Voice of the Pacific Northwest

In early 2026, Artists Rep partnered with the Dramatists Guild to survey playwrights in the Pacific Northwest. We wanted to learn more about their experience, opportunities, challenges, and needs. To date, 168 writers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia have responded — and the results are hard to ignore.

Nearly half (47.6%) have considered leaving the region to pursue their careers elsewhere. Their experience is that theaters here are uninterested in producing local and regional writers, running up against a bias that all the “good” plays come from New York, London, or Toronto. Access to grants, workshops, and residencies is limited, and there’s no regional network to easily tap into.

Something needs to change.

ART’s new initiative, Voice of the Pacific Northwest, aims to address the issues driving this creative brain drain. Guided and shaped by an advisory committee of ten regional playwrights, VPNW seeks to uplift PNW writers and build a regional network of theatre producers and companies committed to supporting them. The issues are systemic, and it’s a long game — but it’s one worth playing. Because we believe it’s a lack of opportunity and not a lack of talent that limits our playwrights. We’re working toward a future where gifted playwrights and theatre makers of all sorts can build thriving careers here at home, where audiences and communities are every bit as proud of our homegrown theatre as we are of our wine, our local foods, and our extraordinary home.

VPNW is in its infancy. Change like this doesn’t happen overnight, but it starts somewhere. Check back here to follow our progress.