Fall 2026 Playground Series

Ma-Yi Writer’s Lab is accepting applications for new members to participate in their fall 2026 Playground Series. They anticipate accepting four or five new members to the Writer’s Lab who will participate in Playground alongside three or four returning Lab members.

Playground is modeled on the program of the same name that existed at the Lark New Play Development Center. eight playwrights, two directors, and six actors will meet in-person in New York City once a week for eight weeks. Each session will be on Monday from 6:30–10pm, facilitated by co-coordinators, Kalina Ko and Gaven Trinidad. Playground is meant to provide a low-stakes, highly playful environment where Playwrights can use each session to explore eight to 10 pages of writing on its feet, to get a sense of the embodied shape of the writing.

More about Playground

Playground is a low-stakes, curiosity-first, playful way of exploring the work. The director will put a sketch staging on the pages so the playwrights can see it moving around. Members use whatever is in the room as props/furniture/etc — like kids do when they are pretending. And though Ma-Yi will have some professional actors on hand, they also ask other playwrights to jump in if more actors are needed.

In this process, the playwright’s voice leads the work. As the playwright, you can feel free to switch around actors, ask the director to do something different, you can ask for feedback at the end of your session or see one staging and say “I’ve seen enough.” We’re really handing you the reins for your 40 minutes!

Ma-Yi recommend that playwrights bring in about eight to 10 pages every month of anything that you want to see on its feet (they find that anything more than 10 pages is really hard to stage in 40 minutes). These pages can be from the same play throughout the whole process, or it can be radically different from month to month. It doesn’t have to be brand new! It should just be something you’re curious about.

When it’s not your 40 minutes, Ma-Yi asks that you stay a good colleague in the room. Stay engaged even when it’s not your pages being worked on. It’s so important that the energy in the room is focused and positive.

Dates of Playground

Playground 2026 will run from October 5–November 30, 2026. All sessions will take place on Monday, from 6:30–10pm in Midtown Manhattan. You will be expected to attend in-person, though you will not share every session. A more detail scheduled is as follows:

• Monday, Oct 5, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Oct 12: No session – Indigenous People’s Day
• Monday, Oct 19, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Oct 26, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Nov 2, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Nov 9, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Nov 16, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Nov 23, 6:30–10pm
• Monday, Nov 30, 6:30–10pm

Application Instructions

Applications open July 1, 2026 and will close on July 31, 2026 at 11:59pm ET or until Ma-Yi hits their 100-application cap — whichever comes first.