A Message from Donna Hoke
Greetings ,
I've had the extreme pleasure of serving as first Western New York regional rep, and then New York State regional rep, for a total of more than seven years. In that time, primarily Western New York has benefited from that appointment with a range of programming from Traveling Master Terrence McNally to playwright mobs to a panel on community theatres and new work, to a diversity town hall with Christine Toy Johnson, to Rolling Readings, to ten years of the annual Holiday Playwrights Potluck. I have loved serving the Guild and the region in this capacity.
Donna Hoke
Now, with the expansion of this region to encompass this vast state, as well as the Ambassador program to assist in furthering Guild reach, it only makes sense in terms of fairness and sharing the wealth that I pass the torch geographically. For that reason, I'm declining to seek re-election and will instead transition to an Ambassador position that allows me not only continue to serve the Guild but also Western New York, while granting another area of New York state the privilege of more rigorous programming and engagement with an official rep. Please know I am always available to all of you-any time. It's been my extreme honor to be your rep.

Nominate Your Next Regional Rep
We hope that you'll join us at the Dramatists Guild in celebrating all of the work and sustained programming tha t Donna Hoke has done to support playwrights and DG members in her region. Nominations for our next New York State Regional Rep will be due on Thursday, June 25 at 11:59pm Eastern Time.
Following that deadline, nominees will be contacted to accept or decline their nomination. We will then collect bios from the nominees, so that members in the region can consider each candidate. Once this process is complete, a ballot will be assembled, and sent out shortly thereafter, thereby enabling all members in New York State to participate in a general election.

The Dramatists Guild promotes the core belief that the theatre should be a diverse and inclusive place that holds a mirror up to the world, endorsing the principles of equal opportunity for all who work in the theatre. To these ends, we encourage the nomination of persons of every race, color, culture, age, gender, physical disability, and sexual orientation, in order to move towards achieving a theatre industry, both on and off stage, that reflects the full diversity of American society. We encourage our members to make this a priority when submitting nominations.
Benefits of Becoming a DG Regional Rep:
  • Complimentary Dramatists Guild membership during your elected three-year term (Click here for a full list of DG membership benefits);
  • Opportunity to submit nominees for the Lanford Wilson Award;
  • Ongoing engagement, training, and skill-building with the Dramatists Guild staff;
  • Ongoing opportunities for community engagement and community building;
  • Strengthening relationships with other writers in your area;
  • Learning more about the resources, opportunities, and incentives available to you, and to members in your region, from the Dramatists Guild;
  • Partnering and engaging with other Regional Representatives and Ambassadors across the world to learn about what might be possible to help writers in your region;
  • Visibility as a national representative of the Dramatists Guild;
  • The opportunity to communicate with Regional Council members, who weigh in on organization-wide decisions;
  •  Strengthening relationships and improving the standards for dramatists with theatres and artistic organizations within your community, with the aid of the Dramatists Guild staff.
 
Requirements of a DG Regional Rep:
  • Commitment to a three-year term;
  • The programming of regional Dramatists Guild events, such as meet and greets, readings/Friday Night Footlights, or town hall meetings. You will also be required to submit the information about programming to the DG’s national office in New York, from where it will then be distributed to the membership;
  • The sharing of information and ideas related to opportunities and challenges regarding the state of new writing in your region;
  • The managing of a regional budget for the facilitation of events and programming;
  • The submission of three Regional Reports per year, to be published in The Dramatist, and to also be distributed via social media;
  • Attendance at monthly online meetings with other Regional Reps across the nation, and with Dramatists Guild staff;
  • Community strengthening and member outreach.
Manager, Regional Rep Program