Our heartfelt thanks go out to our fall interns, Emma Cenholt-Haulund, from NYU-Tisch and Leona Koo, from NYU-Steinhardt, and to Mya Ison, here on a fellowship from Hunter College.
The Bernard B. Jacobs Academic Internship Program was named in memory of the late President of the Shubert Organization, who discovered and mentored many talented theatre people during his lifetime. This program at New Dramatists offers a unique opportunity for early-career theatre artists and managers to learn about artist-led development and the operations of a non-profit arts service organization in New York City. Interns receive academic credit for their work with us through this program. Learn about the program.
Emma Cenholt-Haulund is a playwright and stage manager currently studying Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch and minoring in English and Psychology. Their play The Importance of Being a Man on a Boat was featured in The Department of Dramatic Writing’s Festival of Short Works (May 2025) and in the Young Playwrights Festival (August 2024). Emma has stage managed several plays for Broke People Play Festival, Love Child Theater Company, and Playwrights Horizons Theater School. For two years, they were the Production Manager for Knife Dog Play Festival, which showcased new comedic works with upwards of 50+ artists participating each semester. Emma has recently been exploring sound design for theater and film; their documentary I Danmark er jeg (ikke) født was nominated to Amandus Blikkfang, a Norwegian Film Festival. Emma is so honored to be a small part of New Dramatists and to learn from the dedicated staff and inspiring playwrights involved. (website)
Leona Koo is an arts administrator and playwright who will graduate next semester with an MA in Performing Arts Administration from NYU Steinhardt, after earning a BA in Theatre from the University at Albany, SUNY. This year, she made her Off-Off-Broadway debut through NYU Production Lab’s 2025 Incubator Program with her original play Apt. 8E, which premiered at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and explores cultural identity among East Asian immigrants in America. She has also gained administrative experience as an Acquisitions and Artistic Development Intern at Concord Theatricals and a Marketing Intern at American Ballet Theatre.
Mya Ison (she/her) is an actor/playwright currently studying as a first-year MFA Playwriting candidate at Hunter College! Her plays are a relentless search for Black voices in the places where they’ve been erased: in the ordinary, in the future, and in the archive. Select Playwriting credits: crawlspace (Reading/Residency at The Cell 2026, Workshop @ The Flea 2024), Fruit Fly (Liberation Theatre Company Reading/Residency ‘24-25), Laure (Workshop @ NYTW & The Tank 2023, BAPF Finalist 2023, O’Neill New Playwrights’ Conference Finalist 2024). Select Acting credits: Theatre- Cowboy and the Moon (Atlantic MIXFest), Little Shop of Horrors (Virginia Theatre Festival); TV- Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple TV). BFA, Boston University. Learn more at myaison.com!
Read their bios!