Even though I believe in my work wholeheartedly, there's a part of me that tends to want to edit the marketing process. But going back to your original question, I think that making connections here in Chicago and in New York has helped me forge connections elsewhere. Russ Tutterow at Chicago Dramatists and Michele Volansky at Steppenwolf have been incredibly helpful over the past few years by promoting my work to theatres in other markets where they have connections. When it comes right down to it, the theatre is such a small world. People know people, so it's important to follow up on every connection you've got.
Connections make connections.
Because of its notoriety, there's a good deal of curiosity about Steppenwolf and the creative process at that theatre. I have enormous respect for the artistic staff at Steppenwolf, but I also just plain like them as people. In the end it all comes down to people. After that I just focus on the job at hand. Get the play up.