Ensemble Studio Theatre Reveals 2025–2026 Youngblood Playwrights Cohort

Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, the OBIE Award-winning collective of emerging playwrights led by Program Director RJ Tolan, will welcome ten new members for the 2025–2026 season: Davis Alianiello, Messiah Cristine, Avery Deutsch, Xiaoyan Kang, Carolyn Kettig, Gloria Majule, Max Mooney, Jordan Ramirez Puckett, Eliya Smith, and Rosa Thomas.

Now in its 32nd year, Youngblood serves as a developmental home for early-career writers, offering artistic guidance, peer support, and a collaborative environment for new play creation. The program also offers its members exposure to industry professionals, opportunities for production and publication, and regular public events.

The first public event of the season will be the holiday edition of the Youngblood Sunday Brunch, scheduled for Sunday, December 7 at 1 PM. The monthly series features five short plays from Youngblood writers, presented with a brunch buffet.

“We’re over the moon to welcome these new members to the group,” said Program Director RJ Tolan. “These 10 writers, and our whole pool of superb applicants, show how many brilliant artistic minds are dedicated to creating work for the stage. It’s gratifying to do our part to support them as they find their way in a field that faces more challenges than ever, but which remains a source of so much uplift, invention and hope.”

Alumni of the Youngblood program have gone on to significant national recognition, including Annie Baker, Martyna Majok, Sanaz Toossi, Lloyd Suh, Sylvia Khoury, Will Arbery, Clare Barron, and Amy Herzog. Youngblood writers have been honored with Pulitzer Prizes, Obie Awards, MacArthur Fellowships, Tony Award nominations, Drama Desk Awards, and film and television accolades.

EST / YOUNGBLOOD BIOS

(Bios provided in full as supplied by the organization. No edits beyond basic formatting for clarity.)

Davis Alianiello is a playwright, director, dramaturg, and teacher whose work includes Snake, developed with the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Wilbury Theatre Group, Playhouse on Park, and others. His plays have been produced internationally and published by Playscripts, Inc. and 1319 Press. BA: Muhlenberg College; MFA: Hunter College.

Messiah Cristine is a recent graduate of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Avery Deutsch is a playwright and actor from Katonah, New York, and winner of Clubbed Thumb’s 2022 Biennial Commission. She is an EST/Sloan Project commission recipient and an MFA graduate of UT Austin.

Xiaoyan Kang is an immigrant playwright from China whose work has been developed by The Playwrights Realm, Great Plains Theatre Commons, Et Alia Theater, and more. MFA: Iowa Playwrights Workshop.

Carolyn Kettig is an actor, writer, and visual artist from New York with performance credits spanning theatre, film, and television. She holds a BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase.

Gloria Majule is a Tanzanian storyteller and recipient of honors including the Relentless Award Finalist designation, the Leah Ryan Prize, a MacDowell Fellowship, and multiple national commissions.

Max Mooney is a queer writer, director, and dramaturg based in Brooklyn with work presented at Clubbed Thumb, The Tank, Dixon Place, and other venues. She is an affiliate artist of Trove Theatre/Live Arts Collective.

Jordan Ramirez Puckett is a Latine writer whose plays have been developed at Goodman Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Abingdon Theatre Company, and more. They are a graduate of Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace Playwrights Program.

Eliya Smith is a writer from Ohio whose Off-Broadway credits include Grief Camp at Atlantic Theater Company. MFA: UT Austin.

Rosa Thomas is a writer based in Dublin and New York whose poetry and plays have been featured at Smock Alley Theatre, The Tank, and Barnard College. She is currently studying philosophy at Columbia University.

ABOUT Ensemble Studio Theatre

Ensemble Studio Theatre (Co-Artistic Directors Estefanía Fadul and Graeme Gillis) is an Off-Broadway company in Hell’s Kitchen dedicated to developing and producing new American plays since its founding in 1968. EST is home to a community of more than 600 artists and maintains a mission centered on new work, collaboration, and inclusion.

ABOUT EST / YOUNGBLOOD

Youngblood is EST’s OBIE Award-winning collective for emerging playwrights, offering artistic guidance, peer support, and a production-centered environment for early-career writers. Founded in 1993, the program has become a launchpad for dozens of playwrights now working across theatre, television, and film.