The symposium, which is scheduled for 1 PM-5 PM, features two panels: "How Plays Are Really Selected: The Scoop!" (with panelists Tessa LaNeve, literary manager of Primary Stages; Linda Chapman, associate artistic director of New York Theater Workshop; Beth Blickers, literary agent with Abrams Artists Agency; Emily Mann, artistic director of McCarter Theater; and Charles Weldon, artistic director of the Negro Ensemble Company) and "Creating Your Own Opportunities" (Memphis Tony winner Joe DiPietro; Well Tony nominee Lisa Kron; playwrights Annie Baker and 13P member Winter Miller).

Julia Jordan, a Jonathan Larson and Kleban Award-winning playwright, is the keynote speaker. Panel moderators are Julie Crosby, producing artistic director of Women’s Project, and Tina Howe, Obie and Outer Circle Critics Award winner and Tony nominee.

"This is a great occasion to bring together dramatists and professionals from the theatrical community to explore gender inequity in the professional theater," stated Barbara Masry, chairwoman of the Symposium. "Our aim is to increase awareness of the number of talented women writing and composing for the professional theater and to open opportunities for them."

The Players Club is located at 16 Gramercy Park South (at 20th Street). Admission is free and the symposium is open to the public, but reservations must be made for each attendee. Reservations and inquiries can be sent to [email protected]; include your name, DG membership number (if applicable) and number of guests.

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The mission of the Women’s Initiative is "to identify and address the challenges facing women dramatists across the country."