Risa Brainin states: "We see ourselves as a magnet for artists and scholars around the world looking for a fertile place to do their creative work. Through LAUNCH PAD, we are creating a new model for play development. Our work at UCSB is setting the stage for a whole new way of thinking about the ecology of developing new plays. 'Preview Productions' are the step in the life of a new play between readings/workshops and professional premieres. The department is leading the way with this model and our hope is that other universities will follow."

LAUNCH PAD is one program of several that brings artists and scholars to campus.
In the past few years, the department has hosted dozens of artists and scholars including the premiere playwright of Ghana, Ama Ata Aidoo, Tony Award-nominee playwright Jon Robin Baitz, Chicano Theatre Scholar Jorge Huerta, television director/writer David Zabel, award-winning playwright Bridghe Mullins, the Poor Dog Theatre Company, Swiss theatre director and scholar Anton Rey, MacArthur award recipient and Tony Award winner Bill Irwin, award-winning Irish playwright Marina Carr, British playwright David Edgar, Trinity College Emeritus Professor Dennis Kennedy. Brainin looks to the future: "We are extremely excited about our initiative to become a magnet for developing innovative work in theater and dance."