Things just got a LOT more interesting

One week ago - almost to the minute - I did a third walkthrough of the proposed theater site, this time with playwright and television writer Craig Wright. Many of you may not immediately recognize the name but it's almost guaranteed that you have seen his work.

Wright is an accomplished playwright, having penned several successful Off-Broadway plays. Wright's plays are performed throughout the country by colleges and professional theaters. Wright also has extensive experience writing in Hollywood, where he has penned episodes of HBO's "Six Feet Under" (for which he received an Emmy nomination), ABC's "Lost," and NBC's "Brothers and Sisters." Wright is also the creator, executive producer, and head writer for "Dirty Sexy Money," which aired on ABC in 2007 and 2008.

Oddly, a couple decades or so ago, Wright was looking at a map of Minnesota and the town of "Pine City" caught his eye. In his mind, the town's name conjured up a beautiful image of a small town and the people that existed therein. And just like that, a fictional "Pine City, Minnesota" became the setting of his next play.

And three more after that.

Wright had no formal connection to Pine City, in fact, even after using the setting in four of his plays (plus a fifth one set in Florida that features people who formerly lived in Pine City), Wright still never had even taken time to visit Pine City.

Until last Monday.

Last Monday Wright and I explored the old Gillespie Garage together, where I shared with him my vision of converting it into a space for professional theater.

You may be asking yourself, "how did Craig Wright end up in Pine City?" Or, "how did you ever get in touch with him?" Well, a good friend of mine who is the City Planner of Pine City had previously been in contact with Wright (being the good City Planner that he is, he wanted to know why some New York playwright was writing shows set in Pine City, Minnesota). The City Planner called Wright and told him about my theater project. Craig was excited and said he'd like to talk to me.

So three weeks ago we had a conversation in which Wright revealed to me that he was very excited about my vision and would possibly like to collaborate with me. Build the theater, he said, and he would consider establishing a professional summer theater workshop where actors and directors from around the country would come to Pine City for six weeks each summer to write, rehearse, and perform new plays.

This. Was. Huge.

Of course, it was just brainstorming. First and foremost, I still hadn't purchased the building. Secondly, the building was in need of major renovations, maybe as much as $200,000. Thirdly, Wright reminded me that he was making no promises. Fair enough, I thought.

After all, it's a heck of a starting point, if nothing else.

Well, it turns out that Wright was pretty serious. Serious enough to stop by Pine City as he was passing through the Midwest last week. And after having seen the space, he's still interested.

So we move ahead. Slow and steady, a wise man once told me. Slow and steady.

And maybe next summer, you'll be seeing ads for the Craig Wright Theater Workshop, featuring new works by accomplished artists from as far away as New York. Of course, it won't be happening on Broadway.

It'll be happening right here in Pine City, Minnesota.

I hope.