The Foundry Presents: Philadelphia Playwrights Slam

• Learn More About the 2026 Conference
• Download the Conference Schedule (PDF)
• Explore Conference Events

Foundry Writers take over the 2026 Conference for one night!

Join members of The Foundry as they share what is on their minds, including excerpts from works in progress and glimpses into new writing.

Eight writers come together to connect directly with an audience. No production, no pressure. Just a night of sharing work in its early stages. Think of it as an open mic for new plays, raw, real, and unfiltered. Our current lineup includes Alisha Adams, Mark Costello, Joshua Campbell, Chris Davis, Chaz T. Martin, Megan Schumacher, Rayne (Angela Bey).

Grab a drink, meet new people, and listen in on what Philadelphia playwrights are thinking about right now.

What is The Foundry?

The Foundry at PlayPenn, Philadelphia's preeminent playwrights collective for professional writers. 

The Foundry at PlayPenn provides three years of free mentorship and early-career support, cultivating a remarkable community of playwrights and artistic leaders who began their careers in Philadelphia. Its alumni include Chris Davis, Emma Goidel, Sarah Mantell, MJ Kaufman, R. Eric Thomas, Erlina Ortiz, MK Tuomanen, Iraisa Ann Reilly, Chaz T. Martin, Lex Thammavong, and Zahra Patterson along with the more than 60 playwrights who have participated in the program since 2012. By nurturing talent, fostering collaboration, and championing bold new voices from Philadelphia, The Foundry at PlayPenn has become an essential launching pad for many of our nation’s theatrical innovators.

Formed in the summer of 2012 by Philadelphia-based playwrights and educators Michael Hollinger, Jacqueline Goldfinger, and Quinn D. Eli, PlayPenn welcomed The Foundry in 2016 as one of its core artistic programs.

Current members of The Foundry at PlayPenn include Rayne, Siddarth Anand, Monica Flory, Natyna Bean, Lulu Duffy-Tumasz, Aly Gonzalez, August Hakvaag, Nick Jonczak, and Pravin Wilkins.

About the 2026 New Play Development Conference

PlayPenn’s nationally recognized New Play Development Conference brings together readings of new plays alongside a citywide series of civic gatherings, workshops, artist exchanges, and public conversations focusing on art, democracy, historical memory, belonging, and collective imagination. This community-focused approach to new play development reflects a broader vision of theatre in a shared civic life that illuminates what theatre can do, who participates in it, how it unfolds, and why it matters. 

The 19-event Conference brings together 22 playwrights participating across workshops, conversations, and five new work presentations while expanding its scope to include an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth (Primary Trust), free playwriting workshops for adults, teens, and women over 50, and a public conversation examining constitutional history and civic identity.

Additional programming includes a community workshop for queer theatre makers; a convening on innovation in theatre-making with leaders from Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Cannonball Festival, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Lemonade Stand, and Tiny Dynamite; and an acting lab focused on approaches to new play development and cross-community exchanges among theatre artists.