BU MFA Playwriting Showcase

Roundabout Theatre | 115 W 45th Street, 10th floor

Featuring works by

Brandon Zang
Tina Esper
Isabelle Fereshteh Sanatdar Stevens
Maggie Kearnan

Credits

Tight by Tina Esper  

Mud, Mallet, Ghost and the Temperature of the Ocean by Maggie Kearnan 

Honey Girl and The Fig Tree and the Phoenix and the Desire to Be Reborn by Isabelle Fereshteh Sanatdar Stevens  

🙈🙉🙊 (also known as, Three Wise Monkeys) by Brandon Zang  

Showcase Playwrights

	Tina Esper Tina Esper writes plays about love, redemption and the power of the unknown. She’s committed to centering older female characters in roles that are daring, precarious and magical. Tina is a first-generation American playwright of Lebanese-Brazilian and Portuguese descent. Her multi-cultural background informs her writing and underscores themes of dislocation, assimilation and the pursuit of freedom. She’s also dedicated to telling the stories of older women that frame the political implications of aging in America. Tina’s play, Neighbor Jane is the co-recipient of the 2023 National Partners of the American Theatre’s Julie Jensen Playwriting Award. Neighbor Jane was also selected for the 2022 Great Plains Theatre Conference and was developed at The Workshop Theater’s Spring Intensive 2021 and at the Sewanee Writers Conference 2021. She’s currently working on the Jane Trilogy: Neighbor Jane, State of Maine and Soft Star.
	Maggie Kearnan Maggie is a Boston-based playwright, director, performer, designer, educator, and scenic artist. Originally from Melrose, MA, Maggie currently resides in Brighton. She found theatre through the Arlington Catholic High School Drama Club and went on to study Theatre and English at Boston College. Now, she is a professional theatre artist with many hats. The plays under Maggie’s playwright hat are usually lyrical historical fiction, angsty dystopian thrillers, or naturalistic explorations of friendship and art. When she is not writing, she is painting. When she is not painting, she is hiking.
	Isabelle Fereshteh Sanatdar Stevens Isabelle (Fereshteh) Sanatdar Stevens (she/they) is a mixed Iranian & Irish-American writer, performer, and artist whose work tends to center love and loss, desperate attempts to make new worlds and realities, and bearing witness to the anger and grief of folx often ignored or overlooked. Her and her work have been supported by Smith College, Horizon Theatre Company, Boston University, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center (KCACTF), and New York Stage and Film. Isabelle was NewRep Theatre’s 2023 Pipeline Artist-in-Residence, is currently Boston University’s 2024-25 Whitney Young, Jr. Fellow for Social Justice, and was the First Place National Award Winner of the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival’s “John Cauble Outstanding Short Play Award.” They are also a 3rd year Playwriting MFA student in BU/BPT’s Playwriting MFA.
	Brandon Zang Brandon Zang (he/him) is a science fiction and fantasy playwright who uses worldbuilding to distance, deconstruct, and dissect the complex issues of today. He often writes characters who are caught between worlds, searching for identity and yearning for salvation. Brandon’s plays have been presented at Chuang Stage, Lifeline Theatre, The Road Theatre Company, Live Arts, KCACTF, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Queen’s University, among others. His play Ah Wing and the Automaton Eagle was the winner of the 2023 Voaden Prize, and he recently made his Boston premiere with his play Nüwa in Fairyland at Chuang Stage, which was a Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA) Critics’ Pick. Aside from playwriting, Brandon is also an educator, translator, songwriter, and retired actor, and he holds a double BA in theater and anthropology from the University of Chicago.

Directed by Jess Mcleod

Jess McLeod (Director) is a director and social justice advocate specializing in new work about America. She is a former Michael Maggio Directing Fellow and was Resident Director for the Chicago run of Hamilton. Chicago credits include the world premiere of Hang Man and Wolf Play (Gift Theatre); Venus (Steppenwolf Theatre); Earth To Kenzie (Lyric Opera); Do You Feel Anger? and Fulfillment Center (A Red Orchid Theatre); Landladies (Northlight Theatre); How We Got On (Haven Theatre); Short Shakes! Midsummer (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and Marry Me A Little (Porchlight Theatre). Regional credits include There’s Always the Hudson (Goodman Theatre New Stages; Wooly Mammoth–upcoming); Hi, Are You Single? (Woolly Mammoth, co-directed with Laura Savia); Hype Man (ATL); and Pride and Prejudice (Long Wharf). New York credits include The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, where she was formerly the Director of Programming. She is a Broadway Advocacy Coalition REP facilitator, a NYCLU Artist Ambassador, a director of Sing Out For Freedom! 2021 and a resident director at Victory Gardens Theater. Jess-McLeod.com 

BU Playwriting

The MFA Playwriting Program at Boston University seeks to nurture writers of exceptional talent and vision, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills that will sustain their creative practices for a lifetime. Founded by Nobel prize winning poet Derek Walcott and Boston playwright/actor/director Kate Snodgrass, the current faculty includes Nathan Alan Davis (program director, Windham-Campbell Prize winning writer of The Refuge Plays), Hansol Jung (Obie Award winning writer of Wolf Play), Melinda Lopez (Elliot Norton Award winning writer of Becoming Cuba), and Ronán Noone (IRNE Award winning writer of The Blowin of Baile Gall).

Offered by BU’s Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, the MFA in Playwriting is a three-year program that includes writing seminars, development workshops, and full productions of new plays at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. BU playwriting alumni have long been working professionally at the highest levels of professional theater, film, television, and beyond.

Boston Plawright’s Theatre

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (BPT) is dedicated to the voice and vision of the playwright. Focusing on first and second productions of new plays by living writers, BPT seeks to support work that explores vital questions in the lives of the people of our region. In addition to productions of new plays, BPT’s ongoing programming includes the Massachusetts Young Playwr(6Tsenights’ Festival, the Boston Theatre Marathon, and The Jack Welch Development Residency.

BPT’s Artistic Director, Megan Sandberg-Zakian, is a theater director, author, and facilitator who has helmed productions of new plays/world premieres at NYTW, Huntington Theatre, Arena Stage, California Shakespeare Theatre, and Audible, among many others.

College of Arts and Sciences

Stan Sclaroff
Dean of Arts & Sciences
casdean@bu.edu
(617) 353-2401 

Alice Tseng
Associate Dean of Faculty, Humanities
aytseng@bu.edu
(617) 353-2520

Amy Appleford
Department Chair, English
applefor@bu.edu
 (617) 358-2551

NathanDavis
Program Director, MFA Playwriting
davisn@bu.edu
(617) 353-2506 

MeganSandberg-Zakian
ArtisticDirector,BostonPlaywright’sTheatre
megansz@bu.edu 
(617) 353-2506 

Donor & Alumni Relations

Joy C. McKee
Assistant Dean for Development & Alumni Relations
joymckee@bu.edu 
(617) 358-6376 

Jorge Villarini
Major Gifts Officer, Donor and Alumni Relations
jorgev@bu.edu
(857) 202-2157 

Help Shape the Future Storytellers │ Support BU MFA Playwriting

Your contribution can transform the lives of our students and elevate our program to new heights. By supporting BU Playwriting, you are providing essential resources for our talented MFA Playwriting Candidates and ensuring that our productions maintain the highest quality. Your generosity will help us continue hosting renowned guests in our theater in Boston, offering our students unparalleled opportunities to learn and grow. Join us in making a lasting impact—your support will shape the future of theatre and inspire the next generation of playwrights.

Fellowship Support

Our MFA Playwriting Candidates benefit from tuition remission and a limited stipend, yet the high cost of living in Boston and the demanding nature of the program present unique challenges to their work. By enhancing stipend assistance, we can provide our candidates with the financial support they need to thrive. This investment in our playwrights will foster a vibrant creative community and attract top talent, ensuring that our program continues to excel among leading institutions.

Production Support

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre operates with a limited budget, which makes our MFA Candidates’ 3rd-year Capstone Project particularly challenging. This vital production of a new play necessitates substantial investment in several key areas, including the hiring of talented actors and directors, the construction of engaging sets, and the procurement of costumes and props that will bring the story to life. Your support can make a significant difference in realizing this creative endeavor.

Professional Engagement Support

We are committed to providing our students with unparalleled opportunities to engage with industry leaders. By securing crucial funding, we can continue to bring distinguished special guests to Boston, allowing our students to interact directly with professionals who can inspire and guide their career growth. These engagements offer invaluable experiences, enabling students to gain insights from outstanding productions and connect with mentors who can shape their professional journeys. Your support is essential in creating these transformative opportunities, broadening our students’ perspectives, and enriching their educational experience beyond the classroom.

Give Now

We’re excited by the future we see for Arts & Sciences, and we hope you are too. Your support is the heartbeat of our vibrant community, fueling the humanities and fostering connections that last a lifetime. By contributing to our MFA Playwriting Program and the Boston Playwright’s Theatre, you are not just supporting the arts; you are empowering storytellers to weave the narratives that shape our world. Alumni like you are the pillars of our success, and together, we can create a legacy of creativity, dialogue, and unity.

Maximize Your Impact │ Elevate MFA Playwriting

For more information on ways to join our extraordinary community of supporters for the MFA Playwriting Program and the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, as well as other giving opportunities including Donor Advised Funds, gifts of stock, charitable gift annuities, bequests, planned giving, and employer matching gifts, please contact Jorge Villarini, Major Gifts Officer, at jorgev@bu.edu or (857)-202-2157.

The BU MFA Playwriting Showcase is made possible with the support of the College of Arts and Sciences, BU’s Office of Donor and Alumni Relations, and the generous individual philanthropy of members of the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre Executive, Leadership, Playwrights, and Friends giving circles.

We are profoundly grateful for your generous support, which fuels the extraordinary storytelling of our MFA Playwriting program. Your contributions are the ink that brings our students’ narratives to life, the stage upon which their characters breathe, and the spotlight that illuminates their creative journeys.