Playwrights and Plays Announced for 2025 Ojai Playwrights Conference and New Works Festival

The Ojai Playwrights Conference has announced the lineup for its 28th annual Summer Conference and New Works Festival, taking place July 31–August 3, 2025, in Ojai, California.

Five new plays will receive public readings following a two-week development workshop, continuing the organization’s tradition of supporting emerging and established voices in American theater.

The Festival will feature new works by Lisa D’Amour (Heléne), Marvin González De León (Madre de Dios), JuCoby Johnson (The Red Man), Deepak Kumar (Stories in Mother Tongues), and Regan Moro (burn for You). Playwrights will spend the preceding weeks working with directors, dramaturgs, actors, and artistic staff in an intensive development process.

Additionally, three Writers-in-Residence—Vivian J.O. Barnes, Shayan Lotfi, and Jennifer Maisel—will participate in the Conference and contribute to the Festival through various events.

“In the nearly impossible task of narrowing 1000 writers to just 8, the staff, the selection committee, and I have chosen plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the country,” said OPC Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen, now in his third year at the helm. “This year’s cohort is writing some of the most exciting, deeply funny, and provocative plays I’ve read in years.”

The Festival will open with an evening of work from across the OPC community, including participants in the Youth Workshop and Intern programs. A conversation with the playwrights, led by Cohen, is also scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Festival passes are on sale now, ranging from $80–$400 and include preferred seating and meal options. General admission single tickets will be available on a pay-what-you-can basis two weeks prior to the Festival. Visit ojaiplays.org/2025-new-works-festival for details.

2025 New Works Festival Schedule

Thursday, July 31
7:30 p.m. — IN CELEBRATION: An evening of short works and excerpts from artists across the OPC community, including Youth Workshop and Intern programs.

Friday, August 1
7:30 p.m. — Heléne by Lisa D’Amour
A grieving mother embarks on a surreal road trip from Louisiana to New York, led by the ghost of her daughter. Along the way, she confronts America’s fractured landscape and her own resilience.

Saturday, August 2
3:00 p.m. — Stories in Mother Tongues by Deepak Kumar
When demons threaten the one-woman show that gives her life purpose, 79-year-old Paati must team up with her reluctant grandson to save the story—and their family legacy.

7:30 p.m. — burn for You by Regan Moro
When a young child doesn't wake up, her grieving mother turns to faith—and a prayer circle for resurrection. Her estranged sister returns home to find a community unwilling to say goodbye.

Sunday, August 3
11:00 a.m. — The Red Man by JuCoby Johnson
A Southern Gothic thriller unfolds when estranged twins reunite in the Florida swamp—and something supernatural follows close behind.

1:00 p.m. — IN CONVERSATION: A public dialogue with the playwrights, moderated by Jeremy B. Cohen.

3:00 p.m. — Madre de Dios by Marvin González De León
Set against a Nevada desert in collapse, a family reunites for a funeral—but simmering tensions and mythic forces soon unravel into a confrontation of epic scale.

2025 Writers-in-Residence

Vivian J.O. Barnes
Barnes has developed work with Ensemble Studio Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Geffen Playhouse, Manhattan Theatre Club, and others. She has also written for television series on Amazon, Apple TV, and Peacock.

Shayan Lotfi
Recent productions include What Became of Us at Atlantic Theater Company. Lotfi is a New Dramatists resident playwright and recipient of the Horton Foote Award and MacDowell fellowships.

Jennifer Maisel
Her plays have been seen Off-Broadway and at theaters nationwide. Maisel writes for film and television and recently won the 2025 Jewish Plays Project for her play Provenance. Her screenplay The Last Seder is in pre-production.

About Ojai Playwrights Conference

Founded with a mission to develop vital new plays that reflect the diversity and complexity of contemporary life, Ojai Playwrights Conference has supported work that has gone on to major productions on Broadway and beyond. Past OPC-developed plays include Fun Home, Eclipsed, Other Desert Cities, and The Motherf**ker with the Hat.

In recent years, OPC has expanded access through pay-what-you-can ticketing, open submissions, and year-round programming including a new Spring Gathering and Southern California theater partnerships.

The Conference and Festival are held at The Thacher School’s Milligan Center for the Performing Arts in Ojai, CA.

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