The Orchard Project Announces 2025 Artists, Projects & Summer Festival

The Orchard Project has announced the teams and artists selected to participate in its 2025 Summer Labs in Saratoga Springs, NY. Fifteen teams are creating new theatrical work in The Orchard Project's hallmark Performance Lab; eight are developing television shows in its Episodic Lab; four are creating new podcasts in its Audio Lab; and nine multidisciplinary artists are developing new work in the Greenhouse Lab.

Participants were selected from over 1,500 submissions. In addition, in 2025, The Orchard Project is launching a Homegrown Lab, supporting new projects by previous alumni of its labs and programs. These diverse cohorts will develop innovative plays, musicals, episodic works, audio projects, and experimental performances while in residence. They will share work during public events scheduled from July 3-12, 2025, including the Summer Arts Festival, Open Rehearsals, and Industry Days. Full details are available at orchardproject.com/2025.

“The Orchard Project continues to be a haven for bold storytelling,” said Ari Edelson, Founder and Artistic Director of the Orchard Project. “We're thrilled to support this extraordinary group of artists, fostering creativity and community in Saratoga Springs.”

2025 ORCHARD PROJECT PUBLIC EVENTS

The Orchard Project Summer Arts Festival (July 3-12, 2025) invites colleagues from the industry and the Saratoga Springs community to engage with works-in-progress created by this year's Orchard Project artists and companies. Highlights of the festival include:

• July 3 at 6pm: Sharing of BZZZ by Caleb Teicher — a family-friendly show, featuring beatboxers and tap dancers.
• July 4 at 5pm: Performance of DEL VALLE by Ned Van Zandt, directed by Amir Arison.
• July 8 at 7pm: Evening with The Civilians, showcasing SEX VARIANTS OF 1941 with a cocktail hour and interview.
• July 10 at 8pm: PigPen Theatre Company concert, featuring music from WYATT AND THE PHANTOM FREQUENCY.
• July 11 at 7:30pm: A showcase of musicals, with selections from BUILT FOR THIS by Kira Stone and LIGHTHOUSE by Abs Wilson & Veronica Mansour.
• July 12 at 5pm: Staged reading of THE RISING by Young Jean Lee.

Additional events, including Open Rehearsals and Industry Days, will be announced at www.orchardproject.com.

2025 PERFORMANCE LAB

The Performance Lab, running in June and July, supports a range of theatrical and interdisciplinary projects, including the 2025 Company in Residence, The Civilians, supported by a grant from the New York State Council for the Arts. Participants include:

• Abs Wilson & Veronica Mansour: Developing LIGHTHOUSE, a musical about a young woman's struggle to escape her small Minnesota hometown.
• Brittany K. Allen: Crafting REBEL'S REST IS BURNING DOWN, a play about Black college alumni at a reparations summit.
• Desdemona Chiang, Cheeyang Ng, Eric Sorrels: Creating THE PHOENIX, a musical blending Chinese classical dance with contemporary theater.
• Joey Soloway & Lauren White: Writing MESMERIZING!, a surreal play about a tech darling connecting with an ancestral hypnotist.
• Peggy Pettitt, Lizzie Olesker, & Louise Smith: Developing LANGUAGE OF DOLLS, a theater piece exploring race and identity through a box of dolls.
• Zizi Majid: Working on HARD IS THE FORTUNE, a play about Muslim women impacted by American imperialism, scored by riot grrrl.
• Caleb Teicher: Choreographing BZZZ, a music and dance narrative featuring beatboxers and tap dancers.
• Young Jean Lee: Writing THE RISING, a haunting play about a mother and daughter's tense reunion.
• Lisa Biggs: Creating THE FLIGHT OF THE PINK FLAMINGOS, a play about a girl band reuniting during the 1967 Detroit rebellion.
• PigPen Theatre Company: Working on WYATT AND THE PHANTOM FREQUENCY, a sci-fi theatrical adventure inspired by radio serials.
• Kira Stone: Crafting BUILT FOR THIS, a feminist pop musical about young gymnasts facing inner and external demons.
• Britton and the Sting: Developing a funk-infused performance project rooted in their soulful, genre-blending style.
• The Civilians: Creating SEX VARIANTS OF 1941, a fantasia celebrating queer identity, adapted from a 1940s medical study.
• Ned Van Zandt & Amir Arison: Performing DEL VALLE, a solo show about redemption in a Texas prison.
• John Michael Lyles: Writing an untitled rodeo musical about a city slicker embracing their identity.

2025 HOMEGROWN LAB

• Reid Tang (Greenhouse ‘23): Creating COLOSSAL CAVE ADVENTURE, an interactive work inspired by an early computer game.
• Kate Douglas (Greenhouse ‘20): Developing CASTOR & POLLUX & THE HUMANS WHO ATE THEM, a comedic play set during the 1870 Paris siege.
• James Kennedy (Greenhouse ‘19): Crafting SONGS FOR CHILDREN, a surreal musical about queer adults writing a children's album.
• Carolina Đỗ (Greenhouse ‘22): Writing 40 WEEKS...IF YOU'RE LUCKY, a satirical play about pregnancy and a charismatic birthing coach.
• Lisa Deng (Episodic ‘24): Developing an untitled death-metal horror sitcom blending dark humor and music.
• A. Cooper (Episodic ‘24): Crafting an untitled musical project exploring female-driven narratives and identity.
• Ana Verde (Episodic ‘22): Developing an untitled episodic project drawing on Puerto Rican and Venezuelan heritage.
• Sarah Gancher (Greenhouse ‘20, Performance Lab ‘23): Developing HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, a play tracing a mother-son relationship from pregnancy to death.

2025 EPISODIC LAB

The Orchard Project's Episodic Lab supports writers developing innovative television and digital media projects. This year's participants include:

• Deepa Purohit: Crafting ELYRIA, a series about an Indian spy hiding in Ohio, confronting buried secrets.
• Jen Bosworth-Ramirez: Developing (MAN)DATED, a dark comedy about a therapist falling for a dangerous client.
• Kiran Chitanvis: Writing CRICKET CITY, a drama about two boys navigating masculinity on a Queens cricket team.
• Minoti Vaishnav: Creating KILLING ME SOFTLY, a supernatural musical series about two superheroes chasing a serial killer.
• Rachel Mars: Developing EUGENE, a series about a teenager discovering an all-female society in Oregon.
• Sarah Sanders: Crafting THE PEOPLE'S FOOD COOP, a comedy about a Brooklyn cooperative fighting a restaurant takeover.
• Winnie Kemp: Writing RECOLLECTION, a series about past-life detectives helping children resolve past-life memories.
• Yilong Liu: Developing EVERYTHING I LEARNED IN AMERICA I LEARNED ON GRINDR, a drama about a man facing his past through hookups.

2025 AUDIO LAB

The Orchard Project's Audio Lab fosters innovative audio storytelling, including podcasts and narrative sound works.

• Alara Magritte and Daniel Rosen: BAYOU BABY BLUES, an episodic podcast musical.
• Camilo Garzon: Developing TO SETL, a science fiction podcast about existence and extraterrestrial life.
• Kimberly Renee: Crafting UN(CON)TROLLED SEASON TWO, a suspenseful audio serial.
• Tee Hoida: Working on DISPATCH FROM THE QUEERVERSE, a sci-fi audio anthology

2025 GREENHOUSE LAB

The Greenhouse Lab is a year-long lab supporting early-stage ideas from multidisciplinary artists. Participants can work on one or multiple projects during the program, which includes biweekly cohort meetings and developmental “sprints” in New York City. 2025 participants include Andrew Aaron Valdez, Arpita Mukherjee, Brysen Orlando Boyd, Dan Daly, Dave Osmundsen, Elizagrace Siobhan Madrone, Gage Tarlton, Peter Campbell, and Stephanie LeBolt.

ABOUT THE ORCHARD PROJECT

The Orchard Project is a leading artistic development laboratory supporting creators of performance and dramatic stories across theater, TV, and audio. Operating in New York City, Saratoga Springs, and online, it has nurtured over 1,500 artists, with works premiering on Broadway, the West End, and globally, earning Obies, Drama Desks, and a 2014 Tony for All The Way. The 2025 Programming is supported by The New York State Council on the Arts, Upstate Theater Coalition, The Richenthal Foundation, The John Golden Fund, The Dake Family Foundation, TIAA-CREF Foundation, The Venturous Theatre Fund, The Orchard Project Founders Club, and individual donors.