Playwriting and Directing Cohort
Learn more about the students that make up the playwriting and directing cohort (M.F.A. in Theatre candidates):
Choreomaniac 1518
Malena Pennycook, Playwright
Malena Pennycook (she/they) is a white-Latine writer, performer and devised theatre maker creating formally inventive plays about the strangeness of having a body. Pennycook is a 2023-2024 Playwrights Center Core Apprentice and Playwrights Realm Scratchpad Fellow. Their plays include How Should A Conversation Be? (Playwrights Center, Playwrights Realm) Below, a ten minute play (Take Ten Theatre Masters, Concord Theatricals/Samuel French); Two Apprentices (The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Latinx Playwriting Award and Rosa Parks Playwriting Award); Diving Board (O'Neill Finalist 2022; Crashbox; Austin Latinx New Play Festival); 9/10 Beds, a play with music (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Musical Theatre Award 2nd Place); and their solo show Am I Busy Yet? (Cosmic Cherry Arts NYC, Oregon Fringe Festival). As a performer-deviser, Pennycook has developed projects with The Public Theater's Under the Radar, Santa Cruz Shakespeare and The Flea. Pennycook serves as the associate director of Camp Shakespeare at Winedale. She is an alum of The New Harmony Project and The Richie Jackson Artistic Fellowship. B.F.A. - New York University Tisch Experimental Theatre Wing.
Caley Chase, Director
Caley Chase (she/her) directs theater and live performance. She has directed, developed, and assisted work at the The Huntington, Powerhouse Theater, ART, Trinity Rep, Shakespeare & Co, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Speakeasy Stage and Breaking & Entering Theatre, among others. Recent credits: Macbeth (Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College), The Mikvah Project by Josh Azouz (Texas Theatre and Dance Studio Series), Then We’ll Rest by Eliya Smith (Cohen New Works Festival), untitled memory project (Cohen New Works Festival, 2023) and Choreomaniac 1518 by Malena Pennycook (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2024). Caley holds a B.A. from Brandeis University and is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Theatre (Directing) at The University of Texas at Austin.
Pretend It's Pretend
Emma Watkins, Playwright
Emma Watkins is a M.F.A. in Theatre candidate with a specialization in playwriting at The University of Texas at Austin. Her plays include elizabeth is going into the ground (2023 Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist, 2023 Princess Grace Playwriting Award Finalist, 2023 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, 2022 Leah Ryan Playwriting Prize Honorable Mention), Rumpus for the End of the World OR Susan Sontag in a Bear Suit OR Pan- (2022 Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission Semifinalist) and The Norns of Athens, Maine (2023 Playwright’s Center Venturous Plays List). Her writing has been developed or produced by PlayPenn, The Cohen New Works Festival, McCarter Theatre Center's LAB, the Lewis Center for the Arts, Chapter Arts Centre (United Kingdom) and Theatre Intime. She holds a B.A. from Princeton University in English, Theatre, and Environmental Studies. As a Fulbright Scholar, she completed her M.A. in Welsh & Celtic Studies from Cardiff University.
Jenny Lavery, Director
Jenny Lavery is a director and educator who champions stories that foster connection. Recent credits include Merrily We Roll Along (The Public Theater of San Antonio) and Roe (ZACH Theatre). Lavery holds a B.F.A. from New York University, an M.Ed. from University of Massachusetts and an Executive Strategy for Non-Profit Management Certification from the University of Pennsylvania. Lavery is a Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Member, the Artistic Director of Theatre en Bloc and a M.F.A. in Theatre candidate with a specialization in directing. Credits with The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance include Red Bike; In Sisters We Trust, or My F*cked Up American Girl Doll Play and elizabeth is going into the ground. Upcoming: Into the Woods at St. Edward’s University.
Readings
Mateo Hernandez, Playwright - spayce boys
Diamante Martinez, Director - spayce boys
Claire Derriennic, Playwright - Taste Buds: The Adventures of Cake and Broccoli
Renita James, Director - Taste Buds: The Adventures of Cake and Broccoli
UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2024
Learn more about the plays presented in UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2024 and book your tickets below:
UTNT (UT New Theatre)
Learn more about past years of UTNT (UT New Theatre), including notable alumni.
“Tomorrow's plays are at UTNT today. UTNT is known as the launching pad to award-winning and widely produced new work for the American stage.” - Steven Dietz (UTNT founder)