Our Mission
Greenheart Artist Retreat
In August 2026, Greenheart Productions gathered nine artists at Driftway in Westport, Connecticut, for our first Artist Retreat.
We approached the retreat as an experiment: What might happen if we gave artists a beautiful place, a full day, and the freedom to work on something of their choosing, without the expectations or pressures of a formal rehearsal or production process?
Each artist arrived with a project or an idea they wanted to spend time exploring. Some worked independently. Others brought collaborators. The property became part workspace, part rehearsal room, part inspiration, with artists spreading out across the barn, fields, woods, riverfront, and other corners of Driftway.
At the end of the day, everyone came together to share where the day had taken them. One playwright brought an actor as a collaborator and worked on a play in progress, eventually presenting their work beneath a grove of pine trees. The sound of an Irish flute drifted across the property as another artist spent time playing outdoors. One writer shared a portion of an upcoming debut horror novel, while a filmmaker screened a trailer for a documentary about the Philadelphia hair metal scene.
There were scenes from plays in progress and conversations about where those plays had been and where they might go next. One artist wrote an entire song during the retreat and performed it in the barn. Another shared a poem written that day in a meadow. And down by the river, for the final presentation, one artist performed a spoken piece incorporating movement, ending by gently wading into the beautiful Aspetuck River. It was a fitting finale to a day in which artists had been invited to follow their work wherever it might lead.
The experiment left us excited by what can happen when artists are given the space to explore, take risks, and create without constraints. All the while surrounded by other artists doing the same, inspiring an atmosphere of encouragement, and possibility.
It was a truly magical day, and we hope to expand on this experiment in the future, making a Greenheart Productions Artist Retreat something artists of all mediums can look forward to for years to come.