaboration on what writers would be a good fit and after the first year said they would come back to visit the next year but we really didn’t “need them”. Chris forgot that he came on year two! and with his support JAW became a true laboratory for developing work for Portland Center Stage. Every year we post-mortem the festival in the interest of making it a little better each year. The mission being very clear: it’s all about the playwright. We believe that through conversation, food, a field trip to the coast and incredible hospitality we generate the space for creativity and good work. It’s worked so far.

So it brings me to this: I believe that at the core of the festivals success is a dedicated staff that has multiplied each year and we have amazing retention which helps maintain the mission. In 1999 the artistic full-time staff was one strong and in 2008 we have six full-time staff that devote a part of their job to JAW year round. The festival staff is much larger and includes, directors, dramaturgs, stage management, interns, production: lights & sound, administrative staff and company management. The entire company is usually around fifty people.

Here are some of the JAW alumni that have been with JAW for over five years and have made it what it is today and I’m honored to work with them all:

{Rose Riordan, Festival Director 10 years}

{Kelsey Tyler, Festival Producer 9 years}

{Don Crossley JAW Lighting Designer 10 years}

{Chris Coleman, Artistic Director 9 years}

{Jen Raynak JAW Sound Designer 9 years}

{Mead Hunter, Festival Literary Director 7 years}

{Kristan Seemal, Dramaturg 7 years}

One more thank you to Lisa Sanman Smith our Capitol Campaign/Human Resources Director who brought to a brainstorming meeting the tag line “we play rough” - which I immediately stole for JAW’s tag we.play.rough. THANK YOU LISA, NOW QUIT REMINDING ME IT WAS YOUR BRILLIANT IDEA FIRST!

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