New Dramatists, a playwright development organization that supports playwrights through seven-year residencies, is itself “in residence” during the current season: It is with gratitude that we announce the totality of our work – administrative and artistic - is taking place at Houghton Hall Arts Community, 22 East 30th Street, while we assess and conduct needed repairs to our building on 44th Street.
Our partnership with Houghton Hall Arts Center includes three offices, a multi-purpose co-working desk for playwrights and staff, access to a multi-purpose conference room, a dedicated programming room for roundtable readings and creative sessions (the Mary Pickford Room), the ability to reserve space for bigger community events and readings, a shared kitchen, and a welcoming shared entrance/lobby/cafe area.
The residency commenced at the beginning of October, and we are enjoying the benefits of being a part of a larger, cross-disciplinary arts community. Houghton Hall Arts Community is a vibrant rehearsal, meeting and gathering space for performing and visual artists offering a mutually beneficial relationship with the Church of the Transfiguration, an inclusive church with historic ties to the theatre community. We are especially grateful to ND alum, Andy Bragen and theatre colleague, Maria Striar at Clubbed Thumb for the connection and recommendation to explore working with Houghton Hall Arts Community, and for the largess of its Managing Director, Scarlet Maressa Rivera, who shared our vision and worked with us to design a residency to meet the needs of our organization and our playwright community for a home base with flexibility.
The Backstory
Since the late 1960s, New Dramatists has occupied a historic building on West 44th Street, in a turn of the 20th century former Lutheran mission church. The process of re-opening “the Church” safely after the pandemic closure was an extended one, as we confronted inadequate air circulation issues in our non-ventilated building, which were compounded with long-existing challenges to accessibility. During the 2022-2023 season, and for the majority of the 2023-2024 season, writers returned to the building to write and work in-person with collaborators, including invited audiences. However, as can happen in an older building, maintenance surprises arise, and, in March of 2024, we became aware of a problem with a structural column at the back of the building that needs important repairs. As these needs were, and continue to be, assessed, we’ve re-located to rented spaces and partner organizations.
Throughout this process of itinerant programming, the grace of these generous friends within our community have provided us with homes away from home. We are deeply grateful to Meghan Finn at The Tank; Adam Greenfield and Carol Fishman at Playwrights Horizons; Christine Scarfuto at Hunter College; Emmanuel Wilson, Karl Hawkins, and Ioana Preda Buburuzan at The Dramatists Guild of America, Cynthia Flowers, Caleb Hammons, Eric Ting, Peter Mills Weiss and the whole team at Soho Rep., and Lake Sims-Winfrey and Nilan at The Drama League.
Facility FAQs
Can People Stop by ND at HH to Visit? Yes! Houghton Hall Arts Community has a similar welcoming feel to “the Church”, with an entrance on the street that opens into a café-like seating area with vending machines. Someone from ND staff is stationed in the entrance, Monday – Friday 10:00am-6:00pm and can help direct you to find writers or staff who may be working elsewhere in the building. For best results, email @email to let us know you are coming.
Is Houghton Hall Accessible? Yes! there is a level entrance to the building with a ramp that takes you to an elevator that serves all floors, and fully accessible bathrooms.
Is the Library at 424 W. 44th Street Open? In short, no, not currently (as the building is closed for repairs). We continue to maintain the Michaela O’Harra Public Manuscript Library at our facility at 424 West 44th Street, with updated plays, preserving this singular resource until we’re able to make it available to the public again.
How Long will you Be at HH? We have not made plans beyond the current season, but we have a 6-month renewable agreement. That said, we have gained a friend for life in Houghton Hall Arts Community.
While we may be located elsewhere, New Dramatists is not going anywhere! We are tremendously fortunate to own our facility outright, which allows us to take our time charting a mindful, meaningful course for the future, without pausing our ongoing programming.