Listen in as actors Ally Callaghan (Maria) and Julio Cesar Gutierrez (Marc) of Aurora Stewart de Peña’s Love Story, presented in its world premiere by The Tank and Voyage Theater Company, discuss theatrical roller-coaster rides, building props and scenery in space, stage directions, feeling the space, heaviness & fun, getting from point A to point B, mid-’00s dramaturgy, and “grief, afterlife, & the unknown.” “…from the people that have come to see it, they’ve said that they’ve felt really impacted by the show, and it left them thinking a lot. I think this tackles grief in a way that I’ve never seen it tackled before…so I think because of that, it leaves a lot of questions to ask, and a lot of questions to be answered…” The Tank and Voyage Theater Company present Love Story written by Aurora Stewart de Peña directed by Rose Burnett Bonczek thru May 17, 2026 The Tank 312 W. 36th Street Manhattan tickets: $28–$53, available via The Tank photos by Geve Penn

Listen in as Hook & Eye Theater ensemble members and collaborating devisers on Plan C—Carrie Heitman (director), Kyle Abourizk (assistant director), Leah McVeigh (production management), Cynthia Babak (performer), & Parnia Ayari (performer)—discuss their devising process, solving problems by hand, modern resonance, getting your people into a room together, lemons worth squeezing, trusting your collaborators, taking risks, politics and somatic experiences, and organizing to defeat a systemic problem. “…we have collaborated over the years—trust does grow. It’s a real joy to work with people who you know have your back, and the only way you can do that is by doing a bunch of things with them, and failing, and picking it up…it’s unique…” The Tank and Hook & Eye Theater present Plan C devised & written by the ensemble of Hook & Eye Theater directed by Carrie Heitman thru April 12, 2026 The Tank 312 W. 36th Street Manhattan tickets: $38 ($53 supporter, or $28 discounted) available via The Tank photos by Maria Baranova

Listen in as The Mall The Mall The Mall playwright Philip Kenner and director James Wyrwicz discuss setting the conditions for the tone, early teenage friendships, double-dip playwriting, the benefit of creative restrictions, Scooby-Doo as text, playing in a video-game-like world, reference bombardment, wonderful and horrible moments of transformation, and how when everything is meaningless, anything can have all the meaning in the world. “…it’s been three years of watching this play become even more itself, sort of like the characters in the play. It started in a place of zaniness and silliness, and it’s only found more depth, and more truth, and brighter colors and louder sounds…it’s just such a blast to be part of that room…” Twin Fruit Productions and Christian & Eliza Lange present The Mall The Mall The Mall written by Philip Kenner directed by James Wyrwicz thru March 22, 2026 The Tank 312 W. 36th Street Manhattan tickets: $28/$38/$53, available via The Tank photos by HanJie Chow

Listen in as Issy Knowles, the creator & performer of Body Count, discusses imploding and exploding your work, putting a feminist lens on porn, clicking with your collaborators, how online sex culture bleeds back into society, the commodification of intimacy, audience involvement, and the ongoing loneliness of this modern world. “I think what’s interesting is everybody in this scenario is actually being dehumanized…not just the girls who are hosting, and participating, but the men that are also participating, they are being dehumanized, they are just a number in the queue. So everyone wins! But everyone loses. They get what they came for, but at what cost?” The International Fringe Encore Series presents Body Count written & performed by Issy Knowles directed by Alice Wordsworth thru March 29, 2026 SoHo Playhouse 15 Vandam Street Manhattan tickets: $45.50, available via OvationTix photos by Geve Penn

Listen in as ExtraO1dinary Aliens! playwright Carolina Ðỗ and assistant director/stage manager Isabel Criado discuss nightmares becoming reality, bureaucratic flattening, telling stories to heal, collaboration & community & education, and growing, changing, & becoming more real. “It’s about people trying to survive the American government…” “…while pursuing the American dream. Which is such a paradox. But a reality.” BETTERFLY Productions, Leviathan Lab, and JACK present ExtraO1dinary Aliens! written by Carolina Ðỗ directed by Vas Eli thru March 14, 2026 JACK 20 Putnam Avenue Brooklyn tickets: $45, available via Zeffy photos by Tudor Cucu

Listen in as Our House playwright Barry Boehm and actor Christopher Borg discuss wedding jitters, putting your play in history, living a life of dignity & honesty & joy anywhere, legacy, sticking your foot in it but trying to do better, rom-com energy, & the history and importance of the producing company, TOSOS. “…I’ve had the basic ideas of this play for many years…originally it was going to be about the life of gay people, comparing the East Coast to the Midwest…then as I got older, it became a more intergenerational discussion…things just sort of changed…it’s about people that are trying to find their voice, and express who they are, but are often caught up…they experience crises in different ways…” TOSOS presents Our House written by Barry Boehm directed by Mark Finley thru March 21, 2026 Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre A.R.T. New York Theatres 502 W 53rd Street Manhattan tickets: $45 and up, available via Zeffy photos by Mikiodo

Listen in as Christian Parker, producer & director of The First Line of Dante’s Inferno, discusses blank slates, finding a rhythm, getting the audience ahead of what they’re experiencing, letting the humor live, and the weird magic that happens when people get lost in the woods. “…I think more broadly, the play is about longing, and feeling lost in midlife, and loneliness, and what sort of questions we find ourselves having to answer in the middle of our lives when we’ve already made a bunch of choices, and have to make some decisions about whether we’re going to honor those, or take a totally new direction…” La MaMa ETC presents The First Line of Dante’s Inferno written by Kirk Lynn directed by Christian Parker thru February 22, 2026 La Mama Downstairs 66 E. 4th Street Manhattan tickets: $30 ($25 students/seniors), available via OvationTix photos by Marina Levitskaya

Listen in as Mano a Mano creator/composer/performer Paul Pinto, along with director Kristin Marting, discuss getting over live performance doomerism, celebrating/questioning/undressing/redressing/exposing masculinity, giving the audience access to the performer, theatrical collaboration, the work of the body in creating vocal sound, a work of art’s relevance in time and space, and giving the audience a good time. “…I like to see theatre that impresses me…that makes me feel like, when I sit down there, not only can I not believe what’s going on onstage, but I want to jump onstage and take part…” La MaMa ETC presents thingNY‘s production of Mano a Mano written, composed, & performed by Paul Pinto directed by Kristin Marting thru February 22, 2026 Ellen Stewart Theatre 66 E. 4th Street Manhattan tickets: $35 ($30 students/seniors) available via OvationTix photos by Steven Pisano

Listen in as Ed Schmidt, creator and performer of Edward, discusses melodramatic origins to fictionalized short stories, a “theatrical epistolary novel,” doing what you can do and not what other playwrights do, cutting out the middle men, object—>story vs. story—>object, and finding the sustainable model that works for you. “…somebody else’s life started to emerge from this, and at a certain point I realized, ‘this is a play, told this way.’ […] And I thought, ‘how could I do this thing, which is really kinda anti-dramatic…and make that theatrical in some way’…” Edward written & performed by Ed Schmidt performed at bookstores throughout NYC for dates, and to get on the mailing list for future performances, visit edschmidttheater.com photos by Emma Callahan

Listen in as performer/producer/mom/singer/diva/creator of In My Condition, Camber Carpenter, discusses parenthood, the stand-up/cabaret intersection, the scariness of being brutally honest, Mother Nature’s trickery, adding in that ever-changing additional performer (the audience), letting loose, and taking the initiative to make art while being a mom. “…our world is difficult in so many ways right now…bringing a little joy to somebody for a while is pretty important, I think…” In My Condition written & performed by Camber Carpenter directed by Beth Slack February 6, 2026, 6pm at Magnet Theater February 11, 2026, 9:30pm at Caveat photo by Shirley Sheung Photography