Langston Hughes once wrote, “What happens to a dream deferred?” But Richard Brenin, a fledgling Washington, D.C., theater producer, feels as though he’s postponed his dream of putting on a “small but mighty production” long enough.

Brenin, local actress and playwright Laura Zam and New York actress Norma Mindell are in the initial stages of crafting their first play — building it from the script up. All of them have backgrounds in theater, but none has been able to make a career out of it. Right now, Brenin and Zam both work at a yoga studio.