OJAI PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES ACTORS, DIRECTORS, AND DRAMATURGS FOR 2025 NEW WORKS FESTIVAL, INCLUDING ACTORS NIK DODANI, EDWIN LEE GIBSON, RACHEL TICOTIN, JACQUELINE TOBONI
Ojai, CA – Ojai Playwrights Conference (OPC) today announced the full roster of artists for its 28th Annual New Works Festival to be held July 31 - August 3 in Ojai, CA.
Playwrights and their plays to be presented in the Festival include award-winning playwrights: Lisa D’Amour, Heléne; Marvin González De León, Madre de Dios; JuCoby Johnson, The Red Man; Deepak Kumar, Stories in Mother Tongues; and Regan Moro, burn for You.
Prior to sharing their new plays in public readings at the Festival, the playwrights participate in the Conference, a one-week workshop to develop their new work with directors, dramaturgs, and OPC artistic staff. They are then joined by professional actors, stage managers, and production teams who help bring each playwright’s vision to life for Festival audiences.
OPC’s Writers-in-Residence also receive new play development support at the Conference, and participate in the Festival as part of the artist community. 2025 Writers-in-Residence will include celebrated playwrights Vivian J.O. Barnes, Shayan Lotfi, and Jennifer Maisel.
Playwright bios: https://www.ojaiplays.org/2025-playwrights
Playwright headshots: 2025 headshots and group graphic
Liza Powel O’Brien (OPC Advisory Board Member) says, “OPC is an ever-evolving galaxy of artists, audience members, and patrons whose work resonates throughout the current canon. OPC doesn’t just develop plays, it builds careers.” She goes on, “In fact, every branch of my playwriting career can be traced back to Ojai Playwrights Conference—it’s my Giving Tree. There used to be a whole cohort of these types of programs, but we’ve lost a lot of them, and now it’s down to a small handful, which only makes OPC more precious and necessary than ever.”
Directors for the Festival include: Lindsay Allbaugh (burn for You), Jennifer Chang (Heléne), Khanisha Foster (The Red Man), Kimberly Senior (Stories in Mother Tongues), Laurie Woolery (Madre de Dios).
Dramaturgs include: Adrian Centeno (burn for You), Sonia Desai (Stories in Mother Tongues), Sarah Rose Leonard (Heléne, Madre de Dios), Jeff Liu (Writers-in-Residence), Naysan Mojgani (The Red Man).
The Festival’s company of actors includes stars from shows such as The Bear, Grimm, 24, The Rookie, Total Recall, Atypical, and The L Word: Generation Q. The full company includes: Mia Barron, Parvesh Cheena, Nik Dodani, Kai A. Ealy, Edwin Lee Gibson, Danny Gomez, Kanoa Goo, Joe Holt, Nicole Javier, Donna Simone Johnson, Rachel Keller, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Anna LaMadrid, Michael Manuel, Bayardo De Murguia, Nija Okoro, Gita Reddy, Meera Simhan, Nedra Snipes, Rachel Ticotin, Jacqueline Toboni, Will Tranfo, and Bruce Young.
In addition to the five new plays, the Festival will include an evening celebrating new work by artists across the OPC community, including the 2025 Writers-in-Residence and students in the Youth Workshop and Intern programs. The weekend will also include a conversation with the playwrights, led by OPC Producing Artistic Director, Jeremy B. Cohen.
Festival passes and single tickets are available now.
Festival Passes range from $80 - $400; all passes include preferred seating and meal options. Single tickets are general admission and donation-based (pay what you can). Schedule, play descriptions, and ticket/pass info at: ojaiplays.org/2025-new-works-festival.
Playwright photos available here: 2025 Playwright Headshots folder
ABOUT OJAI PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE
Ojai Playwrights Conference’s mission is to build a body of extraordinary new plays that reflect this vibrant and ever-changing world. OPC supports playwrights with unique resources and a nurturing environment to develop new stories for the American theater. Now in its 28th year, the summer Conference and New Works Festival is OPC’s primary new play development program. In 2023, OPC implemented open submissions for playwrights across the country and added “pay what you can'' tickets to increase access for artists and audiences. Intern and Youth Workshop programs provide opportunities for students to participate in the Conference and Festival and create and share their own work alongside professional artists. In 2024, Ojai Playwrights Conference launched a partnership program with theaters in and around Southern California to develop new work, deepening OPC’s commitment to playwrights by connecting them directly with institutions and shortening a play’s journey from page to stage. This March, OPC held its first ever Spring Gathering - which is an invitation to local playwrights, actors, directors, other theater-artists, and community members in Ojai to connect with Ojai Playwrights Conference staff at various local events over the course of several days, to meet, share their work, and open pathways of collaboration and connection.
Numerous plays developed at OPC have been produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in theaters across the country, and many have been nominated for and won prestigious awards. Stephen Adly Guirgis’ OPC-developed play Dog Day Afternoon just announced its 2026 Broadway production, Anne Washburn’s The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire was just announced for its World Premiere at off-broadway’s Vineyard Theatre, and John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower is currently enjoying its Broadway premiere, and was the most Tony-Award nominated play this year.
Both Fun Home by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori and Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz were Pulitzer Finalists. Fun Home won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed and Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Motherf**ker with the Hat were each nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. Learn more at www.ojaiplays.org.
EVENT SUMMARY & CALENDAR LISTING
The OPC 2025 New Works Festival will take place July 31 - August 3 in Ojai, CA. This celebration of new plays for the American theater will include five performances of brand new work and special events celebrating artists in the OPC community. Prior to the Festival, the playwrights spend two weeks developing their plays with artistic teams, preparing them for public audiences at the Festival.
SCHEDULE
Thurs, July 31 7:30 p.m. - IN CELEBRATION: An evening highlighting new work from across the OPC artist community, including the Youth Workshop and Intern programs.
Fri, August 1 7:30 p.m. - Heléne by Lisa D’Amour
Sat, August 2 1:30 p.m. - IN CONVERSATION: a discussion with the playwrights led by
OPC Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen
3:00 p.m. - Stories in Mother Tongues by Deepak Kumar
7:30 p.m. - burn for You by Regan Moro
Sun, August 3
11:00 a.m. - The Red Man by JuCoby Johnson
3:00 p.m. - Madre de Dios by Marvin González De León
LOCATION
Milligan Center for the Performing Arts, The Thacher School, 5025 Thacher Road, Ojai, CA
TICKETS
Festival passes are available now and range from $80 - $400; all passes include preferred seating and meal options. Single tickets are general admission and donation-based (pay what you can), available now. More information at ojaiplays.org/2025-new-works-festival.
PLAYWRIGHT PHOTOS: 2025 Playwright Headshots folder