Playful Substance Reveals Lineup For 2023-24 Season

Playful Substance is offering a full slate of Artist Services, Community Events and two, fully staged, world premiere productions as part of an ambitious 2023-24 Season. 

Playful Substance's signature Writers' Group (In person and Online, Tuesday Nights 6 pm- 9 pm Eastern $60/ month) our prolific feedback and accountability group for playwrights and screenwriters returns in September for its 6th year along with three new offerings in our Artist Services portfolio; Writers' Group for Caregivers (Online Only, 3rd Saturday of Every Month 11 am- 2 pm Eastern $60/ month) provides monthly meetings and online supports for dramatic writers whose other obligations make committing to a weekly meeting difficult. Actors' Lab (In Person Only, Lower Manhattan location Wednesday Nights 6 pm- 8 pm starting October 18th ,$60/ month) provides a loosely guided play space for actors to participate in group and individual explorations, monologue and scene work, and Scene Study for Collaborators, a unique scene study class that invites theatrical artists to see themselves as multi-hyphenates able to write, act and direct work created in class (In Person Only, Midtown location, Sundays 2 pm - 5 pm October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12, 19, December 3, 10, 17, January 7, 14, 21,  $625).  These Artist Services are in alignment with our commitment to fostering community and love of craft. For more information on our Artist Services, please visit our website: Click Here or contact Bree O’Connor at artisticdirector@playfulsubstance.com.

Nov 4, 2023 at 6:00pm, Playful Substance will kick off the 23-24 performance season with the second annual Play Date at Houghton Hall Arts Community (22 East 30th Street, NY, NY 10016). Play Date is a free community event created by Associate Producer Cristina Garcia Leon with the support of Associate Producer David Pleva where Playful Substance company members and affiliated artists tackle artistic challenges and share the results with Playful Substance Friends and Supporters. Each Play Date is different and offers an opportunity to take a peek behind the curtain as artists meet the creative moment in a relaxed and playful environment. 

Play Date is a low-social-media event. To find out full details, you need to be on Playful Substance’s email list or get an invite from someone in the know. The intention is to encourage our Friends and Supporters to reach out to someone they haven’t seen in a while to enjoy an unusual theatrical experience for free. November 4th is the night we “fall back” for Daylight Savings, so Playful Substance invites you to spend your extra hour with us… for free! To join Playful Substance’s email list and find out more, use this link: http://eepurl.com/dpyNfL

Canary by Donald Wollner is the first of two world premieres this season. 

Cassie wants to be the best copywriter in advertising history. She’s young, inexperienced and a woman in the deeply sexist world of 1980’s office culture. But she and her art director turn out extremely creative work. It gets noticed and soon they are locked in a room grinding out their agency’s coveted “mystery” campaign. Can they get Americans to swallow the biggest chunk of bullshit this country has ever seen? And who are the winners and losers in this game?

Canary by Donald Wollner will run for 10 performances, January 9-20, 2024 Tuesday- Saturday @ 8:00 pm at The Chain (Studio Theater) 312 W 36th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Ticketing information will be released in December 2023.

Our second world premiere, Passing & Failing in Paradise by Tori Barron tells the story of Transition (with a capital T) with Barron’s trademark gleeful defiance. When asked to provide a few sentences about her play, Tori writes:

Transition is weird. Hawaii is weird. Sean Spicer totally belongs in this play. Change my mind. 

Passing & Failing in Paradise by Tori Barron will be presented Spring 2024. Dates and Venue to be announced. 

For information about our Artist Services, Community Events, or stage productions visit Click Here or contact Artistic Director, Bree O’Connor at artisticdirector@playfulsubstance.com.