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New Play Development

New work is the future of theatre, and this is where you’ll find in-depth content about best practices for its development, as well as pieces about specific work. Consider starting with the essay “Rules of Engagement for New Play Development” and Notes to the Note-Givers; or, Embracing the Paradox.” For musings on the power of new work, watch the video of Todd London’s keynote for the 5th Annual ORIGINKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL or read the transcript.

The Latest

Four Playwrights from the United States on Working in European Theatre Cultures and Economies 
Essay
Four Playwrights from the United States on Working in European Theatre Cultures and Economies 
by Cori Thomas, Crystal Skillman, Andrea Stolowitz, Edward Einhorn, Sam Max
29 August 2024
National Theater Project Creation + Touring Grant Info Session
Video
National Theater Project Creation + Touring Grant Info Session
Reviewing the Application Process and Updated Guidelines for the Creation and Touring Grant
Thursday 12 September 2024
New England
Creating Sound Dramaturgy in the Visual Radio Plays
Essay
Creating Sound Dramaturgy in the Visual Radio Plays
by Tonderai Chiyindiko
28 August 2024
A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 16 December 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 9 December 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 2 December 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 25 November 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 18 November 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 4 November 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 7 October 2024
New York

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 30 September 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 23 September 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

shadow puppets on stage.
National Theater Project Creation + Touring Grant Info Session
Video

National Theater Project Creation + Touring Grant Info Session

Reviewing the Application Process and Updated Guidelines for the Creation and Touring Grant

Thursday 12 September 2024
New England

Staff will break down the application process, timeline, and grant guidelines, then close the info session with a Q and A.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 9 September 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A woman wearing white stands on stage in front of projections of different words.
Four Playwrights from the United States on Working in European Theatre Cultures and Economies 
Essay

Four Playwrights from the United States on Working in European Theatre Cultures and Economies 

29 August 2024

Cori Thomas convenes playwrights based in the United States for a roundtable discussion about working internationally. They parse the differences in new play development and theatregoing cultures in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic.

A group of students listen to a radio play in a crowded room.
Creating Sound Dramaturgy in the Visual Radio Plays
Essay

Creating Sound Dramaturgy in the Visual Radio Plays

28 August 2024

Through experimental dramaturgy that privileged sound over visuals, Neo Muyanga created the Visual Radio Plays project at the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg, South Africa. In this essay, Tonderai Chiyindiko explores the histories, theories, and personal connections that inspired the project.
 

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 26 August 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work, facilitated by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a virtual communal work session for nurturing creativity. Hosted by the Public Theater, these Zoom and HowlRound livestream sessions are accessible worldwide, allowing participants to join from home, school, or anywhere with internet access.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 19 August
New York City

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school, or in a coffee shop from anywhere in the world!

A promotional graphic for Kunafa and Shay featuring art from previous episodes.
Rant and Rave: Middle Eastern, North African, and Southwest Asian Classics and Theatre History
Podcast

Rant and Rave: Middle Eastern, North African, and Southwest Asian Classics and Theatre History

13 August 2024

In the last episode of the fourth season of Kunafa and Shay—which was a historical and classical Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) theatre season—Marina Johnson and Nabra Nelson reflect on the season, give some additional insight, and provide a broader overview of their framework for historical and classical theatre.

Two actors stand on stage in front of a set made of damaged wood.
Ecological Horror on Stage in Black Sunday
Essay

Ecological Horror on Stage in Black Sunday

5 August 2024

Kristin Idaszak shares about Dolores Díaz’s new play Black Sunday that connects the environmental racism during the 1935 Dust Bowl to contemporary migration crises in Chicago.

A man sits on stage on a black box in front of a blue scrim.
Mythologizing the Self Through Autofictional Theatre
Essay

Mythologizing the Self Through Autofictional Theatre

31 July 2024

Playwright and performer Liam Monaghan details the process behind writing Strange/Familiar, his autofictional play on the themes of adoption and queer belonging. He explores the way contemporary autofictions hold up a mirror to ourselves and our world, reflecting both uncertainty and meaning.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 15 July 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school, or in a coffee shop from anywhere in the world!

Three young woman sit in chairs reading scripts as a part of a workshop.
I Designed a Series of Workshops to take back my body
Essay

I Designed a Series of Workshops to take back my body

10 July 2024

Nasima Bee discusses the creation of take back my body, which was informed by a series of workshops in which groups of Muslim women connect and share experiences on the topics of belonging, identity, and home.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 1 July 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school, or in a coffee shop from anywhere in the world!

Two actors stand in a dimly lit space with one shining a flashlight in the others face.
Ten Years of The Gun Show
Essay

Ten Years of The Gun Show

27 June 2024

Ten years after writing The Gun Show, playwright Ellen Lewis looks back at the play that tasks an actor with the delivery of a series of gun stories from Lewis’s life—typically with Ellen among the audience. Lewis sits down with Nate Cohen, who worked on the show for several runs that totaled more than one hundred performances, to reflect on the ways the play, its playwright, and the world have changed over ten years of productions.

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 17 June 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school, or in a coffee shop from anywhere in the world!

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 10 June 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school, or in a coffee shop from anywhere in the world!

A promotional graphic for Watch Me Work.
Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks' Watch Me Work

A Playwriting Masterclass

Monday 3 June 2024
New York City

Watch Me Work is a communal work session for anyone eager to nurture and sustain their creative process. Facilitated by Public Theater Playwright-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks and the New Work Development department, Watch Me Work takes place via Zoom sessions and HowlRound livestreams that you can join at home, at school, or in a coffee shop from anywhere in the world!

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