New Play Lab

Fostering bold new voices through mentorship, community, and conversation

The Players’ Ring is committed to supporting new work development and elevating emerging voices as part of our mission as a nonprofit arts organization in Portsmouth, NH.

Through our RING-WORKS program, we select promising plays from our annual submissions—works we believe have great potential but may benefit from further development before full production.

Each selected playwright is paired with mentor Leslie Pasternack, a local playwright, director, and dramaturg, for one-on-one feedback and guidance. The work is then shared with our Ring Readers’ Club, a community of theatre lovers who participate in Zoom-based discussions. The process culminates in a live staged reading and talkback at the theatre, where the audience plays a vital role in shaping the play’s next steps.

This Season’s Selected Plays:

Beast of Eden by Will Saxe
Things Get Ugly by Doug Brendel

Dates for Zoom conversations, in-person readings, and talkbacks will be posted right here as they are announced.

If you’re a devoted audience member who wants to take part in the creative process, sign up below to join our Ring Readers’ Club and help shape the future of local theatre.