2024-25 Season
Nottara Theatre Translation Residency
Three plays by Mary Elizabeth Hamilton were commissioned for translation into Romanian by Nottara Theatre in Bucharest, Romania (Manager: Alex Mâzgăreanu). Zoom roundtable readings of the works in English with U.S. actors were held for the director/translator teams before the translations began. In January 2025, Mary, Megan McClain and John Eisner traveled to Bucharest for translation workshops and public readings of the translations at Nottara. Additional activities included post-reading talks with audiences, a panel discussion on international playwriting at UNITER, and a meeting with playwriting students at Insula 42.
The plays presented were IT'S STILL F-CKING TUESDAY (translated by Monica Andronescu and directed by Mara Oprea); ONE OF THE WOMEN (translated by Silvia Năstăsie and directed by Alexandru Istudor); and THE PLAN (translated by Silvia Dumitrache and directed by Laura Ducu). Readings performed by Nottara acting company members: Alexandra Aga, Rareș Andrici, Tudor Cucu-Dumitrescu, Catrinel Dumitrescu, Ion Grosu, Raluca Jugănaru Grosu, Crenguța Hariton, Cristina Juncu, Daniela Minoiu, Ana Radu, Gabriel Răuță, Sorina Ștefănescu.
PRESS: Interview with Mary Hamilton in Perspective; Interview with Megan McClain and John Eisner in Observator Cultural; project overview by Radio Vacanța
In Performance: OLD COCK at the Under the Radar Festival in NYC
The English language premiere of OLD COCK, written by Robert Schenkkan and directed/performed by Jorge Andrade had a sold-out run as part of the 2025 Under the Radar Festival in New York City.
The Rooster of Barcelos is Portugal’s most popular souvenir. Legends say he miraculously came back to life at the dinner table to save a pilgrim wrongly accused of a crime, but the rooster himself has more than a few questions about his own story. He demands answers from Prime Minister Salazar, the fascist dictator who ruled Portugal for 40 years. The gloves are off and the feathers are flying as the Rooster and Salazar throw down over the petty lies and ugly fictions that crippled the people of Portugal for decades. OLD COCK is an outrageous political satire that reminds us how easily stories can be corrupted and cautions us to watch out for fowl play.
Presented at 59E59 Theaters with Mala Voadora, in association with Twilight Theatre Co. and Peacedale Global Arts. Preview in the New York Times
Transylvania Playwriting Residency: 2024
This 2-year program gathers artists across three cultures (Hungarian, Romanian, and American) to experience theater-making models in different cultural contexts in collaboration with the Arts University of Târgu Mureș and local professional theater organizations. U.S. playwrights Mona Mansour and Rajiv Joseph with Peacedale facilitators Megan McClain and John Eisner returned for Year Two which focused on translation, writing workshops, and public readings.
Mona Mansour’s play UNSEEN was translated into Hungarian and Romanian with readings presented as part of the international STUDIO Festival.
Romanian Language Team - Translation: Ioana Iftimie, Georgiana Bighescu, Consuela Egyed, Cristina Bordeanu, Cezar Amariei, and Bogdan Rațiu. Translation coordinator: Elise Wilk. Cast: Anca Loghin, Emilia Banciu, Gabriela Bacali. Coordinator/Director: Rareș Budileanu.
Hungarian Language Team - Translation: Adrienn Antal-Gászpor, Balázs Bodolai, Lilla Holly Horváth, Orsolya Marton, Márk Oltean, Emőke Orsolya Sándor. Translation coordinators: Mária Albert, Roland Kelemen. Cast: Orsolya Moldován, Viktória Renczés, Jácinta Póra. Director: Éva Patkó.
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Rajiv Joseph led writing workshops for the M.A. Playwriting students in both the Romanian and Hungarian sections at the Arts University of Târgu Mureș. They created 10-minute plays in English and presented the works-in-progress as part of the first ever Drama Brunch showcase.
Plays written by: Adrienn Antal-Gászpor, Cezar Amariei, Georgiana Bighescu, Balázs Bodolai, Cristina Bordeanu, Consuela Egyed, Lilla Holly Horváth, Ioana Iftimie, Orsolya Marton, Márk Oltean, Emőke Orsolya Sándor.
Performed by: Andi Gherghe, Mela Mihai, Sașa Pânzaru, Ion Vântu, Martin Berencsy, Mária Albert, Adrienn Antal-Gászpor, Balázs Bodolai, Consuela Egyed, Orsolya Marton, Mark Oltean, John Clinton Eisner, Rajiv Joseph. With musical interludes by Emőke Orsolya Sándor.
2023-24 Season
Script Development: Road Less Traveled
Peacedale Global Arts continued its collaboration with Silk Road Cultural Center to develop The Road Less Traveled by Lyra Nalan and conceived by Jamil Khoury. The play explores the life of Tye Leung Schulze and Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” while questioning both what it means to be American and who gets the privilege to choose their own path.
Participants: Playwright Lyra Nalan, director Carol Ann Tan, and actors Sandia Ang, Gardiner Comfort, Lanxing Fu, and Polly Lee. With Jamil Khoury, Malik Gillani, John Clinton Eisner, and Megan McClain.
This project was supported by the Museum of Chinese in America through the Creative Space Initiative.
Future Plans: Road Less Traveled is continuing its development process with Silk Road Cultural Center and Peacedale Global Arts
In Performance: OLD COCK by Robert Schenkkan at Mala Voadora
Old Cock (or Cantar de Galo in Portuguese) by Robert Schenkkan premiered at Mala Voadora in a new Portuguese translation. Pitting the Rooster of Barcelos (a classic folklore character and Portugal’s most famous souvenir) against the country’s former dictator António Salazar, the play interrogates the space where art, propaganda, and national identity collide.
Credits: starring: Jorge Andrade; direction: Jorge Andrade; text: Robert Schenkkan; translation: Joana Frazão; set design: José Capela; costumes: José Capela, executed by Miss Suzie; makeup artist: Cidália Espadinha; video: Um Segundo Filmes; sound: Sérgio Delgado; light and technical direction: João Fonte; subtitling: Hein?! Subtitles; assistant director: Pedro Moldão; production: Joana Mesquita Alves, Sofia Freitas, Inês Soares Lopes. Coproduction with FITEI - Festival Internacional de Teatro de Expressão Ibérica, Teatro Viriato, Theatro Circo. Reviews: PÚBLICO
Past development with Peacedale Global Arts: 5-day script development workshop in May 2023 in New York City.
Portugal Playwriting Residency 2024
U.S. playwrights Clarence Coo and Andrea Thome with Peacedale facilitators John Clinton Eisner and Megan McClain traveled to Portugal to participate in a generative writing workshop with Portuguese artists Patrício Torres, Pedro Fontes, Pedro Moldão, and Marcos Barbosa.
The residency, part of Escola do Largo’s Novos Bardos Festival in collaboration with the Centro Internacional de Dramaturgia, spanned three different locations: the remote hills of Alentejo, the bustling city of Almada, and the old grandeur of Porto.
In addition to the generative writing workshop, activities included public readings of new works by Cátia Faísco and José Gardeazabal and the premiere of Old Cock by Robert Schenkkan at mala voadora in Porto.
New Work, NY 2024
Peacedale Global Arts’ annual program which includes a meet-the-artists event and a 5-day generative writing workshop with a dynamic group of writers.
Participants: Playwrights Brittany K. Allen, Madeline Easley, Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, Donja R. Love, CQ Quintana, and Randy Reinholz. With actors Ava Eisenson and Eric Lockley and facilitators John Clinton Eisner and Megan McClain.
Transylvania Playwriting Residency: 2023
This 2-year program gathers artists across three cultures (Hungarian, Romanian, and American) to experience theater-making models in different cultural contexts in collaboration with the Arts University of Târgu Mureș and local theater organizations. Year One centers on writing workshops utilizing three languages in which emerging and established playwrights write and share new pages daily. American participants also presented a panel discussion on contemporary playwriting at the American Corner and were featured in the opening of the Arts University’s international Studio Festival.
Participants: U.S. playwrights Rajiv Joseph and Mona Mansour with Peacedale facilitators Megan McClain and John Clinton Eisner. Arts University faculty members Maria Albert, Oana Leahu, Alina Nelega, and Elise Wilk with graduate students and alumni from the Hungarian and Romanian sections of the Arts University’s two-year master’s degree program in Playwriting.
Future Plans: Year Two will focus on translation workshops with public readings of the work.
CID Residency, Portugal: Workshops with Catherine Coray
Peacedale Global Arts strives to connect and support members across its varied artistic networks. Catherine Coray (NYU) brought workshops to Portugal in collaboration with Marcos Barbosa and CID (Centro Internacional de Dramaturgia) for artists and students in acting and writing at the University of Minho and Cascais School of Arts and Design.
During the residency, CID and Peacedale staff cohosted a meeting of Portuguese playwrights in Lisbon to discuss artistic and support needs in the theater field.
Participants: Jorge Andrade, Bruna Aly, Marcos Barbosa, Diana, John Eisner, University of Minho Professor Cátia Faísco, Miguel Ferreira, Pedro Fontes, José Gardezabal, Megan McClain, Workshop Assistant Nicholas Milan, Vasco Serôdio, Amélia Sousa, João Zagalo
2022-23 Season
New Work, NY 2023
Peacedale Global Arts’ annual program which includes a meet-the-artists event and a 5-day generative writing workshop with an international group of writers.
Participants: Portuguese artists Rui Coelho, Cátia Faísco, and Marcos Barbosa (director, Centro Internacional de Dramaturgia) and U.S. playwrights Anita Abdinezhad, Alyssa Haddad-Chin, Clarence Coo, and Mona Mansour. With actors Sarah Ellens Stephens and Alfredo Narciso and facilitators John Clinton Eisner and Megan McClain.
Produced in collaboration with Catherine Coray, with artistic assistance from the NOOR Theatre staff, supported by Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation, and sponsored in part by the Lebanese American University New York Headquarters and Academic Center.
Script Development: Road Less Traveled
Commissioned by Silk Road Rising in Chicago and conceived by Jamil Khoury, The Road Less Traveled is an evolving new work engaging with multilayered stories of immigration and Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” This theatrical piece questions what it means to belong to a place and who gets the privilege to choose their own path.
The Process: Artists attended three research meetings over three months to share inspirational material and a two-day devising workshop in New York City with actors to play with generated work on its feet.
Participants: Ali-Reza Mirsajadi, Nandita Shenoy, Adam A. Elsayigh, and Lyra Nalan, Jamil Khoury, Malik Gillani, John Clinton Eisner, Megan McClain, Lanxing Fu, and Matthew Park
Future Plans: Road Less Traveled is continuing its development process with Silk Road Rising and Peacedale Global Arts
Script Development: Old Cock
Written by Robert Schenkkan and commissioned by Portuguese theater company mala voadora, Old Cock explores the story of the Rooster of Barcelos, a classic Portuguese tale of faith, justice, and good luck that has been immortalized in both myth and tourist souvenirs. But when the Rooster discovers that his life story has been co-opted, he demands answers…and gets them from an unlikely source. This play interrogates the space where art, propaganda, and national identity collide.
The Process: Mala Voadora team members Jorge Andrade, José Capela, and João Fonte traveled to New York City in May of 2023 for a 5-day script development workshop with Robert Schenkkan and Peacedale Global Arts staff which culminated in an invited presentation.
Participants: Robert Schenkkan, Jorge Andrade, José Capela, João Fonte, John Clinton Eisner, Megan McClain
Future Plans: Old Cock will be translated into Portuguese and produced by Mala Voadora in Portugal in 2024.
CID Residency, Portugal: Novos Bardos 2022
Peacedale Global Arts co-created the 2022 Novos Bardos Festival in Lisbon, Portugal with the Centro Internacional de Dramaturgia (CID: director, Marcos Barbosa) hosted at Escola do Largo. Peacedale facilitators John Clinton Eisner and Megan McClain were joined by U.S. playwrights Zora Howard, Heather Raffo, and Robert Schenkkan to work with artists and writers in the Portuguese theater community.
The Residency included the following activities:
A Generative Writing Workshop with U.S. writers Zora Howard and Heather Raffo, Portuguese playwrights Lígia Soares, Joana Bértholo, and Jacinto Lucas Pires, with actors Marcos Barbosa and Pedro Fontes.
A Script Development Workshop of Robert Schenkkan’s Hanussen which culminated in a public reading in English. Actors included Jorge Andrade, Marcos Barbosa, Pedro Fontes, Rachel Lyon, Pedro Moldão, Manel Moreira, and Bruno Nogueira.
Storytelling Workshops led by Heather Raffo for entry-level writers in the community of Pragal.
A private roundtable reading of Heather Raffo’s Noura translated into Portuguese by Marcos Barbosa.
A public panel discussion with U.S. and Portuguese playwrights discussing their work and creative processes.
PRESS: Generative Workshop Coverage at PÚBLICO; Robert Schenkkan Article at Diário de Notícias
New Work, NY 2022
This program combined a meet-the-artists kick-off event and a 5-day generative writing workshop with an international group of writers.
Participants: U.S. playwrights Zora Howard, Eric Lockley Heather Raffo, Andrea Thome and Portuguese artists Jorge Andrade (director, Mala Voadora), Jacinto Lucas Pires, and Marcos Barbosa (director, Centro Internacional de Dramaturgia). With actors Andy Lucien and Sarah Ellen Stephens and facilitators Megan McClain and John Clinton Eisner.
The event was created in collaboration with Catherine Coray and sponsored in part by the Lebanese American University New York Headquarters and Academic Center.