The New Group/New Works program is a creative incubator that develops and nurtures new adventurous theater. Since 2019, over 75% of the work we produce within each season has been developed through this program.

This program emphasizes our long-term relationships with artists as they develop and present new work at all stages of their careers. We work with established playwrights like Thomas Bradshaw, Donja R. Love, Beth Henley, and Erica Schmidt. We work with emerging artists, early in their professional career, like Will Arbery and our current Tow Resident Playwright Preston Crowder. And we work with seasoned artists expanding outside their discipline. Jesse Eisenberg developed The Spoils in our 2014-2015 season, and John Turturro worked alongside Ariel Levy to develop the 2024 production of Sabbath’s Theater.

Our support consists of in-house play readings and public reading festivals. These readings give the playwright space to further discover and refine their dramatic work by teaming them with directors, actors, and dramaturgs, and with the ongoing support of The New Group’s artistic staff. These readings also help build our artist community by reconnecting us with artists we have worked with in the past, and introducing new artists we have not previously worked with.

Additionally, this program also supports new musicals, which are often developed over multiple years with their creative teams through staged readings or workshops focusing on music and choreography. Recent musicals developed at The New Group include Black No More, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and the upcoming production of The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse.

The New Group believes that committed investment in the development of new work is the key to our future, and resonates with our mission of presenting works that are adventurous, stimulating and socially-relevant to Off-Broadway audiences and the theater landscape as a whole.