Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Cycle 2 Fellows Revealed

Rattlestick Theatre, the Terrence McNally Foundation, and Tom Kirdahy Productions revealed the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Cycle 2 Fellows: playwrights Jesse Jae Hoon, Sam Mueller, and Eliana Theologides Rodriguez.

As a continuation of Terrence McNally's singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the New Works Incubator is designed to support these ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions. Inaugural fellowships were awarded in 2023 to Molly Herron Bicks, HyoJeong Choi, and Haygen-Brice Walker.

“We are thrilled by the success of our inaugural cohort in 2023, and could not be more excited to develop the work of the
exceptional playwrights in our second cohort,” adds Will Davis, Rattlestick Theater Artistic Director. “We are so thankful to partner with the Terrence McNally Foundation and Tom Kirdahy Productions to offer this crucial, one-of-a-kind fellowship to emerging writers in New York.”

“We are also honored to be partnering with our beloved village neighbor, the LGBT Center of NYC, who has graciously agreed to host the incubator while Rattlestick undergoes its long-awaited renovation,” adds Santino DeAngelo, the Terrence McNally Foundation's Executive Director.

The Cycle 2 Fellows were selected from a pool of 500 applications, in consultation with the Playwrights Advisory Council, which includes: Sheila Callaghan, Halley Feiffer, Madeleine George, Mike Lew, Donja R. Love, Rehana Mirza, and Lynn Nottage. This year's Incubator Finalists include Marvin González De León, Mary Hamilton, Chad Kaydo, Stefani Kuo, Elia Monte-Brown, Gage Tarlton, and Max Yu.

STRUCTURE OF THE INCUBATOR PROGRAM

STIPEND

Each McNally Fellow will receive a one-time stipend of $7,500 to be used as the playwright sees fit to best further their goals.

MENTORSHIP

In consultation with Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions, each McNally Fellow will be paired with a veteran playwright mentor who will read a minimum of two drafts and offer one-on-one feedback, in addition to attending a workshop rehearsal and/or final presentation subject to their availability.

THREE-WEEK INCUBATION

After the initial mentor meeting, the playwright will revise and develop their play for three weeks. This is time for rigorous thinking, dreaming, and writing outside the constraints of a product-oriented rehearsal space.

In addition to mentor feedback, the playwright will meet with the literary teams at both TKP and Rattlestick to discuss their work and process.

McNally fellows will be invited to participate in a series of Rattlestick events where they will have the opportunity to get to know the teams at TKP and Rattlestick as well as the other McNally Fellows and other industry professionals.

WORKSHOP

The second part of the incubator will take the form of a developmental workshop culminating in a public presentation.

BIOGRAPHIES

JESSE JAE HOON

is a playwright, organizer, and actor whose work combines raucous comedy with a deeply felt sense of urgency to investigate power, class, hope, and our responsibility to the collective good. 2022-2024 CRNY Resident Artist, Ma-Yi Theater Company; 2023-2025 member, Public Theater Emerging Writers Group; Winner, 2023 Ollie Award; 2024 MacDowell Fellow; 2022-2023 Writing Fellow, The Playwrights Realm; under commission from Theater J; 2023 Radio Roots fellow, The Parsnip Ship; inaugural member, Orchard Project Adaptation Lab; member, The TANK NYC's LIT Council, Page Break. MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College, BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch. jessejaehoon.com

SAM MUELLER

[they|she] is a Chicago-born, Florida-raised, New York-based playwright. Their work primarily explores bodies, public spaces, and the search for security to live as one's authentic self. Their plays include PIN. (2024 O'Neill Finalist, 2023 EST/Sloan First Light), Laced (2022 Princess Grace Semifinalist, 2020 Kilroys List, 2019 O'Neill Finalist), and 70.3 (2020 Hearth Theater Virtual Retreat Commission). Sam is a proud member of EST/Youngblood and an alum of the Ucross Foundation. They feel most at home in the pit of a punk show. The plays (and Sam) are all very queer. BS: Northwestern University.

ELIANA THEOLOGIDES RODRIGUEZ

is a playwright, dancer, and Dance Moms historian. Her work includes Marble Rooftop, Emma Has Church (2024 O'Neill Finalist, 2021 Princess Grace Semifinalist, 2020 John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwriting), Indian Princesses (2024 Seven Devils Finalist, 2023 Playwrights Realm Fellowship), Poor Queenie (2021 Playwrights Realm Fellowship Finalist, 2021 Goldberg Play Prize Finalist, 2020 Kennedy Center Playwrights Workshop), and Juniperfect (2021 commission with Adventure Theatre MTC). She is currently under commission at South Coast Repertory and is a proud member of EST Youngbloods. An upcoming production of Poor Queenie is scheduled for 2025 at Subtext Studio. https://newplayexchange.org/users/48302/eliana-theologides-rodriguez

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