What's Happening!

  • SUMMERWORKS 2026 IS ALMOST HERE!

    Our annual line-up of three brand-new plays is approaching, featuring: TITANS by Jesse Jae Hoon, directed by Tara Elliott; DERANGEMENTS by Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, directed by Annie Tippe; and THE FAMILY DOG by Bailey Williams, directed by Tara Ahmadinejad.

    Running May 14 – Jun 30 at the Wild Project. TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

  • SUMMERWORKS 2025'S SOLD-OUT CRITIC'S PICK COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE RETURNS

    Tickets for Ro Reddick’s COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE are on sale now! The Summerworks 2025 Critic’s Pick, directed by Knud Adams, will return for an extended run co-produced by MCC Theater, Clubbed Thumb and Page 73. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS & INFO

  • MEET OUR NEW GROUP COHORTS!

    A very warm welcome to the incoming writers and directors taking part in Clubbed Thumb’s Early-Career Writers’ Group and New Play Fellowship!

    Directors Terrence I Mosley, Liz Peterson and Hanna Yurfest will work on newly commissioned plays by Max Mooney, jose sebastian alberdi and Emma Horwitz respectively – stay tuned for a Winterworks announcement.

    And we’re looking forward to getting to know Alyssa Haddad-Chin, Doug Robinson, Dylan Guerra, Jan Rosenberg, Jen Diamond, Nadja Leonard-Hooper, Sarah Grace Goldman and Yulia Tsukerman in this year’s writers’ group!

  • THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR GALA A GREAT SUCCESS

    Thanks to everyone who joined us to honor Crystal, Susannah, and Miriam, and to everyone who contributed to make it a truly special night.

    We were moved by the warmth and generosity in the room on Monday October 6th — lots of hugs, laughter and a even few happy tears. These three are the real deal and we are lucky to know them; we’re excited to keep celebrating them and working with them for many years to come.

    Actors are at the heart of what we do, and it’s not too late to support them with a gift to our 2025 gala! DONATE HERE

  • 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!

  • 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

  • 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