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Seven Playwrights. Six Theatre Companies. One Conference. One Conference Across Four Phila

Free play readings of bold new work in association with six theatres across Philadelphia July 5 - 20.

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July 5

 

Field of Flowers

Co-Produced by

Philadelphia Young Playwrights

Bee Kanofsky

Chaz T_edited.avif

July 6

 

I'll Eat You Whole

Co-Produced by

Philadelphia Theatre Company

Chaz T. Martin

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July 6

 

Talking to Og

Co-Produced by

Philadelphia Theatre Company

Zahra Patterson

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July 7

 

The Company

Co-Produced by

Philadelphia Theatre Company

Lex Thammavong

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July 12

July 19

 

hand foot hand

Co-Produced by

The Wilma Theater

L M Feldman

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July 12

July 18

 

Ama. Egg. Oyá.

Co-Produced by

Power Street Theatre

Lori Felipe-Barkin

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July 13

July 20

 

Harlem Canary

/Tokyo Crow

Co-Produced by

Theatre in the X

Andrew Saito

Image by Heidi Kaden

Seven Playwrights.

Ten Readings.

Five Theatres.

Readings In Four Districts Across the City.

The City of Philadelphia

Plays & Playwrights

For nearly two decades, PlayPenn has been a cornerstone of new play development, providing a vital platform for playwrights to create, collaborate and connect.

Our new play conference offers audiences a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the future of American theatre, bringing bold, boundary-pushing new plays to life through public staged readings featuring some of the region’s most exciting playwrights, artists and producing partners.

Our 2025 conference will also extend its reach beyond a single location to bring new plays into communities across four Philadelphia County districts, thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration with InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, PlayPenn, Power Street Theatre, Theatre in the X, and the Wilma Theater. The collaborative aims to foster greater sustainability in the arts by sharing resources and expanding audiences.

 

The 2025 conference will feature one Young Playwright reading, three Foundry First Spark readings, and three Resident Playwright readings.

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Ama. Egg. Oyá.

by Lori Felipe-Barkin

Directed by Erlina Ortiz

Dramaturg: Aly Gonzalez

Resident Playwright Reading presented in partnership with Power Street Theatre

Ama. Egg. Oyá. follows Ama, a determined woman in Hialeah, Florida, on her relentless journey to motherhood. Weaving together Santería, the pulse of modern-day Miami, and the rich rhythms of Cuban culture, this powerful story explores infertility, faith, and the deep longing for creation.

Lori Felipe-Barkin is a playwright, performer and voiceover artist based out of NYC and Miami who works in English and Spanish. She is the Page 73 Fellow for 2025 and is part of their 2025 Writers Group. Flor Underwater, her three-act play, received a developmental reading at The Flea. It was also selected for the 2020 Play Penn New Play Conference, received an Honorable Mention for the 2021 Terrence McNally Award, and was a finalist for the 2023 Risk Theatre Award, the 2023 Austin Film Festival Playwriting Competition, and the 2024 Royer Award. She has had play readings at Playwrights Horizons for Out There in the West, and at INTAR Theatre and Iati Theater for Ama. Egg. Oy Her short play, The Peepholeman, premiered at BAM as part of the 2024 Weasel Festival. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College.

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Field of Flowers

by Bee Kanofsky

Directed by James Kern

Dramaturg: Madeline Charne

Young Playwright Reading presented in Partnership with Philadelphia Young Playwrights

An artist, two friends, and a dream. In Arles, France Vincent Van Gogh seeks connection through his art, while Paul Gauguin hopes a creative revival will lead him to Tahiti. When Vincent’s brother Theo brings them together, sparks fly, forging a new connection as their art is tested and possibly shattered.

Bee Kanofsky is a literary artist from Pennsylvania. She’s an experimental poet, librettist, filmmaker, and playwright. When she’s not writing she loves to take walks with her dad and collects walking sticks along the way. Bee lives with her family and her two cats Horchata and Mochi. She is going to attend Bard College in the fall.

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Harlem Canary/Tokyo Crow

by Andrew Saito

Directed by Cat Ramirez

Dramaturg: Autumn Storm Blalock

Resident Playwright Reading presented in Partnership with Theatre in the X

A satirical comedy about WWII’s “Negro Propaganda Operations,” in which captured African American POWs were forced to record radio plays contrasting Japan’s supposed racial freedoms with the brutal realities of racism in the U.S.

Andrew Saito was Mellon Resident Playwright at Cutting Ball Theater, has had multiple productions, and is commissioned by Asian Arts Initiative and Montalvo Arts Center to write and develop Harlem Canary/Tokyo Crow, with support from NPN, MAP Fund, the NEA, Playwrights Foundation, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and PlayPenn. He has developed plays with Crowded Fire, the Playwrights Center, East West Players, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, etc. He graduated from the Paramount Writers Mentoring Program, and staffed on The Lost Symbol. He received his MFA from The Iowa Playwrights Workshop.

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I'll Eat You Whole

by Chaz T. Martin

Directed by Jessica Holt

Dramaturg: L M Feldman

Foundry First Spark Reading presented in Partnership with Philadelphia Theater Company

Bestselling author Caro X. Wilson returns to her alma mater to discuss her hit debut novel—only to face the woman who inspired it, furious and uninvited. As tensions rise in Caro’s hotel room, the two confront the past they share and the reckoning it demands.

Chaz T. Martin is a playwright, screenwriter, and dramaturg. They graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama, where they were first exposed to the sheer terror of having their scripts not only read aloud, but performed in front of people. It went well. Their short script, Melissa, was one of five projects selected for Tribeca Film Institutes’s Through Her Lens program in 2019, and is currently in development as a feature. They are currently based in Philadelphia, where they’re the Literary Manager for InterAct Theatre Company and a member of The Foundry at PlayPenn in the 2022-25 cohort.

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Talking to Og

by Zahra Patterson

Directed by C. Ryanne Domingues

Dramaturg: Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon

Foundry First Spark Reading presented in Partnership with Philadelphia Theater Company

Talking to Og is a political farce about activists fighting to shut down an anti-empathy factory. When protester Dora Mack is arrested, they strike a deal with the resistance and become key to the movement—all with help from their pet iguana and two trusty thumbs.

Zahra Patterson is the author of Chronology (Ugly Duckling Presse), winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Their work can be found in The Yale Review, Wasafiri, Belladonna’s chaplet series, and elsewhere. Her work has been supported by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, Mount Tremper Arts, Brooklyn Arts Council, The Pratt Center, and many individuals.

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The Company

by Lex Thammavong

Directed by Brett Robinson

Dramaturg: Walter Bilderback

Foundry First Spark Reading presented in Partnership with Philadelphia Theater Company

In City X, a biotech giant threatens to consume homes, businesses, and lives. When it targets the last indie bookstore, activist Ash must rally their neighbors to fight back before it’s too late.

Lex Thammavong (they/she) is a playwright and singing actor with a BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in Creative Writing from the University of the Arts. They're so excited to graduate from The Foundry! They're also a graduate and co-facilitator of PAPA Playwrights Project, a member of Delaware Shakespeare’s Artistic Squad, and have performed at various theaters in Philly and Delco. As a multidisciplinary artist, Lex loves telling provocative, cerebral, and darkly funny stories that push conventions of form.

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hand foot hand

by L M Feldman

Directed by MK Tuomanen

Dramaturg: Kellie Mecleary

Resident Playwright Reading presented in Partnership with Wilma Theater

An intimate and raw portrait of three aging aerialists navigating love, loss, and the uncertainty of mid-career artistry when their bodies and futures are no longer defined by their past feats.

L Feldman is a queer, feminist, GNC playwright, professor, and circus artist. They make work that is brave, kinetic, epic, and intimate. L has been nominated for the Herb Alpert Award, Wasserstein Prize, Steinberg Award, Blackburn Prize, and New York Innovative Theatre Award. They’re ongoingly grateful to have been an alum of the Yale School of Drama, an Orbiter 3 member, a New Georges Affiliated Artist, a Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries winner, a Playwrights’ Center Core Writer, and currently a Venturous Playwright Fellow. Their body of work can be found at www.laurenfeldman.com or www.newplayexchange.org

Tickets

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7:00 PM
"Field of Flowers" by Bee Kanofsky
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1:00 PM
"I'll Eat You Whole" by Chaz T. Martin
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The Process

In a groundbreaking expansion of our traditional format, this year’s conference will stretch across four Philadelphia County districts, thanks to an unprecedented collaboration between PlayPenn and InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Power Street Theatre, Theatre in the X, and The Wilma Theater.

 

Together, our cohort aims to foster greater sustainability in the arts by sharing resources, expanding audiences and taking bold new work directly into communities.

  • Saturday, July 5, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    Field of Flowers by Bee Kanofsky
    The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

    Sunday, July 6, 2025 — 1:00 PM
    I'll Eat You Whole by Chaz T. Martin
    Second Floor Studio at The Suzanne Roberts Theatre

    Sunday, July 6, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    Talking to Og, or How Dora Mack Staved Off The Apocalypse With A Poem by Zahra Patterson
    Second Floor Studio at The Suzanne Roberts Theatre

    Monday, July 7, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    The Company by Lex Thammavong
    Second Floor Studio at The Suzanne Roberts Theatre

    Saturday July 12, 2025 — 2:00 PM
    hand foot hand by L M Feldman
    The Wilma Theater

    Saturday, July 12, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    Ama. Egg. Oyá. by Lori Felipe-Barkin
    Esperanza Health Center's CORE Building

    Sunday, July 13, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    Harlem Canary/Tokyo Crow by Andrew Saito
    Painted Bride Art Center

    Friday, July 18, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    Ama. Egg. Oyá. by Lori Felipe-Barkin
    The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

    Saturday, July 19, 2025 — 7:00 PM
    hand foot hand by L M Feldman
    The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

    Sunday, July 20, 2025 — 2:00 PM
    Harlem Canary/Tokyo Crow by Andrew Saito
    The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

  • Venue Address:

    The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

    302 S. Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

    Saturday, July 5, 2025 — 7:00 PM:

    Field of Flowers by Bee Kanofsky

    Directed by James Kern

    Dramaturg: Madeline Charne

    Co-Produced with: Philadelphia Young Playwrights

    Transit:

    Broad Street Line (Subway):

    Exit at Walnut–Locust Station.

    Walk west on Spruce Street, then turn left on Hicks Street.

    Bus Routes:

    9, 12, 21, 42, 45. Exit near Broad and Spruce or Locust.

    Regional Rail:

    Exit at Suburban Station.

    Walk approximately 12 minutes or transfer to the Broad Street Line at City Hall.

    Trolley:

    Exit at 15th Street. Transfer to Broad Street Line or walk south on Broad Street to Spruce, then west to Hicks.

  • Venue Address:

    Second Floor Studio at The Suzanne Roberts Theatre

    480 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19146

     

    Sunday, July 6, 2025 — 1:00 PM

    I'll Eat You Whole by Chaz T. Martin

    Directed by Jessica Holt

    Dramaturg: L M Feldman

    Co-Produced with: Philadelphia Theatre Company

    Sunday, July 6, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    Talking to Og, or How Dora Mack Staved Off The Apocalypse With A Poem by Zahra Patterson

    Directed by C. Ryanne Domingues

    Dramaturg: Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon

    Co-Produced with: Philadelphia Theatre Company

    Monday, July 7, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    The Company by Lex Thammavong

    Directed by Brett Robinson

    Dramaturg: Walter Bilderback

    Co-Produced with: Philadelphia Theatre Company

    Transit:

    Broad Street Line (Subway):

    Exit at Lombard–South Station. Walk two minutes north on Broad Street.

    Bus Routes:

    4 and 27 on Broad Street, 40 on South Street.

    Regional Rail:

    Exit at Suburban Station. Walk approximately 15 minutes or transfer to the Broad Street Line.

    Trolley:

    Exit at 15th Street. Transfer to Broad Street Line at City Hall.

  • July 12, 2025 — 2:00 PM
    hand foot hand by L M Feldman
    Directed by MK Tuomanen

    Dramaturg: Kellie Mecleary
    Co-Produced with: The Wilma Theater

     

    The Wilma Theater

    265 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

  • Esperanza Health Center's CORE Building

    4417 N. 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140

     

    July 12, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    Ama. Egg. Oyá. by Lori Felipe-Barkin

    Directed by Erlina Ortiz

    Dramaturg: Aly Gonzalez

    Co-Produced with: Power Street Theatre

  • Painted Bride Art Center

    5212 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19139

     

    July 13, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    Harlem Canary/Tokyo Crow by Andrew Saito

    Directed by Cat Ramirez

    Dramaturg: Autumn Storm Blalock

    Co-Produced with: Theatre in the X

  • The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

    302 S. Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

     

    July 5, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    Field of Flowers by Bee Kanofsky

    Directed by James Kern

    Dramaturg: Madeline Charne

    Co-Produced with: Philadelphia Young Playwrights

    July 18, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    Ama. Egg. Oyá. by Lori Felipe-Barkin

    Directed by Erlina Ortiz

    Dramaturg: Aly Gonzalez

    Co-Produced with: Power Street Theatre

    July 19, 2025 — 7:00 PM

    hand foot hand by L M Feldman

    Directed by MK Tuomanen

    Dramaturg: Kellie Mecleary

    Co-Produced with: The Wilma Theater

    July 20, 2025 — 2:00 PM

    Harlem Canary/Tokyo Crow by Andrew Saito

    Directed by Cat Ramirez

    Dramaturg: Autumn Storm Blalock

    Co-Produced with: Theatre in the X

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