The MAC Theater Playwrights Incubator is a program for first-time playwrights to see their work realized on the stage. Finding theaters to produce new or unpublished plays can be an obstacle for any new playwright. The MTPI is a structured program that aims to discover and support, through workshop and production, new stage plays by first time, unpublished regional playwrights. These plays are small cast shows with one to six characters. Selected playwrights will work with two mentors who are experienced theater artists to fine-tune their plays over the course of several months and prepare the script for production. After regular writing evaluations, when the script is ready, the mentors will work with the MAC to find a director and assist her or him in casting the show with appropriate actors. One or more readings with a select focus group audience will include a feedback/response process, and the end result is a completed script, ready for debut performance for a live audience on stage at the Marion Art Center.
The mentors for the 2025-2026 MAC Theater Playwrights Incubator are Susan Lumenello and Tony Ferreira. Lumenello is a Cape-Cod based playwright whose latest work, Dreamsville, just had its world premiere at Cotuit Center for the Arts. She is a professional author and editor, an enthusiastic dramaturg, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. Ferreira is an actor, director, stage manager, and dramaturg. Most recently, he stage-managed for WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company’s 2023 and 2024 Black Box productions of The Way It Is and Dreamsville, respectively. He appeared as Scrooge in the mini-tour of A Christmas Carol and directed the highly successful run of Miracle on South Division Street for WatermelonAlligator in December 2022.
Any new writer who has not yet been published or had a play produced is invited to submit her or his script or outline for consideration. There is no cost to participate in this program. Selected applicants are required to sign an agreement with the MAC Theater, outlining expectations and a commitment to the program. Playwrights must be available to meet on site with mentors, for readings and all aspects of the production process including auditions, rehearsals, tech work and performances. Apply online at marionartcenter.org/mtpi. Applications are due by March 31. The selected playwright for the 2025-2026 program will be announced in early May. Please send any questions to mtpi@marionartcenter.org.
The 2024-2025 playwright, Kate Herlihy, will be premiering her original work, Jab, during the ArtWeek SouthCoast on May 16, May 17, and May 18 at the MAC. Ms. Herlihy is an actor, playwright, director, and dancer completing her BFA in Theatre Performance and Production at Texas State University. She is an alum of Walnut Hill School for the Arts where she studied all aspects of theatre performance and technical theatre. Her time as a writer began at Walnut Hill under Ronan Noone and has since studied dramatic writing with people like Jonathan Bernstein, Caitlin Turnage, and Syd Rushing, all of whom have been influential and integral parts of shaping who she is as a writer. While this is her first play to be produced, she’s had various staged readings; A Mind in Riot (The Performing Arts Project, 2022), Révérence (Critic’s Choice for Best Play at James W. Price 10-Minute Play Festival, 2023), and You’re Not… Are You? (Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 6 Finalist, 2024).