Off-Broadway's Ensemble Studio Theatre has announced its 2023-2024 season, including two new plays: Redwood by Brittany K. Allen and Las Borinqueñas by Nelson Diaz-Marcano.
Now in its 55th year, Ensemble Studio Theatre has developed thousands of new American plays throughout its existence. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Youngblood, EST's award-winning collective for emerging playwrights, of which Allen is a member. This fall, Youngblood will begin a new season of the popular Sunday Brunch Series, which offers new short plays by the group’s writers alongside brunch service on select Sundays throughout the year.
The upcoming season will launch in October with the New York premiere of Allen's Redwood, directed by Mikhaela Mahony. Previews will begin October 18 and run through November 12, with opening night set for October 26. Redwood was originally slated for April 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Allen will also star in the play.
When Steve Durbin goes down the rabbit hole of his family's genealogy, an unwelcome discovery throws the entire family into turmoil. Exploring interracial family relationships in a deeply scarred country, Redwood is partially a dance piece.
The EST/Sloan Project, a long-standing partnership between the company and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, will continue to support the development of plays about science and technology with the annual First Light Festival, and a new round of Sloan Commissions, which will be announced later this year.
April 2024 will bring Las Borinqueñas by Diaz-Marcano, directed by Rebecca Aparicio. The world premiere is presented by the EST/Sloan Project in collaboration with the Latinx Playwrights Circle.
Set in 1950's Puerto Rico, the play centers on five women struggling to live full lives under crushing societal expectations, when a doctor in the United States suddenly offers them a path to bodily freedom: by participating in the preliminary trials for the birth control pill.
“It's a real thrill to put our first season together into motion with a lineup that represents to us what’s at the heart of EST: a mix of longtime community members and new collaborators, work-in-development from first page to full production, and stories that are as electrifying in content as they are in form,” said co-artistic directors Estefanía Fadul and Graeme Gillis. “We are so grateful to have with us the singular talents of Brittany, Mikhaela, Nelson, Rebecca, and the hundreds of EST members and guest artists as we take EST's first steps into its future.”
