MISSION

Clubbed Thumb commissions, develops and produces funny, strange and provocative new plays by living American writers. Clubbed Thumb is a groundbreaker, with a precise curatorial vision and a remarkable track record for launching artists’ careers; and an incubator, nurturing plays, collaborations, and above all artists, through thoughtfully deployed resources, opportunities, mentorship and hospitality.

Clubbed Thumb plays range in form and content, but are always intermission-less, 90 minutes or under, with no history of production in NYC. They feature challenging and substantial roles for all genders, are questioning, formally inventive, theatrical, and express, somewhere in the text, a sense of humor. We are committed to providing opportunities for women, and to improving the quantity and quality of women’s roles in dramatic literature. We are committed to being an anti-racist organization.

Clubbed Thumb has produced over 100 new plays, winning numerous Obie Awards as well as a Tony nomination for What the Constitution Means to Me (Summerworks 2017) – the most produced play in the ‘23/24 and ‘24/25 seasons according to American Theatre Magazine.

PRODUCING

In Summerworks we produce an aesthetically-diverse season of three new plays, each of which has two weeks of performances, as well as readings from our Early-Career Writers’ Group. It often provides a writers’ first professional opportunity — Will Arbery, Jaclyn Backhaus, Clare Barron and Gina Gionfriddo had their first shows in Summerworks; Sarah Ruhl, Jordan Harrison, Tanya Saracho and Lisa D’Amour made their NYC debuts.

Outside of Summerworks, we produce longer runs of plays Off-Broadway; most recently, Jaclyn Backhaus’s Men On Boats (‘16), Will Arbery’s Plano (‘19), Ethan Lipton’s Tumacho (‘20), Rinne Groff’s The Woman’s Party (‘21, digital), Adrian Einspanier’s Lunch Bunch, co-produced with PlayCo (‘23), Liza Birkenmeier’s Grief Hotel (‘24) and Abe Koogler’s Deep Blue Sound (’25) both presented in residence at The Public Theater.

We also support productions on smaller scales, including originating Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves and Eliza Bent’s Indeed, Friend! in partnership with Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and associate producing Milo Cramer’s Cute Activist and Agnes Borinsky’s Song of Songs at the Bushwick Starr. In 2025, we launched a pilot program providing financial and logistical support to playwrights who are self-producing.

EARLY-CAREER INCUBATION

Clubbed Thumb also focuses on career development through a suite of three programs:

In the Early-Career Writers’ Group, eight playwrights, nominated by our mid-career community and paired with playwright mentors, share their work in biweekly sessions over the course of eight months, with guest professionals providing feedback and sharing career advice. At the end of the program, each writer presents a reading during Summerworks.

The Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellowship is a five-month program for three early-career directors under the mentorship of director Anne Kauffman and other established directors. We commission a pool of projects, three of which are selected for a 10-week process in the fall with a cohort of early-career actors, followed by a three-week process with professional collaborators called Winterworks.

In the Producing Fellowship, early-career creative producers assist on programming, management and marketing under the guidance of Clubbed Thumb staff. This program evolves based on our production needs and staffing structure.

COMMISSIONING, DEVELOPMENT & MORE

In addition to these core activities, Clubbed Thumb commissions and develops dozens of plays each year through programs such as The Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission, design/staging workshops, co-productions with Playwrights Horizons Theater School, writers’ groups and retreats, and extensive workshopping of new plays annually. Clubbed Thumb is the fiscal sponsor for Stillwright, a group that organizes silent playwriting retreats.

Men on Boats
 Card and Gift

Luther

Enfrascada

Every Angel is Brutal

Motel Cherry