New Works Now: Nurturing New Plays for the American Stage
An annual festival of workshops that culminate in free public readings, New Works Now is designed to enrich the theater experience of our audiences and artists who are hungry for daring and impactful stories. Post-show responses are valuable to the play development process and have shown that our unique audiences are willing to engage with new work in a collaborative environment. The festival, held each January, has served as a guiding light for our company and has helped rebrand Northern Stage as a bold and visionary theater.
“How wonderful that Northern Stage is a research and development lab for the next generation of classics!”
– Alex Trow, Actor
Vermont Farm Project
July 7th at 4:00 PM
Book by Jessica Kahkoska
Music and Lyrics by Tommy Crawford
Directed and Developed by Sarah Elizabeth Wansley
A Northern Stage commission in collaboration with Weston Theater Company
A new indie-folk musical about farming in Vermont, inspired by a year of interviews with farmers in the Upper Valley and beyond. Follow the stories and songs of an eclectic farming community through one day in the life of working on the land as they consider what we harvest and what we leave behind.
Or call 802-296-7000
History & Successes of New Works Now
In 2014, the leadership team of Northern Stage made a commitment to develop new work for the American theater by instituting New Works Now. Since then, the New Works Now mission has grown to include providing additional workshopping opportunities, producing New Works Now-nurtured plays as part of our main stage season when possible, and making a concerted effort to shepherd these plays into a bright future on the American stage.
New Works Now attracts submissions from playwrights all over the country, sees talented actors, directors, and dramaturgs lending their expertise to the process, and plays to sold-out houses.
New Works Now-Nurtured Main Stage Productions:
Orwell in America by Joe Sutton (2014)
Mad Love by Marisa Smith (2016)
Trick or Treat by Jack Neary (2017)
Only Yesterday by Bob Stevens (2018)
Venus Rising by Marisa Smith (2019)
Jordan by Brenda Withers (2019)
Citrus by Celeste Jennings (2020)
New Works Now-Nurtured Off-Broadway Productions:
Orwell in America by Joe Sutton (2016, 59E59 Theaters)
Trick or Treat by Jack Neary (2019, 59E59 Theaters)
Only Yesterday by Bob Stevens (2019, 59E59 Theaters)
Click here for a full list of past New Works Now plays.
“As the title character, (Jamie) Horton delivers perhaps the finest performance I’ve seen Off-Broadway this year.” – The New York Times, on Horton’s performance in 2016’s Orwell in America