90 minutes

3 Women, 3 Men, 2 Any gender

Lines is an original play in which a family waits for their matriarch to pass. The family attends to the mundane bureaucracy of losing a loved one; such as filling out paperwork, packing up her things, and spending long hours at the hospital—a real drag, as they say, until it isn’t. All of a sudden, the play splits in two when the jaded playwright takes the reins and decides that the play is not worth finishing. What ensues is a meta-comedy exploring life and death, family, and the creative process through cheeky irreverence and unapologetic sincerity.

The conditions under which American theater companies are run and founded have become increasingly hostile. A recent survey by the Theatre Communications Group found that in 2018 (before the onset of the pandemic) only 56% of non-profit theater companies in the U.S. were able to break even with an even smaller percentage having a net positive income. In order to better understand how to support theater companies, it is important to understand how they are organized and formed. Broadly, this research considers theater company origination, management, and sustainability. Specifically, this research is designed to answer the following two questions: What motivates the founding of a New York City non-profit theater company? And, what are the stages of the startup phase?

30 minutes

5 Men, 5 Women

Emeritus is a pilot for a serial comedy in which a nutty, senile professor fights to keep his position at an elite university, despite the Dean’s persistent attempts to force him into retirement. Each episode is a situational comedy that pits the professor and his supporters against those trying to push him out, and explores the awkward humor that ensues from the “polite” conflicts that are permissible in academia. This is Curb Your Enthusiasm’s irreverence, mixed with The Chair’s world of academia and The Office’s cringe comedy.

90 minutes

4 Women, 4 Men, 3 Any gender

Coffee Shop is a play that follows two best friends, Steph and Julie, who love working together at their neighborhood coffee shop. Yeah, sure, they may not be making any real headway towards achieving any of their life-long dreams, but for now, they’re in mid-twenties bliss…until they aren’t. When a new hire and a new boyfriend disturb their equilibrium, the existential angst seeps in and everything starts to feel like it’s a matter of life or death. Which may not be an exaggeration…