We are excited to bring PlayList back in 2026
for a fourth cycle! Click HERE for application info.
PlayList is a short play development series where a cohort of playwrights are selected to write new 10 minute plays inspired by creative prompts linked by a theme. Each playwright submits suggestions to fit the prompt, which always include a song related to the theme. The suggestions are “shuffled” among the playwrights to be used as inspiration points for their plays. Over the course of several moderated feedback sessions with our community of artists and invited guests, playwrights complete the project with a rigorously crafted, submission-ready short play, culminating in a public presentation of the work.
PlayList is for writers of any background, identity, education or experience level who are interested in honing their work on a short script with a room full of artists experienced in new play development.
The CRY HAVOC Company believes that writing a script doesn’t have to be a completely solitary experience. Collaborative feedback at key points in your writing process can bring you closer to your goals. Our approach to script development places your writing goals at the center of the workshop process, ensuring that collaborators are giving feedback that helps you write the play you are trying to write.
Click the following links to see details from our past PlayList projects: 2025, 2024, 2023
PlayList Playwright Testimonials
CRY HAVOC taught me how to edit a play. I came in wordy, and they pushed me to ask what every line was doing. They made me write the tightest, most active version of the play possible, where language drives the action instead of slowing it down. Jerzy called it “pruning the language”; CRY HAVOC made me understand the value of that practice. I now attack every draft with that lesson in mind. It was also one of my favorite theatre experiences yet.
— Montserrat MendezCRY HAVOC invited me into one of the most rewarding play development experiences I've ever been a part of. They don't just create a workshop—they create and foster an entire community by inviting past participants into the room for every session. That means automatically getting to know more writers and other artists, which of course means better work. And that's to say nothing of the warm and thorough dramaturgical support. I could go on and on with fancy words and what not, but the bottom line is I love working with these folks and I love their approach to new plays and the conversations around them.
— Dan CaffreyPlayList was a fun and unique way to develop new work in a supportive and engaging environment. It helped me to explore different modes of character development and learn a few new tricks not just from the amazingly talented cohort, but the actors, directors, and producers as well.
— Louis DeVaughn NelsonCRY HAVOC is easily one of my favorite theatre companies I’ve worked with as a playwright. Their process hones in on helping playwrights create and strengthen their own vision on a piece rather than steering their artists toward what is most palatable/commercial/etc. -- ultimately creating new, unique, and beautiful pieces. Being in CRY HAVOC’s inaugural Playlist program was such a gift -- being surrounded by other amazing writers and the incredibly talented, kind, and supportive folks at CRY HAVOC pushed me to be a better writer and collaborator.
— Bailey Jordan GarciaParticipating in the inaugural PlayList program was an incredible milestone for my growth as a writer. CRY HAVOC creates a uniquely supportive, moderated feedback environment that truly centers the playwright's specific goals. It's a rare gift to develop new work in a room entirely dedicated to championing your vision, surrounded by an exceptionally talented artistic community. I cannot recommend this program enough to any playwright looking to sharpen their voice and scripts.
— Marcus ScottPlayList-developed plays have received numerous productions and awards, and PlayList alumni playwrights have gone on to prestigious commissions, residencies, and recognition. Read about some of their successes below!
SMJ’s PlayList-developed play sundays in the park with clay & cher was a Top 30 Selection for the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival, was a Finalist & Honorable Mention for the David A. Einhorn Prize, and was Performed at the Special 10th Edition of Fucked-Up Play Fest. Roni Ragone’s PlayList-developed play Left Overs was a Top 12 Selection for the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and had two full productions, one with Queer Voices Festival and one with Precarious Nights, Precarious Theatre. Bailey Jordan Garcia’s PlayList-developed play The We Heart Christopher H. Mahoney Through Time and Space Forever Club had a full production with Bite-Sized Spooktacular and a staged reading with Pioneer Productions. Veda Kumarjiguda’s PlayList-developed play Welcome to New York had a reading with Sour Grapes Productions.
Since participating in PlayList…
Mik Berry has been awarded the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project Commission. SMJ has completed the Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, become Co-Artistic Director of Andy’s Summer Playhouse (Wilton, NH), been an Ars Nova CAMP Resident, and a Finalist for the Princess Grace Award in Playwriting/Fellowship at New Dramatists. Marcus Scott has won the Chesley/Bumbalo Award for Playwriting, has twice been a semifinalist for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference, been a finalist for the Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellows Program, a finalist for the New York Foundation for the Arts Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award, a finalist and Featured Playwright for Orlando Shakes: PlayFest, a semifinalist for the American Blues Theater Blue Ink Playwriting Award, a semifinalist for the Irons in the Fire at Fault Line Theatre, a semifinalist for the Meanwhile Park Playwright Prize, a semifinalist for Pipeline Theatre’s PlayLab, a semifinalist for the Words Cubed new play program at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, a Top 30 finalist for the 2025 Lambda Literary's 2025 Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, and selected as an artist-in-residence with The Outrage - A Queer Writer’s Residency. He has had full productions of his work by the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY and the Black Men Talk Play Festival, a reading with the Garden State New Play Festival, and a publication in OBSIDIAN. He was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Brave New Work program in collaboration with CRY HAVOC and New York Shakespeare Exchange, was selected for the 46 Minutes Collective Writer’s Group cohort, participated in The Fire This Time Festival New Works Lab's 7th Cycle, and completed a three-month artist residency at La Maison de Simon in France. Bailey Jordan Garcia and fellow PlayList alumnus Roni Ragone have co-founded Fresh Binder Productions, a theatrical home for emerging trans/non-binary/genderqueer playwrights. Bailey has also had three commissions since PlayList, two with PlayGround NYC and one with Appalachian Center for the Arts, and they have been selected as a member of Purple Light Productions' Pallet Cohort. Their work has been produced at The Queen's Secret Theatre’s Short Play Festival and won Best Director and Best Play, and has had readings with American University in D.C., Bramble Theatre in Chicago, and Write Club as a member of their Punching Bag Series cohort. Roni has had numerous full productions of other work since PlayList, with Boone Community Theatre, Time2Shine, House of Rooted Festival, Out/Play Summer Shorts Festival, among others. Dan Caffrey has been selected for the Tofte Lake Center Residency, been a Semi-Finalist for Premiere Stages’ New Play Festival, has had productions of his work at StageWorks NJ’s One-Act Jamboree and The Road Theatre, and has had publications with Methuen Drama and Gitel & Good. Montserrat Mendez has developed a play with The People’s Theatre that was selected for development at Lincoln Center’s Latine Theatre Week, received a workshop with The People’s Theatre at Teatro Círculo, and was named a semi-finalist for The Blue Ink Award. He also had an installation showcased by Flux Theatre Company. Matty Mahoski has completed their year-long fellowship with write it out! through New World Foundation and participated in Fresh Binder’s writers’ cohort. They have been named a semifinalist for Rattlestick Theater’s Terrence McNally New Works Incubator, La Mama’s Experiments in Playwriting Fellowship, and Fault Line Theatre Company’s Irons in the Fire. He has also worked as an adjunct faculty member teaching drama students at the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU Tisch. Veda Kumarjiguda has had full-length readings at the Dramatists Guild Foundation and Lab86, been selected for the Playwright Residency at Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre, and been awarded the ESPA Mary Louise Scholarship. Cherise Kimoy has completed her MFA in dramatic writing at NYU Tisch, was a commencement speaker at graduation, and has had a debut solo showcase and a reading of her thesis play. Gaurav Mishra has joined the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Writing Workshop and composed and sound designed for shows in FL, NY, and CA. He has also been invited to Drama Club Productions's writing residency, "Camp". Claire Ahn has had a prose fiction short story in literary arts journal Ninth Letter.