WP Theater Selects Artists for the 2026-2028 Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab

The artistic heart of WP Theater, the two-year Lab residency provides rising talents in the industry with a vital professional network, entrepreneurial and leadership training, rehearsal space, and most significantly, tangible opportunities for the development and production of bold new work for the stage. As the culmination of the Lab, the Pipeline Festival presents a unique opportunity for audiences and industry to access five new plays at various stages of development. True to its name, the WP Pipeline Festival serves as a pipeline to funnel exceptional Women+ artists and their work to the forefront of American theater. 

PLAYWRIGHTS:

Brittany K. Allen, Karina Billini, Mary Hamilton, Iraisa Ann Reilly, Ren Dara Santiago

DIRECTORS:

Jing Dong, Lyam B. Gabel, Maya Quetzali Gonzalez, Lily Kanter Riopelle, Jerrica D. White

PRODUCERS:

Anne Ciarlone, Sanam Laila Hashemi, Madelyn Paquette, Kerrigan Quenemoen, Jehan O. Young

The WP Playwrights Lab is led by CQ Quintana, the Directors Lab is led by Katherine Wilkinson, and the Producers Lab is facilitated by WP Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty, and the Lab program is overseen by WP BOLD Associate Artistic Director Rebecca Martinez.

The 2026 WP Pipeline Festival included five brand new plays written, directed, and produced by the fifteen artists of the 2024-2026 WP Lab. The 2026 Pipeline Festival represented the culmination of a two-year early-career artist residency and featured:

PARTICULARLY MEDDLESOME ANCESTORS, written by Deneen Reynolds-Knott, directed by Kayla Amani, and produced by Lianna Rada-Hung.
FIND ME IN THE MIRROR, written by Jordan Ramirez Puckett, directed by Alex Keegan, and produced by Maia Safani.
YOU CAN SIT WITH US, written by Mukta Phatak, directed by Susanna Jaramillo, and produced by Skye Pagon.
BEAUTIFUL CURTAINS FOR SALE, written by Amy Staats, directed by Mikhaela Mahony, and produced by Roshni Lavelle.
HOME BY TEN, written by Danielle Stagger, directed by Britt Berke, and produced by Penzi Hill-Vasserman.

Work from the Pipeline Festival regularly goes onto production at major theaters in New York and beyond, including: queens by Martyna Majok at Lincoln Center and MTC (Pipeline 2016), OK! by Christin Eve Cato at INTAR (Pipeline 2024), Galatea by MJ Kaufman in a site-specific production in Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pipeline 2016), Kings by Sarah Burgess (Pipeline 2016) at The Public Theater, and Power Strip by Sylvia Khoury (Pipeline 2018) at Lincoln Center Theater.  WP proudly presented Charly Evon Simpson’s play sandblasted (Pipeline 2020) during their ‘21-22 Season, Christin Eve Cato’s Sancocho during their ‘22-23 Season and will produce Leah Nanako Winkler’s play You Seem Sad during the upcoming ‘26-27 Season.