Start Your Engine “Victory Gardens has had a longstanding commitment to developing writers. It’s the core of our mission,” says literary manager Aaron Carter. “But this is our first attempt to start a festival that hopefully will win national recognition.” From August 7-10, Victory Gardens is presenting “IGNITION: Emerging Playwrights of Color,” a festival dedicated to “launching people’s careers, and launching lives for these plays,” according to Carter. As literary manager, he participated in the panel of judges that whittled 120 submissions by unknown playwrights of color down to an eventual six winners, which will be staged this week by directors from across the city and country. “This festival will help bring these playwrights to the attention of theaters across the nation,” he predicts. “I’m 32 and a playwright myself and I feel like these plays reflect the world that I live in, the immediate diversity.”
