Idle Thoughts Newsletter
What Have We Been Up To?
“This is NOT a farm…” 24 Hour Plays
24 hours. Four new plays. Everything in between.
Our second annual 24-Hour Play festival brought together actors, writers, stage managers, and directors to write, perform, and produce brand-new work in just 24 hours. We did this on a farm, BTW. Our play festival was alive, energized, trusting, and collaborative. Our collective traveled through time, engaged in lesbian nun-ery, and created bright, crazy, beautiful new plays!
Try This!
Every month, we’re going to propose an Idle Hands Exercise…a short, low-commitment activity to get your creative juices flowing, to give you inspiration, and to help you work. These will range from writing to performance and beyond. You can give them as much effort or as little effort as you want to. All we ask is that you give it a shot. These activities are designed to be short, and an opportunity for you to stay in practive, especially if you aren’t actively working on a project. If you complete these activities, then hey, we would love for you to send them to us, and we will highlight your results on our social media and in our newsletter.
Activity: Sit. Watch. Write.
Find a public place that you can sit in comfortable. Examples include a park, coffee shop, library, train station, rehearsal room, campus building. Get comfortable, and then spend 10 minutes doing nothing but observing. The people walking by, the sounds you hear, the smell of the area, the movement. Spend 10 minutes watching. Once your time is up, write down 10 things that you noticed.
Now that you have your list of 10 things…choose one of the things from the list. You now are tasked with turning this into a character, a monologue, a poem, a soundscore, or a picture. Turn this thing into a piece of art, or this energy into a piece of art.
Send us what you make, and we might feature it next month!
“The Summer Isn’t Over Yet…” IDLE PARTY (Zara Larsson edition!)
We also had some fun in Providence when we hosted our Zara Larsson themed IDLE PARTY. A night-time variety show featuring drag, skits, song, and plenty of brand-new, original work. This Idle Party is a perfect representation of what we seek to do: bring people together, make some art, and build community!
Meet an Idle Artist!
Idle Hands is a community of artists. Each month, we spotlight one of the people who makes this collective what we know it to be! This is a chance to get to know the people in our community. To know what they’re up to, what inspires them, and what they’re dreaming about.For this first issue, we are so excited to meet and announce our newest team member, New Works Director and extraordinaire, Devon Whitney!
(To be Filled in at a later date)
1). Tell us a little bit about yourself and your artistic practice. What do you make, and what keeps you coming back to it?
2). What are you currently working on?
3). Who is an artist that people should look at/pay attention to?
4). What does "community" mean to you as an artist?
5). What's a piece of advice another artist has given you?
6). What is something completely unrelated to the arts that you are obsessed with?
Boston < — > Providence
Connector
Idle Hands lives between Providence and Boston, and this newsletter is a tool to help you move between both cities. This section is a monthly guide to the people, places, and art making happening in both creative capitals that we think you should check out.
SOMETHING TO SEE:
The Getaway Driver
September 3rd-October 4th | Trinity Repertory Company
“Inspired by the remarkable true story of Katherine Ann Power and Clare Schroeder, The Getaway Driver is a gripping new drama that follows two women bound by a life-altering moment. In 1970, a young activist drove the getaway car for a robbery she hoped would change the world. Instead, it ended in tragedy and she disappeared, beginning the longest run of any woman on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. More than 20 years later, she’s ready to tell the truth. But as she seeks redemption, another voice emerges—the daughter of the person who was killed that day. Unfolding like a true crime thriller, this world premiere traces the long shadow of a single decision.”
(Pay What You Wish tickets available for Sept. 3rd and Sept. 8th.)
Get tickets here.
The Minutes
September 5th-September 19th | The Footlight Club
“The Minutes is a sharp, fast-paced comedy by Tracy Letts that turns a routine small-town city council meeting into a hilarious display of political absurdity, as hidden agendas clash and alliances twist unexpectedly. Beneath the charming facade of the quaint town of Big Cherry USA lie dark secrets. Blending sharp satire and gripping psychological mystery, the play reveals deeper questions about how communities tell their own stories and how far a community will go to defend its version of reality.”
Get ticketshere.
SOMEONE TO MEET:
United South End Artists – Boston: September 19-20, 2026
“Cultivating arts community, engaging audiences, promoting art and artistic development in Boston’s South End. We believe that art is meant to be seen, shared, and experienced.”
South End Open Studios (SEOS) weekend is a way to meet and learn about local artists who are developing work, to experience new work and groundbreaking visual art, and to get to know the neighborhood better. The Kick Off party will take place on September 18th, from 6:00-8:00pm at Piano Craft Gallery (793 Tremont Street). Learn more here.
SOMEWHERE TO GO:
PVDFest – Providence: September 18-19, 2026
“The People’s Festival of Art, Music, and Culture”
PVDFest is Providence’s legendary annual music, arts, and cultural festival, taking over downtown with world-class performances, immersive art, and intercultural food and activities. PVDFest is a fantastic way to check out some local artists, to meet other makers, and to support local creatives!
Learn more here.
We’re Wondering About…
Is Karaoke theatre? Talk about it with someone.
A Letter From Our Producers…
Hi, friends!
Welcome to Idle Thoughts, the very first issue of the Idle Hands Collective newsletter.
Idle Hands was started because we believe in helping artists find space to create, find connection with each other, and to find avenues to continue to be in practice. Boston and Providence alike are full of artists and makers who are making exciting, generous, messy, weird, and needed work. We are building a collective that can help those artists find each other, and to find space to have their work platformed.
Our collective is still growing. We kicked off about a year ago, and it is so beautiful, energizing, and fulfilling to see how far we have already come. We are constantly figuring things out, meeting new people, creating new outlets, seeing what works; and more importantly, what doesn’t. At the crux of all we do is our core belief: we need each other.
This newsletter is a way to continue to build that connection, to keep you in practice and in conversation with us and with one another, and to continue to “do the thing”.
Every month, we’ll share what we’ve been up to, introduce you to an Idle artist in our collective, take you inside of our process and our rehearsal rooms, and offer recommendations on experiences to have between Boston and Providence. We will also offer you a making opportunity to engage with each month, a way to continue to be in practice, and a way to keep yourself connected to our work.
More than anything else, we want Idle Hands to be a place where people can show up and make something that fuels them artistically. No matter what medium you are trained in, no matter where you are, and no matter how motivated you feel artistically, you belong here.
So, welcome to Idle Hands. We are so excited that you are a member of our collective.
– The Idle Hands Producers
