Introducing our Cycle 3 Fellows

Rattlestick Theater, in partnership with the Terrence McNally Foundation and Tom Kirdahy Productions, is excited to announce the Cycle 3 Terrence McNally New Works Incubator fellows. This Incubator will support three emerging playwrights by awarding each of them critical financial support, personalized mentorship, and a three-week incubation period, followed by a one-week developmental workshop culminating in a presentation of their work.

The Cycle 3 Fellows were selected from a pool of 500 applications, in consultation with the Playwrights Advisory Council, which includes: Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Chen, Halley Feiffer, and David Henry Hwang. This year's Incubator Finalists include Will Brumley, Hal Cosentino, Kallan Dana, Madison Fiedler, Xavier Galva, Abigail C. Onwunali, and Larry Owens.

Milo Cramer

Milo Cramer is a writer and performer in New York City. Their Obie-winning solo show School Pictures has been featured on NPR’s This American Life, and produced at The Wilma in Philadelphia, Latte Da in Minneapolis, and Playwrights Horizons in New York, where it was named the #1 show of 2023 by Sara Holdren in Vulture. Other works include Cute Activist at The Bushwick Starr with Clubbed Thumb (“a brilliant match of material and theater… a fable for our times” - NYT), Minor Character with New Saloon at The Public Theater / Under the Radar, and Business Ideas, winner of the 2024 Kendeda Award, produced at Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks and The Alliance Theater. www.milocramer.com

Avery Deutsch

Avery Deutsch is a playwright and actor from Katonah, New York. She is the winner of Clubbed Thumb’s 2022 Biennial commission, The Hearth’s 2024 Virtual Retreat and a recipient of a 2023-2024 EST/ Sloan commission. She just graduated from University of Texas at Austin, where she received an MFA in playwriting. www.averydeutsch.com

Celeste Jennings

Celeste Jennings is a passionate playwright and costume designer. Her work quilts her soulful and southern childhood and invites her community to stop and rest awhile as they refamiliarize themselves with the poetic diction, music, and rhythm of home. Recent/Upcoming Designs includes Memnon (The Classical Theatre of Harlem), Minority (Women’s Project & Colt Coeur), Furlough’s Paradise (Geffen Playhouse), and Appropriate (The Old Globe). Her play Bov Water was produced at Northern Stage and she developed a play with music, Contentious Woman (Relentless Award Honorable Mention) with PlayCo. Selected work includes Citrus (produced at Northern Stage), and Processing. Jennings holds an MFA in costume design from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and is a proud member of the Emerging Writer’s Group at The Public Theater. www.celestejenndesigns.com

About the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator

As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions.

McNally fellows are selected by a panel of renowned American playwrights. Past panelists include Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Chen, Halley Feiffer, Madeleine George, David Henry Hwang, Mike Lew, Donja R. Love, Rehana Mirza, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel.

Elements of the program:

Stipend
Each McNally fellow will receive a one-time stipend of $7500 to be used as the playwright sees fit to best further their goals.

Mentorship
In consultation with Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions, each McNally Fellow will be paired with a veteran playwright mentor who will read a minimum of two drafts and offer one-on-one feedback, in addition to attending a workshop rehearsal and/or final presentation subject to their availability.

Three-Week Incubation
After the initial mentor meeting, the playwright will revise and develop their play for three weeks. This is time for rigorous thinking, dreaming, and writing outside the constraints of a product-oriented rehearsal space.

In addition to mentor feedback, the playwright will meet with the literary teams at both Tom Kirdahy Productions and Rattlestick to discuss their work and process.

McNally fellows will be invited to participate in additional Rattlestick events where they will have the opportunity to get to know the teams at Tom Kirdahy Productions and Rattlestick as well as the other McNally Fellows and other industry professionals.

29-Hour Workshop
The second part of the incubator will take the form of a developmental workshop culminating in a industry presentation. Core collaborators (director, dramaturg, actors) will be chosen in consultation with the selected playwright, Tom Kirdahy Productions, and Rattlestick and will be compensated for their time.

“Terrence McNally was an integral part of the Rattlestick community from the very beginning, and the value he placed on ambitious and innovative new play-making remains at the core and ethos of the company. Our three inaugural fellows embody the creative ambition and bold experimentation that has always been central to Rattlestick’s mission and a signature of Terrence McNally’s work. Rattlestick is grateful for the opportunity to honor Terrence McNally’s singular legacy through the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator and is thrilled to partner with Tom Kirdahy Productions and the Terrence McNally Foundation to offer crucial support and resources to early career playwrights.”

- Will Davis, Artistic Director of Rattlestick Theater