The Power of Creative Collaboration: Inside Today’s Top Playwright-Director Partnerships

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh and director Whitney White reunite for the Broadway revival of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play at Manhattan Theatre Club, matching ebullient comedy with thorny investigations of colorism among teenage girls, americantheatre.org reported.

The Bottom Line

• Whitney White returns to direct Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls at Manhattan Theatre Club following their successful collaboration on Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.
• Playwright Anne Washburn and director Anne Kauffman reunite at MCC Theater for ANON, tackling political isolation and QAnon affiliations through a distinct theatrical lens.
• Hunter College executive director Gregory Mosher hosts ongoing working sessions examining affordable spaces and institutional funding for New York City artists.

Reuniting on the Broadway Stage for School Girls

The received wisdom that film is a director’s medium while theatre is a writer’s medium gets tested when artists build long-term creative bonds. Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play originally premiered at MCC Theater in 2017 under Rebecca Taichman’s direction. For its current Broadway revival at Manhattan Theatre Club, Bioh reunites with Whitney White, the director who helmed Bioh’s 2023 comedy Jaja’s African Hair Braiding also at MTC.

White brings a gift for both fine-grained ensemble dynamics and broad-stroke gestures to Bioh’s material. “In my opinion, there is no one delivering pathos and comedy like her,” White noted of Bioh via email. Bioh approaches her scripts through a guiding thesis discovered during her MFA playwriting studies: “Comedy is just a funny way of being serious.”

The play explores colorism among a group of Ghanaian teens whose social rivalries fracture upon the arrival of Ericka, a mixed-race newcomer played by Jasmine Amy Rogers, who challenges the pageant ambitions of Paulina, performed by Denée Benton. Reflecting on revisiting the material nearly a decade later, Bioh noted that she now approaches the characters with deeper empathy, even the unsympathetic ones.

Staging Political Isolation in ANON at MCC Theater

Playwright Anne Washburn and director Anne Kauffman reunite for a new play titled ANON at MCC Theater. Though their collaboration dates back decades through Off-Broadway circles and The Civilians docu-theatre troupe, their last theatrical partnership was 2008’s The Communist Dracula Project at American Repertory Theater. Outside the theatre, Washburn and Kauffman participated in a 2020 silent protest project, holding large public signs featuring quotes from GOP senators to register frustration during political appointments.

ANON places its focus on contemporary political division. The title references the QAnon affiliation of lead character Jeannie, played by Crystal Finn, a Texas woman who reacts aggressively after seeing a Pride flag in her new neighbors’ window. Kauffman initially worried the script risked treating its subject as an easy target, while Washburn aimed to maintain narrative complexity. The political landscape of the play encompasses unfiltered right-wing conspiracism alongside contrarian views from neighboring characters and a skeptical family.

Production	Playwright	Director	Venue
School Girls	Jocelyn Bioh	Whitney White	Manhattan Theatre Club
ANON	Anne Washburn	Anne Kauffman	MCC Theater
The Communist Dracula Project	Anne Washburn	Anne Kauffman	American Repertory Theater

Addressing Space and Resources for New York Artists

Beyond individual theatrical runs, broader infrastructural questions face New York City creators. Gregory Mosher, executive director of the Office of the Arts at Hunter College, hosted a breakfast brainstorming session dedicated to finding and creating affordable spaces for artists to work. Following a January convening titled “We the People: A Working Class Artists Forum,” these discussions bring together playwrights, directors, and administrators to evaluate models ranging from community land trusts to municipal rezoning.

The late September session focused on securing cheap and cheerful spaces, drawing participants including Anne Washher and playwright Ife Olujobi. Future meetings on the calendar include an October discussion addressing “Mission Fidelity” to examine how arts institutions allocate funding. As artists and administrators debate temporary pop-ups versus permanent institutional support, the conversations highlight the ongoing integration of cultural workers into the urban landscape.

“That’s been the gorgeous thing about working with you on it: You work in a way which is very finely calibrated, like you’re always searching out the moment of emotional truth that is also able to be comic,” Washburn said of collaborating with Kauffman.

More on The Power: The Power of Words: How Doctor-Patient Communication Impacts Treatment Success