Steerman New Play Series

History of Productions

The Steerman Festival features a selection of student-written new and original short and full-length plays each Spring semester. Our Drama Department has made an extraordinary commitment to new work by creating space for our students to learn the art of playwriting. A vital part of learning to write plays is to see them realized

About the Festival 

James B. Steerman joined the Vassar College drama faculty in the fall of 1967 and retired as Professor Emeritus of Drama and Film in early 2011. This annual festival is dedicated to his extraordinary contributions to the Drama and Film departments at Vassar College.

PROFESSOR EMERITUS of DRAMA JAMES STEERMAN James B. Steerman joined the Vassar College drama faculty in the fall of 1967. He had completed an MFA in play-writing and dramatic literature at the Yale School of Drama in 1962 and was finishing coursework for a DFÅ at Yale in the same fields when he arrived at Vassar. At Vassar James initially taught dramatic literature and playwriting and later added classes in film. He also continued to write original stage plays and occasionally a screenplay. A stage play, NATIVE STONE, won a national playwriting competition, was produced by several regional repertory companies and was eventually published. A number of his other original plays, including OPHELIA and SUNSET ISLAND, were produced in New York City. At Vassar James soon completed the DFA and eventually became professor of drama and also served as chair of the department. 

In the early 1990s, he helped create a Department of Film at the college and served as chair of both drama and film. Also in the 1990s, James helped persuade the then President of Vassar, Frances Fergusson, that a new building was needed to serve the rapidly growing needs of both drama and film. Designed by Cesar Pelli, the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film became home to the drama and film departments in 2003. During the first decade of the 21st century, James continued to write plays and offer courses in both drama and film. He served as chair of the two departments and oversaw their continuing development. He also helped create an annual playwriting competition for students. James retired from Vassar as Professor Emeritus of Drama and Film in early 2011.

MATT by Louis Blachman ‘23

Director: Erin Mee ‘24
Cast: Matthew Vassar - Ethan Clark ‘23
Milo P. Jewett - Sam Geesing ‘24

FAST TIMES IN TENNESSEE  by Christopher Bock ‘23

Director: Francisco Andrade ‘22
Cast: Joe - Merrick Rubinstein ‘22
Bob - Charles Mangan ‘22 
Mark - Francisco Andrade ‘22 
Amanda - Tashina Moulton ‘23

GIRLS TRIP by Hileena Channell ‘22

Director: Zoe Nelms ‘23
Cast: Evangeline - Nywel Cheaye ‘22
Victoria - Simone Rembert ‘21 
Rosa - Maya Wilson ‘23
Mac - Bryan Smith ‘21

BLUEBEARD by Keira DiGaetano ‘23 

Director: Eliza Schiff ‘23
Cast: Eva - Maddie Brigman ‘24
Bluebeard - Merrick Rubinstein ‘22

Playwrights and Their New Plays

EXCERPT FROM “THEREWOLVES” by Jean Fassler ‘24

Director: Abigail Goldman ‘21
Cast: “Bell - Xanthe Setchko ‘24
James - Ethan Maluccio ‘24
Luna - Sydney Duncan ‘24
Patricia - Grace Adams Ward ‘24
Boss - Solomon Hess ‘24

CONDIMENT by Eric Feeney ‘22

Director: Bryan Smith ‘21
Cast: “Archie - Louis Blachman ‘23 
Richard - Solomon Hess ‘24 
Tomato - Simone Rembert ‘21
Minister - Bryan Smith ‘21

COLONIZERS by Sam Fujikawa ‘22

Director: Max Kelly ‘21
Cast: Richard - Eli Wassertzug ‘22 
Nurse/Fire - Jacob Ettkin ‘21 
Doc/Carpenter - Xanthe Setchko ‘24
Patient/Army/Black Widow - Maddie Brigman ‘24

THE VIEW by Solomon Hess ‘24

Director: Louis Blachman ‘23
Cast: Joe Baldwin - Eli Hinerfeld ‘24

CLAM by Phineas Hilliard ‘22

Director: Frances Rippy ‘22
Cast: Murray - Greg Calidonna ‘22 
Doreena - Jillian Van Siclen ‘21
Lindsey - Grace Adams Ward ‘24

FORGET-ME-NOT by Lindsay Irwin ‘21

Director: Sarah Berry Pierce ‘22
Cast: Lyra - Erin Mee ‘24
Rory - Bryan Smith ‘21

SWORD by Sam Kass ‘23

Director: Lindsay Irwin ‘21
Cast: Gigi - Vi To ‘24 
Klara - Kendall Wienecke ‘24

THE LADIES WHO MUNCH by Gabriella Kimbrough ‘22

Director: Sarah Berry Pierce ‘22
Cast: Rebecca - Amanda Montgomery ‘22
Sandra - Lucy Postal ‘22
Debbie - Sydney Duncan ‘24
Kate - Maya Wilson ‘23
Harper - Hileena Channell ‘22

EXCERPT FROM “ROLEPLAY” by Charlie Mangan ‘22

Director: Phineas Hilliard ‘22
Cast: Matt - Rose Trammell ‘23
Liam - Louis Blachman ‘23
Taliesin - Ethan Maluccio ‘24
Ashley - Maddie Brigman ‘24
Travis - Adam Benamram ‘22
Marisha - Nikki Leopold ‘22

EXCERPT FROM “THE AQUARIUM PLAY” by Eric Murphy ‘22
Director: Miku Migata ‘21
Cast: Karen - Abby Goldman ‘21
Lydia - Alice Downer ‘23
Bryce - Charlie Mangan ‘22

FLIGHT by Zoe Nelms ‘23

Director: Lena Pepe ‘23
Cast: Amanda - Simone Rembert ‘21 
Mia - Erin Mee ‘24

EXCERPT FROM “DREADFUL WIND AND RAIN” by Eliza Schiff ‘23

Director: Gabriella Kimbrough ‘22
Cast: Peter - Eric Murphy ‘22
Louise - Gracie Nayman ‘23

THE ADVENTURES OF LIMP WRIST by Adam Weil ‘22

Director: Jacob Ettkin ‘21
Cast: Boy - Benjamin Turner ‘23
Mom - Abigail Goldman ‘21

THE GOD DAMN RAPTURE by Gabriella Kimbrough ’22*

Directed by Ethan Balfour Clark '22

DRAGONESS by Charlie Mangan ’22*

Directed by Mila Fox ’22

THE GOD DAMN RAPTURE by Gabriella Kimbrough ’22*

Directed by Ethan Balfour Clark ’22

DRAGONESS by Charlie Mangan ’22*

Directed by Mila Fox

BLUE SKIES by Hileena Channell ’22*

Directed by Shona Tucker

THE MOON IN OUR HOME by Eric Murphy ’22*,

Directed by Tom Pacio

THE MOON IN OUR HOME by Eric Murphy ’22*,

Directed by Tom Pacio

BLUE SKIES by Hileena Channell ’22*

Directed by Shona Tucker

THE SHORTS
Readings of Outstanding 10-minute plays and excerpts written this year.
Playwrights include Callum Ashley ’23, Mattie Drucker ’22, Eric Feeney ’22, Arshia Iqbal ’23, Dominic Matos ’25, Foster Schrader ’25, and Ella Talerico ’25

The Steerman New Play Festival Program

Bemused by Ellery Cordes ‘23*

Directed by Maya Wilson ‘23*
March 30, 31, 2023

Gate Shut Panic by Zoe Nelms ‘23*

Directed by Keira DiGaetano ‘23
March 29 & April 1, 2023

Download the Program (PDF)

When I Grow Up by Solomon Hess ’24

Download the program

Join Solomon as he explores hopes and dreams (and some things in between) through comedy, song, and over-the-top theatrics. Navigate the process of growing up as he takes a look back on life and how the heck he got here (on a stage).

Seven Minutes by Jean Fassler ’24

Download the program

After your heart stops, your brain remains active for up to seven minutes. In that time, two guides help people relive one memory before they move on. But what happens when a body refuses to move on? Seven Minutes explores grief, closure, loss, the space between dying and dead, and what makes life worth living.

Forever and Sometimes by Joe Baldwin ’24

Download the program

If you could live forever, would you become someone completely new, or stay the same? This is the question immortals Gil and Cleo must ask when Maggie, a mortal college student, enters their lives and forces them to rediscover their two-hundred-year-old relationship and how it has (or hasn’t) changed. '

Bacchanal by Stefen Dodson ’24

Download the program

When Kingston does the unthinkable and has an affair with a woman he meets at a fête, Georgia’s life is abruptly upended. In three acts, Bacchanal explores the complex mashup of elements ranging from infidelity and religion to racism and mental illness in the context of a vibrant Caribbean culture.

FURY, A Re-Telling of the Oresteia by Sydney Duncan ’24

Download the program

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are too similar; they both want more than they have, and they’re both willing to do whatever they can in order to get it. Their three children are equally dysfunctional—Orestes is eager to step into his father’s role but lacks the guts to do it, Electra’s only talents are a reminder of her mother’s failures, and though Iphigenia may have finally found her footing, she seems to have found it in precisely the wrong place. FURY, a contemporary adaptation of Aeschylus’ Oresteia, examines fate and ambition; the inescapable web of family, and who gets to play which roles within it; the physical weight of memory, both owned and inherited; and the conditions under which the harshest hatred is always committed against those we love the most.

Bodice by Emma Lawrence ’25

Martel Theater
April 24 and April 25
8:00 p.m.

Open to the public/reservations required

Director: Peter Gil-Sheridan
Faculty Advisor: Tania Barrenechea
Senior Project in Drama Molly Stern ’25

A state school. A college house. A birthday. Weaving through the tangled web of femininity, Bodice follows the journey three girls take before and after midnight. What happens when we see what lies beneath the lipgloss and perfectly manicured toes?

Hello, My Name Is By Thomas Rombach

Martel Theater
April 23 and April 26
8:00 p.m.

Open to the public/reservations required

Director: Ella Talerico ’25
Faculty Advisor: Peter Gil-Sheridan

A play about work, forgiveness, and the lives we choose to live—but above all, it is a story about a son grappling with the aftermath of his father’s death as he struggles to make peace with the relationship they never had.

Also Presenting (all details are subject to change without notice)

Informal workshops of new plays, (Not open to the open, campus only/limited seating/first come first serve):

• Stars, Unaligned by Molly Stern, Sunday, February 23 at 4:00 p.m. (Streep Studio)
• Exposure Time by Ivy Schenk, Wednesday, February 19 at 5 p.m. (Streep Studio)
• Sudanese by Amal Elsiddig Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. (Streep Studio)
• Serpent’s Tongue by Abby Bettencourt, Wednesday, April 16 at 5:00 p.m. (Streep Studio)
• Dark Red and Strange Overtones by Mareme Fall, Wednesday, April 30 at 5 p.m. (Streep Studio)
• Lucky Strike by Foster Schrader, May 1, 2, 4 at 7 p.m. (The Mug)