PlayPenn

BIG NEWS FOR 2027! The Foundry at PlayPenn, Philadelphia’s preeminent playwright collective, launches its inaugural festival in 2027, spotlighting new work by the next generation of theater artists, produced in association with Philadelphia Theatre Company.

The 2027 Festival will feature readings of new work by Lulu Duffy-Tumasz, Aly Gonzalez, and August Hakvaag.

March 12–14, 2027
at The Louis Bluver Theatre at The Drake

March 20 and 21
In NYC!

The Foundry at PlayPenn is a tuition-free three-year playwrights’ workshop for emerging/early career Philadelphia-based writers, guided by lead artists L M Feldman and R. Eric Thomas.

Writers meet regularly to share work, exchange feedback, and engage in meaningful artistic dialogue within a supportive and rigorous creative community.

Its alumni include Chris Davis, Emma Goidel, Sarah Mantell, MJ Kaufman, R. Eric Thomas, Erlina Ortiz, MK Tuomanen, Iraisa Ann Reilly, Chaz T. Martin, Lex Thammavong, and Zahra Patterson along with the more than 60 playwrights who have participated in the program since 2012.

Current Foundry Members include Rayne, Siddarth Anand, Natyna Bean, Lulu Duffy-Tumasz, Monica Flory, Aly Gonzalez, August Hakvaag, Nick Jonczak, Pravin Wilkins.

On Monday, March 30 Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright James Ijames returns to PlayPenn (where many of his early works were developed) for an evening centered around the invisible but essential process that shapes new work before the public ever sees it

James will be joined by Nancy Boykin and Kimberly S. Fairbanks, PlayPenn Board Members and cast members of Wilma Theater’s upcoming production of Miz Martha, in a conversation moderated by PlayPenn Artistic Director Che’Rae Adams.

PlayPenn Presents James Ijames in Philadelphia! | PlayPenn Pulitzer Prize winning writer James Ijames returns to PlayPenn for a full circle conversation alongside Nancy Boykin, Kimberly S. Fairbanks, and Che'Rae Adams. Presented in association with Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Wilma Theater.

What if your voice could shape the stories the world can’t stop talking about? Your voice is not a hobby. It’s the spark that moves an audience from silence to standing ovation. Are you ready to sharpen it?

Scholarships, payment plans, and reduced rates for returning PlayPenn and DGI students are available.

Announcing PlayPenn's Seven New Classes for Spring 2026 Staring February 23! PlayPenn’s Continuing Education classes are laboratories for big ideas, fearless craft, and training for artists who want more than inspiration. It is rigorous, hands on, artist-centered training that strengthens structure, character, dialogue, and dramatic tension. You’ll write. You’ll revise...

Today could be your first day to support PlayPenn! A contribution of $20 or more welcomes you as a Friend of PlayPenn and helps grow our community of supporters.

Creating a new work for the stage is an act of courage. It begins in uncertainty, filled with questions no single artist can answer alone. To build, to break, to bend, to soften, to harden, and ultimately to dream a piece into existence requires a community of support.

That’s why we’re inviting you to include PlayPenn among the arts organizations you support.

PlayPenn: Help Support the Long Arc of Artistic Development for Playwrights PlayPenn is a national center for new plays and playwrights devoted to nurturing bold new voices in contemporary theatre located in Philadelphia.