Local Los Angeles-based playwrights will have the opportunity to hone their craft through the Geffen Playhouse’s “Writer’s Room.” (photo courtesy of the Geffen Playhouse)

Geffen Playhouse announced on Sept. 4 the selection of L.A.-based writers to participate in the 2025-26 cycle of The Writers’ Room, a forum for engagement and collaboration between Los Angeles playwrights. The participants are Diana Yifei Dai, Louis Reyes McWilliams, Zharia O’Neal, Frank Paiva, Ryn Stafford and Habib Yazdi.

The Writers’ Room is a product of Geffen Playhouse’s commitment to supporting new plays and specifically to fostering bold, relevant work by the vibrant artistic community of Los Angeles. During this twelve-month residency, playwright members gather monthly to share their work and receive feedback from their peers in a forum facilitated by Geffen Playhouse literary manager and dramaturg Olivia O’Connor. The 2025-26 cycle of The Writers’ Room will begin in September 2025.

At the conclusion of the residency, each playwright will have the opportunity to further develop their completed draft in a culminating reading produced by the Geffen.

Playwrights who have developed work as part of The Writers’ Room include: Juan José Alfonso, Ashley August, Boni B. Alvarez, Vivian J.O. Barnes, Meghan Brown, Diana Burbano, Jennifer Chang, Angelica Chéri, Paris Crayton III, Inda Craig-Galván, Sunny Drake, Lisa Sanaye Dring, Weston Gaylord, Inara George, Keiko Green, Dipika Guha, Christina Ham, Chloé Hung, Donald Jolly, Alexandra Kalinowski, Tova Katz, Andrew Zepeda Klein, Katie Lindsay, maatin, Chelsea Marcantel, Samah Meghjee, Ramiz Monsef, Paloma Nozicka, Matthew Paul Olmos, Brian Otaño, Nicholas Pilapil, Liza Powel O’Brien, Alexis Roblan, Matt Schatz, Michael Shayan, Ruby Rae Spiegel, T. Tara Turk-Haynes, James Anthony Tyler and Ali Viterbi.

The Geffen Playhouse is located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue. For information, visit geffenplayhouse.org.