Eugene O’Neill Theater Center announces robust slate of developmental opportunities, including selections for its 2025 summer conferences, additional

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is pleased to announce its 2025 summer conference lineup as well as a formal expansion of its developmental  programming into the fall and winter seasons.

“The O’Neill’s singular focus on the early development of works in progress away from the hustle and bustle of places like New York allows room for inspiration, discovery, and experimentation. With feedback and support from industry leading professionals  and audiences primed for participating in that process, artists often find the keys to unlock what they have yet to see in their own work,” said Executive Director Tiffani Gavin. “We are excited to open our doors to even more artists with programming that extends beyond our summer season, something which we hope to build upon.“ 

The National Puppetry Conference, now in its 35th year, will once again kick-start the summer schedule. During the conference, artists from across the globe gather to create new work, develop their skills, and push beyond preconceived boundaries. Audiences are invited to two nights of performances as well as the conference’s virtual masterclasses, which will be led by Roshina Ratnam, Liz Hara, Chamindika Wanduragala, and Noel MacNeal. These masterclasses will be available for both live-streaming and on-demand viewing.

The National Playwrights Conference will develop four plays this summer, chosen from over 1,600 submissions and 95 finalists. Writers whose work will be developed are Haruna Lee, Phanésia Pharel, Tony Meneses, and Eleanor Burgess. The National Music Theater Conference will then include musicals by teams  Zack Zadek and Sammi Cannold and Ari Afsar and Rehana Lew Mirza, which were chosen from a pool of approximately 420 applicants. In late 2025/early 2026, each conference will also host Incubators of additional new work. Incubators are five-day dramaturgical intensives that focus primarily on narrative, text, and storytelling. The two plays and two musicals selected for these Incubators will be announced at a later date.

The Cabaret & Performance Conference will conclude the eight-week summer season with ten nights of performances featuring guest artists—Eden Espinosa, Steve Ross, John Lloyd Young, Natalie Douglas, Latrice Royale, Karen Akers—and the talented Cabaret Fellows and Junior Fellows, who will spend the conference honing their skills under the tutelage of the conference’s staff and guest artists. This year, the O’Neill is thrilled to welcome the new Director of the Junior Cabaret Fellows program, Jeremiah Downes, to the accomplished conference staff.

The O’Neill will once again welcome a talented group of arts critics and cultural journalists for the National Critics Institute. Throughout their time on campus, they will work alongside creative professionals at the O'Neill to gain insight into the specialized areas of arts and culture and examine arts journalism from various perspectives.

Summer offerings will also include free and/or pay-what-you-can events, starting with the Young Playwrights Festival on May 18th. The Festival will feature five short plays written by middle and high school students. Additionally, new work by the students of the National Theater Institute’s Theatermakers Summer Intensive will be showcased every Monday for six straight weeks beginning on June 16. Later in the season, the O’Neill’s Family Day activities will return on June 26, centered on a performance of Don Quixote Takes New York by Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company.

The grand finale of the summer will be the O’Neill’s gala fundraiser, Beech Party. The annual event, this year titled Sunset on the Sound, will feature cocktails, a seated dinner, live performances, and an auction, all to raise funds for the O’Neill’s year-round programming. More information about this year’s event can be found at donate.theoneill.org/beechparty2025.

Alongside its perennial summer calendar and relaunched Incubator program, the O’Neill will host a number of developmental residencies designed to give time and space for creators to hone a more fully realized piece of work. Over the next 10-months, residency projects will include: The Ghost Writer, adapted by from the novel by Philip Roth by Daniel Goldfarb and Tom Kitt; Redemption Center by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman; the 2025 Jim Henson Foundation Residency of Parched by Dorothy James and Andy Manjuck; and Goats and Monkeys by 2025 NPC Artist in Residence Adam Rapp.  

Capping off 2025 will be the fourth installment of the O’Neill’s increasingly popular Winter Cabaret series, from December 11-14. This four night series will ring in the holidays with Broadway stars, O’Neill favorites, and more.

Member pre-sale for the summer conferences will begin on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 10am. Tickets for the summer conferences will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 10am.