By Jeffrey James Keyes
21 Jul 2009

In the early developmental stages of the play, Kaplan was "told that this play would never be produced unless I changed the ending. Second Stage embraced the complexity of the play."

She sees the Uptown Series as place "where emerging playwrights can take risks and get produced….it is rare in this economy for theatres to take risks on new voices. I feel very lucky." Burney adds, "I think everything we do is about taking a risk and supporting the most promising theatre artists we know. Those risks can really be rewarding for artist, audience and theatre. Look at Adam Bock's Swimming in the Shallows with a shark as a gay love interest. Or Brooke Berman's The Triple Happiness that brought love and a movie star crashing into suburbia. Or Josh Tobiessen's Election Day that had a politician literally willing to go to the extreme for a vote. At the time, producing each of these plays was a risk both in terms of new artist and unique subject. But the success of these productions helped advance the career of the writers."

Rajiv Joseph says, "It's just so rare for a theatre to produce such new work from writers who are just starting out. For me, to have those plays taken seriously and to have my plays produced at that level, changed me as a writer."

Burney says, "Second Stage has always been a theatre committed to supporting living American writers. As resources continue to dwindle throughout the field, support from a major institution in New York is vital to ensuring that the best young American writers continue to create for the stage."

Burney uses his imagination in more ways than one when approaching his work. "Right now, Uptown is a summer series that is a cool oasis on the Upper West Side," he says. "I'd love to think of the day when it can provide opportunities to all theatre artists and audiences year round. Real theatre-lovers, I think, share the desire to uncover exciting stories that change the way you view the world — and I think that process of discovery should happen constantly."

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Wildflower plays to Aug. 8. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre box office at (212) 246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.

Advance youth tickets (age 30 and under) are $20; and student rush tickets are $10 (available 30 minutes prior to curtain).