In this dynamic evening of new theatrical voices, emerging playwrights share their works-in-progress with a live audience. Scenes are read aloud by actors cast on the spot.
Adrienne Dawes (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based playwright and producer originally from Austin, TX. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Second City Chicago, Adrienne writes funny-sad plays that have been produced by Salt Lake Acting Company, Sacred Fools, and Salvage Vanguard Theater. With her company Heckle Her (@heckleher), she produced sold-out runs of Love Me Tinder and Doper than Dope (winner, B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Direction of a Comedy). Find her online at ohthejoys.substack.com or @heckleher.
David Dennis is a visual artist and writer located in New York. He primarily works as a filmmaker and storyboard artist in the film and animation industry. His work has been screened and showcased at the Cannes Film Festival amongst others. He most recently workshopped his play, Uncle Dave, at the Playwriting for Humanity program at HB Studio.
Sam Kebede is a first-generation Ethiopian/Eritrean-American writer/performer. He has had his works presented at venues including The Public, Ars Nova, New Victory Theater, and Victory Gardens Theater. Sam is a 2023-2025 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, a 2023-2024 New Victory LabWorks Artist, and a former CAMP resident at Ars Nova. Sam is also the creator and lead artist behind Lack History, a comedy variety game show about BIPOC history where all the proceeds are donated to grassroots social justice causes. Sam wrote for the TV show Tough Bobas, an anti-CCP comedy series shot and produced in Taiwan, and has had his plays presented across the country (Black Theater Alliance Award winner, Jeff Award nominee for new work), with four full production runs in the past two years. As an actor, Sam has performed in everything from Shakespeare to TV at venues including Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Public, and he’s been a co-star on Blue Bloods, New Amsterdam, And Just Like That…, and he created an original part for the Facebook Watch series Rival Peak. As a comedian, Sam has traveled the world performing in Ireland and Italy and has developed works presented across Austria.
Janelle Lawrence /jei is a storyteller who explores the complex layers of our lives by blending music, soundscaping, poetry, body movement, and more to illuminate the special and shared aspects of our experiences. Their work has been developed and presented with Primary Stages, The John F. Kennedy Center, Legoland New York, Joe’s Pub, Seattle Public Theater, and more. Storytelling has always been at the heart of jei’s ethos. They have a passion for crafting stories, exploring human connections, and uncovering the ways we grow together. Through their craft, jei invites you to see the world through different lenses, celebrating beauty, complexity; the duality of our shared humanity. www.janellelawrence.com
Yhane Washington Smith is a screenwriter, film producer and independent audio drama creator. Her award-winning audio drama, Harlem Queen is based on the life of “Policy Queen” Madame Stephanie St. Clair and is listened to all over the world. Yhane recently co-wrote with Terence Winter the feature Stephanie St. Clair story for Sony/TriStar Pictures for Melina Matsoukas to direct. As a result of independently making six audio dramas, Yhane was selected for the Tribeca Festival in 2024, she is also an A’Lelia Bundles Community Scholar at Columbia University. Also in 2024,Yhane was selected as an AIR Media New Voice, and she is a ten time LMCC (Lower Manhattan Cultural Council) grantee. In 2021, Yhane made history by being the first person to write and direct an audio drama for the theater department at Penn State.
At the core of the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Literary Series is the belief that theater has the transformative power to challenge the status quo, connect disparate worlds of thought, and, ultimately, change the world. Thus, we are invested in the development of work that shifts the conversation around representation in the theater and are dedicated to providing a platform for those voices traditionally underrepresented on the American Stage.
CTH’s Literary Series is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation and the Axe-Houghton Foundation.
Selected playwrights submit 10-12 pages of a new work in the early stages of development. Actors are cast on the spot and perform a cold reading, followed by a moderated audience feedback session. In addition to serving the development of new work, these readings give audiences a sneak peek into how new plays are created.
CTH asserts that a “Future Classic” promotes courageous and open-minded examination of controversial and critical topics that are at the heart of society. Designed for the emerging professional playwright, Future Classics offers participating writers the opportunity to showcase their new completed works and receive dramaturgical feedback. Participants work with CTH’s resident dramaturge, a professional director and a dedicated group of actors to showcase a new full-length play.
Submit your work to Ms. Shawn René Graham, Literary Director at shawnrene@cthnyc.org. No phone calls please.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and the Coalition of Theatres of Color.
