Launch Point: Richmond

Sold-out performances of locally developed original work, like the Cadence/Firehouse co-production of “WitchDuck,” have flown in the face of worries that unfamiliar titles won’t attract audiences. Photo by Jason Collins Photography

The rising number of world premieres puts Richmond on the map as a theatrical incubator.

Originally published by Style Weekly
by David Timberline
September 16, 2026

Something counterintuitive is happening in the world of Richmond theater.

While several companies are dealing with serious institutional challenges (see our season preview of local theater), the number of locally-developed original works being produced is at an all-time high.

The Cadence / Firehouse co-production of “WitchDuck” written by Hampton Roads actor–playwright Eva DeVirgilis was one of the highlights of this past spring. Firehouse followed it up in the summer with a brand new musical, “Safety,” developed by long-time Richmonders, writer Irene Ziegler and composer John Winn.

While Cadence and Firehouse are at the forefront of the new work bonanza, locally developed plays have been showing up on stages ranging from Brightpoint Community College’s Lynn Theatre, which produced Chandler Hubbard’s “small quiet good” in May, to Richmond Triangle Players, which staged a developmental premiere of Bo Wilson’s “The Three O’Clock Briefing” in April.

The conventional wisdom is that producing new works represents a significant risk for theater companies. At a time when maintaining audience engagement is a challenge, an unfamiliar title may not excite potential patrons in the same way an old Broadway favorite might. Staging a new work also requires the investment of more time versus trotting out a tried-and-true classic.

So what’s going on?

Artistic director at Firehouse, Katrinah Carol Lewis, cites a well-known Girl Scout song as part of her explanation: “Make new friends, but keep the old: one is silver and the other gold.”

She elaborates: “The focus on new work doesn’t take anything away from the body of work that already exists; it keeps the energy of theater-making moving forward and allows space for stories that reflect who we are today.

The former concerns three young, queer and Black best friends living in Brooklyn. Over one unforgettable night and day, the threesome drink a lot, smoke a lot, attempt to have sex, and make increasingly questionable choices. Written by poet and performer Aziza Barnes, “BLKS” is definitely not one for the prudish.

Katrinah Carol Lewis, artistic director at Firehouse Theatre, says that new work “keeps the energy of theater-making moving forward and allows space for stories that reflect who we are today.” Photo by Scott Elmquist

“If we’re not looking forward to what’s new then what is tried-and-true becomes tried-and-tired.”

Artistic director for Cadence, Anna Senechal Johnson, initiated the Pipeline New Works Program in 2019 as part of her successful rebellion against the historical hesitance to produce locally-developed plays.

“I feel like Richmond audiences really respond to new work,” says Johnson. “That was especially true with ‘WitchDuck;’ it sold out its entire run two weeks before it closed.”

Playwright Chandler Hubbard says premieres like “WitchDuck” give Richmonders a unique opportunity to shape a project’s trajectory. “Theater is a fundamentally interactive medium,” he says. “With a new work, an audience’s responses not only mean something in the moment but actually could be key to the further development of the show.”

Johnson says supportive audiences are only part of the equation. “There are lots of foundations out there that support new work,” she says. “They take some of the pressure off of us to sell tickets.”

Local resonance

Along those lines, developing new work can provide opportunities for a company to partner with other organizations, bringing new supporters into the theater world. Firehouse’s most ambitious effort right now, the John Mitchell Jr. Project, is a collaboration with the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and the Richmond Planet Foundation.

The project supports the development of “Press,” a new play that focuses on Mitchell’s courageous life’s work as the “fighting editor” of the Richmond Planet newspaper. The play will receive a staged workshop in December.

Firehouse Theatre’s most ambitious new work development project centers on a play the company has commissioned called “Press,” about the courageous work of John Mitchell Jr., the “fighting editor” of the Richmond Planet Newspaper. Actors Stanley Andrew Jackson (John Mitchell Jr.) and Jerold Solomon (Isaac Jenkins) are shown during a reading held this past June. Photo by Carter Cundiff

Nathaniel Shaw, executive director at Firehouse, also cites the theater’s ongoing partnership with the Virginia War Memorial which results in the annual “War in Pieces” festival of one-act plays written by Virginia veterans.

That partnership produces work that has a specific impact. “It’s wonderful to see a play that’s a work of fiction,” he says. “But it’s different when you are watching the lived experiences of these veterans.”

Telling stories that resonate with local audiences is a key motivation for the local creators who toil away at the often unforgiving job of writing a new play.

“Richmond is my community. Richmonders are who I write for,” says Irene Ziegler.

Two fixtures on the Richmond arts scene, John Winn and Irene Ziegler, who developed the musical, “Safety.” Photo by Peter McElhinney

She also says that the smaller creative community here provides support she might not get elsewhere. “We watch people in our community stretch themselves,” says Ziegler. “We see our friends and we think, ‘Damn! You go!’ We can’t experience that kind of support elsewhere.”

That kind of supportive atmosphere can inspire local playwrights to take big swings. Jason Marks is an award-winning actor and composer whose original work, like “Croaker: The Musical,” has usually been developed with young audiences in mind. But a COVID-era inspiration resulted in his development of a musical based on the life of controversial Harlem Renaissance performer Gladys Bentley.

Jason Marks playing Zero Mostel in the one-man show, “Zero Hour.” Photo by Jay Paul

Marks has Broadway star Crystal Monee Hall on board for a “first look” of the show on Nov. 7 through Firehouse’s First Drafts and Bagels program. “I plan on inviting local artists and artistic directors, people who I trust will be honest with their opinion,” says Marks. “Hopefully, people will be inspired by what they see and go, ‘Holy crap, how do we make this thing happen?”

Fully produced new work will continue to roll out this fall: Cadence’s first show of the season is “Dog Mom,” a new comedy that is debuting as part of a coordinated world premiere between several different theaters nationwide.

“We’re excited to nurture the next generation of storytellers,” says Johnson, “Richmond audiences love good stories and they also love the artists involved. So we’re not too intimidated by it.”