The "Bonderman" was first conceived by founder Dorothy Webb in 1983 as she became aware that there were few opportunities for playwrights to come together and explore the issues surrounding the creation of high quality dramatic literature for young audiences. Dr. Webb, then a professor of theatre at Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), began dreaming about a place where playwrights writing for young audiences, along with those who produce their work and publish that work, could come together to share their plays, their ideas and the practical problems existing in the field.
The first event, of what was to become a biennial offering, was held in 1985: it involved the full production of a play (Rachel Burchard's Hallelujah Hopscotch), obtained by open submission in a national competition, that subsequently toured in Indiana using students from IUPUI. The performance of the play was featured in a three-day symposium in which five semi-finalist plays were presented in staged readings, and members of the youth theatre field gathered to attend workshops, lectures and performances. The first event also hosted ATA's Midwest Region's Annual Conference which featured performances of four new plays representing each state in the region.
Early sponsors included Mel Simon Associates, the Children's Theatre Foundation of America, the Lilly Endowment, and the Indiana Arts Commission, which granted major funds for the first three biennial events. In 1991, the symposium moved to the Indiana Repertory Theatre where the final readings were presented in the Cabaret Theatre. In 1993, Pauline and Dean Bonderman, through a generous title sponsorship gift in honor of Dr. Bonderman's parents, allowed the event to expand into an eight-day development lab for finalist playwrights culminating in the national symposium. Throughout, IUPUI provided facilities and staff support essential to the operation.
In 1995, the "Bonderman" was recognized nationally when the Kennedy Center chose to move its biennial New Visions, New Voices, to the off-year of the Bonderman, allowing two events - one each year - in which the focus is on new play development for theatre for young audiences. Over time, more and more of the of the nine-day event moved to the Indiana Repertory Theatre. When Dr. Webb retired from the university in 2000, the majority of the Bonderman activities were taking place at the IRT.
As the Bonderman has grown, it has added exciting new features. In 1997 Dr. Webb added a classroom linkage for each of the finalist playwrights. Each playwright is assigned an age-appropriate school group who provide feedback about the play at different points during the week of residency. This youth involvement is key to the future success of the plays, and has added a significant feature to the event.
In 1998, the Bonderman was again recognized nationally when it received the national Children's Theatre Foundation's Medallion Award for excellence in playwriting for young audiences.
In 2005, the Bonderman set out on a new path as it departed from the university and took up a new home at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. Now entirely under the auspices of the IRT, whose playwright in residence James Still was discovered at the 1991 Bonderman event, the Bonderman is poised for entry into its third decade of existence. At its helm remains founding artistic director and visionary Dorothy Webb.