Dunaway Gardens Foundation Launches Inaugural Playwright Lab In Georgia

Dunaway Gardens Foundation will launch a new Playwright Lab this spring, reviving a model of theatre development long associated with The Sundance Institute Theatre Program. Based in Newnan, Georgia, the inaugural lab will take place in April 2026 and will be led by Philip Himberg, former artistic director of The Sundance Institute Theatre Program.

The Playwright Lab at Dunaway Gardens will bring together established and emerging playwrights, composers, and dramaturgs for a nine-day residency focused on writing, revision, and collaboration. The program is positioned as a continuation of the Sundance Theatre Lab model that concluded in 2022, where numerous Tony Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning works were developed over four decades.

THE PLAYWRIGHT LAB AT DUNAWAY GARDENS

The Dunaway Gardens Playwright Lab will host a cohort of nine artists working in a retreat environment designed to support the creation of new theatrical work. In addition to national and international participants, the lab will incorporate select Georgia-based artists, emphasizing the state’s role in contemporary theatre development.

The inaugural April 2026 cohort will include Mfoniso Udofia, Doug Wright, Michael R. Jackson, Sarah Ruhl, Ricardo Perez Gonzalez, Madhuri Shekar, and Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel. Janice Paran will serve as dramaturg-in-residence.

Philip Himberg said the lab responds to a growing need for sustained developmental spaces for theatre artists, particularly as many long-running residency programs have ended in recent years.

A HISTORIC SETTING FOR CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

The residency will take place on the 22-acre grounds of Dunaway Gardens, which feature terraced landscapes, waterfalls, and garden rooms. Artists will work, write, and engage in structured dialogue over the course of the nine-day session.

Founded in 1915 by Hetty Jane Dunaway, Dunaway Gardens has a long history of supporting the arts. For more than 30 years, the site hosted productions and training programs that welcomed artists and cultural figures including Walt and Roy Disney and Tallulah Bankhead, and supported early-career performers such as Minnie Pearl.

LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY

Philip Himberg brings more than two decades of leadership experience to the program, having served for 24 years as artistic director of The Sundance Institute Theatre Program. Earlier in his career, he was co-artistic director of Playwrights Horizons and oversaw production at Playwrights Horizons/Queens. His work has included collaborations with Tennessee Williams, service as president of Theatre Communications Group, and teaching and mentoring at Yale Drama School and New York University.

Tena Clark of the Dunaway Gardens Foundation said the Playwright Lab continues the original mission of the Gardens’ founder by fostering creativity and collaboration while providing space for new theatrical work to be developed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION