The bulk of Fluid Motion's programmatic activity is focused on our intensive developmental process. Due to the small and focused nature of our organization, this process is very personalized, tailored specifically to the needs of the individual artist(s) with whom we are working as well as the needs of the piece being developed. It is not dictated by an external timeline or by the desire to turn out a specific number of products in a given year. Through a close working relationship with the writer, we decide step by step how to proceed in this developmental process. We also draw on our network of artistic collaborators to provide input and guidance as needed.

Steps in Fluid Motion's development process include:

• Seeking out and meeting with potential writers and collaborators.
• Commissioning and working with writers to create, develop, and revise scripts.
• Readings. These range from small, closed readings for a selected group of colleagues, to public readings for a larger audience.
• Workshops. For pieces that need development area in a specific area (e.g., dialogue, movement, new media technology, etc.), we may hold a rehearsal workshop lasting anywhere from a few days to several weeks, often culminating with barebones performances for public viewing.

When a piece is ready for a full production, Fluid Motion recruits a director and production team to help fulfill the vision of the piece. Targeted community outreach helps ensure that our work reaches a broad, culturally diverse American audience, both through performance of our work and through related talkbacks and panel discussions that further extend the dialogue about these stories.

Because our schedule is dictated by the needs of the work in development, we do not present a regular number of readings and productions per season, but on average, we typically present 2-3 new works to the public per year in reading, workshop, or production form.

START THE STORY
2006 marked the inaugural year for Fluid Motion's START THE STORY program, a commissioning program in which a sponsor is the genesis of a new play, interacting with the writer and other artists and participating in the artistic development of the work. The first two START THE STORY commissions were awarded to:
• South Asian American playwright Mrinalini Kamath for The Quest (aka The Golden Fleece Project), a new adaptation based on the stories of the Argonauts in the Quest for the Golden Fleece. (Sponsored by the Nancy Quinn Fund and Maria-Teresa A. Gamboni.)
• African American playwright Katori Hall for Ain't I Gone (w.t.), her adaptation of Antigone in the contemporary setting of post-Hurricane Katrina Louisiana. (Sponsored by Ayanna Lonian.)

Please visit the "Support" page to find out how to get more involved!