Amy Herzog & Tina Satter Named 2026 Orchard Project Gala Honorees

The Orchard Project will honor playwright Amy Herzog and writer-director Tina Satter as its 2026 Inspiration Honorees at its annual gala, A Taste of Something New, on Monday, October 19, 2026 at Tribeca Rooftop (10 Desbrosses Street, New York, NY). Cocktails begin at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner and the program at 7:00 PM.

The Orchard Project's 2026 Gala honors the contributions of Orchard Project alumni and colleagues whose writing, producing, and other work - spanning theatre, TV, and film - are terrific examples of the work The Orchard Project supports: the highest caliber of boundary-pushing art, whether in the form of live performance, episodic television, or audio storytelling. Herzog, whose plays and adaptations have earned three Tony nominations, and Satter, whose Is This A Room traveled from The Kitchen to Broadway and became the Peabody Award-winning HBO film Reality, together reflect the full range of that work.

"Amy and Tina are two of the most distinctive voices working today, and both have built their careers the way we hope every OP artist can - by following a singular idea from the rehearsal room to the largest stages and screens. Tina was in our labs with Ghost Rings and in our TV writing lab; seeing where that work has gone is exactly why this organization exists. Celebrating them together is a celebration of what new work makes possible," said Ari Edelson, Founding Artistic Director of The Orchard Project.

The evening brings together artists, colleagues, and supporters from OP's network for a custom tasting menu, cocktails, and dinner, along with a sharing of some of the most exciting work OP has supported in the past year. Proceeds support The Orchard Project's year-round labs and artist programs. This summer alone, OP's Performance Lab in Saratoga Springs brought together 120 artists working on more than 30 projects, alongside eight television projects in its Episodic Lab, four new podcasts in its Audio Lab, and nine multidisciplinary artists in its Greenhouse Lab.

THE HONOREES

Amy Herzog'S plays include Mary Jane (Tony Nomination, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award), 4000 Miles (Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Obie Award for Best New American Play), After the Revolution (New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award) and Belleville (Drama Desk Award nominee). Her adaptations of Ibsen's A Doll's House and An Enemy of the People both received Tony Nominations and the Drama Desk award for Outstanding Adaptation. Amy received the Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She has taught playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama, Yale, and Bryn Mawr.

Tina Satter is a writer and director for theater and film, and Artistic Director of the theater company Half Straddle. Her feature film REALITY, about American whistleblower Reality Winner premiered at Berlin and Telluride in 2023 and was acquired by HBO. The film was nominated for the Gotham Award for Best Feature, two Critics Choice Awards, and won a Peabody Award. Additionally, REALITY went on to be named one of the best films of the year by The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. REALITY was adapted from Tina's critically acclaimed and Obie-winning play IS THIS A ROOM which premiered on Broadway in fall 2021, following a sold-out Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theatre and its premiere run at The Kitchen in 2019.

With Half Straddle, Tina has written and directed 11 original plays and a number of shorter performances and video works which have been presented across the United States and internationally. As a theater director, she's worked with the Schaubühne ensemble and Playwrights Horizons. Accolades include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Pew Fellowship, Rauschenberg Fellowship, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award, Doris Duke Impact Artist Award, and several Obie Awards. Tina has been part of an Orchard Project residency for the play GHOST RINGS with collaborators Chris Giarmo and Erin Markey, and a participant in the TV writing lab with writing partner Jess Barbagallo.

This October, Tina is directing Andrew Scott in the play Sea Wall at Studio Seaview, as well as a film project about the run and Andrew's performance.

TICKETS AND TABLES

Tickets and tables for A Taste of Something New are on sale now at orchardproject.com/taste-of-something-new-2026 (buy tickets directly here):

• VIP Table (10 seats) - $11,000
• VIP Table Ticket - $1,100
• Patron Table (10 seats) - $6,500
• Patron Table Ticket - $650

For questions, contact Emma Claire Gibson at adls@orchardproject.com.

The Orchard Project is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. All tickets above $500 include a $250 non-deductible portion per person.

ABOUT THE ORCHARD PROJECT

The Orchard Project is where new works are seeded, nurtured, and grown. It is an expansive creative space for new plays, new musicals, new television shows, and new forms of dramatic storytelling. The Orchard Project serves creators and producers through form-fitting labs, workshops, and other support in New York City, Saratoga Springs, and online, that propel innovative projects forward.

The Orchard Project has been the go-to new work development program for America's boldest theatre companies and artists, with programs that now also extend beyond live performance to TV and audio as well. Its unique brand of artist and project acceleration has given countless shows the jumpstart they desperately need, and to date it has supported more than 1,500 artists and 500 projects, including An Octoroon, 33 Variations, All the Way, Amélie, Safety Not Guaranteed, We Are Your Robots, and Regency Girls. This season alone, OP-developed work includes Basura at the Alliance Theatre, Begin Again at The Old Globe, and Penelope and Big Stuff, both at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Alumni projects have been produced in such major theaters spanning The Public, BAM, Roundabout, Lincoln Center, and across Broadway, produced and optioned by platforms including Audible and HBO, supporting such a talented, thriving community of artists; this community continues to be The Orchard Project's honor and pleasure.

The Orchard Project's 2026 Programming is made possible with the generous support of The New York State Council on the Arts, Upstate Theater Coalition for a Fair Game, The Richenthal Foundation, The Venturous Theatre Fund, The Dake Family Foundation, TIAA-CREF Foundation, The Orchard Project Founders Club, and many individual donors.

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