top of page

POWERHOUSE SEASON

The Powerhouse Season, our annual partnership with Vassar College, is the core of our artistic programming.  About three hundred and fifty professional playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, plus forty-five students in the Training Company live and work together, away from critical and commercial pressures, allowing them to take risks as they explore and develop new projects.

 

The 2018 Powerhouse Season ran from June 22 - July 29. 

The 2019 Powerhouse Season will be announced mid-Spring.

Join our Mailing List to receive programming updates

LIZA BIRKENMEIER

Liza Birkenmeier is currently an Audrey Resident at New Georges and a recent member of the Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater. radio island was a finalist for the inaugural Relentless Award and on the Kilroys list. Her work as been developed at Rattlestick, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, City Theater, Ars Nova, University Settlement, The Playwrights Realm, The San Diego Museum of Art, Invisible Dog Brooklyn, San Francisco Playhouse, and elsewhere. Her play the hollower is premiering with New Light Theater Project. She has been awarded fellowships at Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony. She received her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA from Carnegie Mellon under Rob Handel.

RADIO ISLAND

by Liza Birkenmeier

directed by Jaki Bradley

scenic design by Daniel Zimmerman

costume design by Tilly Grimes

lighting design by Bradley King

sound design by Broken Chord

featuring Pascale Armand, Kelly AuCoin, Birgit Huppuch, Maryann Plunkett, Adina Verson, Stephen Tyrone Williams

Ellen is an expert hostage negotiator facing her biggest challenges yet.  In this high-stakes thriller, she works from her rural childhood home to free an oil tanker from pirates – while also balancing her injured mother’s rehab, salvaging her crumbling love life, and tracking down a mysterious visitor from her troubled past.  Home life and international crisis converge in this inventive new play from Liza Birkenmeier, directed by Jaki Bradley (Good Men Wanted, 2017 Powerhouse Mainstage production).

June 28 - July 8

FROM TOP LEFT:
LISA PETERSON
DAVID BUCKNAM
RAÚL ESPARZA
ADAM GWON

THE WAVES

adapted from the novel by Virginia Woolf

book by Lisa Peterson

music and lyrics by David Bucknam

with additional music and lyrics by Adam Gwon

directed by Lisa Peterson

creative consultant Raúl Esparza

scenic design by Rachel Hauck

costume design by Michael Krass

lighting design by Jen Schriever

sound design by Nick Kourtides

featuring Ken Barnett, Raúl Esparza, Eleasha Gamble, Douglas Lyons, Alice Ripley, Lauren Worsham 

Six childhood friends and their shifting relationships come vibrantly to life in this captivating chamber musical inspired by Virginia Woolf’s celebrated novel.  Over the course of one day - or is it a lifetime? - The Waves illuminates the interior yearnings, ambitions, and defeats of these extraordinary individuals with stirring choral music and Woolf’s signature text. Writer/director Lisa Peterson (An Iliad) and composer Adam Gwon (Ordinary Days) revisit and reimagine Bucknam and Peterson’s lush and layered musical, which premiered off-Broadway over thirty years ago.

July 19 - 29

FROM TOP LEFT:
STEVEN SATER
DUNCAN SHEIK
JESSIE NELSON

ALICE BY HEART

book by Steven Sater with Jessie Nelson

music by Duncan Sheik

lyrics by Steven Sater

directed by Jessie Nelson

featuring Alex Brightman, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Megan Masako Haley, Zachary Infante, Gizel Jeminez, J. Quinton Johnson, Lesli Margherita, Heath Saunders, Don Stephenson

When the madness of the world is too much to bear, we take refuge in the stories we love. In the rubble of the London Blitz, Alice Spencer’s budding teen life is turned upside down and she escapes with her childhood friend Alfred into their most cherished book. They journey down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, finding first love, loss, and courage to move forward, and their imaginations transform even the harshest circumstances. Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning creators of Spring Awakening, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, reunite for their new musical inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed and co-written by Jessie Nelson (Waitress).

July 5 - 7

FROM LEFT:
JASON ROBERT BROWN
JONATHAN MARC SHERMAN

THE CONNECTOR

music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown

book by Jonathan Marc Sherman

directed by Daisy Prince

featuring Renée Albulario, Nick Blaemire, Alvin Crawford, Max Crumm, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Danielle Lee Greaves, Mylinda Hull, Dan Jenkins, Jimmy Kieffer, Jeff McCarthy, Jessica Molaskey, Ana Nogueira, Eliseo Roman,

Michael Winther

How true is true enough?  New York City, 1995.  Aspiring writer Ethan Dobson has his first article published by The Connector, a magazine with a storied history. As Ethan strives to be part of the magazine’s legacy, he navigates editors with god complexes, fact checkers with vendettas, proofreaders, lawyers, and the challenges of his own history. In this new musical, playwright Jonathan Marc Sherman (Women and Wallace), composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County) and director Daisy Prince (The Last Five Years) tell a story about telling stories. What is the difference between facts and truth? And what is the difference between journalism and entertainment?  What happens when a gifted storyteller’s stories begin falling apart? And can anyone stop him?

July 13 - 15

DAN FINNERTY

Dan is the frontman and creator of the comedy rock group The Dan Band. He is best known for his infamous appearances as the inappropriate wedding singer in the films Old School, Starsky & Hutch and The Hangover as well as his one hour comedy special The Dan Band: I Am Woman directed by McG and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Dan was an original member of the first American tour of STOMP and originated the role of Lonny in the world premiere of Rock of Ages in Los Angeles.  He's released 3 albums and appeared numerous times on Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he was a recurring comedy correspondent.  Other films include The Terminal, Rock Of Ages, The Wedding Planner and the upcoming film Dumplin' starring Jennifer Aniston.

LITTLE ORPHAN DANNY

book, lyrics, & music by Dan Finnerty

created by Dan Finnerty & Sean Daniels

additional music by Dan Lipton

directed by Sean Daniels

The hilarious and candid musical memoir of The Dan Band’s frontman Dan Finnerty: Growing up a small-town altar boy in a nice conservative family doesn’t always suit our adopted protagonist. Childhood outbursts of blasphemy in church only lead to pathetic adolescent attempts at playing sports.  But of the many lessons he’ll learn, none could prepare him to navigate the road ahead after the fateful day he and his mother meet the woman who gave birth to him. An irreverent-yet-tender story of an adopted boy and the women who made him.

July 25, 26, 28

FROM LEFT:
MOLLY BEACH MURPHY 
JEANNA PHILLIPS
ANNIE TIPPE

COWBOY BOB

created by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips & Annie Tippe

music & lyrics by Jeanna Phillips

book & additional lyrics by Molly Beach Murphy

additional music by Alex Thrailkill

directed by Annie Tippe

featuring Alex Brightman, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Alex Grubbs, Eric Lockley, Claire Rothrock, Kate Shindle, Felix Solis, Barbara Walsh, Amelia Workman

Peggy was a good neighbor, a good daughter, and a great bank robber. Disguised as a man in a fake beard and a ten-gallon hat, “Cowboy Bob” evaded detection for more than a decade. In a score that's equal parts Riot Grrrl rage and Texas two-step, the small-town legend inspires an assortment of competing wannabe rebels to claim her story as their own.

July 27 - 29

JACLYN BACKHAUS

Jaclyn Backhaus is a playwright of Punjabi, German, and desert botanical descent. Select plays: Men on Boats (NYT Critics’ Pick, Clubbed Thumb/Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Playwriting Award Finalist, published by Dramatists Play Service), India Pale Ale (Manhattan Theatre Club, Fall 2018), Folk Wandering (Pipeline Theatre Company), You Across From Me (Humana Festival of New Plays), People Doing Math Live! (Under The Radar Festival), and You on the Moors Now (Theater Reconstruction Ensemble, The Hypocrites in Chicago). She is under commission with Playwrights Horizons, MTC, EST and Ars Nova and was the 2016 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Clubbed Thumb. She is currently a playwright-in-residence at Lincoln Center. BFA: NYU, where she now teaches. She is co-founder of Fresh Ground Pepper, a New York-based arts incubator. She lives in Queens with her husband, theater director Andrew Scoville, and their son Ernie.

INDIA PALE ALE

by Jaclyn Backhaus

directed by Will Davis

featuring Adeel Ahmed, Eshan Bay, Purva Bedi, Jay Charan, Anna Itty, Sophia Mahmud, Nate Miller, Shazi Raja,

Lipica Shah

In a small Wisconsin town, a tight-knit Punjabi community gathers to celebrate the engagement of a traditional family’s only son, just as their strong-willed daughter announces her plans to move away and open a bar. One generation’s cherished customs clash with another’s modern-day aspirations and ancestors from the family's past haunt the present day, when one sudden event changes everything.  This poignant and smartly funny new play about legacy, life and pirates comes from the fresh voice of Jaclyn Backhaus (the award-winning Men on Boats), who teams up with director Will Davis (The Great Leap, 2017 Powerhouse Inside Look workshop).

July 6 - 8

ANNIE SAUNDERS

Annie Saunders is a director, performer and collaborative live artist. She is the artistic director of Wilderness, which has presented its acclaimed immersive performance The Day Shall Declare It site-specifically in Los Angeles and London in a disused engine shop and the derelict offices of the BBC. She is a core collaborator with Lars Jan’s Early Morning Opera and has appeared in Holoscenes, The Institute of Memory (TIMe) and Abacus. She trained at the University of London and RADA.

BECCA WOLFF

Becca Wolff is a California-based director and co-founder of Tilted Field Productions. She has developed and directed new plays and premieres by Chris Chen, Lauren Yee, Harvey Fierstein, Jen Silverman and Sarah Gubbins at venues including ACT, Theatreworks and Z Space. Awards and nominations include Princess Grace, Outstanding Solo Show & Outstanding Musical at the NYC Fringe, Ovations (Los Angeles), Theatre Bay Area and Bay Area Critics Circle. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and co-creator of SCOTUS Theater. Member SDC.

OUR COUNTRY

conceived by Annie Saunders & Becca Wolff

direction & dramaturgy by Becca Wolff

additional dramaturgy & original writing

by Annie Saunders

additional devising by the company

“Who do you think decides what is a big deal and what isn’t?”  Inspired by Sophocles’ Antigone and origin stories from the American frontier, Our Country is set in California’s marijuana country, our still-Wild West. Based on recorded conversations between the artist and her younger brother, and steeped in psychoanalytic theory, childhood memories, and mythologies from Ancient Greece, this autobiographical creation recalls a time when we were young — as siblings, as a nation, as a democratic system.

July 13 - 15

featuring Max Hersey & Annie Saunders

FROM TOP LEFT:
CLARENCE COO
HALLEY FEIFFER
SARAH GANCHER
RUPI KAUR
JACKIE ROBERTS

THE PAIN OF MY BELLIGERENCE

by Halley Feiffer

directed by Trip Cullman

Friday, June 22 | 8pm

LICK O'THE KNIFE

by Jackie Roberts

directed by Kent Gash

Saturday, June 23 | 2pm

ON THAT DAY IN AMSTERDAM

by Clarence Coo

directed by Kareem Fahmy

Saturday, June 23 | 8pm

untitled

by rupi kaur

directed by Leah C Gardiner

Sunday, June 24 | 2pm

THE HOLE

by Sarah Gancher

directed by Danya Taymor

Sunday, June 24 | 5pm

Readings Festival 1 | June 22 - 24

FROM TOP LEFT:
GEOFFREY NAUFFTS
DONJA R. LOVE
DAN MCCABE
STEPHEN NATHAN
JONATHA BROOKE

THE NORTH STAR

by Donja R. Love

directed by Malika Oyetimein

Friday, July 20 | 8pm

THE DIZZINESS OF FREEDOM

by Stephen Nathan

directed by Daniella Topol

Saturday, July 21 | 12pm

THE PURISTS

by Dan McCabe

directed by Billy Porter

Saturday, July 21 | 5pm

MELISSA R. AND DOROTHY SUE

book by Geoffrey Nauffts

music & lyrics by Jonatha Brooke

directed by Sheryl Kaller

Sunday, July 22 | 5pm

Readings Festival 2 | July 20 - 22

FROM TOP LEFT:
KORDE ARRINGTON TUTTLE
KEELAY GIPSON
RYAN AMADOR
JAMES LECESNE
CHRISTINE AUCOIN

FOUNDERS' AWARD RECIPIENT

Korde Arrington Tuttle

EPSTEIN FELLOW

Christine Aucoin

DRAMATISTS GUILD FELLOW

Keelay Gipson

ACCIDENTALLY BRAVE

by Maddie Corman

directed by Kristin Hanggi

SISYPHUS

co-created by Sarah Baskin, Larry Biederman,

Albert Dayan, Michaela Escarcega, Jacqueline Writer

BAND AID

by Zoe Lister-Jones

directed by Leigh Silverman

ADAM

book by Max Mayer

music by Steven Page

directed by Amy Tinkham

Q2

by James Lecesne & Ryan Amador

THE FILMMAKERS' WORKSHOP

THE LARK CENTER FOR NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

by William Shakespeare

adapted & directed by Andrew Willis-Woodward

July 13, 14, 15

AS YOU LIKE IT

by William Shakespeare

adapted & directed by Doug Paulson

July 20, 21, 22

I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT

composed & directed by Max Reuben

July 5, 12, 19, 26

METAMORPHOSES

by Ovid (translation by Ted Hughes)

adapted & directed by Elizabeth Hess

July 22, 23

ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL

by Members of the Training Company

July 25

NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT ENOUGH OXYGEN

by Caryl Churchill

directed by Members of the Training Company

July 27

bottom of page