SheNYC Arts Expands Licensing Catalog With 11 New Titles, Including First Musical

SheNYC Arts, a nonprofit fighting for gender equity in theater and film, has added 10 new plays to its New Pages Theatrical Licensing Program - including, for the first time ever, a full-length musical. The expanded catalog now features more than 30 works available for licensing by theaters, schools, and producing organizations nationwide, and is available now at www.shenycarts.org/licensing.

For theaters hungry for fresh, relevant, proven work by emerging women, trans, and non-binary writers, this is the update you've been waiting for.

Every play in the SheNYC Arts catalog began its life the same way: a free, open, anonymous submission - no agents, no industry connections, no gatekeeping. We find the best up-and-coming writing talent in the country, then develop these plays in front of live audiences at our festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta. By the time they reach our licensing catalog, they have been tested, refined, and proven to move people.

When you license from SheNYC Arts, you're not just getting a great show. You're jump-starting the career of an emerging playwright, contributing to a more equitable industry, and finally giving your audience something they've never seen before. And schools, non-professional productions, and companies with a gender equity mission receive an additional 20% discount!

Browse the full catalog - now featuring more than 30 available plays - at www.shenycarts.org/licensing. Perusal scripts are available upon request. Submit your inquiry directly on the site, or email licensing@shenycarts.org with questions or to request a personalized recommendation.

SheNYC Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization fighting for gender equity in the arts and entertainment industry. Since 2016, SheNYC has presented over 124 original shows for more than 26,000 audience members through its flagship festivals in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Dallas-Fort Worth. SheNYC's programs include the SheNYC and SheLA Summer Theater Festivals, the New Pages Licensing & Publishing Program, the CreateHER youth education program, and ShePresents, which supports alumni in Off-Broadway runs and feature film adaptations.

BACCHANALIA by Regan Lavin (horror comedy | 4f, 1m, 1 any | 90 min.)

In a remote forest, Agave and Sage welcome four young artists to an off-the-grid retreat. What begins as a creative escape devolves into something far darker as Agave introduces disturbing exercises, covertly doses the group with psychedelics, and casts Owen, a musician, as the reincarnation of Dionysus. Under her influence, alliances fracture, reality blurs, and the artists spiral into chaotic psychosis. As identities dissolve and the group transforms into a modern Greek Chorus, the retreat hurtles toward a violent, mythic finale - echoing the tragic ecstasy of The Bacchae. A haunting exploration of power, community, and the thin line between art, humanity, and madness.

BISMILLAH, or in the Name of God by Nakisa Aschtiani (drama | 3m, 4f | 90 min.)

In Bismillah, or In the Name of God, we meet Darius Shirazi and his Best Friend, Bahar Ohftahb. While the two were raised in completely different households, their immigrant parents always fought for the American Dream. When a shooting at a gay bar changes their lives forever, this group of longtime Iranian-American friends, from varied upbringings, are forced to grapple with their beliefs and fight for what is right in a new and troubling world. Who will stand up for you when you cannot take a stand for yourself? What happens when faith clashes with the promise of unconditional love?

BREAK by Caroline Ullman (comedy | 7 actors | 60-70 min.)

College seniors Nora and Elliot have been dating for five years. When their high school friends stage an intervention for their relationship, they're quick to dismiss any accusations that either of them have been unhappy. Determined to be proven right, Sam, Annie and Nico begin to take drastic measures to try and split up what they proclaim to be this doomed couple. Secrets are revealed, friendships are tested, and a lot of marijuana is ingested. Can Nora and Elliot's relationship survive? And perhaps just as importantly, can any of their friendships?

FOR BO: a play inspired by the murder of Botham Jean by Ayvaunn Penn (play with music & poetry | 9 actors | 90 min.)

Inspired by the real-life murder of Botham Jean that took place in Dallas, TX, this fictional narrative unpacks the unfortunate tragedy that befalls the Jones family when brother and son Bo Jones is murdered in his own home by police officer Amy Guy. Through contemporary free verse poetry, rhythm, and song this play explores the social issues that lead to Bo Jones' death and how society, particularly the Black community, grapples with the resulting trauma through social media. With a nod to the subsequent murder of Atatiana Jefferson, For Bo reminds us of the monumental, life-changing weight of our decisions - that each thought and action has the power to change tomorrow for worse or for better.

HONEYHOLE by Erin Davis (comedy | 3 actors | approx. 90 min.)

In the hotsweatyheat of one Southern summer, Lou, a young queer beauty queen, meets Ellis, the new girl in town. As Lou gets to know her, she begins to realize that the thing her mama always believed would be her ticket to a bigger life outside their few-stoplight, gossipy sort of town might actually be what's holding her back from becoming who she is, who she wants to be, and what she dreams of doing: hiking the Appalachian Trail like her father once did.

MERE WATERS by Jillian Blevins (drama | 5 women | 2 hours)

Guided by two bickering biblical prophetesses, Doctor Gisella Perl undertakes a spiritual mission to save pregnant women from horrific medical experimentation at Auschwitz by performing secret, life-saving abortions as she searches for her missing daughter, Gabby. A Jewish abortion play about mothers, daughters, faith and survival. Inspired by the life of Gisella Perl and her memoir "I Was A Doctor In Auschwitz."

OMEN, A NEW MUSICAL by Jocelyn Moen (comedy-musical | 7 actors | 2 hours)

*SheNYC Arts' first-ever musical available for licensing.* 

Ariel the fairy finds a giant book on a desert island. It is The Book of Shakespeare. Despite a warning visit from Prospero's Ghost, Ariel opens the book. Five women erupt from the plays within it, torn from their texts mid-speech. Ariel, surprised and fascinated, revives an ancient shipwreck that's lying around, channels the women into it while she and they catch their breath, finally bringing them ashore upon the island. Untethered from their original stories but finding themselves in a new captivity, the women flounder and fumble for identity here, alternately confiding in and confronting each other. When they realise they must choose between returning into the pages of The Book and stepping out into The Unknown, they are divided. Two want out, two want in, one is too old to care. They must find a way to agree unanimously which path to take.

SEARCHING FOR ABUELO by Gretchen Suárez-Peña (solo play with music and dance | 1 actor)

Margarita's maternal grandfather died before her mother even graduated from High School. She knows very little about him except that he was a bartender, an aspiring actor and writer in New York City, and really wanted to own a Mercedes Benz. In this one-act solo show, framed in the traditional Puerto Rican musical style of Bomba, she puts herself through the journey of figuring out who he was, who she is, and what to do about it. Dubbed "a Ted Talk hijacked by the ancestors."

THE GREAT TIKKA TOUR by Aditi Pradhan (comedy | 4 women | 100 min.)

Roshini doesn't understand why her older sister, Divya, is getting an arranged marriage, but she'll do whatever it takes to make Divya's big day special. But things take an unexpected turn when Roshini starts seeing her dead mother's ghost - and the only way to release her is by finding the perfect tikka masala for Divya's wedding.

THE STATION by Maggie Cregan (dark comedy | 6f, 2m | 90 min.)