The New Harmony Project (NHP) is unveiling its 40th anniversary season, which includes the third season of New Plays Indy.
NHP, which has quickly become Indiana’s destination for the development of scripts for both stage and screen, is the only Indiana-based script incubator with 40 years’ worth of new works that are produced across the country — including New Plays Indy.
“Here in Indiana, we are building the future of American entertainment,” Jenni Werner, executive artistic director of The New Harmony Project, said in a statement. “Stories are the bedrock of our culture, and for 40 years, NHP has been proud to support the writers who help us define ourselves, reexamine our history, and dream our future into being.”
New Plays Indy, a series of world-class play development experiences, aims to position Indianapolis as a “national hub for groundbreaking theatrical storytelling,” according to a press release. Season three promises to foster bold, new plays by collaborating with playwrights and the Indianapolis theater community.
Each development week will culminate in public, concert-style readings inviting audiences to engage directly with playwrights and their evolving work. Artistic partner theatres for New Plays Indy season three include American Lives Theatre, Fonseca Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, Phoenix Theatre and Summit Performance Indianapolis.
Each partner theater selected a playwright from NHP’s alumni network “whose voice and work aligns with” their respective mission and artistic vision, according to a press release. Throughout a four-day rehearsal period, selected playwrights will work with directors, dramaturgs and actors to refine their scripts before hosting a public reading and optional post-show discussion.
New Plays Indy Season three schedule
Additional details to be released.
“I Hope This Letter Reaches Mictlān” by Amalia Olivia Rojas
Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St.
Artistic Partner: Phoenix Theatre
“Bad Things” by Shara Feit”
Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St.
Artistic Partner: Summit Performance Indianapolis
“The War of the Worlds” Adapted by Jessica Huang
Nov. 21, 4 p.m.
Indiana Repertory Theatre, 140 W. Washington St.
Artistic Partner: Indiana Repertory Theatre
“Ready or Not” by Kirya Traber
Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
Fonseca Theatre, 2508 W. Michigan St.
Artistic Partner: Fonseca Theatre
“From Dust” by Eli Campbell
April 23, 7 p.m.
Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St.
Artistic Partner: American Lives Theatre
“Journey” by Deborah Asante
April 24, 7 p.m.
Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St.
Artistic Partner: Indianapolis Shakespeare Company
Each of the readings are open to the public with a suggested $10 donation per ticket, and will feature an American Sign Language interpreter. For more information, reserve a ticket or read a summer of each of the plays, visit newharmonyproject.org/npi.
Annual Writers’ Residency
NHP’s 40th anniversary season will also lead up to the Annual Writers’ Residency, a transformative 10-day gathering at the pastoral landscape of New Harmony, Indiana. Since its inception, NHP has maintained the belief that “writers need more than deadlines and deliverables;” they need time, space, community and care, according to a press release.
The Annual Writers’ Residency invites writers to “step away from the pressures of everyday life, renew their creative practice, and devote themselves fully to the stories only they can tell.”
Applications for the 2027 national program will be accepted Sept.1-Oct.1 2027, and are open to writers in theater, film and television that embrace the “rich conversation that happens when storytellers across disciplines share ideas, questions, and craft,” according to a press release. Also during the residency, two new plays will be developed in partnership with theater companies across the country.
For more information, visit newharmonyproject.org/residency-info.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe has a bachelor's in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and has previously worked for Indy Maven, The Lantern, and CityScene Media Group. In her free time, Chloe enjoys live theatre, reading, baking and keeping her plants alive.
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