Popular Theatre Project Announces 2024 Playwrights Unit Cohort

The People’s Theatre Project has announced the selection of three notable playwrights for the 2024 Playwrights Unit: Max Garcia, Montserrat Mendez, and Christin Eve Cato. This year marks the first year of the revamped Playwrights Unit program after a hiatus since 2012. The program will culminate in December with a reading festival featuring new one-act plays by the selected authors.

Meet the members of the 2024 Playwrights Unit:

Christin Cato is a versatile playwright, actor, and activist known for her work that often addresses issues of social justice and cultural heritage. A proud Afro-Latina, Christin’s play Sancocho ran to sold-out audiences on Broadway at WP in 2023, receiving praise for its fierce and poetic storytelling. She shared her excitement about joining the cohort, saying, “I love the PTP community and admire their dedication to building equality in the arts, it’s an honor to join their Playwrights Unit!”

Max Garcia is a New York-based playwright whose work often explores themes of his Dominican identity, community, and the intersection of culture and family. His play Tigueraje was presented as part of the Chain Theatre One Act Festival. Garcia expressed his gratitude, noting, “I feel blessed to be a part of this year’s PTP playwriting unit. Writing is my greatest passion in life and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from and work with such great writers!”

Montserrat Mendez is a writer and performer who brings a deeply personal and introspective perspective to her work. Raised in Puerto Rico, Montserrat has a wealth of theater experience with past plays such as The Importance of Being Earnest Part Two: Thoroughly Stupid Things at the NYC Fringe Festival. This cohort marks the first time she will bring her full Latino and immigrant culture and identity to her powerful writing and storytelling. Mendez said, “I wanted to be a part of the Peoples Theatre Project’s playwright unit so badly that I convinced myself I couldn’t do it. I am so happy to be here! Over the years, I have sacrificed so much of my voice to the demands of the ‘craft’ that I didn’t even know who I was anymore. I am excited and eager to reconnect with my community and finally put my family’s stories on paper. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to reconnect with my roots, my past, and of course, my future.”

The revitalized Playwrights Unit provides a platform for emerging and mid-career playwrights to develop new works that center the voices and experiences of marginalized communities. Under the mentorship of PTP Literary Director Marco Antonio Rodriguez, playwrights will participate in workshops, readings, and feedback sessions designed to bring their unique visions to life. Each playwright will receive a $1,000 award to support their artistic endeavors.

Executive Artistic Director Mino Lora expressed her excitement about the new cohort, saying, “The relaunch of the Playwrights Unit is a celebration of our commitment to elevating stories that resonate with our community. After more than a decade, we are thrilled to create a space where underrepresented voices can craft their stories with passion and authenticity. Max, Montserrat, and Cato are bold storytellers who reflect the heart of PTP’s mission and the world we want to live in, and I look forward to watching their incredible journeys unfold this season.”

Marco Antonio Rodriguez, literary manager and mentor of the playwrights unit, shared his enthusiasm:
“I am thrilled to join the PTP 2024 Playwrights Unit as a Literary Lead and Mentor. It is a privilege, an honor, and a joy to be a part of developing the works of such unique, courageous, and talented voices. I look forward to building community and sharing these masterpieces with the world! WEPAZO CON TO’!”

Creative Producer Jiawen Hu also highlighted the significance of the program, saying, “This inaugural year of the revamped Playwrights Unit is more than just a return; it’s a reimagining of what community theater can be. Each playwright brings a unique perspective that enriches our collective narratives. I look forward to seeing how their powerful voices shine through and make a powerful impact on audiences.”

The 2024 Playwrights Unit will culminate in a reading festival in December, featuring new one-act plays from the selected playwrights. The festival will provide a platform for these artists to share their stories with audiences, celebrating the culmination of a year of artistic growth and community building.

For more information about the People’s Theatre Project and upcoming public readings, visit www.peoplestheatreproject.org.

About the artists

Christin Eve Cato is a playwright, dramaturg, poet, educator, lyricist, songwriter, and performing artist. She emerges from the Bronx, bringing with her a profound artistic narrative infused with the rich tapestry of her Puerto Rican and Jamaican roots. In 2023, she made her PTP debut as commissioned playwright for the world premiere of The Diamond. Other credits include her Obie Award-winning play Sancocho (WP Theatre); The Good Cop (Theater Row); and an audio play, The Mayor of Hell’s Kitchen Presents: A Time Traveling Journey Through NYC’s Wild West (Playwrights Horizons). She is a graduate of Fordham University (BA in Political Science and Philosophy) and Indiana University (MFA in Playwriting). She is also an alumna of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (Vocal Major). Recent honors include a 2023 HOLA nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting; and a 2023 Negocios Now: 40 Under 40 honoree celebrating Latin American excellence. www.christinevecato.com

Max Garcia (playwright/actor/director) is thrilled to be making his debut with the People’s Theatre Project. Recent credits include Max Garcia’s Tigueraje, presented by Chain Theater. He is currently a political science major at the City College of New York, with a specialization in theater.

Montserrat Mendez (playwright) is a writer born and raised in Rincon, Puerto Rico and is thrilled to join the Peoples Theatre Project family. Her playwriting credits include: The Importance of Being Earnest Part Two: Thoroughly Stupid Things (Outstanding Playwriting Award, NYC Fringe Festival), ¿Donde Está Pedro Mano? (City Theatre, South Florida), and is a writer member of the Portal Project (Flux Theatre Ensemble, MAP Fund 2024 grant). Montserrat holds degrees in English Literature, Theatre, and Spanish Literature from the University of Scranton and is the Research and Policy Manager at the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more at MontserratMendez.com.

About the Popular Theatre project

Based in Washington Heights and Inwood, People’s Theatre Project (PTP) makes theater with and for immigrant communities to build a more just and equitable world. Now in its 15th season, PTP is the largest performing arts organization in Manhattan north of Harlem.

Now celebrating its 16th season, PTP is Manhattan’s largest performing arts organization north of Harlem. Through ensemble-based, multilingual and multigenerational programming, PTP’s unique style of theater is a powerful artistic platform for immigrant, Latinx, Black, and queer community members.

The Popular Theatre Project accomplishes its mission through:

• Production, which includes the development of original theatre designed and directed by playwrights, all made by immigrants and artists of color;
• Education, which provides free access to high-quality arts education through the multi-year PTP Academy for Leadership, Theater, and Activism for Immigrant Youth, and partnerships with city schools and libraries for immigrant New Yorkers of all ages; and
• Advocacy, in which PTP staff and artists collaborate with elected officials, community leaders, and other organizations to advocate for immigrant rights, racial equity, LGBTQIA+ rights, and equitable funding for arts and culture in New York City and beyond.

Through this multidimensional approach, PTP encourages its artists and audiences to defend their interests, those of their communities and the world.

In May 2022, New York City announced that People’s Theatre Project would operate The People’s Theatre: Centro Cultural Inmigrante. At 200,000 square feet, it will be New York City’s largest Latino theater and New York City’s first cultural center dedicated to the immigrant experience.

For more information, please visit: PeoplesTheatreProject.org.

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