Can a smart playwriting student teach an arts-deprived jock the joy of theater? It’s one of the questions in the new play “Hut, Hut, Hike,” a 2026 O’Neill Finalist getting readings at Forestburgh Playhouse in September.
Hut, Hut, Hike, my new college-set four-character play about a playwriting student charged with tutoring a star quarterback who is flunking a theater class, will get two staged readings in September, launching a weekend of new work presentations in the Forestburgh Playhouse’s sixth annual In the Works~In the Woods Theatre Festival. Jeremy Webb will direct the provocative coming-of-age comedy-drama, which explores desire and ambition in both the arts and athletics.
Earlier this year Hut, Hut, Hike was named a Finalist in the 2026 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. (My best known play, Alabama Story, was an earlier O’Neill Finalist and has gone on to more than 85 productions. It’s published and licensed by Concord Theatricals.)
For one week every September since 2021, the not-for-profit Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh, NY — about two hours from New York City — invites writers, directors, actors and musicians to explore new projects in a safe environment where rehearsals lead to exploration, discovery, revisions and a sense of artistic fellowship. Public readings include talkbacks with audiences who are sensitive to the new work process. In the Works~In the Woods is led by Forestburgh Playhouse producing artistic director Franklin Trapp and festival artistic director Matt Lenz.
Hayward Leach will play theater student Milo in “Hut, Hut, Hike” at Forestburgh Playhouse.
Hut, Hut, Hike will get public readings the evening of Sept. 18 and the afternoon of Sept. 19. The new comedy-drama begins with an unlikely meet-cute between a jock and a theater student. Their academic huddle becomes unexpectedly intimate in ways that will shape their future. The reading cast features Anthony J. Costello, Hayward Leach, David T. Patterson and Tessa Weinland.
Here’s how I’ve billed Hut, Hut, Hike: “A college football star [David T. Patterson] is one bad grade away from losing everything — his scholarship, his endorsements, even his shot at the NFL. The problem? He’s flunking a class he never took seriously: Modern Drama. When he’s paired with a bookish theater major [Hayward Leach] as a last-chance tutor, an unexpected intimacy rewrites the carefully planned playbooks of both their lives. Bridging the worlds of sports and the arts, Hut, Hut, Hike is a sexy, brutal and bittersweet coming-of-age story about ambition, intimacy and fumbling your way toward an identity you can live with.”
If you’re an industry member interested in reading a perusal copy of Hut, Hut, Hike, drop me an email and I’ll share a script.
David T. Patterson will play football star Mike in “Hut, Hut, Hike.” (Photo by Justin Patterson Photography)
The full festival weekend, Sept. 18-20, will include the presentation of five other works: Upstaged, a new autobiographical solo play written and performed by Stacey Scotte; The Homefront, a new musical by Jenny Stafford, Malika Oyetimein and Sam Salmond; The Color of Things, a new family/TYA musical, with music by Grace Oberhofer and book and lyrics by Lisa Mongillo; and two new “Catskills Cab Lab” cabaret shows: Lauren Chapman in Thawed Out and Ian Coarsey in Wandering Man, featuring his own music.
The In the Works~In the Woods weekend includes special events, receptions and gatherings. One of the festival’s signature events, “Off the Cuff: Conversations,” offers audiences “a rare opportunity to hear from some of the theatre industry’s most accomplished artists in candid, unscripted discussions about their careers, creative journeys and the ever-evolving art of making theatre.”
You can learn more about my work at New Play Exchange, the world’s largest platform for connecting theater people to scripts, accessible for a nominal membership fee.
Hut, Hut, Hike is very lightly adjacent to a plot point in the frivolous 1927 Broadway musical comedy Good News. In it, a star college football player must pass his astronomy class in order to play in the big game, and he’s assigned a co-ed tutor who becomes the unexpected romantic match who changes him.
Hut, Hut, Hike goes in a different (and same-sex) direction in its 21st century setting, with multiple transactional relationships hinted at between all four characters — quarterback Mike and his girlfriend/future manager, Lexi, and rising playwright Milo and his best friend Sam, a campus journalist.
Tessa Weinland will play Lexi, Mike’s protective girlfriend in “Hut, Hut, Hike.”
Social media, secrets, bribes, crimes, and non-disclosure agreements all make their way into the play set in the age of social media and artificial intelligence. Also, it’s a play about connection and the paths we choose early in our lives. In some ways the play is a rumination on the urgent desires and illusions young people struggle to reconcile in the crucible of college. It hurts and it’s funny and sad and — I hope — touched with hope. If you’re older than college age, it may somehow remind you of your younger self.
One of the great things about having a presentation deadline is that it inspires rewrites in the months leading up to what will be its first public performance. Table reads in New York City with a variety of brilliant and generous actors — both friends and artists new to me — have been happening since last fall, long before the play was cited by the O’Neill National Playwrights Conferences and invited into In the Works~In the Woods.
Jeremy Webb directed Broadway Dreams for The Kurt Weill Festival (Dessau, Germany), Rabbit Hole (Actor’s Workshop), The Secret Garden (South Carolina Festival of Flowers), the premiere of I Carry Your Heart (Hangar Theatre) and 1776, Camelot and Soldier’s Tale for Gulf Coast Symphony, plus readings of BackTalk at Westport Country Playhouse, A Delicate Ship at Bay Street and Picnic For Orpheus at LaMaMa ETC. As an actor, he’s appeared in Take Me Out and Burn This on Broadway, The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center Theater, the national tour of Girl From The North Country and more.
Anthony J. Costello will play Milo’s best friend, Sam, an ambitious student journalist.
“As we enter the sixth year of the In the Works~In the Woods Festival, it is incredibly rewarding to see how far this initiative has come,” said Forestburgh producing artistic director Franklin Trapp. “What began as a commitment to nurturing new voices and developing exciting new plays and musicals has evolved into a respected destination for artists from across the country. We are proud of the works that have continued their journeys beyond Forestburgh and are excited to welcome a new class of writers, composers, and collaborators whose stories will inspire and entertain audiences in 2026.”
“The In the Works~In the Woods Festival has become a vital creative home for artists developing the next generation of theatre,” said In the Works Festival artistic director Matt Lenz. “Each season, we are energized by the extraordinary talent and imagination that join us in Forestburgh, and 2026 is no exception. This year’s lineup reflects the innovation, heart, and diversity of voices that have become hallmarks of the festival. There is nothing more gratifying than providing a supportive environment where new works can take meaningful steps forward in their creative evolution.”
Director Jeremy Webb
The 2026 In the Works~In the Woods Festival Advisory Committee includes Scott Evans (actor/director), Robin Levine (director), Jaime Lozano (composer), Banji Aborisade (director/choreographer), Valentina Fratti (director/producer), Jillian Carucci (director), Alan Muraoka (actor/director), Roque Berlanga (director/choreographer), Nicholas Rodriguez (actor/educator), Jeremiah Maestas (actor/director/educator), Kate Wilson (development), Anthony C. Daniel (director/associate Festival director), Franklin Trapp (Playhouse producing artistic director) and Matt Lenz (ITW~ITW Festival artistic director).
Previous In the Works~In the Woods Festival titles have gone on to a life. By Any Other Name is receiving its world premiere at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston; Stage Mother will receive its world premiere by Phoenix Theatre Company in May 2027; Don’t Touch My Hair premiered at IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles; El Otro Oz, winner of the Off-Broadway Alliance Award, played Center Theatre Group; Bottle Shock received a world premiere production at The California Center for the Arts; Walking with Bubbles received an extended Off-Broadway run and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance; and Gordon Gets Down! was part of Forestburgh’s 2023 Season for Young Audiences. (Check past titles from In the Works~In the Woods here.)
For tickets to the 2026 festival events, visit the Forestburgh ticket portal, which offers packages and individual tickets.
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The Forestburgh Playhouse is the oldest, continuously running professional summer theatre in New York State. Located in the Sullivan Catskills, the Playhouse was founded in 1947 by John Grahame and Alexander Maissel. Under the leadership of producing artistic director Franklin Trapp, FBP’s mission is to present high-quality, professional theatre, including musicals, plays, cabarets and theatre for young audiences; to provide arts education programming for local youth; to develop and launch the careers of young artists; and to foster the development of new works through an annual new works festival. FBP attracts over 30,000 patrons each summer and was one of the first venues in the U.S. in 2020 to return to live performance with its popular Under the Stars concert series. The Playhouse celebrates its 80th Anniversary in 2026.
