Photograph courtesy of Nicholas Tekowski
Topher Payne is the undisputed king of the correct membership. The Atlanta playwright and screenwriter has entered 12 Wright Membership battles and gained 10 occasions. Payne was drawn to the distinctive, aggressive environment of the Wright Membership, the place an viewers decides whether or not his story—and his storytelling—is best than his competitors. “Individuals who do it again and again, they don’t seem to be simply fighters—they’re jocks,” Payne says. “In fact, we’re learning one another’s storytelling abilities to determine the way to win.”
Penn’s story is one in all many tales of triumph at Atlanta’s favourite indie literary occasion. Half efficiency, half battle, the present pits writers towards one another in three one-on-one bouts, centered round twin ideas like “give vs. obtain” or “battle vs. peace”; Viewers choose a winner for every spherical.
The Write Membership began in Chicago in 2010 after which debuted in Atlanta in 2011, the place Nick Tekowski did a Marxist retelling of “The Ant and the Grasshopper” and favored the combating spirit between the tales. Michal June, a author and producer, was within the viewers that night time and regretted not attending instantly.
Shortly thereafter, the 2 writers started organizing common native occasions, inviting individuals they discovered at poetry slams or comedy reveals. Convincing the authors to affix was not troublesome. “They’re promised an excited, viewers, which isn’t one thing you get in plenty of readings,” Tekowski says. “We provide a possibility to essentially shine.” Common Write Membership attendees embrace slam poet Theresa Davis, actor Suhela Younger, and Dad’s Storage govt producer John Carr.
The primary time Carr competed in 2015, he was terrified. He carried out six minutes about being a Black Nord. “I knew I might be humorous, however I did not know the way susceptible and honest I might be till Wright Membership,” he says. The piece was so profitable, he turned it right into a play that premiered at Baba’s occasion.
The pandemic put the present on hiatus, however Tekowski and June realized how a lot they missed the group, resurrecting the Wright Membership, which discovered a everlasting residence in Dad’s storage. Write Membership producer Danny Hurd is educating a “Writing for Efficiency” class on the theater to introduce extra individuals to the artwork of stay storytelling. “At school, I wish to allow college students to discover their very own voice and discover ways to work to the perfect of their strengths,” Hurd mentioned.
At its core, Wright Membership has at all times been about giving Atlanta a voice. “I see it as taking the temperature of town,” June mentioned “It is placing Atlanta on stage as soon as a month, turning on a microphone and listening to what town has to say.”
This text appeared in our June 2024 subject.
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