About The Inkwell Theater LAB
The LAB is focused on developing new plays through a collaborative workshop process. We believe that by working in a rehearsal setting with a director and actors, a playwright can best further their plays. Playwrights tell us often how they gained new insights from simply seeing their work with a cast, not to mention the constructive input from directors and other artists.
We begin with a writer and their first draft. During a 3-week intensive process, writers will not only see and hear that draft as written but will also see their rewrites, changes, and inspired ideas come to life. This is aided by introducing an experienced and versatile director, bringing their own unique insights to the play. Mixing in a cast of talented performers only adds to the volume of artistic brainpower being brought to bear upon the play. And pulling the playwright into the rehearsal room brings the whole thing together.
The playwrights selected for each LAB season are the recipients of The Lerner Fellowship, which provides financial, logistical, and artistic support. Max K. Lerner was special counsel and a senior advisor to the Shubert Theatre Organization for over 30 years. During his tenure there, new plays were strongly fostered, including such pieces as Amadeus, Children of a Lesser God, City of Angels, Dreamgirls, A Few Good Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, “Master Harold”…and the Boys, ‘night, Mother, The Real Thing, Sunday in the Park with George, and Little Shop of Horrors. Max was a passionate advocate for emerging writers in the theater, and this Fellowship honors his lifelong commitment.
About The Max K. Lerner Felowship
The authors selected for each Lab season are the recipients of Max K. Lerner Playwriting Fellowship, which provides financial, logistical and artistic support to our playwrights. Max K. Lerner was special council and a senior advisor to the Shubert Theatre Organization for over 30 years. During his tenure there, new writers and plays were strongly fostered, including such pieces as: Amadeus, Children of a Lesser God, City of Angels, Dreamgirls, A Few Good Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, “Master Harold”…and the Boys, ‘night, Mother, The Real Thing, Sunday in the Park with George, and Little Shop of Horrors.
Max was always a passionate advocate for both new and emerging writers in the theater, and this Fellowship honors his lifelong commitment.
“Here are a few things I learned from my father and his boundless excitement for life. I hope you can benefit from Max’s wisdom as much as I have. Don’t focus on the negative. “It’ll get you every time,” he used to say. When you find yourself spiraling, stop it. Go forward, not backward. “Straight ahead” was his favorite phrase, cropping up on cards and letters as well as in conversation. In fact, several members of our family now sign off this way. Keep your sense of humor. We would often find Max whistling and talking at the same time, even up until the end. At parties, he would dance and sing along to the music (his favorite move being “the cha-cha-cha”). He also used his creative side to produce a few records and off-Broadway shows. Be a mentor. Dad was always looking to offer help to those around him, and young people would flock to him in search of his advice.”
— Helene Lerner
Season 1
Degrees
a new play by Michael David
Directed by Mandi Riggi
Featuring:
Samantha Sloyan, Mark McCullough Thomas, Matt Austin, Casey Ross
*Degrees* is a gripping two-act drama that plunges into the tangled lives of three friends forced together by crisis. When Alex’s longtime friend Conrad becomes the victim of a brutal hate crime, her boyfriend Brent must confront his own convictions to help secure justice. As secrets unravel and tensions explode in their small Los Angeles apartment, loyalty and love are tested against lies and moral compromise. With razor-sharp dialogue and haunting twists, *Degrees* explores the volatile intersections of truth, identity, and the lengths we go to protect those we care about—or ourselves.
10 Lovers
a new play by Rachelle Anthes
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring:
Robyn Cohen, John Kelly, Guy Birtwhistle, William Barker, Reem Kadem, Seril James, Nik Tyler, John Lavelle, Libby Clearfield
10 Lovers is an evocative journey through the life and loves of Josephine, a fiercely introspective artist navigating the highs and lows of intimacy, connection, and self-discovery. Through ten poignant and poetic vignettes, we glimpse her tender beginnings, passionate encounters, and heartbreaks, all while she wrestles with existential doubts and the meaning of love in her life. Each scene paints a vivid portrait of vulnerability and resilience, weaving a tapestry of moments that celebrate the complexity of relationships and the beauty of being fully human. 10 Lovers is a raw, lyrical exploration of what it means to love and be loved across a lifetime.
Sentence
a new play by Elizabeth Chomko
Directed by Bonnie Hallman
Featuring:
Michael Butler Murray, Holly Fulger, Johnny Hawkes
Sentence is a searing and unforgettable drama that dives into the fractured heart of a family on the edge. In the idyllic yet isolating mountains of Telluride, Colorado, Howie Piccoli struggles under the crushing weight of guilt and addiction after a drunk-driving accident takes a young girl’s life. His parents, Frank and Barb, are caught in a storm of denial, desperation, and love as they try to protect their son while confronting their own demons. As secrets unravel and tensions explode, the Piccoli family teeters between redemption and collapse, forcing us to confront the question: How far would you go to save someone you love? Sentence is a raw, unflinching exploration of guilt, accountability, and the fragile ties that hold us together.
Season 2
Trochilidae
a new play by Meghan Brown
Directed by Tommy Dunn
Featuring:
Alexandra Grossi, Dasha Flynn, Stephen Sullivan, Steven J. Pershing
Trochilidae is a gripping tale of survival, betrayal, and the razor-thin line between loyalty and manipulation. In a small Kansas house cluttered with hummingbird trinkets, Maggie and Chelsea—two childhood friends bound by a turbulent past—find themselves tangled in a dangerous criminal plot that promises salvation but threatens destruction. As secrets unravel and tensions ignite, the women face brutal choices that challenge their bond and force them to confront buried guilt and hard truths. With razor-sharp dialogue and relentless twists, Trochilidae is a heart-pounding drama that delves into the depths of human desperation and the high-stakes gamble of trust.
Euphrates
a new play by Terence Anthony
Directed by Bonnie Hallman
Featuring:
Libby Clearfield, S.A. Griffin, Ken Narasaki, Tyson Turrou, Sola Bamis
Euphrates is a gripping exploration of belief, betrayal, and the shadows of the past, set in a remote New Mexico bed-and-breakfast that once housed a notorious cult. As five strangers gather, each with ties to the cult’s dark history, old wounds resurface, secrets unravel, and eerie phenomena hint at a long-awaited prophecy. Kira, a defiant young woman with a buried connection to the house, must confront the cult’s sinister legacy and her own trauma to uncover the truth hidden within its walls. Suspenseful, haunting, and deeply human, Euphrates weaves a tale of survival, reckoning, and the fragile hope of redemption.
Season 3
Sisters of Transformation
a new play by Jeremy Frazier
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring: Marlo Bernier, Andrew Fromer, Jamie Miller, Peter Monro, Jennifer Kenyon, Domaine Javier
In Sisters of Transformation, a diverse group of transgender individuals and their allies gather at a dance studio for their monthly support meeting, seeking connection and understanding. When their leader, Janice, fails to arrive, the group is thrown into disarray, uncovering simmering tensions, long-held insecurities, and buried secrets. As the night unfolds, a mysterious suicide note adds urgency to their conversations, forcing them to confront their own struggles with identity, belonging, and the bonds that hold them together. With moments of humor, heartbreak, and raw vulnerability, the play offers a powerful look at the complexities of transformation—both personal and collective—and the resilience required to move forward.
Fortune Wheel
a new play by Joey Damiano
Directed by Jeff Liu
Featuring:
Emily Kuroda, Peter James Smith, Burl Moseley, Deja Soufka
Fortune Wheel is an unflinching exploration of war, family, and the relentless ghosts of the past. John, a haunted Iraq War veteran, returns to a struggling Long Beach apartment to reconnect with his estranged mother, Betsy, a resilient yet broken Chinese immigrant clinging to the memory of her lost love. As they navigate sharp humor, painful truths, and explosive confrontations, the shadows of John’s actions in Iraq and Betsy’s sacrifices in Hong Kong converge in a raw battle for redemption. With vivid characters, gripping tension, and a haunting emotional core, Fortune Wheel captures the fragility of human connection in the aftermath of loss and violence.
Season 4
Citizen Bernie
a new play by Terence Anthony
Directed by Bonnie Hallman
Featuring: Gregg Lawrence, Robert Brewer, Howard Miller, Xavier J. Watson, Avery Clyde
Citizen Bernie is a searing, character-driven drama set in a crumbling neighborhood bar where desperation, secrets, and prejudice collide. Bernie, the volatile owner of the failing dive, battles his demons while holding court over a cast of broken regulars: Morry, the abrasive elder with a mean streak; Otis, the bumbling bartender desperate to prove his worth; Muriel, a quiet woman nursing unseen scars; and Jack, a sharp-tongued newcomer who refuses to play by Bernie’s rules. As tensions rise and personal truths emerge, the bar becomes a pressure cooker of explosive confrontations, exposing the raw humanity, toxic dynamics, and desperate survival instincts of its patrons. Gritty, unflinching, and darkly humorous, Citizen Bernie is a gripping exploration of power, identity, and the fragile ties that hold people together in a fractured world.
M-Theory: a play told in 11 dimensions
a new play by Jami Brandli
Directed by Diana Wyenn
Featuring:
Brenda Varda, Kristy Johnson, Reena Dutt
M-Theory is a gripping and deeply human exploration of grief, obsession, and the boundless possibilities of the universe. Pauline, a reclusive woman haunted by the disappearance of her daughter, Ava, has spent years sequestered in a remote cabin, searching for answers through the lens of theoretical physics. When a mysterious young pilot crash-lands nearby during a solar storm and Ava’s spectral presence begins to surface, Pauline is thrust into an emotional and cosmic reckoning. As truths blur and realities collide, M-Theory masterfully blends science, heartbreak, and the strength required to let go, crafting a poignant and breathtaking story about love, loss, and the dimensions of healing.
Currency
a new play by Jennie Webb
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring: Ron Bottitta, Holly Fulger, Jennifer Kenyon, Josh Stamell, Veralyn Jones
Currency is a sharp, darkly comedic look at love, family, and survival in a chaotic world. Helen, a resilient woman clinging to order, and Dan, a hesitant romantic carrying family baggage, wake up after a night of unexpected intimacy to find their lives upended. News of Dan’s twin brother’s murder brings his eccentric siblings crashing into Helen’s oversized Los Angeles bedroom, turning her sanctuary into a whirlwind of chaos. As trust is tested and secrets unravel, the group confronts the messy intersections of love, loyalty, and the crumbling systems that shape their lives. Blending biting humor and raw emotion, Currency asks what truly holds value in a world spinning out of control.
Season 5
Sisters Three
a new play by Jami Brandli
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring: Dana DeRuyck, Kara Hume, Robyn Cohen
Sisters Three is a sharp, darkly comedic tale of sisterhood, grief, and self-discovery. On Christmas Eve, three estranged siblings reunite under strained circumstances: Anne, a social media-obsessed dreamer with a knack for chaos; EJ, a brilliant but troubled mathematician consumed by her work and inner demons; and Charlotte, a celebrated food blogger turned tech-free recluse, fresh from a commune with shocking secrets. As old rivalries resurface and buried grief over their brother’s death takes center stage, the sisters are forced to confront their shared past, fractured relationships, and individual battles for identity. Hilarious, heartfelt, and unflinchingly raw, Sisters Three captures the messy beauty of family and the fight for connection in a chaotic world.
Season 6
Ascent
a new play by Henry Ong
Directed by Diana Wyenn
Featuring: West Liang, Kara Wang, Bart Tangredi, and Russell Edge
Born in China. Trained by America. Ascent is the story of how one promising Chinese immigrant shaped the rise of not one, but two, world nuclear powers.
Friends With Guns
a new play by Stephanie Walker
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Arianna Ortiz, Joe Fria, Justin Huen, and Paula Weston Solano
Two sleep-deprived moms meet at a West LA park, and it’s instant sisterhood. Their husbands hit it off, too, and it seems as though they’ve found their ‘tribe’ — until the issue of guns comes up. Friends With Guns explores the question of what we can compartmentalize…and what we can’t.
Journey to Alice
a new play by Aja Houston
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring: Shirley Jordan, Sola Bamis, Alma Collins, Nadège August, and Leonard R. Garner Jr.
Flying with her mother to a wedding, Lynè encounters the unexpected and inexplicable, threatening her struggle to hold her own world together. ‘Journey to Alice’ grapples with family, loss, as well as the weight and power of inheritance.
Last Stop
a new play by Katherine Cortez
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring: Tyler Bremer, Ronnie Clark, Marian Gonzalez, Ammy Ontiveros, Victoria Ortiz, Kevyn Richmond, Deborah Strang, Julian Yuen
Society has changed. Fear has de-civilized. A new underground railroad arises for those oppressed peoples seeking freedom. ‘Last Stop’ looks at the world as it could become and the resilience of “ordinary” people, asking the question: what will you do when push comes to shove?
Match
a new play by Jennifer Maisel
Directed by Dianna Wyenn
Featuring: Carolina Hoyos, Josh T. Ryan, Ilana Turner, Ray Xifo, and Miebaka Yohannes
Leo has a wife and needs a kidney. Leyla needs Leo and wants a baby—or is it the other way around? Ben needs a kidney and desperately longs for human connection. Maddy needs redemption—will donating a kidney give her that? Moss deals in flesh, seeking the highest bidder. As a bromance flourishes and organs are harvested, as faith is tested and baked goods are devoured, these five New Yorkers find themselves asking: Can there really be such a thing as a gift with no strings attached? Match is an audacious new dramedy from award-winning playwright Jennifer Maisel about failing kidneys, delicious muffins, and the lengths we will go to to save the people we love.
Motherland
a new play by Lisa Kenner Grissom
Directed by Laura Stribling
Featuring: Abigail Marks, Jayne Taini, Alexis Genya, Ross Kramer, Schoen Hodges
With her life in crisis, Lizzie returns home to hide from the world, but when her Russian grandmother Bella starts telling “stories” and her mother Sarah tries to meditate the past away, Lizzie goes down a rabbit hole of discovery. This time-bending drama features four generations of women and asks us all, can you reclaim your life without knowing your roots?
Season 7
Chickenheads
a new play by Ruth Fowler
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring: Leo Oliva, Emily Reas, Bart Tangredi
Porn is hard. Relationships are harder.
Chickenheads is a raw and darkly humorous exploration of survival, power, and intimacy set on the set of a chaotic porn shoot in the San Fernando Valley. Ava, a sharp and resilient adult film actress, finds herself confronting her traumatic past and the messy remains of her relationship with Jonny, a rising performer and estranged ex-boyfriend. As their paths collide under the cynical gaze of Eric, a jaded director drowning in his own regrets, the trio navigates the absurdities and harsh realities of the adult entertainment industry. Unflinching, provocative, and surprisingly tender, Chickenheads peels back the layers of identity and consent to reveal the raw humanity behind the camera.
Not A Monster
a new play by Susan Josephs
Directed by Diana Wyenn
Featuring: Madeline Fair, Rachel Kann, Solomon Shiv & Ivy Strohmaier
On the heels of sexual abuse allegations, a controversial New Age guru welcomes a veteran journalist into his backstage greenroom so she can interview him for a retrospective piece about his transformation from obscure Orthodox Jewish rabbi to celebrity spiritual leader. As their conversation unfolds, revelations emerge about a shared past and the truth becomes a slippery, malleable tool in this timely drama about sexual and spiritual abuse, male privilege, and female agency.
Ollie & D
a new play by Ilana Turner
Directed by Jessica Hanna
Featuring: Marguerite Moreau and Joseph Will
Driving an endless loop of New England country road, two long-time friends-with-benefits discover they are stuck in a Maserati prison — and that only dealing with their relationship will break them out. OLLIE & D takes a darkly comedic look at the intersection of love and the long-term relationship.
The Last Croissant
a new play by Veronica Tjioe
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring: Taylor Bennett, Brandon Blum, Tyler Bremer, Meg Cashel, Kat Devoe-Peterson, Julia Finch, Luke Medina, Conor Murphy, Victoria Ortiz
A one-act farce that replaces the rooms and doors of a traditional farce with the great outdoors, The Last Croissantemploys magical realism, clowning, and whimsy to tell the story of nine crowded campers who hope to find what they’re looking for in the woods.
Inhalation
a new play by John Lavelle
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
Featuring: Ronald Auguste, Frank Faucette, Felipe Figueroa, Chet Grissom, Noah James, Devere Rogers, Graham Sibley
In 1978, Brooklyn was on fire. This is the story of the Soul Patrol, the firemen who tried to put out the flames. Through laughter, brotherhood, and psychedelic war stories, this haunting, disco dancing dark comedy asks us all: “How much wreckage can one man breathe in before they become a ghost?”
Season 8
Chickenheads
a new play by Aaron Braxton
Directed by Susan Dalian
Featuring: Elisa Perry, Brandon Rachal, Derek Shaun, Celestial, Pamela Shaddock, Mihara India, Patricia Belcher, Eddie Goines, James T. Lawson II, Yvans Jourdain
A witty two-act dramatic play centered on the traumatic experiences of a woman rejecting psychological help while suffering hallucinations, pathological guilt, and addiction, “Broken” centers around the stigma of mental illness in an African American family.
Geneis
a new play by Leenie Baker
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring: Sutton Arabe, Nadege August, Jonathan Cho, Noah James, Hailey McAfee, Ammy Ontiveros
In a time-bending journey from the Garden of Eden to modern-day, we follow God, envisioned as a young woman, in her quest to discover herself. ‘Genesis’ explores issues of faith, love, and power as God develops personal relationships with her creations. ‘Genesis’ asks, what does it mean to succeed—or fail–as a creator?
Space Available
a new play by Jennie Webb
Directed by Judith Moreland
Featuring: Cherish Monique Duke, Alexandra Hellquist, Tamika Katon-Donegal, Beth Lane, Peter James Smith
This is the story of Jane, a woman who’s managed to survive an absurd litany of profound misfortunes, but ends up taking a closer look at her own life choices – and what it means to have options – when faced with a surreal future no woman should have to live with. ‘Space Available’ is a play about a woman’s place and what (& who) we let define us.
Abigail
a new play by Sarah Tuft
Directed by Jessica Hanna
Featuring: William Salyers, Christine Dunford, Meg Cashel & Eddie Goines
A masterpiece of the American Theater, “The Crucible” would be the perfect comeback for blacklisted film director Ben Meyers after allegations of sexual harassment nearly derailed his career. So perfect, that Ben’s wife – the renowned stage actress Savannah Wainscott – arranges for him to helm the Broadway production in which she stars as Goody Proctor. But when Ben casts YouTube star Ashley Hart as Abigail Williams, Ashley’s objections to the play’s portrayal of women bring everything to a grinding halt. ABIGAIL looks at our post-#MeToo culture and asks: Has anything really changed?
The Sister House
a new play by Stephanie Alison Walker
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: David Adler, Carrie Barrett, Leandro Cano, Aidan Elyse McCollough, Paula Weston Solano
When Ramona decides to rent out her deceased husband’s office to a mysterious stranger, her daughter Ryan rebels. Three women and one imaginary vampire collide in a historic Victorian home with a past of its own, in this play about immortal love, mothers and daughters, and redemption.
Original Tenants
a new play by Carole Braverman
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Helen Duffy, Sharon Freedman, Kathe Mazur, Bruce Nozick, Noelle Romano
A middle-aged woman returns to the Brooklyn neighborhood where she grew up to care for her ailing mother, and encounters some formidable ghosts from the past: an old friend with the seemingly perfect life, a candy store owner who was once her teenage boyfriend, and the shocking power of old grievances, the kind that can explode on you like long-buried minefields. “You’ve always been a joker, Nina” her old friend tells her, but mortality is no joke. Or is it?
Season 9
Day of Saturn
a new play by Leviticus Jelks
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
Featuring: Moe Irvin, Rickey Junior, Brandon Rachal, Geri-Nikole Love
For Achilles Jones, the reality of his son, Icarus’, attempted suicide still haunts him a year later as he works tirelessly to repair his run-down hardware store. His plans get more complicated, however, when he hires a charismatic young volunteer with a painful past of his own. Through Achilles’ recovered memories and Icarus’ journal entries, the secrets about his son and the truth about their relationship come to light. ‘Day of Saturn’ is a planetary collision of loss, humor, Black masculinity and the generational scars that follow us through life.
Teen Dad
a new play by Adrienne Dawes
Directed by Claudia Duran
Featuring: Krysta Gonzales, Brandon Curry, Elena Sancho, Kelvin Morales, Anna Maria, Tyler Rainer
Abby, a precocious emo-goth teenager, orchestrates a surprise reunion for her mother Tanya, and birth father, Tom, with the help of her mom’s fiancé/healer John. Hoping to provoke long-lasting reconciliation between her parents before her high school graduation, Abby’s plans completely derail when Tom arrives with his new girlfriend Alisha. Can this family confront their past traumas, “deal and heal?
The String's the Thing
a new play by Veronica Tjioe
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring: Taylor Bennett, Brandon Blum, Tyler Bremer, Meg Cashel, Kat Devoe-Peterson, Julia Finch, Luke Medina, Conor Murphy, Victoria Ortiz
A one-act farce that replaces the rooms and doors of a traditional farce with the great outdoors, The Last Croissant employs magical realism, clowning, and whimsy to tell the story of nine crowded campers who hope to find what they’re looking for in the woods.
Gone
a new play by Lolly Ward
Directed by Hannah Wolf
Featuring: Cherish Monique Duke, Alexandra Hellquist, Peter James Smith, Mitchell Bisschop, Tyree Marshall, Shirley Jordan
A will provides peace of mind as four stepsiblings divide their anticipated inheritance with generosity…with suspicion…with greed. Gamble the night away, but whatever you do, don’t leave the house – your family is watching. “Gone” is a dramedy that tests whether blood is thicker than wine.
Long Division
a new play by Aja Houston
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
Featuring: Geri-Nikole Love, David J. Cork, Nardeep Khurmi, Alexandra Grossi, Cherish Monique Duke
Long division is hard. In Jo’s world dividing up years of marital memories with her ex-husband is even harder. When he sends someone to be his stand-in, Jo is forced to sift through intimate moments with a stranger, who challenges her to solve the problem of moving on.
Gertrude
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Keliher Walsh, Sandi McCree, Kacie Rogers, Deborah S. Craig, Parvesh Cheena, Tony Abatemarco
After the death of Hamlet, the Nordic invaders were hoping for a bloodless transition of power. What they got, was Gertrude.
Season 10
A Witness
Directed by Hannah Wolf
Featuring: Robyn Cohen, Sol Marina Crespo, Jimmy Jo, Hailey McAfee, Susan Louise O’Connor, Geri-Nikole Love, Kacie Rogers
Billie, an end-of-life nurse, begins working with Chuck, a woman in the final stages of ALS, as the one-year anniversary of the death of Billie’s brother, Kosmo, approaches.
Firewater
a new play by Samantha Marchant
Directed by Lauren Campedelli
Featuring: Sara Acevedo, Max Faugno, Alexandra Hellquist, Jully Lee, Sierra Santana, Miebaka Yohannes
A reimagining of the Prometheus myth told from the point of view of fire and her sister.
Poolside Glow
Directed by Claudia Duran
Featuring: Timothy Mark Davis, Zamara Jimenez, Julie Peralta Reyes
Afraid of her true desires, Serena searches for what she believes is love and whether she deserves it. Through a series of late-night swims, she explores how much she is willing to sacrifice and endure in the pursuit of it.
Into The Sky
Directed by Kimberlea Kressal
Featuring: David J. Cork, Felipe Figueroa, Noelle Romano
Aboard the spacecraft Passage, Roderick and Johann tend to caterpillars while journeying towards a habitable planet. The long journey allows the two to simply drift through space – and towards each other.
here comes the night
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
Featuring: Madelynn Fattibene, Erika Soto, Paige Taylor
When Olivia (mid-40s) invites her old friend, Maggie (mid-30s), to spend the weekend to provide support as Olivia goes through an at-home abortion, their opposing worldviews lead to unexpected insights and consequences for both of them. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?
LET.HER.RIP.
a new play by Maggie Lou Rader
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Alexis Genya, Kaitlin Huwe, Portland Thomas, Kay Wilson
Live Original Music performed by Michael Fleming
LET. HER. RIP. is the story of camaraderie, activism, and ferocity which lies within the crosshairs of the Match Women labour movement and the Ripper murders in White Chapel, 1888.
WAITING (4.380,000 HOURS AND COUNTING)
a new play by Aja Houston
Directed by Susan Dalian
Featuring: Carlis Shane Clark, Cherish Monique Duke, Mihara India, Rickey Junior, Geri-Nikole Love, Portland Thomas, Inger Tudor, E.E. Williams
When Proctor passes into the afterlife, she finds herself a captive of “The Middle” — a place where Black souls killed for the sin of being “Spooks” are held until they earn their redemption. Proctor pushes back against the other members and the omnipresent system that governs them so she may be released into the promised paradise of “The Away.”
Season 11
Human Resources
a new play by Daniel Hirsch
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring: Christine Dunford, Luke Medina, John Lavelle, Sharon Freedman
Kate is having a rough Monday. On top of the fact that she has a chatty, emotionally needy new coworker named Alan who won’t shut up, she’s realizing that her job in the User Systems QA team might be utterly devoid of meaning. Also, she’s probably going to die… As the Mondays accumulate, Kate’s small world is upended when Alan wrangles her into an unexpected friendship. However, neither can predict how the forces of late-stage, techno-capitalism or one’s impending mortality might muck up their non-romantic, workplace romance.
Two Stop
a new play by David Johann Kim
Directed by Alberto Isaac
Featuring: Suzen Baraka, Tristina Lee, Albert Park, Shirley Jordan
On the verge of the ’92 LA Riots.
A Korean market.
A murder scene.
A store owner and a neighborhood teenaged girl face off.
When her wild card mother arrives, secrets from the past explode in this tiny store.
History and histories go head to head, as LA starts to burn.
Together they reach back decades and across the globe through war, strife, love and life, finding connection and even hope…but will it be enough?
The Taste of Emeralds
a new play by Amy Dellagiarino
Directed by Carly DW Bones
Featuring: Kathleen Leary, Dana DeRuyck, Zachary Bones, Veronica Tjioe
Sisters Margot and Caitlin meet up at their mother’s small, decrepit apartment to go through her possessions after her recent death. As the day slowly turns into night, they begin to unpack the secrets of their past until the haunting influence of their mother throughout the years begins to look a lot like an actual haunting.
O: A Rhapsody in Divorce
a new play by Jami Brandli
Directed by Jessica Hanna
Featuring: Amielynn Abellera, Ann Noble, Alexis Genya, Jacqueline Misaye, Andrew Brian Carter, Shirley Jordan
The Odyssey reimagined as a rhapsodic dramedy.
O, a childless female neurobiologist in her 40s, is blindsided by her husband who wants a divorce, but he refuses to leave the house. With that, her life is upended and she’s thrown into an epic couch-hopping odyssey. As O hops from one couch to the next, we’ll not only learn about the science behind love and heartbreak, O discovers unconventional and magical ways to reassemble the blown-up pieces of her life while she struggles to find her way back toward a “new home.”
Sister, Braid My Hair
a new play by Sarahjeen François
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
Featuring: Eboni Alexander, Tamara McMillian, Tyree Marshall, Dionne Robinson, Naïma Hebrail Kidjo
Djembefola – Mizan Willis
Sister, Braid My Hair is about four sisters who exist as figures in a living tableaux but find reasons to escape the monotony of their frame… for a good time in the real-world. However, the sisters quickly discover that the real-world ain’t as pretty as their picture, and that their real-world Black and Brown counterparts are being over policed.
Season 12
A Witness
Directed by Carly DW Bones
Featuring: Jordan Villegas, Zoe Yale, Alyssa Jirrels
Two best friends struggle to recover from a school shooting that is completely overshadowed by a much worse school shooting on the exact same day.
The Very Best People
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Daniel Franzese, Andria Kozica, Adrian Gonzalez, Margaux Susi, Peter O’Connor
There is a plot against America, and the epicenter of the resistance is at Angelina’s Irish Pub on the South Shore of Staten Island.
Alternative truth theories, hot wings, and justified hyper-violence are the weapons of choice to fight the liberal blue cheese wave of fact based misinformation.
Remember, to be the very best person, you must give over to you’re inner animal and stuff.
The Brothers Matafouk
A Matafouk Comedy in Two Matafouk Acts
a new play by Andy Wasif
Directed by Allison Bibicoff
Featuring: Ari Agbabian, Tayeb Jasoor, Alan Aymie, Sapna Kumar, Gigette Reyes, Mueen Jahan, Simran Budhwani
When Samir, the eldest Matafouk brother, looks out of his construction trailer across the barren Emirati desert, he sees a world of potential and legacy. But when his daughter visits with a request, old Matafouk habits and mistakes threaten to derail everything he’s built forcing him to recognize what is truly important before it’s too late.
Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin
a new play by Dianne Nora
Directed by Hailey McAfee
Featuring: Meg Cashel, Tyler Bremer, Veronica Tjioe
When Soso is left for dead on the Eastern Front, he’s taken in by the Kremlin due to his shocking resemblance to a certain someone. Koba is tasked with training him to perform the role of a lifetime: Stalin’s body double. While Soso is a performer—trained to dance, juggle, and tour the countryside entertaining peasants, Koba is an Actor’s Actor, a student of Stanislavski himself (maybe you’ve heard of his System?), committed to the pursuit of perezhivanie, or experiencing a character’s reality. Based roughly on the life of Felix Dadaev, one of Stalin’s known doubles, the play draws on the historical events of Stalin’s life, the acting methods of the 1940s, and the demise of Yakov Dhugasvilli (Stalin’s real son, who died in a Nazi prison as his father refused to negotiate for his release), as the doubles prepare for the Conference at Tehran, when three so-called Great Men (or were they merely players?) decided the fate of the 20th century.
JUGGERNAUT
a new play by Ciara Ní Chuirc
Directed by Allison Bibicoff
Featuring: Jacqueline Misaye, Denise Yolén, Stephanie Chloé Hepner, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Isaiah Dodo-Williams, Geri-Nikole Love
Jay “Juggernaut” Hayes thinks that she has been called by God to be an MMA fighter. She is single-minded and focused on what she sees as her purpose: she is going to fight ex-champion fighter Maria Rodriguez. Maria is reluctant to return to the octagon after a year off but her manager Lena convinces her otherwise. As the fight looms, Jay becomes more and more resolved while Maria starts to feel doubtful – does she really want to fight the so-called “Daughter of God”?
Season 13
Adirondack Chair Circle
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Kathe Mazur, Porter Kelly, Paloma Nozicka, Max Faugno, Desiree Mee Jung, Rebecca Larsen
Banna is a suburban mom who makes a killer charcuterie board, takes pride in her perfect house, and finds meaning in leading a group of like-minded moms fighting the school district’s indoctrination of children. But behind the impressive facade, the cracks in Banna’s carefully curated world are starting to show. Her marriage is in trouble, her relationship with her teenager is strained, and she is being tormented by an ever-present crow defiling her backyard. As Banna’s group gains notoriety and some sinister allies, she is faced with a choice: to open up and evolve or to double down and become isolated.
The Square
a new play by Pat Kiely
Directed by Carly DW Bones
Featuring: Carl Weintraub, Betsy Zajko, Jordan Villegas, Jenapher Zheng, Brent Charles, Hailey McAfee
The Square is a huis clos about a young woman who informs her
parents that she’s a sex worker. The Flood’s are an ultra-liberal, Montreal family, celebrating Hope and Calvin’s wedding anniversary. They have two daughters – Zyanna, 24, a dancer (adopted), and Mack, 26, an actor living in New York. Things take a turn for the unexpected when Mack returns home and informs her family that she’s been working as a sex worker. There’s more: New York Magazine is doing a cover story on her with the headline, “New York’s Highest Paid Escort.” What follows is a feverish, alcohol fuelled evening, where two generations clash over Mack’s choices and the road forward.
Pit
a new play by Daniel Prillaman
Pit is a darkly hilarious and unsettling journey into the absurd, where survival, connection, and rebellion collide. Trapped in a mysterious pit with no escape, Hat and Glasses have adapted to their strange existence with riddles, rock hunting, and biting humor—until the arrival of Third Wheel, a fiery newcomer determined to fight the inevitable. As tensions boil over and secrets emerge, the trio’s attempts to find meaning in their captivity reveal chilling truths about power, complicity, and the human condition. With razor-sharp wit and an existential edge, Pit is a gripping exploration of what happens when there’s nowhere left to go but deeper.
The One
a new play by Khari Wyatt
In The One, Khari Wyatt crafts a powerful, witty, and provocative drama set against the backdrop of an unprecedented election to determine "the face of the Black community." Five candidates—The Politician, The Preacher, The Intellectual, The Influencer, and The Athlete—vie for this symbolic mantle, each bringing their own ambitions, flaws, and platforms to the table. As debates ignite and scandals unravel, the play dives deep into questions of leadership, identity, and unity within a diverse and complex community. Sharp, heartfelt, and unflinchingly honest, The One is a riveting exploration of who we choose to represent us—and what that choice reveals about ourselves.
The Hostage Situation
a new play by Amy Dellagiarino
In The Hostage Situation, chaos and comedy collide when an ordinary day in a corporate break room takes a darkly hilarious turn. Harry, bitter about being passed over for a promotion, finds his gripes sidelined as Vic, a recently fired employee, storms in with a gun, demanding justice. Just when things couldn’t get worse, Vic’s pregnant and rifle-wielding girlfriend Sandra crashes the party, escalating the absurdity. As donuts, grudges, and egos fly, the unlikely hostages are forced to confront their personal failures, office rivalries, and surprising connections. Fast-paced, sharp-witted, and unexpectedly heartfelt, The Hostage Situation is a workplace comedy turned upside-down, proving that even in the darkest moments, there’s room for humor—and maybe a little humanity.