OUR PROGRAMS

WORKSHOPS

PLAYMAKERS‘ INTENSIVE

Dark alley with cobblestones and brick with graffiti. Top right TBTB logo. Top center, bright multicolored light shining on title “Transcendence Approaching” in big yellow font; below the dates Nov 17-23 in big white font, yellow arrow just beneath.

HPI4: TRANSCENDENCE APPROACHING - 2025

The Playmakers’ Intensive was founded in 2011 by Ike Schambelan and was intended to be a workshop for artists (writers, directors, and actors) could create new work. The original idea for this workshop was a 24-hour bootcamp where each group met for the 1st time one day and then they presented the play the next day. However, it transitioned to a week-long intensive so artists can refine their work. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the PLAYMAKERS’ INTENSIVE pivoted to online, and then to both online and in-person simultaneously, which became the HYBRID PLAYMAKERS’ INTENSIVE! This process was an adjustment, and the writers were required to write each play for the Zoom platform. It was a great success and added the benefit of working with many actors virtually who may not be in the same time zone. When we went back to live theater, we continued to use the Zoom platform, which has helped us reach more people who can’t be there in person!

PLAYMAKERS’ REDUX

Two Japanese dancers in black spandex wrapped in white elastic bands performing a modern dance.

(L to R) Rie Fukuzawa & Satoshi Haga from bin bin Factory

Founded in 2018, TBTB picks and commissions a handful of plays from the PLAYMAKERS’ INTENSIVES, allowing the artists to make the plays longer, providing an opportunity to polish their work. During the third PLAYMAKERS’ REDUX, some of the plays from the virtual intensive were produced for the stage at Theatre Row.

MAINSTAGE

SHORT PLAYS FESTIVAL

3 women and 5 men are standing; another woman is in a wheelchair. White skin, ages range between 20s and 60s. They are in a line and on their phones. They are wearing casual clothes.

A scene from SOME OF OUR PARTS (L to R) J.M. McDonough, John Little, Anita Hollander, Ike Schambelan, Kenneth Kimmins, Pamela Sabaugh, Nicholas Viselli, Shannon Devido, & Mary Theresa Archbold

4 light-skinned women sit on a stage, 2 in wheelchairs and 1 is in a motorized elevated wheelchair. Above them, there’s a screen displaying the text: “So we should start by getting to know each other.” All of them, wears casual clothes.

Forgotten Corners of Your Dark, Dark Place by Bekah Brunstetter from L to R, Amanda Shafer, Amanda Cortinas, Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley, & Jamie Petrone

The Short Plays Festival, founded in 2011, fosters collaboration between Theater Breaking Through Barriers and established writers, actors, and creative production teams for a full-production run. While we are always proud of our mainstage plays, each show can offer only a limited number of work opportunities. Our short plays festival increases this number exponentially, giving many more artists the chance to demonstrate their talents. 

Because of the overall success and popularity of our short plays festival, we have had the great honor of working with many outstanding playwrights, who composed original short works for us, including Bekah Brunstetter, Bruce Graham, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, Samuel D. Hunter, David Henry Hwang, Neil LaBute, Lynn Manning, Kate Moira Ryan, Diana Son, and Jeffrey Sweet. Several writers have written for us multiple times, and two writers went on to accept commissions from us to write full-length works: In 2016, TBTB presented the world premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s commission, The Healing, and in 2019, we presented Bekah Brunstetter’s commission, Public Servant.

Transcendency Rising: Six Short Plays About Defying Limitations was performed at Theatre Row’s Theatre Five in New York City in March 2026. The production featured the world premiere of six brand new short plays created by a diverse group of outstanding playwrights including: Cate Allen, Kathryn Grant, Lyle Kessler, John Patrick Shanley, and Jeff Tabnick. The company consisted of over 20 artists from TBTB’s ranks, most of whom are performers with disabilities. We are extremely proud to have finally produced our first short play festival in over nine years. We first began our short play festival series in 2011 with the purpose of commissioning original short works, which could provide performance opportunities for as many artists as possible in a single production.