Theatre East’s 5x5 Drama Series Returns With Five New Plays

Theatre East's 5X5 Drama Series will return next week with five new short plays, each exploring what it means to rebuild in today's world. It's about rebirth and revival. It's about what we hold onto, what we let go of, and how we find a way forward. Performed back-to-back at Court Square Theater in Long Island City, the 2026 edition offers an up-close, unadorned experience of storytelling at its most immediate.

Founded in 2016, the 5X5 Drama Series began as a way to bring theatre beyond the footlights, into breweries, rooftops, taverns, and other unexpected spaces, offering audiences an immersive, accessible encounter with new work. Since moving into the theater in 2021, the series has retained that same spirit of intimacy and ingenuity, keeping production minimal and the focus squarely on the story.

'Theater is one of the places where we come together to make sense of the world,' said Judson Jones, Theatre East Artistic Director. 'We sit in the same room, share a story, laugh, grieve, and recognize something of ourselves in one another. At a time when so much feels fractured, that act of coming together feels like a small but essential way of rebuilding.' Acclaimed actor and playwright Tim Blake Nelson has also recognized the importance of new work and the artists creating it, saying of Theatre East's commitment, 'With groundbreaking productions of new plays...we must consider them theatre's best hope.'

This year's lineup includes:

Eucalyptus and Marina the Really Great Wizard Need Some Rest
Written by Roni Ragone
Directed by Alexei Brusiloff
Featuring Kelsey Sheppard and Kat Warnusz-Steckel

Good Work
Co-written by Mark Briggs and Carlton Norris
Directed by Jeffrey Whitted
Featuring Christie Farrell, Matthew Napoli, and Lukas Poost

Goodbye Porter, Hello Dolly
Written and performed by Oliver Palmer
Directed by Annabel Capper
Featuring Dani Foster and Elizabeth Jarrett

Happy Birthday, Mum
Written and performed by Mila Besson Galimberti
Directed by Christa Kimlicko Jones
Featuring Benedetta Spinetti and Kelsey Sheppard

Claremont
Written by Chapman Hyatt
Directed by Judson Jones
Featuring Nathaniel Meek and Doug Sheppard

Performances run October 15-24 at Theatre East's artistic home, Court Square Theater, located at 44-02 23rd Street in Long Island City. Tickets are available on a suggested-donation basis, reflecting Theatre East's ongoing commitment to making theatre accessible to all.