2018 Theatre503 production of Br'er Cotton (Tristram Kenton)
The stage loves theatricality – and so does the screen!
From movie musicals with intricate production numbers to period pieces with detailed historical costumes – not to mention sci-fi and fantasy series with complex worlds – the silver screen provides a creative playground where theatrical writers thrive.
Here are some Concord Theatricals authors currently working in the film and television worlds. Read on to learn more about their works – you may even discover a new favorite.
Will Arbery
Playwright and screenwriter Will Arbery won the WGA Award for his work on the TV show Succession, and his play Heroes of the Fourth Turning was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie and Whiting Award winner.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Arbery’s new film Sacrifice, a drama wherein a star-studded charity event turns chaotic over the pursuit of an ancient artifact, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025. The film features an ensemble cast including Vincent Cassel, Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, John Malkovich, Ambika Mod, Sam Richardson, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charli XCX.
Other: Succession (HBO Max), Irma Vep (HBO Original) and various short films, including A Still Life, Rafter, Wattle and Your Resources
ON STAGE:
Heroes of the Fourth Turning (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 2m)
On a chilly night in the middle of America, Will Arbery’s haunting play offers grace and disarming clarity, speaking to the heart of a country at war with itself.
Other work: Corsicana (US/UK), Evanston Salt Costs Climbing (US/UK), Plano (US/UK) and The Logic (US/UK)
For more, visit Will Arbery’s author page: US/UK
Alan Bennett
Originally from Leeds, Alan Bennett is an English playwright, author, actor and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honors, including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards and two Tony Awards. Bennett adapted many of his own plays to film, including his Oliver- and Tony Award-winning play, The History Boys.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Bennett’s newest collaboration for the screen, The Choral, comes out in December 2025. Directed by Nicholas Hynter and starring Ralph Fiennes, the film tells the story of a choir who fills their ranks with teenage boys as more and more of their older male members enlist in World War I, juxtaposing the darkness of war with the joy of singing.
Other: Writer for the films The History Boys, A Private Function and The Madness of King George, among others.
ON STAGE:
The History Boys (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1w, 11m)
An unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys are in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at a good university – generally in that order. In all their efforts, they are helped and hindered by their English teacher, who seeks to broaden their horizons in sometimes undefined ways, and a young history teacher who questions the methods and aim of their schooling. With gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character, this show questions the nature of history, how it is taught, and the purpose of education today.
Other work: Single Spies (US/UK), The Lady in the Van (US/UK) and The Madness of George III (US/UK)
For more, visit Alan Bennett’s author page: US/UK
Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia is a comedian, storyteller, director and actor who has performed in front of audiences worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Broadway. His full repertoire of one-man shows has been captured on film for Netflix.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Birbiglia’s latest show, The Good Life, was released on Netflix in May 2025. In this deeply personal special, he re-evaluates life as a son and as a father. The show is also now available to license and purchase as a script from Concord Theatricals!
Other: On Netflix – My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Thank God for Jokes, The New One, The Old Man and the Pool, and What I Should Have Said Was Nothing: Tales from My Secret Public Journal.
ON STAGE:
The Old Man and the Pool by Mike Birbiglia (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1m)
A tale of life, death and a highly chlorinated YMCA pool. Award-winning comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia’s “coming-of-middle-age story” is a hilarious reminder for all of us recovering from failing bodies and a flailing world that laughter is indeed the best medicine. The play asks the big questions: Why are we here? What’s next? What happens when the items at the doctor’s office that you thought were decorative become functional?
Other work: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend (US/UK), Sleepwalk with Me (US/UK), The Good Life (US/UK) and The New One (US/UK)
For more, visit Mike Birbiglia’s author page: US/UK
Alice Birch
Alice Birch is an award-winning British playwright and screenwriter. Her plays have been awarded the George Devine Award for Most Promising New Playwright and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She made a high-profile screenwriting debut with the 2016 film Lady Macbeth starring Florence Pugh.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Birch’s latest film-writing endeavor is a collaboration with fellow Concord Theatricals writer Enda Walsh on the feature Die My Love, which will premiere in November of 2025. The story follows a mother, played by Jennifer Lawrence, struggling to maintain her sanity as she battles psychosis in a remote, forgotten rural area.
Other: Films – Lady Macbeth (2016), Mothering Sunday (2021), The End We Start From (2023), and The Wonder (2022). TV – Conversations with Friends (2022), Dead Ringers (2023), Normal People (2020), and Succession (Season 2, 2019).
ON STAGE:
Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. by Alice Birch (US)
(Full-Length Play, Satire / 1w, 5 any gender)
A wildly experimental and inventive new play that does not behave. Playwright Alice Birch has put together a grouping of vignettes that ask how to revolutionize language, relationships, work, and life in general while bursting at the seams of conformity.
Other work: Anatomy of a Suicide (US)
For more, visit Alice Birch’s author page: US/UK
Bekah Brunstetter
Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Bekah Brunstetter is a playwright for the stage and TV writer and producer for the screen. Her play The Cake has been produced over 80 times worldwide and ran off-Broadway at Manhattan Theater Club.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Brunstetter is currently leading a TV adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling novel The Five-Star Weekend, set to release in 2026 on Peacock. The series stars Jennifer Garner and features D’Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall and Chloë Sevigny, among others. Fellow OOB Festival playwright Bixby Elliot (US/UK) is also part of the writer’s room!
Other: Writer and producer on the hit shows Switched at Birth (2013-2015) and This Is Us (2016-2019). Two Netflix collaborations for TV with fellow Concord Theatricals playwright Molly Smith Metzler: Maid (2021) and Sirens (2025).
ON STAGE:
The Game by Bekah Brunstetter (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 5w, 1m)
In Brunstetter’s newest play, every relationship hits a glitch. Alyssa and Homer are feeling disconnected in their marriage – and it’s all due to a massively engrossing online game that’s wreaking havoc on the lives of couples everywhere. When Alyssa assembles a support group for other women in a similar situation, the game enters a new level. All’s fair in love and war in this hilarious and heartfelt contemporary twist on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata.
Other work: Going To A Place Where You Already Are (US/UK), OOHRAH! (US), The Cake (US/UK), The Oregon Trail (US/UK)
For more, visit Bekah Brunstetter’s author page: US/UK
Jez Butterworth
Jez Butterworth is a British playwright, screenwriter, and film director recognizes for his theatrical concoctions of myth, folklore, and realism. His creativity has garnered both Tony and Olivier Awards, among other accolades.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Butterworth collaborated as a writer on the new Paramount series MobLand, which premiered in March of 2025. Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives in this show starring Tom Hardy and Pierce Brosnan.
Other: Film projects include Black Mass (2015), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Fair Game (2010), Ford v Ferrari (2019), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) and more. TV projects include Brittania for Epix (2017-2021), Mammals for Amazon (2022) and The Agency: Central Intelligence for Paramount+ (2024).
ON STAGE:
The Night Heron by Jez Butterworth (US)
(Full-Length Play, Tragicomedy / 1w, 6m)
The sighting of a rare bird attracts attention to a remote part of the Fens. The visiting birdwatchers cannot know what dangers lie in the freezing darkness of the marshes. In an isolated cabin, Wattmore, bruised and bleeding, is recording the Old Testament onto cassette. Griffin arrives with two bags of chips. Salvation is at hand – a cash prize for winning the university poetry competition and a possible lodger. Meanwhile, outside, the town is stirring…
Other work: Mojo (US)
For more, visit Jez Butterworth’s author page: US/UK
Sheila Callaghan
Sheila Callaghan is a playwright and screenwriter whose plays have been produced across the country, from Soho Rep to Actors Theatre of Louisville. In 2010, Callaghan was named one of Variety magazine’s “10 Screenwriters to Watch.” She is a writer/producer on the hit Showtime comedy Shameless, a founder of the feminist activist group The Kilroys, and a teacher of graduate-level TV writing.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Callaghan’s latest film writing endeavor is a collaboration with multiple other playwrights on the FX series Dying for Sex, including Madeleine George, Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether. The show is based on the real-life experiences of Molly Kochan, who left her husband in search of an orgasm once she got diagnosed with terminal cancer. It premiered in April of 2025 and has already garnered 9 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Callaghan is a co-executive producer on the show, and you can catch her writing specifically on episode 2, “Masturbation Is Important.”
Other: Film – Screenplay for Passage (2009); co-executive producer and writer for Over/Under (2013). TV – producer and writer for Casual (2015) and Shameless (2013-2018); executive producer for Dispatches from Elsewhere (2020); writer for Hemlock Grove (2013), Sorry for Your Loss (2019) and United States of Tara (2010-2011).
ON STAGE:
Everything You Touch by Sheila Callaghan (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 6w, 2m)
Victor is a ruthless fashion designer in the 1970s at the top of his game. His glamorous protégé and muse is pushed aside when an ordinary Midwestern woman inspires Victor to make his artistry accessible to the masses. A generation later, a woman grappling with a healthy dose of self-loathing must wrestle her own family demons to find her way through the world of fashion that won’t give a woman her size a second look. A viciously funny look at the struggle to find an identity that’s more than skin deep.
Other work: Lascivious Something (US/UK), Scab (US), That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play (US), Women Laughing Alone with Salad (US)
For more, visit Sheila Callaghan’s author page: US/UK
Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm
Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm is a writer and artist whose theatricality brings life to every medium for which he creates. On stage, Chisholm writes shows that span space, time and multiple universes. In Hollywood, he has written for a number of TV series and even developed his own show.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Chisholm’s latest screen endeavor is the development of his own show, the sci-fi dramedy Demascus, now available to stream on Tubi. The imaginative series focuses on a thirty-something who uses experimental VR-type technology to experience different versions of himself. Chisholm even tapped fellow playwright Nathan Alan Davis to be a writer on the show!
Other: Staff writer for BET’s Boomerang (2020) and episode four on season one of FX’s Clipped (2024).
ON STAGE:
Br’er Cotton by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 2w, 3m)
In Lynchburg, Virginia, a militant teenager grapples with politics and older relatives in this profound, devastating and very funny play. Meanwhile, the family home literally sinks into the cotton field, and no one but Ruffrino seems to notice.
Other work: Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies (US/UK) and PYG or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle (US/UK)
For more, visit Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm’s author page: US/UK
Kara Lee Corthron
Kara Lee Corthron is a playwright, author and TV writer based in Los Angeles. Kara is also the author of the novels The Truth of Right Now from Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse and Daughters of Jubilation from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Corthron recently co-executive produced The Bondsman with Kevin Bacon on Amazon Prime and the fifth season of the Netflix thriller You, which released in April of 2025. Catch her writing for You specifically on episode 5!
Other: Staff writer for the critically-acclaimed NBC drama Kings (2009) and executive story editor for HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant (2020). Writer and co-executive Producer for Apple TV’s Servant (2022-2023).
ON STAGE:
Holly Down in Heaven (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 2w, 2m)
Holly collects dolls. Holly is a born-again Christian. Holly is a 15-year-old, brainy, outspoken, spoiled, tyrannical brat. She’s also pregnant. During her nine-month odyssey, she must find a way to move forward with the new life she’s landed in or remain forever hidden in her own special heaven…of talking dolls. A dark comedy about navigating the treacherous terrain from child to adult.
For more, visit Corthron’s website.
Nathan Alan Davis
Nathan Alan Davis is a playwright from Rockford, IL, now based in New York. His plays knit deep character-building and magical realism, and his work has been produced everywhere from New York Theatre Workshop to Sundance. He has begun venturing into the film and screen world in the past five years.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Davis’ latest screen endeavor is a collaboration with Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm’s new show, the sci-fi dramedy Demascus, now available to stream on Tubi. The imaginative series focuses on a thirty-something who uses experimental VR-type technology to experience different versions of himself. You can find Davis’ writing specifically on episode 2!
Other: Writer on the shows American Soul (2019), Sorry for Your Loss (2019) and While We Breathe (2020).
ON STAGE:
The Refuge Plays by Nathan Alan Davis (US/UK)
(Full-Length Plays, Drama / 1-4w, 1-4m)
Late at night, a ghost tells Gail she will die within the next 24 hours. So begins The Refuge Plays, an epic tale in three plays that follows one Black family over 70 years. This bold reimagining of an American “family play” follows four generations in reverse chronology as they carve out an existence for themselves in a southern Illinois forest. Each of the three plays – Protect the Beautiful Place (US/UK), Walking Man (US/UK) and Early’s House (US/UK) – runs for 60 minutes. They can be presented together or individually.
Other work: Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (US/UK), Eternal Life Part 1 (US/UK), Nat Turner in Jerusalem (US/UK) and The High Ground (US/UK)
For more, visit Nathan’s author page: US/UK
Madeleine George
Madeleine George is an author, playwright, producer and screenwriter. Her plays have been produced across the country and even won such honors as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the play The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence. For the screen, George’s best-known work is as a writer and executive story editor on the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: George’s latest film writing endeavor is as co-producer in collaboration with multiple other playwrights on the FX series Dying for Sex, including Sheila Callaghan, Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether. The show is based on the real-life experiences of Molly Kochan, who left her husband in search of an orgasm once she got diagnosed with terminal cancer. It premiered in April of 2025 and has already garnered nine Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Other: Writer/producer on four seasons of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated mystery/comedy Only Murders in the Building.
ON STAGE:
Hurricane Diane by Madeleine George (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5w)
Meet Diane, a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. She’s got supernatural abilities owing to her true identity – the Greek god Dionysus – and she’s returned to a suburban New Jersey cul-de-sac to gather mortal followers and restore the Earth to its natural state. Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George pens a hilarious evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us, even in our own backyards.
Other work: Flip Turn (US/UK), Precious Little (US/UK), The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (US/UK) and Three Sisters (US/UK)
For more, visit Madeleine George’s author page: US/UK
James Graham
James Graham is a British playwright and screenwriter. His theatrical work has been staged throughout the UK – notably at the National Theatre – and internationally, and his screen work can be seen on streaming services from BritBox to Netflix.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: The series Brian and Maggie released in January 2025 on Channel 4 in the UK, for which Graham was Executive Producer and Writer. Graham also recently announced he is adapting his Oliver- and Tony Award-winning play Ink (US/UK) to the screen with director Danny Boyle; it will begin filming in October 2025.
Other: Graham is best known for the live captures of his stage plays streamed by National Theatre, including Dear England (UK), as well as his TV work as a writer on Quiz (2020), Sherwood (2022-2024) and The Way (2024).
ON STAGE:
A History of Falling Things by James Graham (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 3m, 1 boy)
Prisoners of their own keraunothnetophobia – fear of satellites falling – Jacqui and Robin have restricted themselves to living indoors. Though their relationship starts online, as it blossoms it forces them to confront their fear of the outside. Soon both must decide what’s real and what truly matters in their lives.
Other work: Ink (US/UK), Labour of Love (US/UK), Quiz (US/UK), The Man (US/UK), The Whisky Taster (US/UK) and This House (US/UK)
For more, visit the James Graham Collection (US/UK).
Jeremy O. Harris
Jeremy O. Harris is the playwright and creator of the most Tony-nominated Broadway play ever, Slave Play, which was featured in the 2024 documentary Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. Harris has been spending his time in the film and television world lately, penning indie features for A24, writing for multiple HBO TV series, and performing as an actor, too!
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Harris both wrote and starred in the film The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick which premiered on March 7, 2025 at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival. In the film, a woman drives down to her friend’s house after a tragic accident. A promising weekend away suddenly turns south after she begins developing symptoms from a tick bite.
Other: As a producer, This American Wife (2021), Euphoria (2022), Irma Vep (2022). As a writer, the A24 indie feature Zola (2020).
ON STAGE:
Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4f, 4m)
Nominated for a record twelve 2020 Tony Awards, Jeremy O. Harris’ groundbreaking play astonished critics and audiences alike. The Old South lives on at the MacGregor Plantation – in the breeze, in the cotton fields… and in the crack of the whip. Nothing is as it seems, and yet everything is as it seems. Slave Play rips apart history to shed new light on the nexus of race, gender and sexuality in 21st-century America.
You can learn more about the show and its creative process in the documentary Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play, now streaming on HBO Max.
For more, visit Jeremy O. Harris’ author page: US/UK
Amy Herzog
Amy Herzog is an American playwright known for her detailed characters and affecting plots that explore relationships with the complexity and nuance inherent in the human experience. She has received a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award for her plays and is now bringing her theatrical poignancy to the screen.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Herzog lends her skills to television with the upcoming American crime thriller miniseries The Savant on Apple TV starring Jessica Chastain. Chastain starred in Herzog’s recent adaptation of A Doll’s House on Broadway. Be sure to check out episode 6 on October 24, 2025 for her writing specifically!
Other: Writer of the teleplay and executive producer for the HBO Max mini series Scenes from a Marriage (2021).
ON STAGE:
A Doll’s House by Amy Herzog, adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 2m)
Ibsen’s celebrated play thrust drama firmly into the modern age when it premiered in 1879. Now, nearly 150 years later, acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog makes freshly relevant a story that shocked audiences and brought forth a new era of theatre. Herzog’s thrilling, compact and devastatingly contemporary adaptation runs a mere 110 minutes.
Other work: 4000 Miles (US/UK), An Enemy of the People (US/UK), Belleville (US/UK), Mary Jane (US/UK) and The Great God Pan (US).
For more, visit Amy Herzog’s author page: US/UK
Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini
Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and occasional dramaturg from London. She was awarded a scholarship from BAFTA and Warner Brothers to study a Masters in Playwriting & Screenwriting and has now begun to write for TV.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Ibini has joined a long legacy of writers who have worked on the long-running British children’s TV drama The Dumping Ground, by writing episode 8 in the newest season for CBBC in the UK.
Other: Episodes of CripTales (2020), Amazon Prime’s Wilderness (2023) and various short films.
ON STAGE:
Sleepova (UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w)
Join Rey, Elle, Shan and Funmi, who have finally convinced their parents to let them hold their very first sleepova. With sugary snacks, school gossip, and secret questions they can only ask each other, their sleepovas become pretty much a sacred space for them. A frank, funny and moving coming-of-age story, Sleepova is an ode to Black women, their boundless spirits and wild dreams.
Other work: Little Miss Burden (UK)
For more, visit Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini’s author page: UK
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Rebecca Lenkiewicz is a British playwright, screenwriter, film director and former actress. She is best known as the author of Her Naked Skin, which was the first original play written by a living female playwright to be performed on the Olivier stage of the Royal National Theatre.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Lenkiewicz’s newest film, Hot Milk, premiered on June 27, 2025. The drama, directed and adapted by Lenkiewicz from the book by Deborah Levy, follows a mother-daughter duo up the Spanish coast as they seek a cure for a strange illness.
Other: Film – Lenkiewicz is best known for writing the screenplay for Colette (2018) starring Keira Knightley as well as the films Disobedience (2017), Ida (2013), She Said (2022), Servants (2020), and The Salt Path (2024). TV – The Eddy (2020), No Masks (2020), Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2008-2010), Small Axe (2020).
ON STAGE:
Her Naked Skin by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 10w, 15m)
London 1913. Militancy in the Suffragette Movement is at its height. Thousands of women of all classes serve time in Holloway Prison in their fight to gain the vote. Among them is Lady Celia Cain, who feels trapped by both the policies of the day and the shackles of a frustrating marriage. Inside, she meets a young seamstress, Eve Douglas, and her life spirals into an erotic but dangerous chaos. Her Naked Skin is set at a crucial moment when, with emancipation nearly in sight, women refuse to let the establishment stand in their way.
Other work: The Night Season (UK)
For more, visit Rebecca’s author page: US/UK
Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts is an award-winning actor, playwright and screenwriter known for his diverse plays, ranging from horror to crime to family tragedies, which he has often adapted to film. His wife, Carrie Coon, recently graced the small screen as Bertha Russell The Gilded Age and will be starring in the upcoming Broadway premiere of his play-turned-movie Bug.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: As a writer, Letts is venturing into more television – he wrote the pilot for the new FX drama The Lowdown starring Ethan Hawke! As an actor, you can catch him in the movie A House of Dynamite, premiering on October 24, 2025.
Other: Screenwriter for the film/TV adaptations of his plays, including August: Osage County (2013), Bug (2006), Killer Joe (2011), Superior Donuts (2017-2018) and The Woman in the Window (2021).
ON STAGE:
Linda Vista by Tracey Letts (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 3m)
Hapless 50-year-old Wheeler must reconcile the man he has become with the man he wants to be. His marriage is over, his job is mundane, and the best years of his life appear to be behind him. A move from the cot in his ex-wife’s garage to his own apartment opens new possibilities for love and sex – complicated, painful and hilarious.
Other work: August: Osage County (US), Bug (US), Mary Page Marlowe (US/UK), The Minutes (US/UK) and Superior Donuts (US)
For more, visit Tracy Letts’ author page: US/UK
Donja R. Love
Donja R. Love is an Afro-Queer playwright, poet and filmmaker from Philadelphia. He’s the co-founder of The Each-Other Project, an organization that helps build community and provide visibility, through art and advocacy, for LGBTQ People of Color.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Love’s most recent short film, Home, takes place on a cold night in NYC. After missing curfew at a shelter, T – a homeless queer teen – searches for a way to get off the streets. As the night gets colder and he’s exhausted all options, he makes a tough choice for his survival.
Other: Episodes of I Need Space (2022) and Modern Day Black Gay (2014-2015) and the short film Once A Star (2016).
ON STAGE:
one in two (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3m)
Three Black queer men sit in an ethereal waiting room. One is about to be chosen to live the unforgiving story of a man diagnosed with HIV, struggling to be defined by more than his status. Ten years after his own diagnosis, Donja R. Love has written a fearless account of the reality for too many Americans. A deeply personal call to action, one in two shines a light on the people behind a statistic and the strength of the community they make up.
Other work: Fireflies (US) and Sugar in Our Wounds (US)
For more, visit Donja R. Love’s author page: US
Elizabeth Meriwether
Elizabeth Hughes Meriwether is an American writer, producer and television showrunner. She is known for creating the Fox sitcom New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel and for writing the play Oliver Parker! and the romantic comedy film No Strings Attached.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Meriwether’s latest screen endeavor is a collaboration with multiple other playwrights on the FX series Dying for Sex, including Sheila Callaghan, Madeleine George and Kim Rosenstock. The show is based on the real-life experiences of Molly Kochan, who left her husband in search of an orgasm once she got diagnosed with terminal cancer. It premiered in April of 2025 and has already garnered 9 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Meriwether wears three hats on the show: co-creator, co-executive producer/showrunner, and writer of episode 7, “You’re Killing Me, Ernie.”
Other: Film – writer/producer on No Strings Attached (2011), Thin Ice (2017) and Untitled Liz Meriwether Project (2008). TV – writer/producer on Bless This Mess (2019-2020), New Girl (2011-2018), Single Parents (2018-2020) and The Dropout (2022).
ON STAGE:
The Mistakes Madeline Made (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 3m)
What happens if you just stop showering? The Mistakes Madeline Made is a twisted and hilarious coming-of-age story about a girl who develops ablutophobia, the fear of bathing. Struggling with a soul-crushing job as a personal assistant, she wages a furious, funny war against all things complacent, pampered and clean. As her smell starts to overwhelm her co-workers and many casual lovers – a series of bad poets – the play raises the questions: Is dirty living a political act? And is clean living even possible in these times of unrest? An unlikely story of love and dirty people.
Other work: 90 Days (US), My Mental Illness (US), Oliver Parker! (US), Sketch Comedian (US) and The True Love Story of My Parents (US)
For more, visit Elizabeth Meriwether’s author page: US/UK
Molly Smith Metzler
Molly Smith Metzler is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter from Kingston, NY. Her plays have been produced off-Broadway and across the country. For screen, she is the creator and showrunner of Maid, which debuted on Netflix in October 2021 and spent 13 weeks on the top-10 list, viewed by more than 67 million households.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Metzler’s newest limited series Sirens released on Netflix in May 2025. Sisters square off in this keenly observed comedy, adapted from her 2011 play Elemeno Pea. Fellow Concord Theatricals author Bekah Brunstetter is also a co-executive producer/writer on the show, collaborating again with Metzler after working on her show Maid.
Other: For TV – writer and executive producer for Maid (2021) and Shameless (2017-2020); executive story editor for Casual (2016-2017) and Orange Is the New Black (2017).
ON STAGE:
Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 2m)
It’s just after Labor Day, and Martha’s Vineyard has started emptying out. You can still smell the suntan lotion (the expensive kind). And the expensive life is just what Simone is living these days as personal assistant to Michaela Kell, trophy wife of an absurdly rich (and often absent) New York ad man. When Simone’s older sister, a social worker from blue-collar Buffalo, comes to visit, lifestyles – and worlds – collide. This keenly observed comedy about class, family and the choices that shape who we are unfolds in real time: fast, furious and funny.
For more, visit Molly Smith Metzler’s author page: US/UK
Jiehae Park
Jiehae Park is a Korean-American playwright and actress who often draws from work she admires to inspire her own stories and characters. Her plays have premiered in regional theatres across the US, and she began her television journey as a staff writer on season one of Marvel’s Runaways.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Park recently joined the writing room on the fourth season of Apple TV’s The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Be sure to check out episode 3 when the season drops on October 1, 2025 to experience her writing!
Other: Episodes for Command Z (2023), Hello Tomorrow! (2023) and Runaways (2018).
ON STAGE:
Hannah and the Dread Gazebo by Jiehae Park (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 2m)
Inside the FedEx box are two things: a 100% bona-fide-heart’s-desire-level wish, and a suicide note. Hannah tracks the package back to Korea, where her grandmother recently jumped from the roof of the Sunrise Dewdrop Apartment City for Senior Living onto the wrong side of the Demilitarized Zone. Oops.
For more, visit Jiehae Park’s author page: US/UK
Eliana Pipes
Eliana Pipes is a playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker based in her hometown of Los Angeles. Her plays have been produced at regional theatres nationwide and won numerous accolades, including the Alliance Kendeda Prize and the KCACTF Harold & Mimi Steinberg Award.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Pipes recently joined the writing team for season one of the Starz/Lionsgate show Spartacus: House of Ashur. Be sure to check out episode 6 when the season drops in winter of 2025 to witness her work on the show!
Other: As a filmmaker, she was awarded the inaugural WAVE Grant to support her animated narrative short ¡Nails!, which premiered at Outfest LA LGBTQ+ Film Festival in 2022.
ON STAGE:
Bite Me by Eliana Pipes (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
When two teens – a privileged white boy and an overachieving Black girl – find themselves together in a storage closet, the heat soon boils over. Bite Me explores the drama (and trauma) of trying to fit in at high school, and the unfinished business that lingers over a decade later.
Other work: DREAM HOU$E (US/UK)
For more, visit Eliana Pipes’ author page: US/UK
Kim Rosenstock
Kim Rosenstock is a television writer, producer and playwright originally from Long Island. For the screen, she has an overall deal at 20th Television and has been a key part of beloved television comedies like New Girl and Only Murders in the Building. On stage, Rosenstock’s plays and musicals have received critical acclaim and been produced around the country.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Rosenstock’s latest screen endeavor is a collaboration with multiple other playwrights on the FX series Dying for Sex, including Sheila Callaghan, Madeleine George and Elizabeth Meriwether. The show is based on the real-life experiences of Molly Kochan, who left her husband in search of an orgasm once she got diagnosed with terminal cancer. It premiered in April of 2025 and has already garnered nine Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Rosenstock wears multiple hats on the show: co-creator, co-executive producer/showrunner, and writer of episode 8, “It’s Not That Serious.”
Other: Writer/producer for GLOW (2018), Girls Code (2018), New Girl (also with Elizabeth Meriwether), Only Murders in the Building (also with Madeline George) and Single Parents (2018-2020).
ON STAGE:
Fly By Night by Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick and Kim Rosenstock (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dark Comedy / 2w, 5m)
A star-crossed prophecy. A lot of music. Just not a lot of light. In this darkly comic rock-fable, a melancholy sandwich maker’s humdrum life is intersected by two entrancing sisters. A sweeping ode to young love set against the backdrop of the Northeast blackout of 1965, Fly By Night is a tale about making your way and discovering hope in a world beset by darkness.
Other work: Tigers Be Still (US)
For more, visit Kim Rosenstock’s author page: US/UK
Jack Thorne
Jack Thorne is a Tony-, Olivier- and BAFTA Award-winning writer and producer who writes for theatre, film, television and radio. As a science fiction aficionado, he is best known for writing the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the films Wonder and Enola Holmes, and the TV series His Dark Materials.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: 2025 has been quite the productive year for Jack Thorne! In March, his newest series Adolescence released on Netflix. Other 2025 projects include The Hack on ITVX, Lord of the Flies on BBC On, and Enola Holmes 3 with Netflix.
Other: Film – Writer for Netflix’s Enola Holmes (2020) and Enola Holmes 2 (2022), The Aeronauts (2019), The Secret Garden (2020), Wonder (2017) and more. TV – His Dark Materials (2019-2022), episodes of Skins (2007-2009), This Is England (’86, ’88, ’90) and more.
ON STAGE:
Let The Right One In by Jack Thorne (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 6m)
An enchanting, brutal vampire myth and coming-of-age love story adapted from the bestselling novel and award-winning film. Oskar is a bullied, lonely teenage boy living with his mother on a housing estate at the edge of town when a spate of sinister killings rocks the neighborhood. Eli is the young girl who has just moved in next door. Sensing in each other a kindred spirit, the two become devoted friends.
Other work: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (High School Edition) (US), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Secondary School Edition) (UK)
For more, visit Jack Thorne’s author page: US/UK
Sarah Treem
Sarah Treem is a Boston-born TV writer-producer and playwright. Her plays have been produced across the US, from Playwrights Horizons to South Coast Repertory Theatre. She is the co-creator and showrunner of the Showtime drama The Affair, which won the Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and as a writer and co-executive producer on the inaugural season of House of Cards.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Earlier this year, Treem worked as a writer and executive producer for episode 1 of The Rachel Maddow Show: Weekend. Later this year, her writer-producer hyphenates will be in full force when she serves as the creator, executive producer and showrunner on the new FX/Hulu limited series Cry Wolf, starring Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Brie Larson.
Other: Writer and producer of House of Cards (2013), How to Make It in America (2010), In Treatment (2008-2010), The Affair (2014-2019)
ON STAGE:
A Feminine Ending by Sarah Treem (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 2w, 3m)
A gentle, bittersweet comedy about a girl who knows what she wants, but not quite how to get it. Her parents are getting divorced, her fiancé is almost famous, her first love reappears, and there’s a lot of noise in her head, but none of it is music. Until the end.
Other work: Mirror, Mirror (US/UK), The How and the Why (US) and When We Were Young and Unafraid (US)
For more, visit Sarah Treem’s author page: US/UK
Sanaz Toossi
Sanaz Toossi is an Iranian-American playwright and screenwriter from Orange County, California. Her play English won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2023. In television, Sanaz has been frequenting staff writing rooms and also sold an original idea, The Persians, to FX with Joe Weisberg & Joel Fields attached as Executive Producers.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Toossi most recently worked on Adults for FX. This hilarious comedy follows an ensemble of 20-something housemates navigating adulthood together – flaws and all. Be sure to check out episode 6, “Roast Chicken” to hear her knack for comedy and character.
Other: As a writer, Toossi was recently staffed on Invitation to a Bonfire (AMC), A League of Their Own (Amazon), and Five Women (Marielle Heller/ Big Beach).
ON STAGE:
Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 5w)
Set in Iran from 1978 to 1991, this breathtaking and unabashed comedy-drama explores the evolving relationships among a group of five women during the escalation, height and aftermath of the Iranian Revolution.
For more, visit Sanaz Toossi’s author page: US/UK
Enda Walsh
Enda Walsh is a playwright and screenwriter who shot to fame when he won both the George Devine Award and the Stewart Parker Award in 1997 with his play Disco Pigs. His 2008 biopic, Hunger, told the story of the final days of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and won a host of honors, including the Camera d’Or, the Heartbeat Award, and multiple BAFTA nominations.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Walsh’s latest film-writing endeavor is a collaboration with fellow Concord Theatricals writer Alice Birch on the feature Die My Love, which will premiere in November 2025. The story follows a mother, played by Jennifer Lawrence, struggling to maintain her sanity as she battles psychosis in a remote forgotten rural area.
Other: Film – Hunger (2008), Small Things Like These (2024) and The House (2022), and screenplays of his plays Chatroom (2010) and Disco Pigs (2001).
ON STAGE:
Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1w, 1m)
Born at the same time on the same day in the same hospital, Pig and Runt have been inseparable ever since. They speak in their own language, play by their own rules, and create a world for themselves in which boundaries blur between truth and illusion. Until, on their seventeenth birthday, they discover something more. As night falls, and the disco and drink take hold, they spiral violently out of control.
Other work: Ballyturk (US), Chatroom (UK), Penelope (US), The New Electric Ballroom (US) and The Walworth Farce (US)
For more, visit Enda Walsh’s author page: US/UK
Matt Williams
Matt Williams is an American professor, writer, and former TV producer who has spent over 40 years working in theatre, film and television telling stories. You may know him as the creator of Roseanne and Home Improvement, but his career includes much more than those hits.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: Williams wrapped the final season of The Conners, an ABC sitcom, in April of 2025. The show features John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf as the titular Conner parents as they show laughter, conversation and love can overcome all.
Other: For TV – Notably, the creator and executive producer of Home Improvement (1991-1999), Roseanne (1988-2018). For film, the producer of Bernie (2011) and Where the Heart Is (200) and the co-writer of Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken (1991).
ON STAGE:
Between Daylight and Boonville by Matt Williams (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 1m, 1 girl, 2 boys)
Set in the coal mining country of southern Indiana, this play is a touching and humorous study of women, like high school dropout Carla, who possess the courage, humor and dignity to rise above the grimmer facts of their existence as the local mine resounds with an explosion.
Other work: MD 20/20 (US)
For more, visit Matt Williams’ author page: US/UK
Leah Nanako Winkler
Leah Nanako Winkler is an award-winning playwright and TV writer from Kamakura, Japan and Lexington, Kentucky. Her plays have all been produced off-Broadway and regionally, and her television work on A24’s Ramy garnered a Peabody Award. In the true spirit of film and stage crossovers, she’s currently working on a musical adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians.
ON SCREEN:
Currently: This year, Winkler stayed busy. She began the year as a writer and co-executive producer on the CBS series Elsbeth, starring Carrie Preston as an astute but unconventional attorney catching New York’s murderers with her quirky flair. The third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty made a splash on July 16, 2025 with 25 million viewers in the seven days after its premiere. Winkler is the consulting producer and specifically wrote episode 3, “Last Supper,” for this hit book-to-television adaptation.
Other: Writer on Love Life (HBO Max), New Amsterdam (NBC), Ramy (A24), Schmigadoon! (Apple TV) and more.
ON STAGE:
Kentucky by Leah Nanako Winkler (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 11w, 5m or 6w, 3m)
Hiro is a self-made woman making it in New York. But she is also single, almost 30, and estranged from her dysfunctional family in Kentucky. When her little sister, a born-again Christian, decides to marry at 22, Hiro takes it upon herself to do whatever she can to stop the wedding and salvage any shred of hope she had about her sister’s future. Themes of identity, religion and love collide in this unique coming-of-age story.
Other work: God Said This (US), Linus and Murray (US), Taisetsu Na Hito (US/UK) and Winifred & Myrtle Go to High School (US/UK)
For more, visit Leah Nanako Winkler’s author page: US/UK
On occasion, plays and musicals are directly adapted from the stage to the screen. New and upcoming Concord Theatricals titles and authors getting the stage to screen treatment include film versions of Aleshea Harris’ Is God Is, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night (adapted by fellow playwright David Lindsay-Abaire) and Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain, a TV adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero, and a movie version of the Kander and Ebb musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, among others. Keep an eye on Breaking Character for more news on these adaptations!
If you have a favorite film or TV show, it’s worth taking a look to see what other work that show’s writer has done. Maybe you’ll discover your next favorite play! And next time you’re watching TV or a movie, be sure to check out the credits — it might have been written by the author of your off-Broadway obsession.
For a brief history of playwrights working in film and television and some notable Concord Theatricals authors working in this space in previous years, visit the article “It’s More Than a Living: Playwrights Working in the TV/Film Space.”
Discover more playwrights at the Concord Theatricals website in the US or UK.
K-12 Theatre: Consider These Plays & Musicals, 2025-26
Need some new ideas for your school theatre program? Here’s an assortment of great plays and musicals for you to consider, from well-known hits to hidden gems.
Shows for Book Lovers
From A Tale of Two Cities to Fun Home to The Phantom of the Opera, literary adaptations are a proud theatrical tradition. Celebrate this Book Lovers Day with a list of Concord Theatricals titles that are sure to pique the interest of any bookworm.
Newly Available for Licensing (US) – August 2025
Deciding which show(s) to bring to your stage next? Check out these Concord Theatricals titles, newly available for licensing in the US!