Ojai Playwrights Conference Announces Actors, Directors, And Dramaturgs For 2024 New Works Festival

Ojai Playwrights Conference has announced the full roster of artists for its 27th Annual New Works Festival to be held August 1 - 4 in Ojai, CA.

Playwrights and their plays to be presented in the Festival include: Libby Carr, Calf Scramble; Lee Cataluna, Thursdays Come at Morning; Alex Lin, barren.; Christina Pumariega, ¡VOS!; and Mfoniso Udofia, The Ceremony.

Prior to sharing their new plays at the Festival, the playwrights participate in the Conference, a two-week workshop to develop their new work with directors, dramaturgs, and OPC artistic staff. They are then joined by professional actors, stage managers, and production teams who help bring each playwright's vision to life for Festival audiences.

OPC's Writers-in-Residence also receive new play development support at the Conference and participate in the Festival as part of the artist community. 2024 Writers-in-Residence include celebrated playwrights Jaclyn Backhaus (Men on Boats), Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant, Dead Boy Detectives), and Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy, The Motherf**ker with the Hat).

"I'm ecstatic about the eight writers who will be joining us in Ojai this year," said Cohen. "Summer of 2024 finds our world in an incredibly challenging time. It felt critical to meet the moment with new stories of individual journeys lifting up whole communities-plays that insist we look across the road and find new paths to forge together."

Directors for the Festival include Jaki Bradley (CALF SCRAMBLE), Jeremy B. Cohen (Thursdays Come at Morning), Iris McCloughan (barren.), Awoye Timpo (The Ceremony), and Nicole Watson (¡VOS!).

Dramaturgs include Olivia O'Connor (Calf Scramble), Jeff Liu (Thursdays Come at Morning), Tiffany Moon (barren.), Donnetta Lavinia Grays (The Ceremony), and Sarah Rose Leonard (¡VOS!).

The Festival's company of actors includes Fiona Rose Dyer, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Rachel Frost, Ava Hase, Alejandra Jaime, Antonio TJ Johnson, Anna Lamadrid, Alex Lin, Aarti Mann, Les Mau, Tosin Morohunfola, Ken Narasaki, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Enosa Ogbeide, Christina Pumariega, Gita Reddy, Jeanne Sakata, Jasmine Sharma, Peter Strauss, and Paige Van Conant.

In addition to the five new plays, the Festival will include an evening celebrating new work by artists across the OPC community, including the 2024 Writers-in-Residence and students in the Youth Workshop and Intern programs. The weekend will also include an informal panel discussion with the playwrights, led by Cohen.

Festival passes are available now and range from $80 - $400; all passes include reserved seating and meal options. Single tickets are general admission and donation-based (pay what you can). Schedule, play descriptions, and ticket/pass info at ojaiplays.org/2024-new-works-festival.

ABOUT OJAI PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE

OPC supports playwrights with unique resources and a nurturing environment to develop new stories for the American theater. Now in our 27th year, the summer Conference and New Works Festival is our primary new play development program. In 2023, we instituted open submissions for playwrights across the country and added "pay what you can'' tickets to increase access for artists and audiences. Our Intern and Youth Workshop programs provide opportunities for students to participate in the Conference and Festival and create and share their own work alongside professional artists. In 2024, we launched a partnership program with theaters in and around Los Angeles to develop new work, deepening our commitment to playwrights by connecting them directly with institutions and shortening a play's journey from page to stage.

Numerous plays developed at OPC have been produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in theaters across the country. Some have been nominated for and won prestigious awards: both Fun Home by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori and Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz were Pulitzer Finalists; Fun Home won the Tony Award for Best Musical; and Danai Gurira's Eclipsed and Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Motherf**ker with the Hat were each nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. Learn more at www.ojaiplays.org.

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