Doghouse Ensemble Theatre’s Incubator program is designed to bring young artists the tools to develop new works throughout all stages of a writing process. Project goals range from staged readings and developmental workshops to fully-realized productions and feedback opportunities.

Incubator projects are comprised of both commissioned and submitted work. Please keep your eye out for further updates as we continue to round out our upcoming projects.

Incubator Cycle #1 is comprised of:

Crowds Out Front by Brandon Adam

In Crowds Out Front, a politically charged accident involving a guest speaker at Howard Zinn Memorial High School pits a teacher against his students, his coworkers, and his husband. A tragicomedy about what happens when communication breaks down, and a school does too.

As You Like It

Adapted and Directed by Catherine Andre

Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy like you have never seen it before, responding to our world where reality is comprised of cherrypicked “facts” that are truly nothing more than opinions. This dark and experimentally reimagined As You Like It examines our society’s tenuous relationship to truth and reality building. Framed around the Forest of Arden as Rosalind’s fantastical response to trauma, this re-envisioning will harness the storytelling power of a predominantly female cast to interrogate this “post-truth” era and consider how we all frame the world “as we like it.”

Full Circle: A Song Cycle

Words and Music by Reagan Casteel

Prompted by the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting of 2016, and further motivated by recent American political shifts, Full Circle: A Song Cycle follows stories of individuals throughout history who have unfortunately and unfairly become victims of discrimination. This piece delves into the complex but common threads of insecurity, hatred, and fear, all while broadening audiences’ perspectives when it comes to hatred in our society today. Full Circle not only encourages discussion surrounding the current issues themselves but also (and perhaps more importantly), helps to ignite the kinds of discussions necessary to forge a path out of this seemingly never-ending circle.

Thank You for Your Home by John Alexander Hatcher

In the blistering cold Alaskan December, a few newly drafted college students and an army sergeant are stranded in a tattered house in a small town during World War 3 after the deadliest battle on U.S. soil, forever known as “The Battle for Alaska”. With limited food, water, and trust, escape from the looming threat of the Russian military seems impossible.

The Outs and Ins: A Study in the Ineffable

A Song Cycle by Jacob Ryan Smith

The Outs and Ins: A Study in the Ineffable is a musical study in the inability of words to capture an experience. Composer, lyricist, and performer Jake Smith explores medical labels used to summarize a person’s mental and physical state, and how when an individual’s trauma is seen through their eyes, no one word can encompass an entire experience. We are all ineffable—too great to be expressed or described in words.