You can hear the excitement in Austin Dean Ashford’s voice when he talks about teaching first-time playwrights.
Ashford is the artistic director at Flanner House, a community organization in Northwest Indianapolis. This summer, he also taught a class on one-person plays at Naptown African American Theatre Collective.
“I’ve literally seen people who come in, and I’ve asked them to write a play and they’re like “I can’t write a play!” And, now, they’ve got like 30, 40, 50 pages,” he said.
Ashford — a poet, musician and artist — has created a partnership between Flanner House and IF Theatre, formerly known as IndyFringe. His goal is to create a path for local Black artists to participate in IF Theatre’s IndyFringe festival, held annually in August.
“Because I go to school for this stuff, and I’ve done it before, I noticed a lack of equity for some of the Black artists,” he said. “Because Indy Fringe is the largest art festival in the state, so I’m like, ‘Yo, how could I get some of these amazing Black people to be in this festival?’”
Some of the students for the new partnership were recruited from Ashford’s NAATC class. Next year, the program will be open to more aspiring playwrights.
The participants will learn how to write and direct plays, with help from local stage managers, lighting experts and directors. Their shows will premiere in February at Watkins Park.
“Some people have their first creative team as a first-time playwright with their first audiences ever,” Ashford said.
Ashford has won top honors at fringe festivals in Edinburgh, New Zealand, San Diego. He moved to Indianapolis to work at Flanner House about a year ago, after finishing his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. At Flanner House, he leads an arts program that uses hip hop as a teaching tool.
Paul Daily, IF Theatre’s executive director, and Brandon Cosby, Flanner House’s executive director, will lead the program with Ashford.
Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young covers services and resources. Contact her at sophie.young@mirrorindy.org.
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