There are few theatre companies in New York (or the world, for that matter) like the Lark Play Development Center. Singular in its purpose to take playwrights under its wing and to help their work take flight, the troupe has nurtured thousands of developing artists and their projects over the past 15 years. And on Sunday, May 3rd, they will receive an honorary 2009 Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

In 1994, John Clinton Eisner and two colleagues lamented the lack of a safe haven for playwrights – a place where artists could experiment with content, form and character, where they could take risks while developing and growing as artists – without the pressure of production, putting a fragile work before the masses before it’s ready. A place where playwrights’ visions could be realized as fully as possible, a place where writers can be given a chance to fail, which Eisner deems critical to future success, all in an environment of trust and respect. From that simple idea came the Lark Play Development Center, which has supported over 850 playwrights and the creation of nearly one thousand new works.

Now the Producing Director of the center, Eisner still has the energy and enthusiasm of a cooped-up puppy exploring the world, especially when discussing the Lark’s programming and methods, which breaks down into three phases of development: scouting, incubation and advancement.

As part of the scouting phase, the Lark annually reads over 1000 plays received via open submissions, recommendations from the Lark’s community of writers, actors and directors, as well as theatres, producers and universities who look to the Lark as a means of co-developing works for their own stages. In incubation, plays are developed through a variety of means, depending on each artist’s needs and personal writing process. The Lark’s flexible, nimble programs include roundtable readings, an annual festival of new works, bi-weekly workshops, residencies, retreats, and barebones productions which outside audiences may attend. The Lark is proud to offer artist-specific funding support through grants like their Playwrights of New York (PONY) Fellowship, generously supported by Board member Sandi Goff Farkas, which provides an emerging writer with theatre district housing, living expenses, and participation in the Lark’s Playwrights’ Workshop program. Finally, in the advancement phase, the Lark works diligently to secure future presentations and productions around the country and the world. These alliances often feed back into the Lark’s scouting program, thereby creating a stronger theatrical world community.

Eisner uses that word “community” frequently, referring to the writers, directors, dramaturgs, actors and other artistic directors; the Lark’s exemplary staff and Board; their coalitions with producing organizations around the world; and their audiences who are instrumental in guiding works-in-progress, all of which are the strongest advocates any not-for-profit organization can hope for.

A list of artists supported by the Lark reads like a who’s-who of international theatre, from veterans like David Henry Hwang, Sarah Ruhl, and Theresa Rebeck (whose Maritius became the first Lark-originated play to have a Broadway production), to the brightest new talents bursting onto the scene like Rajiv Joseph, Tracey Scott Wilson (playwright of The Good Negro, recently seen at the Public Theatre) and Katori Hall, whose The Montaintop, a fascinating drama about Martin Luther King, Jr., is enjoying a barebones developmental production at the Lark through May 9.

The long hours of blood, sweat, and tears, and untold numbers of filled coffee pots make it all worthwhile to Eisner when he watches a writer become focused on their work, and lead it forward, whether it’s to the Public, Broadway, or to small theatres across the country. He is justifiably proud of the Lark’s work, and collaborations with audiences, artists and the international community, acknowledging that “it takes a village to create anything of beauty.”

For more information on the Lark Play Development Center and its programs, artists and more, please visit www.larktheatre.org.