On June 24, 2025, New Dramatists honored and celebrated playwrights, Sam Chanse, Kate Cortesi, Aurin Squire, Lloyd Suh, Mfoniso Udofia, Ken Urban, and Brian Watkins, who have completed nine years in residence at New Dramatists. Their customary seven-year residencies were extended by two years due to the pandemic.
Each writer read excerpts of their own work that spanned their time in residence, with Mfoniso Udofia represented by fellow writers Nkenna Akunna, Kate Cortesi, and Monet Hurst-Mendoza. Tributes and remarks were shared by alumni Barbara Hammond, Chisa Hutchinson, and Matthew Freeman; current residents Phllip Christian Smith and Deborah Yarchun; staff leaders Emily Morse and Christie Brown, and board president Abbie Van Nostrand.