La Femme Theatre Productions to Return in August With its Developmental Initiatives

La Femme Theatre Productions will present the return of two vital initiatives celebrating emerging and established women artists: A Woman’s Storyland and Women on the Verge: The Gladys and Mary Dohmen Reading Series. These development programs will take place during the first two weeks of August and will culminate in The Women in Agency Festival from August 3-17, 2025, at The Linney Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

The Women in Agency Festival is the culminating celebration of two of La Femme Theatre Productions’ cornerstone initiatives: A Woman’s Storyland and Women on the Verge. Through A Woman’s Storyland, emerging playwrights work closely with an established mentor to develop bold new plays over several months—each piece responding to the season’s central theme, this year: “Agency.” These works explore power and autonomy across institutions, relationships, identities, and systems. Meanwhile, Women on the Verge honors two extraordinary early-career professionals who are redefining the landscape behind the scenes—a director and a production stage manager whose voices and visions are reshaping the American theater.

Together, these programs converge in the Women in AGENCY Festival: a two-week platform for discovery, mentorship, and celebration. More than a showcase, it is a vibrant forum for new work, critical conversation, and the centering of women’s voices across all aspects of production. Presented by La Femme Theatre Productions, this festival stands as both an artistic culmination and a cultural call to action.

“This year’s prompt, ‘Agency,’ was born of a flu, a phone call, and the unrelenting voice of my mother,” says Jean Lichty, La Femme’s Executive Director. “She reminded me that even in moments of personal powerlessness, I had the ability—and responsibility—to do something. Our writers are tackling this idea head-on, exploring the structures that govern us and the personal forces that drive us. These are fierce, visionary women—writers whose work both reflects the world and reshapes it.”

A Woman’s Storyland: Mentorship Through Storytelling

Celebrated playwright Jenny Lyn Bader (Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library, None of the Above) will serve as Mentor Playwright, guiding three bold new voices: Abigail Duclos, Zoë Geltman, and Janvi Sai.

Jenny Lyn Bader is a playwright and essayist. Her plays include Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library (59E59), Equally Divine (14th Street Y), Manhattan Casanova (Hudson Stage), and None of the Above (New Georges). Her short works have appeared at the Humana Festival, Symphony Space, and the NY Int’l Fringe Festival (“Best of the Fringe”). Her audio productions include Tree Confessions (w/ Kathleen Chalfant) (TINATC) and Communal Table (Broadway Podcast Network). Her work has been published in The New York Times, Lincoln Center Theater Review, and Plays International & Europe. A Harvard alumna and recipient of the O’Neill Center’s Edith Oliver Award, she is a member of the Dramatists Guild, LPTW, and Honor Roll.

Abigail Duclos - a playwright, performer, and puppeteer whose interdisciplinary work explores bodily autonomy, Southern folklore, queer desire, and the dance between horror and comedy. A Barnard College graduate, her plays (Honeysuckle, Greenhouse, Blood Orange, and more) have been produced by Re/Venue, Et Alia Theater, The Elif Collective, and The Tank. She currently works at New York University.

Zoë Geltman - a Brooklyn College MFA candidate and recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Fellowship. Her acclaimed solo work and comedic performances have been featured in The New Yorker and The New York Times. Her play A(U)NTS! opens this May at The Brick.

Janvi Sai - the recipient of the Barnard College Brandt Playwriting Award and creator of N.Y.C. SEWER MADE IN INDIA and Add Value or Time at The Tank. A gifted storyteller and playwright, her thesis work was featured at The Minor Latham Playhouse.

Women on the Verge: 

Katie Cherven is an emerging talent whose career spans both academic and professional theater. A graduate of Barnard College with a dual focus in stage management and history, Katie recently served as Assistant Stage Manager on AMERIKIN at Primary Stages and as a Stage Management Fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club. Her Barnard Scholars thesis examined the role of Black women in America’s musical theater canon, combining historical scholarship with theatrical praxis.

Britt Berke is a director of theater and film whose work interrogates love, power, intimacy, and taboo through delight and spectacle. She made her Off-Broadway directorial debut with Becomes a Woman at Mint Theater Company (Outer Critics Circle nomination), praised by The New Yorker as "remarkable." Her credits include projects at SoHo Playhouse, The Public Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Chautauqua Theater Company, and Berkeley Rep. A member of the WP Lab and the Drama League Directors Project, Britt is an alum of programs with Roundabout, La MaMa, MTC, and more. She received A.R.T. NY’s Funds for Anti-Oppression Work, a City Corps Artist Grant, and is an Associate Member of SDC. Her first short film SHIPS, premiered at the SOHO International Film Festival; she is currently in post-production on The Skin of the Water. Britt graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College.

Corner Nest Lab:

As part of its mission to foster rising talent, La Femme Theatre Productions proudly introduces the Corner Nest Lab, a new program offering current or recent college graduates the opportunity to create new work and experiment under professional mentorship. The inaugural Lab will feature playwright Tess Inderbitzin (Camp Cattywampus and Snoopy Stands on Her Head until She Sees the Stars), and director Mikayla Gold Benson (Antigone), whose work will be presented as part of The Women in Agency Festival.