Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs offers actors, playwrights a chance to 'Jam'
By Patrick White
Sep 3, 2025
It’s a new season — and a great time to try a new experience. How about Playwright’s Jam, which takes place the first Sunday of every month at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs?
Actors and playwrights show up at 1 p.m. to sign up on two separate lists — one for actors, one for playwrights — and the actors put on name tags (no qualifications needed; if you say you’re an actor, you are!), and at 1:15 the playwrights roam the group and cast the cold readings of their plays.
At 1:30 the fun starts, as you will hear (or read) a dozen or more 10-minute excerpts of new dramatic writing by your friends and neighbors in the audience. There is a round of audience feedback guided by renowned playwright Michael Wells-Oakes, which is positive, supportive and useful. There’s always discussion about what the audience liked and what they would like to hear more of in any chosen play.
It’s a wonderful, creative community filled with laughter and discovery. This is truly a group that points to the growth and future of Capital Region theater. I can’t wait to get back there. The time just flew by!
I recently talked with Wells-Oakes about Playwright’s Jam.
Questions and Answers
QUESTION: Do you remember the first play you fell in love with because of its writing?
ANSWER: Tad Mosel’s "Impromptu." I think the play was in a collection called "Short American Plays," which I read in high school. I loved all the plays in the collection — "Trifles," "Aria De Capo," "The Still Alarm," "Feathertop," etc. — but "Impromptu" really captured my 16-year-old imagination. It asked me to question what a play could be, could do. The play, the actors, the characters, the audience all connected — no barriers, It made me question in some way what theater was. It seemed wild, radical, revolutionary. This was the late 1960s, after all. "Impromptu" was pretty ubiquitously performed. At Penn State when I was a sophomore, it was assigned to all the graduate directing students to direct. Twenty or so "Impromptus" in a row! I acted in No. 14.
Q: How did you get into playwriting?
A: I majored in theater arts at Penn State. It was a great program. My teachers included Manuel Duque and Archie Smith. I was deeply challenged. I didn’t get to act much but I learned all aspects of theater. I loved it. I went at it with all my heart. I read lots and lots of plays. I moved to New York City after I graduated. I acted for a while. Then I had an idea to create a play for myself. I wrote a play, "Into a Point," with Jennifer Wells, who is now my wife. We performed it Off-Off Broadway. It got some notice. It was a finalist at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. We decided to write another play, for which we received a New York Foundation for the Arts grant. We were both MacDowell Colony Fellows.
Playwright's Jam Idea
Q: Where did the idea for Playwright's Jam come from and how long have you been doing it?
A: I was a member of different playwriting groups in New York City [such as] the Playwright Group — mostly actors who wanted to write. Later I was asked to join the 29th Street Playwright’s Collective. The founder/director Emma Goldman-Sherman taught me so much. I consider her a mentor and a good friend. So, I was used to the concept of sharing material, writing with other playwrights, listening to fresh, raw work and responding to it. In September 2020, Jennifer and I moved to Saratoga Springs. At the Saratoga Farmers' Market I met Vivian Nesbit, who was the director of the music school at Caffé Lena. I wondered if there might be interest in having a theater component. Just like that, Vivian arranged a meeting with Caffe Lena's executive director, Sarah Craig. She liked the idea. Vivian and I figured out how we wanted the jam to go. We set some goals. The jam began small, but we persevered. Word got around and it caught on. There were and are lots of people in the Capital Region who write plays. We put announcements out for actors. We had many regular attendees and also new people each week. It was always fun, but it also developed into a real serious lab for the creation of plays, and a community of artists.
Q: What do you love about Playwright's Jam?
A: The friends I have made. The lessons I have learned. One thing I am especially proud of is how all of us in the jam have become better audiences for plays — we listen more closely, see more clearly. We can take part more honestly and generously. I feel the jam is not only for playwrights and actors and directors, it is good for the development of theater.
Q: What’s your favorite piece of writing advice?
A: Trust yourself. Don’t judge yourself or your writing as you go — just write! Trust that you are unique. Trust you know things no one else knows. You have your very own view of the world. Trust yourself and write … and also read lots of plays and attend lots of theater performances. And, come be a part of the Playwright's Jam at Caffé Lena!