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meet the playwright

A platform for new plays and powerful perspectives

Event details

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT

November 20, 2025: Desi Moreno-Penson
December 18, 2025: Dezi Bing
January 29, 2026: Margot Carmody
February 26, 2026: Camille Simon Thomas

Jamaica Arts Center
161-04 Jamaica Ave

Jamaica, NY 11432
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$10 General admission

WHERE PROCESS MEETS PERFORMANCE

Meet the Playwright offers an inside look at the creative process through semi-staged readings by Queens-based BIIPOC playwrights and post-show conversations with the creative teams. The series spotlights stories that are both resonant and rooted.

Meet the Playwright is made possible through principal support from New York City Council Member Nantasha Williams. Additional support is provided by the Mellon Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs, the Office of Mayor Eric L. Adams, NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, NYC Council Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers, and private supporters.

Three women practicing music, one woman is sitting with a music stand, and two women are sitting on chairs with music stands, one of them appears to be a conductor or director, in a dark room with stage lighting.
An elderly woman with gray hair speaking on a stage with two young women standing in the background. The stage has chairs, music stands, and a small table with a flower arrangement.

JCAL’s Meet the Playwright series is back!

Featuring semi-staged readings of new theatrical works plus Q&As with the creative team. Join us at Jamaica Arts Center for a peek into the creative process.

  • "The four plays in our Meet the Playwright season is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are amazing BIIPOC playwrights in Queens and beyond for whom JCAL is a showcase and a launching pad."

    Executive Director Leonard Jacobs

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GET INVOLVED

JCAL annually seeks up and coming and midcareer playwrights to submit their proposals for Meet the Playwright. Those who are accepted receive a stipend and the opportunity to share their story through the power of theatre. Stay tuned about upcoming opportunities for playwrights through our Artist Registry.

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