What's Happening!

  • 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

  • OUR 2024 SEASON HAS COME TO AN END

    The last six months were the busiest in our history. We started with Winterworks at Houghton Hall in January, followed by six weeks of Grief Hotel at the Public in the spring, and we rounded it all out with Summerworks at the Wild Project, where we managed to cram in 47 performances over seven weeks.

    Some of you saw it all, some just a piece, and some met our work for the first time. We were thrilled to share it with all of you.

    Here are some photos and essays from the season, to tide you over until we have work to share again in the fall (or when we see you at our gala honoring dots!)

    Lastly: We had our most successful season at the box office ever. If you were there, you know it was full to overflowing. And you might remember that your ticket was pretty affordable—maybe even free. That’s important to us.

    But what that means is, even when we sell out all the time, tickets only cover a fraction (about 1/7th) of what it all costs, especially considering we pay people better every year (That’s important to us too!)

    Throughout the year, we support hundreds of artists, mostly early in their careers, whether in our writers or directors groups, readings, workshops, commissions, retreats, or in production. So, if you can, make a donation today and be a part of our effort to pay artists, to make beautiful, affordable work, and to do it even better next year!

  • SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR ANNUAL GALA

    As we prepare to tech our 10th collaboration with the design collective dots – and as they prepare for the Tony Awards this week – we are thrilled to announce we’ll be celebrating them at our gala on October 7th! The annual gala is a fundraising cornerstone, as well as a stylish, fun and deeply-felt event, which will be held once again at the industrial chic Etsy headquarters. Tickets at info HERE

  • ANNOUNCING SUMMERWORKS 2024

    We’ll be back at the Wild Project May 16th through June 29th with the 27th iteration of SUMMERWORKS, featuring: Usus by T. Adamson, directed by Emma Miller; Coach Coach by Bailey Williams, directed by Sarah Blush; and Find Me Here by Crystal Finn, directed by Caitlin Sullivan. Tickets on sale now! Learn more & get yours here

  • MEET THESE WRITERS DURING SUMMERWORKS

    Join us during Summerworks for free afternoon readings of plays by 10 exceptional playwrights. First, we’re teaming back up with Brown University’s MFA Playwriting Program in the Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies to present readings of plays by two graduating playwrights. CLICK FOR MORE

     

    Then we’ll present eight readings of work-in-progress by the 23/24 Early-Career Writers’ Group. CLICK HERE TO RSVP

  • GRIEF HOTEL'S MAGNIFICENT ENCORE RUN AT THE PUBLIC THEATER

    We were thrilled to bring Summerworks 2023’s Obie-winning hit production Grief Hotel back for a six-week run at The Public Theater, in partnership with our friends New Georges. It was very special to dig back into the play and production with the exceptional group of artists who made it, and such a joy to share it with so many more people. We had a tremendous run – sold out, extended and beloved by critics and audiences – thank you to all who attended and to all who made it possible. CLICK HERE TO READ ESSAYS AND MORE ABOUT THE SHOW

  • CONGRATULATIONS - AND A SAVE THE DATE

    This weekend, we were delighted by the news that Maryann Plunkett, dots, Liza Birkenmeier and Tara Ahmadinejad had all received Obie Awards for their work on Summerworks. Richly Deserved!

    Maybe you are one of the many many people who heard how amazing Liza, Tara and dots’ work on Grief Hotel was, and were sorry to have missed it??

    WELL GUESS WHAT! It’s coming baaaack…. this spring! Location to be announced when ticket sales open — but SAVE THE DATE!

  • WINTERWORKS 2024 HAS COME TO A CLOSE

    Thank you to the hundreds of people who joined as at Houghton Hall for the 9th annual Winterworks. We were so proud of the work these amazing artists made — and we managed to cram everyone in to share it.

  • MEET THE INCOMING COHORTS OF OUR EARLY-CAREER WRITERS' GROUP AND NEW PLAY DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP

    We’re back in action with two new groups to introduce you to! Meet the Early-Career Writers – with whom we’ll convene for play reading and dinner eating, often joined by one of their estimable mentor writers – by CLICKING HERE. During Summerworks we’ll present readings of their plays-in-progress, so join us then to get to know their work.

     

    And get to know the directors and writers in this season’s New Play Directing Fellowship by CLICKING HERE. Program mentors Anne Kauffman and Daniel Aukin, along with Clubbed Thumb staff, will support these new play processes in two phases: first with Playwrights Horizons Theater School students this fall, then in quick and scrappy workshop productions at Winterworks in January. Stay tuned for more info on that and more!

     

  • 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

Superlab

Superlab is our developmental laboratory co-curated and co-produced with Playwrights Horizons. Initially supported by a grant from the Metlife/Theatre Communications Group’s A-ha! Program, Superlab has since become a regular part of our development work, with between 3 and 6 week-long, process-driven labs each season. To date, 42 plays have been developed…

2018-2019

WE ARE RADIOS
by Chana Porter
music by Ted Hearne
directed by Adam Greenfield

KING PHILIP’S HEAD IS STILL ON THAT PIKE JUST DOWN THE ROAD
by Daniel Glenn
directed by Caitlin Ryan O’Connell

BODIES THEY RITUAL
by Angela Hanks
directed by Jeremy Bloom

2017-2018

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
by Larissa FastHorse
directed by Moritz von Steulpnagel

EVANSTON SALT COSTS CLIMBING
by Will Arbery
directed by Dustin Wills

CATCH AS CATCH CAN
by Mia Chung
directed by Ken Rus Schmoll

2016-2017

HAMLET: BY MIA FEFFERNAN
by Mara Nelson-Greenberg
directed by Morgan Green

THE DEPARTMENT PARTY
by Sam Marks
directed by Portia Krieger

FRILLY
by Sigrid Gilmer
directed by Sam Pinkleton

TIN CAT SHOES
by Trish Harnetiaux
directed by Knud Adams

THE HISTORY OF WALKING
by James Ijames
directed by Lucie Tiberghien

2015-2016

GOING OUT AND COMING BACK
By Agnes Borinsky
Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll

THE APOCRYPHAL TRAGEDY OF KING MICHAEL
By Eric John Meyer
Directed by Robert O’Hara

ONE OF THE WOMEN
By Mary Hamilton
Directed by Danya Taymor

CUTE ACTIVIST
By Milo Cramer
Directed by Morgan Green

FLOOD CITY
By Gabrielle Reisman
Directed by Will Davis

2014-2015

MEN ON BOATS
By Jaclyn Backhaus
Directed by Will Davis

D DEB DEBBIE DEBORAH
By Jerry Lieblich
Directed by Oliver Butler

DAISY: A STUDY OF AMERICANS ABROAD
By Chiara Atik
Directed by Stella Powell-Jones

EVERY ANGEL IS BRUTAL
By Julia Jarcho
Directed by Carolyn Cantor

BETTER
By Michelle Carter
Directed by Kent Nicholson

2013-2014

DIVERSITY AWARENESS PICNIC
By Leah Nanako Winkler
Directed by Kristan Seemel

TUMACHO
By Ethan Lipton
Directed by Leigh Silverman

ANTLIA PNEUMATICA
By Anne Washburn
Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll

I’M PRETTY FUCKED UP
By Ariel Stess
Directed by Kip Fagan

GOD IS A GOOD GOD
By Miki Johnson
Directed by Liesl Tommy

2012-2013

MOVERS AND SHAKERS
By Deb Stein and Suli Holum
Directed by Suli Holum

YOUR MOTHER’S COPY OF THE KAMA SUTRA
By Kirk Lynn
Directed by Oliver Butler

PHOEBE IN WINTER
By Jen Silverman
Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt

SEX PLAY
By Sylvan Oswald
Directed by Eric Hoff

SIXTEEN WORDS OR LESS
By Peggy Stafford
Directed by Meghan Finn

2011-2012

UNTITLED BLOOD PLAY
By The Debate Society

STOCKHOLM, PENNSYLVANIA
By Nikole Beckwith
Directed by Jo Bonney

TAKARAZUKA!!!
By Susan Soon He Stanton
Directed by Chay Yew

SOMEWHERE FUN
By Jenny Schwartz
Directed by Anne Kauffman

THE RULES
By Dipika Guha
Directed by Lila Neugebauer

2010-2011

SEVEN HOMELESS MAMMOTHS WANDER NEW ENGLAND
By Madeline George
Directed by Alec Duffy

THE MANY MISTRESSES OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
By Andrew Dolan
Directed by Hal Brooks

ANNIE BOSH IS MISSING
By Janine Nabers
Directed by David McCallum

3C
By David Adjmi
Directed by Jackson Gay

MALA HIERBA
By Tanya Saracho
Directed by Jerry Ruiz

HONEY DROP
By Erin Courtney
Directed by May Adrales