Meet our 2022 E.P.P. Cohort!
About our 2022 Cohort’s plays
At the start of our process, we asked our writers to provide a short synopsis or artistic statement about their work to see where the piece has started conceptually at the beginning of our program, with the intent to see how much has changed by the end!
Justin Clarel
i’m sorry for all the things i said when i thought i was straight
MAY 2022 SUMMARY: You're invited! Breeze is celebrating turning thirty with a quiet overnight retreat in the Pocono Mountains. Except it's maybe not as relaxing as it sounds. As their closest loved ones arrive at the cabin, they realize Breeze has other intentions for the event. It's a birthday eve adventure complete with a detailed agenda, reconciliation, and dreams of Black queer healing.
Dezi Tibbs
See? I’m Fine!
MAY 2022 SUMMARY: What do you do when finally given the resources, time, and guidance to pursue your passion? In Stevie’s case, the answer may not be as positive as you’d hope. Watch as they navigate relationships with an overbearing mother and a cloying roommate and crippling self-esteem issues. But how can you work to improve your self-esteem when you don’t even know who your “self” is?
Emily Moylan
See You Next Week
MAY 2022 SUMMARY: Seventeen-year-old Amy navigates the tragic loss of her best friend, Mae, through therapy, new relationships, and of course, conversations with ghosts.
Will Vence Jr.
Masculine Evil
Masculine Evil is supposed to be a zombie-killing shit show about muscular dudes with guns and bombs and blood and fighting bad guys and stuff. That's fucking sick right? Following kick-ass soldiers Ren & Jagg, the two are gonna cock their guns, come in running, and leave a load of zombies in their dust. What else are masculine men supposed to do?
What is the Emerging Playwrights Program?
The Strides Collective, a Philadelphia-area queer theatre company, at least once a year seeks playwrights to participate in an Emerging Playwrights Program Cohort. This year, for 2022, the EPP is a remote play development opportunity that will culminate in a live, in-person reading of their work’s progress, as part of our ongoing commitment to serving and providing a safe and productive environment emerging queer playwrights.
The EPP 2022 Cohort will be a five-month-long writers' room from May to October 2022, focused on the growth and future of one work by each Cohort Member, culminating in an in-person presentation celebrating each member’s progress. It is a highly collaborative development process, meant to facilitate the growth of a play that is still a new idea, or one that has been sitting on the back burner.