PLAYGROUND-LA’S 14 SEASON WRITERS POOL, RESIDENT PLAYWRIGHTS, COMMISSIONS ANNOUNCED

Posted by on July 27, 2025

PlayGround, a leading national playwright incubator and theatre community hub, is pleased to share plans for its 32nd anniversary season. The season announcement coincides with the release of the 2025-26 Writers Pools, 112 early-career playwrights in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, who will participate in PlayGround’s signature incubator program, Monday Night PlayGround, developing more than 600 new short plays this season of which 96 will be staged by the four communities over the course of 16 public events, all performed in-person and simulcast under a first-in-the-nation SAG-AFTRA agreement. PlayGround has also announced the 24 playwright alumni selected for this year’s Resident Playwrights Program, including five playwrights under commission and representing all four regions. The 2025-26 Season will feature more than 100 public performances of new works by PlayGround playwrights, ranging from fringe-style full productions to a Hitchcock-inspired holiday show, and from new solo performance to developmental staged readings and premieres of bold new full-length plays. Taken altogether, PlayGround’s 32nd Season represents the nation’s largest celebration of new playwrights and new works and stands as a true celebration of the vitality and promise of the American Theatre.

Following the conclusion of the Monday Night series, PlayGround presents Best of PlayGround, a celebration of the top new playwrights and works from the season, in Los Angeles (April 6), New York (April 20), Chicago (April 27) and San Francisco (May 23-24).

2025-26 PlayGround-LA Company

PlayGround also recently announced its 2025-26 Company, including the Writers Pool, Resident Playwrights and Artist Company. These 160+ artists will fuel PlayGround’s incubator programs over the next season, fostering the development of more than 150 original short and full-length plays.

The PlayGround-LA 2025-26 Writers Pool includes: Michael Adams, Damian Alejandro Arteaga, Esther Banegas Gatica, Blaire Battle, Evan Baughfman, Summer Broyhill, Tim Bryant, Allie Costa, Maya De La Torre, Amy Ellenberger, Rachel Harner, Steve Harper, Paris Herbert-Taylor, Grace Hoffman, Edward Hong, Chil Kong, Mildred Inez Lewis, Mikee Loria, Abel Marquez, Kelsea Mayfield, Scott Mullen, Peter Pasco, Joy Regullano, Teddy Alexis Rodriguez, Cara Sanchez, Mark Sherstinsky, Baylee Shlichtman, Adrian A. Babatunde Thomas, Evelyn Wu-Coffey.

2025-26 Resident Playwrights: San Francisco: Monique Adams, Madeleine Butler*, Laura Domingo**, Bridgette Dutta Portman, Daniel Martinez Jr., Christian Wilburn; Los Angeles: Summer Broyhill, Amy Ellenberger, Paris Herbert-Taylor, Jonathan Josephson, Mercedes Segesvary, Baylee Shlichtman*; New York: Saiya Floyd, Howard Ho, Dana Leslie Goldstein, Wade Lawrence Hollomon, Lyra Nalan, Camron Wright*; Chicago: Anne Brady*, Jessie Bond, alfonzo kahlil, Juliet Kang Huneke, Karissa Murrell Myers, Katherine Swan.

* Playwrights under commission for the 2025-26 season
** June Anne Baker Award Winner

In addition, PlayGround is pleased to welcome new and returning members of the PlayGround-LA Artist Company: Nemma Adeni, Tanvi Agrawal, Jahnavi Alyssa, Tamiah Bantum, Brianna Barrett, Jerome Beck, Julia Belanova, Josef Bette, Sylvia Cervantes Blush, Summer Broyhill, Ben Cain, Hugo Carbajal, Jackie Castañeda, Jordan Covington, Paris Crayton III, Greg Cuellar, Tom Dang, Frieda de Lackner, Hillary DeMartino, Carrie Deskin, Rogelio Douglas, Angel Dumapias, Asa Fris, Natasha Galano, Kyla Garcia, Eric Geller, Jon Gentry, Danny Gomez, Charles Gonzalez, Cassie Grilley, Christian Haines, Julio Hanson, Matthew Henerson, Edward Hong, Mark Jacobson, Alejandra Jaime, Alexia Jasmene, Cybelle Kaehler, Kurt Kanazawa, Stephanie Keefer, Tony Kim, Zaya Kolia, Dean Koya, Emily Kuroda, Chris Lawson, Vivi Le, Christine Liao, Andy Lowe, Lea Madda, Jackie Marriott, Gabi Mayorga, Paris McCarthy, Carene Mekertichyan, Sherry Michaels, Krystal Mosley, Rachel Needleman, Melissa Ortiz, Peter Pasco, Andrew Perez, Kevin Phan, Tansu Philip, Gary Poux, Tiana Randall-Quant, Maiya Reaves, Scarlett Redmond, Jesus Reyes, Ivan Rivas, Debba Rofheart, Tahmus Rounds, Mae Ruling, Collette Rutherford, Anthony Rutowicz, Richard Ruyle, Isabel Siragusa, Janet Song, Angela Sonner, Grace Su, Jeff Torres, Mark Anthony Vallejo, Carla Vega, William Warren, Charlotte Williams, Jonathan Wray, Jo Yuan.

About PlayGround-LA

Based in San Francisco, PlayGround is a leading playwright incubator and theatre community hub, with a core commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. PlayGround’s mission is to support the development of significant new local voices for the theatre, helping to launch these writers onto the national scene. Founded in 2012, PlayGround-LA is the first sister company to PlayGround has been recognized as a premier arts service organization by the California Arts Council and Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture, serving the next generation of Los Angeles playwrights, directors, performers, producers and new innovative theatre companies.

2025-26 Monday Night PlayGround Season Calendar

Monday Night PlayGround
Round 1: October 13 (LA), October 20 (SF), October 18 (NY), November 5 (Chicago)
Round 2: November 24 (LA), December 1 (SF), December 8 (NY), December 15 (Chicago)
Round 3: January 12 (LA), January 19 (SF), January 26 (NY), February 2 (Chicago)
Round 4: February 23 (LA), March 2 (SF), March 9 (NY), March 16 (Chicago)

Best of PlayGround
April 6, 2026 (LA)
April 20, 2026 (NY)
April 27, 2026 (Chicago)
May 23-24, 2026 (SF)

All programs will be offered both in-person and online this year and are all admission free. Tickets and Monday Night PlayGround memberships go on sale September 1, 2025.

Venues:
Monday Night PlayGround-LA performances
6320 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038

For more information, visit playground-la.org
For information on our sister programs, visit PlayGround-SF, PlayGround-NY and PlayGround-Chicago.

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