Ensemble Studio Theatre News

This Monday check out REJECTS ANONYMOUS, the improvised 12-step meeting for all of you screw-ups out there, at Caveat NYC.

San Francisco Playhouse will ring in 2025 with the Northern California Premiere of Keiko Green's Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play.

Atlantic Theater Company has unveiled its Judith Champion Launch Commissioning Program writers for 2024, Stephen Brown, Stefani Kuo, and Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke. Learn more about the writers and about the program!

Alex Lin will be honored with the National Theatre Conference's prestigious Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award, supported by Jean Bruce Scott and Julie Jensen, presented annually to recognize an outstanding emerging playwright. Learn more!

Join the Connecticut Theater Exchange (CTX) for a magical evening of live music, delicious food, and theatrical entertainment at the Winter Interchange 2024.

The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute will present Dan Giles' new play, The Pittsburgh Free Press at the historic Irma Sandrey Theatre. Directed by Jake Beckhard, the production showcases an ensemble cast of NYU Tisch Drama students. Learn more!

Retta (The Hit Man, Parks and Rec) has joined the cast of Final Resting Place. The performance will be at the Broadwater Theater Second Stage. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

Rachel / Media has managed substantial advertising budgets, consistently achieving key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive sustainable growth, conversions, and brand awareness. A highlight of their work includes the social media campaign for Elegies, which gained international traction through strategic celebrity engagement and account development, and the creation of the viral digital event Lightning Thief Appreciation Day for TheaterWorksUSA.

Vineyard Theatre has revealed the recipients of the 2024-2025 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and Colman Domingo Award. Learn more about the award and the recipients!

Page 73 has announced 13 semifinalists for the 2025 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship. Now in its 22nd year, the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship is the company's most prestigious award.

Colleen Dilenschneider emphasizes the transformative power of staff interactions in arts organizations. Key stories include legal and policy developments in New York, protests targeting tolerance-focused theatre in Michigan, and the financial struggles of Chicago’s Links Hall. Internationally, barriers for working-class creatives in the UK and the closure of Toronto’s Fleck Dance Theatre underscore critical concerns about accessibility and sustainability in the arts worldwide.

Groundbreaking research in London measures brain activity during live dance performances, hinting at the powerful, collective connection audiences feel. Meanwhile, financial pressures are prompting some theaters to close while others push for new ticketing and funding strategies to survive. Broadway faces calls for a more inclusive approach to honoring its artists, and discussions grow around adopting a four-day work week in the arts to combat burnout.

Local theater companies in Los Angeles have been awarded grants to produce new plays, focusing on compelling stories that aim to shape the future of theater. Learn more about the grants!

Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, has announced that California-based playwright Naomi Iizuka has been selected as the fifth recipient of the Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA).

Highlights include the launch of BroadwayWorld’s 'Next On Stage' competition, offering young talent an online platform, and insights from the National Endowment for the Arts on how arts participation fosters social connectedness. ew studies reveal trends in censorship for educational theater, while new regulations challenge UK theaters.

IAMA Theatre Company will host its 7th Annual New Works Festival this December, featuring eight new plays presented as staged readings. See the full lineup and learn how to purchase tickets.

Nesbitt Blaisdell, a lifelong actor and director, passed away at 95. Known for his work with the Anna Sokolow Dance Troupe and teaching theater, he had a rich career in both acting and education.

Academy Award nominee José Rivera brings his new play Your Name Means Dream to New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) for a limited run from October 31st to November 24th.  Rivera also directs the show.  His play examines how we live, die, and form our sense of self in a world that’s increasingly saturated with technology.

Leadership changes are shaping Ensemble Studio Theatre and Amphibian Stage, while festivals like Breaking the Binary spotlight marginalized voices. Regional and international updates explore funding challenges, with new grant structures in Austin and evolving arts funding models in the UK.

Tiny Scripted has acquired Taylor A. Blackman's play IT'S KAREN, B****! for its On Stage licensing catalog. The play will be featured in the 2024 anthology WE/US and on PBS's All Arts in 2025.