What's Happening!

  • 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

  • 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!

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO & TO BUY YOUR PASS NOW

  • 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. 

    Click here for photos, essays and a link to buy the play!

  • 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!

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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 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

A Pageant of the 50 States (and more)

(The Summerworks 2017 opening night extravaganza)

Plays by Scott Adkins, Eliza Anderson, Mallery Avidon, Sherrine Azab, Mark Barton, Sarah Bishop-Stone, Valerie Manahan Blackmoor, Andy Bragen, Timothy Braun, Mark Charney, Bronwyn Clark, Bill Coelius, Jeannine Coulombe, Jimmy Davis, Kip Fagan, Homer Frizell, Sheri Graubert, Sarah Hammond, Lars Hanson, Michael Henry Harris, Ian Helfer, David Hilder, Jakob Holder, J. Holtham, Jake Hooker, Laura Jacqmin, Dan LeFranc, Michael Levinton, Mark Leydorf, Jason Sinclair Long, Darren Lougee, Meghan Love, Daniel McCoy, Brighde Mullins, Kristin Palmer, Katie Pearl, Julia Pearlstein, Jason Pizzarello, Jason Platt, Michael Ramirez, Doug Rand, Molly Rice, Kate E. Ryan, Eric Shanower, Deborah Chava Singer, Sonya Sobieski, Alison Tatlock, Diane Isis Thurber, Joe Waetcher, Sheri Wilner, Kyle T. Wilson, Travis York, Anna Ziegler

Directed by Ali Ayala, Sherrine Azab, Jessica Bauman, Stephen Brackett, Rachel Chavkin, Tim Farrell, Michael Levinton, Pam MacKinnon, Alice Reagan, Jose Zayas

With Jeanine Abraham, Ashley Baker, Ethan Baum, Satya Bhabha, Zack Calhoon, Tonya Canada, Henry Caplan, Joseph Carusone, Todd Cerveris, Chris Corporandy, Elliotte Crowell, Noah Diamond, Stephanie DiMaggio, Barrett Doss, Liz Eckert, Courtney Ellis, Siho Ellsmore, Susan Ferrara, Anne Fidler, Maggie Fine, Robert Fuller, Rene Ashli Fulton, Sheri Graubert, Blake Hackler, Mel Haley, Sara Hayon, Marielle Heller, Brian Houtz, Birgit Huppuch, Sadrina Johnson, Keira Kelley, Han Nah Kim, Brandon Kruhm, Alan Lason, Jodi Lin, Austin Lysy, Sean Mahoney, David Marcus, Anna Marshall, Ryan McCarthy, Meg Mclynn, Caitlin Miller, Susannah Millonzi, Nell Mooney, Alfredo Narciso, Mary Neufeld, Elaine O’Brian, Jonathan Pereira, Janet Prince, Joy Radish, Joseph Raik, Ray Rizzo, Hugh Sinclair, Amanda Sisk, Lucy Kendrick Smith, Molly Smith, Georgia Southern, Bjorn Thorstad, Ian Unterman, Stephanie Weeks, Matt Wise, Mather Zickel

A bizarre, funny and oddly moving anthem of place, space, and identity in America, PAGEANT consists of 59 one-minute playlettes representing every state and territory in the US of A. Performances are installed through-out the Ohio Theatre beginning at 8 PM and will only last for about an hour – feel free to grab a drink and wander around as there’s much to see. Party to follow.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 8pm