BEYOND WORDS and LUCKY/BIRD Set for Ensemble Studio Theatre 58th Season

Ensemble Studio Theatre has announced its 58th season.

The first production of the season will be the New York premiere of Beyond Words by Laura Maria Censabella, presented by EST together with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as the EST/Sloan Project, their longstanding partnership to foster new plays exploring science and technology. Censabella is a two-time EST/Sloan-commissioned writer, and an EST Ensemble artist. Inspired by the life story of Irene Pepperberg and Alex, Beyond Words will be directed by fellow EST Ensemble Artist Colette Robert, and run from February 8 to March 7, 2027, with an opening set for February 18. Beyond Words was commissioned and developed by the EST/Sloan Project.

The second production will be the world premiere of Youngblood playwright Audley Puglisi's lucky/bird, directed by Obie Award-winner abigail jean-baptiste. The production will run from May 17 to June 13, 2027, with opening on May 27.

Co-Artistic Directors Estefanía Fadul and Graeme Gillis said, “The heart of EST is the mix of generations and cultures written into its core: the nurturing of new voices and the commitment to artists over their creative lifetimes. It's present in everything EST does, from our productions to our parties. And it's very alive in the lineup for Season 58!

“Two extraordinary leaps of imagination from two singular playwrights – Laura Maria Censabella's Beyond Words and Audley Puglisi's lucky/bird – will bring together some of the very best artists of many generations of EST. Laura leads our Playwrights Unit at the theatre, and Audley is a newly minted graduate of our emerging writers group, Youngblood. They're joined by directors Colette Robert and abigail jean-baptiste, who have both been vital collaborators to playwrights here over many years.

“Our developmental work also continues all season long, starting with the sprawling, unwieldy, glorious festival Asking For Trouble – a chance to see the talent bursting from every corner of EST. And a chance to see our very special spruced-up lobby space. We'd almost say you won't recognize the place, but of course you will. Stop by for Season 58!”

All mainstage productions will be performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre's Curt Dempster Theatre at 549 West 52ndSt, Second Floor (between 10th and 11th Avenues).

Tickets go on sale on December 1, 2026 for both mainstage productions.

MAINSTAGE SEASON

New York Premiere

Beyond Words

• By Laura Maria Censabella
• Directed by Colette Robert
• An EST/Sloan Project Production (Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation)
• February 8 – March 7, 2027
• Opening is February 18, 2027

Alex is an African Grey parrot. Irene is a researcher at Harvard University. Over the protests of her male colleagues, Irene teaches Alex to meaningfully communicate and solve problems at the level of a five-year-old child. This highly theatrical new work tracks their 30-year research experiment turned love story and captures man's longing to “talk with the animals.” Inspired by the true life collaboration of Dr. Irene Pepperberg, and Alex.

World Premiere

lucky/bird

• By Audley Puglisi
• Directed by abigail jean-baptiste
• May 17- June 13, 2027
• Opening is May 27, 2027

The Lucky make up a tight-knit community of Black folks with a murky past. And each summer they honor their shared history with a parade. Louise, a pariah, a three-time widow, raises peacocks on her front porch. On the eve of the parade, Louise and her birds are visited by a mysterious stranger—a spirit? or a figment of Louise's imagination?

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING

EST/Sloan First Light Festival – The EST/Sloan Project will highlight new plays about science and tech from the program's commissioned writers via the season-long First Light Festival. First up this fall will be public readings from Ryan Dowler on September 24 and Marcus Yi on December 10. There will also be closed readings of work by Miz Penner Hashimoto, Ellen Winter, Machel Ross, Kelly Tieger, Chris Littler, and Bubba Weiler. The spring First Light readings, as well as new commissions, will be announced later this season.

Bridgette A. Wimberly Memorial Writers Fund – This season launched last Tuesday, September 15th with the inaugural Bridgette A. Wimberly Memorial Writers Fund reading of A Walk in Yaya's Garden, by Stephanie Berry and Cassandra Medley. The Fund was created in memory of Ensemble playwright Bridgette A. Wimberly.

Asking for Trouble – In October, Youngblood, EST's award-winning early-career playwrights group, returns with benefit performances of the perennial favorite Asking for Trouble, a festival of 10-minute plays featuring over 125 artists from the EST Ensemble and wider artistic community. Performances will take place on October 17 and 18.

The Youngblood Sunday Brunch – EST's focus on developing new work will continue all season long. The Youngblood Sunday Brunch, a perpetual sellout event, offers five new short plays from the writer's group around a different theme each month, alongside a brunch buffet. This season's Brunch Sundays are November 8, December 6, January 24, March 7, April 4 and June 6. The lineup and tickets will be announced in advance of each date. The work of the current cohort will also be showcased in the spring of 2027 with the Bloodworks reading series, as well as workshop readings for the graduating writers. New members of the cohort will be announced later this season.

Ensemble Member Programs – The EST artistic ensemble will showcase work via the theatre's Memberfest reading series, the twice-annual Happy Hour short play readings, along with individual artistic projects throughout the season. The EST Re: Members podcast, featuring Ensemble members in conversation with host Rachel Lin, will also drop new episodes featuring Steve Boyer, Lucas Hnath, Cassandra Medley, Bobby Moreno, and Janet Zarish. Previous seasons featured conversations between Ensemble Artists Lloyd Suh, Leah Nanako Winkler, William Jackson Harper, Brian Quijada, Florencia Lozano, Alfred Narciso, Mia Katigbak, Elizabeth Van Dyke, Danya Taymor, and Jerry Zaks, All episodes can be found on Spotify and iTunes.