What's Happening!
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YOU'RE INVITED TO THE CLUBBED THUMB GALA
On Monday, October 6th 2025 at the Etsy Headquarters in DUMBO, Clubbed Thumb will be honoring Crystal Finn, Susannah Flood and Miriam Silverman.
These three actresses are at the very heart of what we do — as individual artists and as exemplars of their craft. Where would Clubbed Thumb be without actresses like them — and without these actresses specifically?
Crystal, Susannah and Miriam have been integral to our work for the last 15 years, and we are thrilled to announce we’ll be celebrating them at our gala this fall. CLICK FOR MORE
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THANK YOU FOR COMING TO SUMMERWORKS 2025
Whether it was your first Summerworks or your 28th, we are so pleased you could join us. CLICK HERE for some photos and essays from this season.
We’ll be spending the summer incubating and planning for the fall, but we have lot of news to share, so watch this space!
In the meantime, we’re pleased to announce that our outgoing board chair will match donations up to a total of $25,000 to support future remounts of Summerworks shows (like this season’s Deep Blue Sound). He wants us to keep it up – and so do we! CLICK HERE TO JOIN THAT EFFORT
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ANNOUNCING SUMMERWORKS 2025
Due to overwhelming demand, we’re adding performances this year – but Summerworks shows always sell out, so lock in your seats with a pass!
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THANK YOU FOR A GREAT RUN!
Spending the last two months with Deep Blue Sound has been a joy and a balm. We are deeply proud of the work, and humbled by the talent and dedication of this company of artists.
The show played for six sold-out weeks and we added as many shows as we could – but sadly, we closed this weekend. Thank you to the over 4,000 people who came to visit our island. And thank you to all the artists, staff, funders and friends who made it possible. This was a special one.
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APPLY TO CLUBBED THUMB'S 25/26 NEW PLAY DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP
New play directors who have worked at least three years outside of an educational setting, and who plan to be in NYC September 2025 through January 2026, are welcome to apply for the fellowship by completing the form HERE – applications due April 1st!
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NOW PLAYING: DEEP BLUE SOUND
Our “devastatingly beautiful” production from Summerworks 2023 returns for a limited engagement, in residence at the Public Theater. Now playing! CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
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WINTERWORKS 2025 HAS COME TO A CLOSE
Thank you to the hundreds of people who joined as at Playwrights Downtown for the 10th annual Winterworks. We were so proud of the work these amazing artists made — and we managed to cram everyone in to share it. Congratulations especially to Directing Fellows Iris McCloughan, NJ Agwuna and Laura Dupper – read more HERE
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NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 10TH BIENNIAL COMMISSION
This year we lost one of our great comic dramatists: Christopher Durang. We’ve been reflecting on how powerful and much-needed savage humor like his is in a world like ours today. So, for the 10th Biennial Commission, please consider his work, especially from the 1980’s. Applications are due March 20th, 2025. Read more and submit yours HERE
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ANNOUNCING A RETURN ENGAGEMENT OF SUMMERWORKS 2023'S DEEP BLUE SOUND
We are thrilled to announce that Deep Blue Sound – which ran to sold-out houses at Summerworks 2023 – will return for five weeks this winter. After a wildly successful run of Grief Hotel earlier this season, we are excited to return to The Public Theater with another Summerworks hit. CLICK FOR TICKETS & INFO
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THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR GALA SUCH A SUCCESS!
Monday night’s Gala, celebrating our dear friends and collaborators dots, was beautiful, moving and very fun. Thank you to everyone who attended, performed, volunteered, donated and otherwise supported this very special night.
See photos from the event on our Instagram (and tag @clubbedthumb if you’re posting your own)!
At the event, we raised funds in honor of dots to help us better support the designers in our community – and we happily exceeded our goal. But there’s no such thing as a late donation! If you’d like to contribute to the fund, click HERE
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OUR NEW ANTHOLOGY - ON SALE NOW
We’ve been eager to put out a second anthology since Funny, Strange, Provocative was published in 2007, and the last year finally provided us with the time to take on this long-awaited project. We are thrilled to announce that Unusual Stories, Unusually Told, published by Bloomsbury/Methuen, is now available!
In it you’ll find seven Clubbed Thumb plays that span 18 years of our history, as well as essays and interviews about the work, and the often atypical processes that led to their productions.
Read more about the book and get your discounted copy (and our first anthology) HERE
• Maria Striar (Artistic Director, Founder) is a founder of and the Producing Artistic Director of Clubbed Thumb. She has a BA in theater arts (and history) from Brown University, an MFA in acting from UCSD and is a veteran performer and director. She has been a guest artist, speaker, adjudicator or adjunct lecturer at Brown University, Fordham University, New York University, Yale University, University of California, San Diego, The O’Neill Theatre Institute, Playwrights Horizons Theater School, Carnegie Mellon University, UT Austin and Hunter College, among others. Interviews with her can be found in The New York Times, HowlRound, New York Magazine, Women in Theatre, The Stage, The Interval and American Theatre Magazine. In 2010, She was honored with an inaugural Lilly Award for Artistic Direction citing her work as a “fierce champion of new works and new writers… who has helped launch and/or develop the careers” of scores of playwrights, especially women.
• Michael Bulger (Producing Director) has worked in theater, film and television for myriad companies in New York and Los Angeles, including: St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Public Theater, The Cherry Lane Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Vice Media, NBCUniversal and Focus Features. He taught Creative Producing for four years at NYU/Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and is regularly a guest lecturer at a number of other colleges and universities. He co-edited the book Unusual Stories, Unusually Told published by Methuen/Bloomsbury in 2021. He has a B.A. in Visual Media Arts from Emerson College and a Masters in Arts Administration from Columbia University/Teacher’s College.
• Rachel Mueller (Associate Director of Development) has worked in development and event planning regionally at Dorset Theatre Festival, Pablo Center, Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, and Des Moines Metro Opera. In college, she served as a dramaturg in the New Jersey Play Lab’s inaugural Storyteller Studio cohort, stage managed as many shows as possible, and founded a theater education mentorship program for local students. She has a BA in theater with minors in creative writing and arts administration from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
• Emma Richmond (Programs Manager) has made theater with/at HERE, The Tank, Columbia University, Colt Coeur, and Audible, amongst others. She was The Tank’s 2022-23 Producing Fellow, and she holds a BFA from The New School of Drama with a minor in Interdisciplinary Science. She also co-founded and currently leads Trove, a theatre and live arts collective (troveirl.com).
• Amina Khelif (Development & Producing Associate) is a director and producer of new work who has made theater at/with JACK, The Tank, New York Theater Festival, GreenRoom42, The Vino Theater, and The East Village Basement. She was Clubbed Thumb’s 2025 Producing Fellow, and holds a BFA in Theater & Performance from Emerson College.