Announcements & Upcoming

CSP New Works Fest 2025

Don’t Miss CSP New Works Fest 2025 December 4-6 – bold Caribbean voices take the stage at Playwrights Theatre, presented by Conch Shell Productions in partnership with HB Studio.

CSP New Works Fest 2025
Presented by Conch Shell Productions in Partnership with HB Studio
December 4-6
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street, NY
$30

Join us for the CSP New Works Fest 2025— a vibrant showcase of new plays written by Caribbean-heritage playwrights, presented as workshop performances that celebrate creativity, community, and the power of Caribbean voices on the American stage.

This year’s lineup features five powerful works exploring love, faith, legacy, and self-discovery through bold, imaginative storytelling:

PROGRAM A – THURSDAY, DEC. 4 at 7:00 pm; SATURDAY DEC. 6TH at 1:00 pm

Petron Brown – Stand Right There and Perish, or (May I Never Lose You)
When a son returns home seeking forgiveness, he finds his father standing on the stripped foundation of their dismantled house — and together they face the ghosts of what was lost and what cannot be rebuilt.

PROGRAM B – FRIDAY, DEC. 5th at 7:00 pm; SATURDAY DEC. 6th at 5:30pm

Arthur W. French III – Dinner with Roxie
A prison guard and a prisoner share their final ten minutes together before her execution — a deeply human story about friendship, faith, and staying true to conviction.
Joshua W. Josey – Weavers
This dark comedy opens on a mother and son who both realize that the other isn’t who they quite remember. What begins as familiar, humorous banter and reconnection soon unravels into confrontation and the uneasy acceptance that love doesn’t always mean understanding.
Jessica Betty – The Game
At an elite academy, Elizabeth and her robot handler Q navigate ambition, self-sabotage, and survival in a witty, thought-provoking sci-fi drama that asks: What does it mean to keep moving forward?
Tyla Harris – Bammy an’ Buxom
A young, second-generation Jamaican-American artist hosts a family Thanksgiving dinner that spirals into a supernatural reckoning when her great-grandmother claims a duppy has come to collect her soul.

✨ About the Festival
The CSP New Works Fest is Conch Shell Productions’ annual fundraising event dedicated to uplifting Caribbean-heritage playwrights. Each writer serves as producer of their own work, collaborating with directors, actors, and dramaturgs to bring their stories to life through a solidarity-based creative model.

️Admission: $30
Performances: December 4–6, 2025
Location: HB Studio Theatre, 124 Bank Street, New York City

Celebrate new Caribbean voices. Experience stories that inspire empathy, laughter, and change.

CSP New Works Fest 2025 is presented in partnership with HB Studio and supported in part by our generous donors, the Flushing Town Hall GO Queens Grant, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

About Conch Shell Productions

Conch Shell Productions (CSP) is a New York–based nonprofit arts organization founded by Haitian-American actress, writer, and producer Magaly Colimon-Christopher. CSP is dedicated to developing, presenting, and producing new plays and films by Caribbean-heritage artists whose stories inspire social change.

Through programs like the CSP New Works Fest, CSP creates spaces where underrepresented voices are nurtured, celebrated, and shared with diverse audiences.

CSP operates at the intersection of art, culture, and community — amplifying Caribbean perspectives and fostering creative collaboration that strengthens the cultural fabric of New York City and beyond.

Learn more and donate to support our work by visiting www.conchshellproductions.com

A Conversation with Brian Quijada & Reza Salazar

Following our HB Open House on December 8, join us at Playwrights Theatre for a special public conversation between HB Studio faculty member Reza Salazar and playwright, actor, and composer Brian Quijada.

A Conversation with Brian Quijada & Reza Salazar
Monday, December 8 at 7pm
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street, NY
$7 (Student) // $20 // $30

Brian recently co-created and performed in the new musical MEXODUS, which played to sold-out audiences at Baltimore Center Stage, Mosaic Theater in Washington, DC, Berkeley Rep, and Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre. Together, they’ll discuss the creative process, experiences in the rehearsal room, and the journey of bringing new work to life.

About Brian Quijada

Brian Quijada is a playwright, actor, and composer. Quijada has spent most of his career acting in Off-Broadway and regional theaters including The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwrights Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Victory Gardens, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. He is also a member of the Lucille Lortel Award–winning group The Pack.

As a playwright and composer, his works have been developed at Pittsburgh CLO’s Spark Festival, Victory Gardens’ Ignition Festival, Ars Nova’s Ant Fest, New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Festival, The Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage, and The O’Neill’s National Musical Theatre Conference.

His live-looped hip-hop solo show Where Did We Sit on the Bus? has been produced across the country, earning a Jeff Award and nominations from the Drama Desk and Drama League. His musical Somewhere Over the Border garnered six Jeff Award nominations, including Best New Work and Best Musical. Most recently, his live-looped hip-hop musical MEXODUS played to sold-out audiences at Baltimore Center Stage, Mosaic Theater (DC), Berkeley Rep, and Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre. Brian is a proud member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.

About Reza Salazar

Reza Salazar is an actor, writer, and director who began his career as a child in South America, performing with his mother as a clown duo. He originated the role of Rafael in the Tony-nominated play Clyde’s by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, and also appeared on Broadway in Sweat (Studio 54).

Off-Broadway credits include Richard II, The Tempest (Mobile Unit), and Oedipus El Rey (The Public Theater), as well as My Mañana Comes (Playwrights Realm). Regionally, he has performed at major theaters across the country including the Mark Taper Forum, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, and Arena Stage.

On screen, Reza’s work includes Elsbeth (CBS), Inside Amy Schumer (Paramount+), The Accidental Wolf (Topic), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Daredevil, The Blacklist, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Louie, and The Knick. Film credits include A Complete Unknown, The Imperialists Are Still Alive, See Girl Run, and The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz.

As a director, he adapted and directed Missing Them with journalist Anjali Tsui and created Tejido de Historias (Woven Stories), performed by an ensemble of community members, immigrants, and workers at the Whitney Museum.

2026 HB Rehearsal Space Residency

Applications are now open for the 2026 HB Rehearsal Space Residency – submit your project idea before December 15!

Applications Open: November 24, 2025
Deadline for Proposals: December 15, 2025
Selected Projects will be announced by: January 23, 2026
Submit HERE

HB Studio invites theater artists to submit a project for the development of new work in our HB Rehearsal Space Residency. Before applying, please read the details below.

HB REHEARSAL SPACE RESIDENCY

HB Studio is dedicated to training and practice for the theater, and seeks to provide a commerce-free environment for the nurturing and growth of theater artists. In pursuit of this goal, HB offers three one-week Rehearsal Space Residencies each year for the development of creative projects. The HB Rehearsal Space Residency is an opportunity for practicing theater artists to collaborate on experimental projects, develop new work, and share workshop presentations among peers and colleagues, for constructive critical feedback and mutual growth. Please note, the residency’s focus is on rehearsal and development, not production, and we are unlikely to select projects which are primarily intended to “showcase” work. The Rehearsal Space Residency is an open opportunity; you do not have to be affiliated with HB Studio to apply. However, we do ask that our resident artists work with us to engage with our community of students and faculty while in residence at HB.

ELIGIBLE RESIDENCY PROJECTS MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING:

Rehearsed workshops or readings of new plays
New/exploratory staging or adaptation of existing works
Devised or improvised work
Musical theater works and theater works incorporating music
Movement-based theater work

IF SELECTED FOR A RESIDENCY, YOU WILL RECEIVE:

A $1,500 stipend towards the project.
Three weeks of rehearsal space on HB’s campus: one full week in the theater at 124 Bank Street, other times in the theater as available. This includes:
- Storage use in our space.
- Use of our technical equipment.
Announcements of public presentations via HB Studio’s weekly notice and social media postings.
An event page created by HB staff for taking ticket reservations.

IF SELECTED FOR A RESIDENCY, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR:

Crafting and running all elements of your public presentations, including tech, set up, break down, stage management and front of house.
Providing your own technicians to design and run the show, if using tech elements.
Providing your own costume, props or set pieces, as needed. Limited props and set pieces are available for use in the space. (Ideal projects will be those that cultivate a “no budget” aesthetic – self-produced, bare bones, etc.)
Any rights or clearances on copyrighted material.
Gathering and sharing feedback on your work-in-progress from colleagues and audience is encouraged.
Completing a survey for HB about your experience at the end of the project period.
Coordinating with Actors Equity Association for any permissions to utilize an Equity contract or Equity actors. Our residency program does not allow for AEA members to participate under our Showcase Code.

This program is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and many generous supporters.