Video: Lin-Manuel Miranda & Thomas Kail Open The Gilbert Parker Studio at The Drama Book Shop

The actual “Room Where It Happens” is opening up to the public. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail have opened The Gilbert Parker Studio at The Drama Book Shop, allowing the space to continue its longstanding legacy of supporting theatre artists, nurturing new work and fostering artistic collaboration.

At the launch event, Miranda joked that it is a “bittersweet” moment for him to open up the space to others, after he had utilized it to write most of his upcoming Broadway musical Warriors. The piano in the space was also where he sat to write much of In the Heights.

“You can’t get writer’s block down here,” Miranda stated. “You go upstairs and you read all of the best plays and musicals ever written. Then you come back downstairs and you get to work.”

“It was enormously important for us and for many other people and we’re hoping now that Lin doesn’t live here anymore, there’s a chance for more people to come and find this space and use it for whatever suits their purposes,” Kail continued.

The new venue provides flexible seating configurations for up to 50 audience members, a modest array of sound and lighting technical support, and a dressing room accessible off the studio. The space welcomes both established and emerging artists to continue the tradition of theatrical exploration that has defined The Drama Book Shop for generations.

Named in honor of their mentor, the late theatrical literary agent Gilbert Parker, who represented many of America’s most influential playwrights, including Terrence McNally, Beth Henley, A.R. Gurney, Ken Ludwig, George Furth, Melvin Bernhardt, Frank Galati, Mark Medoff, Scott Ellis, Des McAnuff, John Madden, Nicholas Martin.

“We are proud to name the theatre The Gilbert Parker Studio (we’ll call it, ‘The Parker”) in honor of a dear mentor,” Kail said. “Gilbert represented writers and directors for decades, and he was an early champion of Lin-Manuel and me.  When we came together to find the shop a new home, we wanted to preserve not only its extraordinary history but also its ability to serve future generations of artists — here’s to the next wave of creators!”