2026 New Plays

March 25, 2026

The What if Factor by Missy Renwick:  The What If Factor is a short play that explores the dynamics of a mother and daughter as they prepare for what should be an exciting day in both their lives. But what happens when excitement gets overrun by anxiety?
Directed by Miriam Salerno, featuring performances by Christiane Lange and Suz Stone

Signs of the Times by D.L. Siegel:  A chance meeting on the ferry gives Mina and Lex an unexpected opportunity for a happy-ever-after. What if we could choose hope and love despite all the risks? What if we could beat back despair one pure, authentic love story at a time?
Directed by Christiane Lange, featuring performances by Erica Stuppler and Lauren Mangine.

Stars Still Shine by Ashlee Vissers:  This year’s student submission selection, The Stars Still Shine, is a one-act play that tenderly explores how a family processes grief after the sudden death of a young boy named Liam, a school friend of their daughter, Maya.
Directed by Dan Vissers, featuring performances by Shanna Levine-Phelps, Meghan Ziemba, and Jon Beeler.

86ing the Unicorn by Chris Widney:  Why have we never actually seen a unicorn? Find out in this funny new play by Chris Widney.
Directed by Holly Stefanik, featuring performances by Morgan Sherlock, Connor McDowell, and Frankie Perez

April 8, 2026

Joisey??? Sure! by Sheri Flannery Verrilli: When New Jersey’s governor, eager to change his state’s image, sends his attractive young intern to oust the state’s official demon, the notorious “Jersey Devil”, the infamous beast takes aim at the governor and makes the young woman an offer she can’t refuse.
Directed by Christine Comerci and Tiffany Bizub, featuring performances by Holly Stefanik and Frankie Perez.

Writer's Block by Michael Susko:  Writer’s Block is a sharp ten-minute comedy about a playwright locked in battle with their own worst enemy: the demon of self-doubt, embodied as “Writer’s Block.”
Directed by Tiffany Bizub, featuring performances by Doug McLaughlin and Luana Cook Scott

Behind Closed Doors by Bara Swain:  As a grieving daughter prepares for a funeral, what begins as a tense debate over funeral etiquette and childhood memories evolves into a powerful exploration of trauma, responsibility, and the elusive nature of closure.
Directed by Jon Beeler, featuring performances by Tiffany Bizub and Leslie Darcy.

Morristown Ghost Reboot by Kristen Neymarc:  In present-day Morristown, New Jersey, three teenagers find a lost play about the legendary Morristown Ghost from the 1780s. What they find inside it leaves them questioning what to do next.
Directed by Dan Vissers, featuring performances by Miriam Salerno, Tom Olori, and Jon Beeler. 

April 22, 2026

Hello by Dana Leslie Goldstein: Tina makes frequent visits to her parents at their adult living community, but it’s actually two different visits, since her parents haven’t lived together for years.
Directed by Miriam Salerno, featuring performances by Christine Comerci, Joe DiSpirito, and Angeline Wedemeier

Reunion by Jon Beeler: Reunion is a tense meeting set in a small café, where Linda Hastings, a former high-school English teacher recently released from prison, meets Ethan Duclair, the former student whose accusation sent her there. What begins as an awkward, seemingly benign reunion quickly reveals itself to be a reckoning neither of them has truly prepared for.
Directed by Tom Olori, featuring performances by Jade Delos Santos, Faith Blasi, and Josiah Irwin

It's Time by Donna Romankow Boyd: Ava and Chris have sold their family home in order to downsize. But at the last minute, Ava has second thoughts. Working through grief and loss, will Ava find acceptance?
Directed by Doug McLaughlin, featuring performances by Leslie Williams Ellis and Alan Ellis