FIRST DRAFT is an ongoing performance series founded by Emily Barasch in 2021 that showcases works in progress by Los Angeles–based artists. Organized as a creative laboratory, the program centers community-building and artistic exchange, supporting experimental performance practices that challenge dominant social orders and prioritize self-directed research.

 

Performance-making is often isolating, shaped by individualistic and extractive production models. FIRST DRAFT intervenes by activating shared resources, mutual support, and collective growth among local artists. The series position performance as a collaborative practice, providing space for rigorous artistic research, advocating for more equitable models of development, and strengthening the Los Angeles performance ecosystem. First Drafts have taken place at Junior High Los Angeles, Human Resources, Pieter Performance Space, and Intitute for Contemporary Art (ICA LA).