Talk about a crash course in culture, the arts, politics and women on the move. This was how the scouting trip began. It was my second time to India, an immensely complex and heady country. No matter how prepared, I seem never prepared.
About 250 women playwrights attended WPI 2009, with about half from India, and the remainder from around the world. We were inside and out, at theatres and classrooms of the university, under tents, or in the open air. Most playwrights brought a sample of their work that was presented as a reading. (As an amateur playwright, I had one unfinished work-in-progress and was not registered or ready to show it.) There were a multitude of riveting moments, such as when one of the playwrights came surrounded with a clutch of bodyguards, which was probably wise, or another; surfacing in a sea of women of ages maybe 18 to 88 from the university's sunken, outdoor theatre in the humid, tropical night air with our flashlights. We needed them to ascend the giant concrete steps in near darkness. Two glimpses out of countless others. The role I played was partly as a volunteer, representative administrator for the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP). The week was incredible - inspiring, intense and challenging. We learned about fantastic productions, and courageous artists.
