New Works Lab

Each year Waterwell commissions a new full length play by an emerging playwright written specifically for high school students in the Waterwell Drama Program.

Designed to expand the canon of complex and relevant new plays for young actors representing the full diversity of people in NYC, New Works Lab offers emerging playwrights the chance to develop their work with the support of professional directors and designers and a cast of exceptionally talented high school artists. The students, in turn, collaborate with an exciting new voice in the American theater and experience the new play development process, a rare opportunity in an educational setting. Commissioned plays are fully produced and performed for industry insiders and NYC theatergoers at large.

Now celebrating its 13th Anniversary, New Works Lab began in 2011 with the first commission to Lebanese-American and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, Stephen Karam. Since that first year, New Works Lab has commissioned and developed work by Bekah Brunstetter, A. Rey Pamatmat, Nick Jones, Qui Nguyen, Dael Orlandersmith, Mona Mansour, Charise Castro Smith, Sinead Daly, and Eliza Bent.