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![DGF Music Hall]()
DGF Music Hall -
![DGF Composers Corner]()
DGF Composers Corner -
![DGF Writers Den]()
DGF Writers Den
The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) is happy to share that after five years at the inaugural Music Hall on 40th Street, we have moved to a new, bigger home at 520 8th Avenue. The Music Hall on 40th Street was used nearly every day of the week for dramatists to create, and the refrain writers expressed was that they loved the space but wished there was more availability and more spaces to use. DGF listened and built something new.
Designed by Michelle Carano of Michelle Carano Designs, our new space offers dramatists more resources and three different rehearsal spaces. These new rehearsal spaces continue the organization’s philosophy of providing resources to dramatists at no cost to them. These spaces are specifically designed to inspire and serve as a welcoming respite from the hustle and bustle of New York City to write, create, and rehearse.
“My goal for the space was to blend all the wonderful qualities of the old space with all the possibilities of the new one. As you move through each room, I wanted to have the performance and writers’ spaces feel like a home,” Carano said. “The new space has large windows with wonderful views (of the Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan), so the design of the performance rooms had to have some sense of calm within the hustle and bustle of the city. The energy should come from the artists.”
The Music Hall is supported by the late composer and lyricist Carol Hall and her husband Leonard Majzlin, with a piano donated by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. This is the largest of the three rehearsal spaces. Many dramatists may be familiar with this space at the former DGF office, but this new and improved space offers double the room. The space can be used for readings, presentations, and large rehearsals or meetings. The space can welcome up to 40 guests, seated in theatre-style set-up.
The Composers Corner is a great space for dramatists to write, rehearse, and meet with collaborators. It can fit up to twelve people.
The Writers Den is a perfect place for solo writing, as well as meetings, rehearsals, and writing sessions with groups of up to four people.
Each of these rehearsal spaces features a piano, desk space, writing resources, and a HEPA Air Purifier for comfort and safety. To request a space and find more information, visit the DGF website.
DGF believes that free space to create is an important resource for theatre writers’ creative process, and in order for dramatists to realize their full potential and create stories that will change the world, community and support is necessary. The Dramatists Guild Foundation is excited to share these free rehearsal spaces with dramatists!
