Primary Stages Unveils 2024/2025 Cohorts of Writers Groups

PRIMARY STAGES has revealed the 2024/2025 cohorts of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group and the Echoes Writers Group.
 
The 2024/2025 cohort of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group will include Clarence Coo, Adrian Einspanier, Sarah Gancher, Eric Micha Holmes, and Jonathan Norton. The 2024/2025 cohort of the Echoes Writers Group will include Ebony N. Kennedy, Amanda Faye Lacson, Janelle Lawrence, Katie Myers, Kristina Neal, DL Newton, Juliet Perrell, and Nancy Sun.
 
Primary Stages is committed to supporting playwrights at all stages of their careers and providing an artistic home where they can hone their craft and develop their latest works. An integral part of this initiative is the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group (DSNAWG), which has been fostering the creation of new works by emerging playwrights for 29 years. Throughout its history, the Group has helped launch the careers of over 60 writers and supported the creation of over 165 new plays. The last five years have seen over 25 productions of plays developed in the Group. Notable titles include The Seven Year Disappear by Jordan Seavey, Hatef*ck by Rehana Lew Mirza, We The Invisibles by Susan Soon He Stanton, Eden Prairie by Mat Smart, God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler, Amerikin and Proof of Love by Chisa Hutchinson, and Queen of Basel by Hillary Bettis.
 
Led by Artistic Director Erin Daley, the Group is composed of writers who participate in the program for a three-year cycle. This multi-year commitment provides writers with the security of an artistic home and enables the staff to form intimate relationships with these artists and give them the personal attention they need to advance their work. The Group meets on a weekly basis from September through April, giving writers the opportunity to discuss their current projects and offer each other constructive feedback in a supportive environment. The goal for each writer is to complete a new play by the end of the spring session, which is then given a public reading in the Fresh Ink Reading Series at 59E59 Theaters. Additionally, as an extension of their Creative Access Program, Primary Stages partners with NYC-based theater companies that provide support to historically underrepresented communities for writer nominations, amplifying the artists and work of these vital arts organizations. This year, they welcomed playwrights nominated by The National Black Theatre and New Georges and are deeply grateful to their partner theaters for introducing them to such incredible artists.
 
Primary Stages continues to support the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group alumni in their futures as artists. Alumni collaborations include such commissions as Rehana Lew Mirza’s A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now. In 2019, Primary Stages produced Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This, which began in DSNAWG and then went on to feature in the Actors Theater of Louisville’s Humana Festival and received the 2018 Yale Drama Prize. In their 2024/25 season, Primary Stages will produce Chisa Hutchinson’s Amerikin, which began in DSNAWG, as part of the AMPLIFY Festival at 59E59 Theaters.
 
The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group is made possible, in part, through the generous support of The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, The Ellen M. Violet and Mary P.R. Thomas Foundation, and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. 
 
The Echoes Writers Group at Primary Stages is a year-long, educational program focused on finding, nurturing, and amplifying the voices of women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming artists. Echoes is a place for writers to find and develop their voice in a supportive and creative community that grows together. 
 
In the Fall, the Group participates as a cohort in playwriting classes led by Calamity West and includes sessions with guest mentors. In the Spring, the Group will continue as a cohort with weekly sharing sessions led by Calamity and will also enroll in a class of their choice at the Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), selecting a class in conjunction with the Primary Stages team that will best move their writing forward. In both semesters, writers will have the chance to create and develop their own work with professionals who represent a vast array of fields and writing styles. Current and past mentors include Kristiana Rae Colón, AriDy Nox, Jiehae Park, Cusi Cram, Brittany K. Allen, Tina Satter, Chisa Hutchinson, Madhuri Shekar, Migdalia Cruz, and Mfoniso Udofia. ESPA classes include such offerings as The First Draft, Rewriting Your Draft, Comedy Writing, 10-Minute Plays and One Acts, The Dramaturgy of Playwriting, and more. For more information about the Echoes Writer Group, visit primarystages.org/echoes-writers-group.
 
Primary Stages strives to reflect the story of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, classes, ages, and abilities, and hopes for this group to reflect the America around us as opposed to what has historically been taught and represented.