What's Happening!
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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 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!
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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
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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
Summerworks Internships
Clubbed Thumb is seeking production interns for our 28th Summerworks. The festival features three fully-produced new plays, as well as a number of ancillary activities and events. Rehearsals begin as early as April 21st and performances run approximately May 16th – June 28th at the Wild Project in New York City’s East Village.
Duties & Qualifications:
Our primary internship track is our Production Assistant Internship. We will assign two interns per production to assist stage management throughout rehearsals and serve as run crew throughout tech and performances. Each production rehearses for about four weeks, then spends roughly two weeks in the theater. Interns will also support load-in and strike for all three shows, as well as occasional front of house shifts. No technical experience is required, but a basic understanding of theater and the type of work that Clubbed Thumb produces is preferred. If you are not familiar with our work, please take a moment to look through our website and track down a play or one of our anthologies.
We also offer more specific internship tracks – such as lighting, sound or prop design, production management, and administration/producing – when interested candidates apply for these roles and have some experience and training in these areas. If interested in a specific area, make note of that in your application.
Hourly Requirements:
Interns are expected to work roughly 30 hours per week during the 6-week process of the show to which they are assigned, and 10-15 hours per week during the festival otherwise.
Interns receive a weekly travel and meal stipend, but we understand that some will need more remunerative work in addition to the internship, which the schedule can typically accommodate. Clubbed Thumb makes every effort to provide a structured, respectful, and rich learning experience for every intern, and will support any requirements for students to receive school credit and/or school-funded internship compensation whenever possible. Interns are responsible for their own housing arrangements.
Internship Benefits:
The Summerworks internship is an extremely hands-on, holistic experience; the ideal candidate is eager and enthusiastic to make the most of the two months, and to learn about every aspect of making theater. Interns will come out of this program having gained practical theater-making skills and professional rehearsal room experience. Summerworks employs upwards of 70 theater artists, technicians and staff each year, and interns work directly with these professionals – so it can be a fruitful networking experience as well. Finally, in addition to complimentary tickets to all of the plays and other ancillary events, we create opportunities over the course of the festival for the full cohort of interns to gather, in order to build peer relationships, and we host various intern lunches with guest artists who speak about their careers.