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
Arpita Mukherjee
Arpita Mukherjee (she/her/hers) is the Artistic Director and co-founder of Congressional Award–winning Hypokrit Theatre Company and the Festival Chair for Tamasha for South Asian performing artists. Upcoming: Running by Danny Pudi (East West Players/Enacte/Hypokrit), Recent: Bollywood Kitchen by Sri Rao (Geffen Playhouse/Hypokrit), Islands of Contentment by Dipti Bramhandkar (Hypokrit/The Tank). Jump by Charly Evon Simpson (APAC), House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar (San Diego Rep), Eh Dah? Questions For My Father by Aya Aziz (Next Door at NYTW), Elements of Change by Divya Mangwani (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, UNICEF). Development: American Hunger by Nikhil Mahapatra (Dramatists Guild Foundation), One Way by Ben Bonnema and Christopher Staskel (NAMT), Maya by Cheeyang Ng and Eric Sorrels (Live & In Color), Citizen Scientist by CQ (Barrington Stage Company Playworks Weekend), Reclaiming Our Time: A Concert (MTF at Joe’s Pub). Arpita has developed work at WP Theater, the Public Theater, The New Group and Ma-Yi Theatre amongst others. She is a 2020-2021 Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellow, 2019 SDC Denham Fellow, a 2018-2020 Womens Project Lab Member and a 2018 Eugene O’Neill National Directing Fellow. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Arpita was selected as a 2019 Mabou Mines Resident Artist, a 2019-2020 LMCC Governors Island Artist-in-Residence, and the 2019 Iowa State University Artist-in-Residence. Arpita is currently the book writer for Monsoon Wedding musical. Arpita is developing theatre and TV/film projects in India and America independently and in collaboration with artists like Danny Pudi (Community, Tigerhunter), Sri Rao (Finding Anamika), and Sharbari Zohra Ahmed (Quantico). With Rahul Chitella, Arpita has recently written the screenplay for Gulmohar and is currently writing a screenplay for an upcoming film, directed by Mira Nair.
ELEMENTS OF CHANGE
by Divya Mangwani
(Hypokrit Productions, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, UNICEF, Greenpoint Innovations)
costume design by Deepsikha Chatterjee
movement direction by Fernando Villa
puppet design by Nehprii Amenii
photography by Kyle Rosenberg
Based on “Tré: The Adventures of Brother Earth,” the comic book by Sona Sridhar, winner of the inaugural UNICEF Climate Comic Contest, Elements of Changedraws inspiration from Indian street theatre and uses materials found in trash.
EH DA? QUESTIONS FOR MY FATHER
book, music, and lyrics by Aya Aziz
(Hypokrit Productions, Next Door @ NYTW)
scenic design by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams
associate scenic design by Joo Hyun Kim
lighting design by Marie Yokoyama
costume design by Dina El-Aziz
photography by Kyle Rosenberg
Eh Dah? Questions for my Father follows a family divided across continents and turbulent political landscapes as they search for home and belonging. Spanning generations in Egypt and America, this eclectic new musical by Aya Aziz explores how to discern truth from the stories we are told in a post 9/11 world.
JUMP
by Charly Evon Simpson
(Astoria Performing Arts Center)
set design by Riw Rakkulchon
lighting design by Devorah Kengmana
costume design by Rodrigo Muñoz
Flickering lights, a family’s grief, and two strangers on a bridge. In this tightly woven story, a pair of sisters and their father grapple with loss while an unexpected friendship blooms between two people who realize they have more in common than they thought. With Jump, Charly Evon Simpson, shines light on how we process traumatic experiences to ultimately find peace.
HOUSE OF JOY
by Madhuri Shekar
(San Diego Repertory Theatre)
co-directed with Sam Woodhouse
scenic design by Yoon Bae
costume design by Jennifer Brawn Gittings
lighting design by David Cuthbert
Set in the 17th century, in a place like Delhi, India, House of Joy spins the tale of Hamida, one of the elite female bodyguards in the Emperor’s Imperial Harem. When faced with an impossible ethical quandary, Hamida goes against everything she believes and risks her life to help abused Queen Mariyam escape the heavily guarded harem.
BOLLYWOOD KITCHEN
by Sri Rao
(Geffen Playhouse, Hypokrit Productions)
production design by Neil Patel
lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker
video design by David Bengali
photography by Kyle Rosenberg
In this interactive production, filmmaker and cookbook author Sri Rao invites us to prepare a homemade Indian meal along with him, drawing on the recipes that were staples at his family’s table. As we join him in cooking these delicious dishes in our very own kitchens, Sri interweaves the story of his parents immigrating to America, the joy and nourishment that Bollywood musicals brought to his whole family, and the culinary traditions they shared.