2026 season
We’re so excited to announce the programming for Good Apples Collective’s fourth season, including including another round of their popular Director/Playwright Speed Dating event in the spring, the world premiere of benevolent by Sophie McIntosh in August, the third annual Rootstock Reading Series in the fall, and several ongoing events and resources for emerging artists.
On Sunday, May 2, from 2-4 pm, Good Apples Collective will host the next round of their popular Director/Playwright Speed Dating event at Tompkins Square Park. Designed to help emerging playwrights and directors network with their peers, previous Speed Dating events have led to numerous successful creative collaborations between attendees.
Good Apples Collective will present the world premiere production of Sophie McIntosh’s benevolent, directed by Nina Goodheart at IATI’s Main Theater (64 East 4th Street New York, NY 10003), August 14 - September 5. Set in 1917, benevolent follows four inmates consigned to Inwood Benevolent Home, a draconian reformatory for fallen and friendless girls. They forge unlikely connections as they pass their days on laundry duty, and, when one of their group finds herself in trouble, the others must decide how much they're willing to risk to help her.
This fall Good Apples Collective will present the third annual Rootstock Reading Series, three readings of three new plays, all penned by emerging gender-marginalized playwrights and directed by emerging gender-marginalized directors, over the course of a single weekend in fall 2026 at a venue to be announced. Last year’s participants included TOP, written by A.A. Brenner and directed by Mary Cynthia McGowan; THE LABYRINTH, written by Mo Holmes and directed by Kanika Asavari Vaish; and THAT TIME TERRI AND LILY TOOK A ROAD TRIP TO SEE THE LAURA INGALLS WILDER HOUSE, written by Gina Femia and directed by Asher Lloyd Ehrenberg.
In the coming months, Good Apples will also continue hosting co-working days for the theater community at locations around NYC. This season’s first co-working day focused on updating artist websites and was held at the Tank. Future dates will be announced. Good Apples also continues to maintain a database of free resources for indie theater producers.
Sound Designer Max Van will join the existing members of the Apple Corps (Mia Fowler, Willow Funkhouser, Paige Seber, and Saawan Tiwari) for 2026.
Good Apples Collective is a developmental orchard for new theatrical works that expose abuses of power, challenge taboos around desire and sexuality, and uplift the voices of queer and gender marginalized communities. Co-led by director Nina Goodheart and playwright Sophie McIntosh, Good Apples Collective empowers emerging artists to create work with trusted creative peers and revolt against oppressive hierarchies that undercut and isolate new voices.
