New Work Development & Submissions
For over 25 years, Geva Theatre has been committed to developing new American plays and musicals. Since 1997, Geva has produced more than 30 world premieres, 1 North American premiere, and 2 commercial Off-Broadway transfers. There have been more than 145 subsequent productions around the country and the globe of Geva-born plays and musicals. More than 380 full-length or short works have received readings and/or workshops as part of Geva’s new work development programs.
In Season 50, Geva began the Artist in Residence program, wherein Geva engages a BIPOC artist for a two-year residency. In the first year, Geva features their work onstage, commissions a new work, and supports the development of a work-in-process. This program is an essential part of Geva’s vision. Our Artist in Residence program firmly centers BIPOC artists in the decision-making process at Geva by including them in Senior Leadership, Strategic Planning, and in Season Planning. The Artists in Residence at Geva will overlap with each other for a year during their residencies, which encourages long-term collaboration between Geva’s staff, community, and the artists themselves.
Current Artists in Residence include Harrison David Rivers (2022-2024) and Baron Vaughn (2023-2025). Harrison David Rivers’ first production at Geva was we are continuous, online as part of Recognition Radio in the 2020-2021 season and in-person in the 2022-2023 season; Baron Vaughn will perform and curate his comedy series, The Work Out Room, throughout the 2023-2024 season.
Geva’s new play programming has received financial support from local, regional, and national funders including the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, AT&T, The Flanders Group, the Mary S. Mulligan Charitable Trust, the Dramatists Guild Fund and the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
New Work Development at Geva is led by Fiona Kyle, Literary Manager and Artistic Associate. At Geva, she has dramaturged Jane Eyre, Dial M for Murder, and Newtown, and was the associate dramaturg for Russian Troll Farm.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: Based on a Totally True Story
Christina Anderson+
Tanya Barfield: Chat (co-commission with Primary Stages in NYC)
John Belluso: Pyretown
Gregg Coffin & Bookwriter TBA: Maggie, A Girl of the Streets
Eisa Davis: The History of Light
Gabriel Jason Dean: Heartland
David Dabbon: TBA
Keith Glover: Revival: The Resurrection of Son House
Prince Gomolvilas: Panorama
Kirsten Greenidge+
Rickerby Hinds: One Size Fits All
Chisa Hutchinson+
Naomi Iizuka: Garuda’s Wing
Julie Jensen: Cheat
Bob Devin Jones: Clarissa Street Reunion
Julia Jordan: A Good Year for Begonias
Carter Lewis: The One-Eyed Man Is King, Women Who Steal
Michele Lowe: Good on Paper
Kira Obolensky: Russian Soul and All is Well in the Kingdom of Nice
Dan O’Brien: The House at Hydesville, based on the story of the Fox Sisters, early celebrities of the Modern Spiritualist Movement
Brian Quijada+
Harrison David Rivers+*: TBA
Mat Smart: The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass
Catherine Trieschmann: Dangerous Dress
Universes: Africantic
Baron Vaughn*: TBA
Elyzabeth Wilder: Looks Like Pretty
* Indicates Artist in Residence
+ Indicates Commission via Recognition Radio: An Audio Play Festival Celebrating Black Voices
Creative Producer Esther Winter
The Resurrection of Michelle Morgan (Christina Anderson)
Feeding Beatrice (Kirsten Greenidge)
The Bleeding Class (Chisa Hutchinson)
we are continuous (Harrison David Rivers)
2023-2024
Newtown by Dan O’Brien
2022-2023
Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy by Sarah Gancher
2021-2022
Somewhere Over the Border by Brian Quijada
2018-2019
Hard Cell by Brent Askari
The Magician’s Daughter by Lila Rose Kaplan
Revival: The Resurrection of Son House by Keith Glover
2017-2018
The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass by Mat Smart
Heartland by Gabriel Jason Dean
One House Over by Catherine Treischmann (co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre)
2016-2017
Other than Honorable by Jamie Pachino
2014-2015
Women in Jeopardy! by Wendy MacLeod
Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant by Nora Cole
The Road to Where by Cass Morgan
2013-2014
All Your Questions Answered by Greg Kotis
Informed Consent by Deborah Zoe Laufer
Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart
2010-2011
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Mark Cuddy and Gregg Coffin
2008-2009
The House In Hydesville by Dan O’Brien
2007-2008
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, adapted by Marge Betley and Mark Cuddy
2006-2007
Lost and Foundling by Eric R. Pfeffinger
2005-2006
A Marvelous Party, The Noel Coward Celebration, devised by David Ira Goldstein, Carl J. Danielsen, Mark Anders and Patricia Wilcox
The Road Home: Re-Membering America by Marc Wolf
Iron Kisses by James Still
Splitting Infinity by Jamie Pachino
2004-2005
Key West by Dan O’Brien
That Was Then by Gerard Stembridge (*American premiere)
2003-2004
Pyretown by John Belluso
All Is Well in the Kingdom of Nice by Kira Obolensky
Five Course Love by Gregg Coffin
2002-2003
Theophilus North by Matthew Burnett, based on the novel by Thornton Wilder; co-production with Arena Stage in Washington, DC
September Shoes by José Cruz González
2000-2001
Convenience by Gregg Coffin
1998-1999
The One-Eyed Man is King by Carter W. Lewis
1997-1998
Famous Orpheus by OyamO, collaboration with Garth Fagan Dance
Submissions at Geva Theatre
Producing and Developing Singular Theatrical Experiences
We are looking for bold, theatrical voices and are passionate about supporting the craft of both emerging and established writers in service of our commitment to developing new work for the American theatre.
Geva Theatre Submissions
Geva Theatre accepts submissions of full-length plays, musicals, translations, and adaptations for production on our stages. Currently, we are not accepting unsolicited submissions for these opportunities from unrepresented writers. Playwrights with professional representation may have their agents send full manuscripts at any time. Please note that lawyers and law firms do not qualify as professional representation.
All writers from (currently living or having lived in) the Rochester area, regardless of professional representation, are welcome to submit work.
The purpose and power of the theatrical event has always been to come together in the theatre and discover a new understanding of ourselves. By developing and producing work that explores and celebrates the human experience, we engage in a dialogue about what it means to be human, what it means to be an American and what it means to be a global citizen, in the 21st century.
We try to stay open to a diversity of aesthetic, topic, and approach, but submissions that we are interested in frequently share some of the following characteristics:
- Strength and depth of writing which would indicate that this is not the first draft of the play
- Strong. interesting characters that offer actors something to explore, and rich relationships between the characters onstage
- A compelling narrative which presents a new story, or a new take on a familiar tale
- Smart, compelling use of language
- Action which befits a story told onstage, rather than on film or in print
Before submitting a title for consideration, you may wish to consider the list of shows we have commissioned or produced, as an indication of the kind of work we are likely to produce.
How to Submit
We are currently only able to accept scripts from agents or literary representatives and we request that those submissions be sent to
literary@gevatheatre.org.
If you have any questions about our current policies, please email literary@gevatheatre.org. We are constantly reading submissions at Geva Theatre, but due to staff capacity it may take several months before we’re able to respond to your submission. We are grateful for your patience as we endeavor to give our full attention to every title that has been submitted to us!
