New Dramatists generously donated office space and the use of its New York City facilities. On March 26th, 1985, LMDA was incorporated with directors Thomas G. Dunn, Susan Gregg, and Bonnie Marranca officially at the helm. That November, a national conference was sponsored by the newly formed LMDA and collaborators at Hunter College, assisted by a grant from the Arthur Foundation. (Notably, this first $1,000 grant was not awarded to a dramaturg but to playwright Sheldon Rosen, who authored a short play for a workshop at the conference.) Des McAnuff gave the keynote address, which was published in American Theatre and what was then called the LMDA Newsletter (1.1, January 1986).