Written by Stacey Campbell
July 2025
The team behind the CATG magic!
I’m thrilled to share that 1999 was selected for a two-week workshop with Carolina Playwrights Lab in Raleigh, North Carolina! The lab is run by Charlie Brady (Founder of Capital Arts Theatre Group) and Tim Sieb, and it was such a gift to have this opportunity close to home. I often feel like I’m traveling nonstop with my plays but not gaining much traction locally—so this experience felt like a true homecoming.
Week One: Finding My People
Our first rehearsal was so much fun. Just look at this group of smart, talented theatre-makers hanging out in a black box! I work so hard to write myself into a room with collaborators—it’s absolutely the reason I do this.
After week one, we held our first public reading with a large audience. I had made quite a few changes that week—clarifying, expanding, reorganizing. I was proud of how much I reshaped the play, even though it already felt close to production-ready. The reading itself went well, though perhaps a bit heavy on tech for my taste!
The next day, I met behind closed doors with three industry leaders for a critique. Their notes were thoughtful and generous, offered in the spirit of helping the play find its next evolution.
Week Two: Diving Deeper
That feedback, along with audience reactions, lit a fire under me. During week two, I made enormous changes: adding an actor to play Young Emma, cutting nearly all narration apart from the frame, restructuring the play, and writing a new scene. I worked hard—but it was deeply satisfying work.
By the final reading, the play had transformed. I’d spliced scenes, added a character, made strategic cuts, and refined the structure. My favorite part? We had ten brilliant female voices in the room speaking into my play. It was exhilarating. I’m not kidding when I say—I’m going to sleep for a week.
The Second Reading: Everything Clicked
The second reading went beautifully. I was surprised by how much I liked having two Emmas; it gave the 1999 scenes a fresh, youthful energy. And cutting the narration—though a huge lift—tightened the storytelling and gave the play a real engine.
The piece now runs a tight 80 minutes, and the audience response confirmed what I felt: the play had taken a big step forward.
Finding a Creative Home
I left Raleigh feeling that 1999 is closer than ever to being production-ready—and that I’d found a home for my work. Charlie and Tim were genuinely invested in helping me move the play toward production, and Charlie continues to share it with his contacts, which means the world.
Gratitude
A huge shoutout to Chanda Branch, our fearless director, who did a fantastic job leading the actors and staging key moments. And much love to the incredible cast and collaborators: Meredith Snow, Sam Sciopioni, Darby Madewell, Kira Cornell, Judy Dove, LaNeisha Brown Farrar, Carolyne Sandoval, and Laura Youngblood.
Meredith Snow and Kira Cornell. (Photo credit: Jennifer Robertson Photography).
Sam Sciopioni and Meredith Snow.
It was an intense, exhilarating two weeks of theatre-making—and I’m so grateful.