2/22 — 5th Annual Arts Incubator Short Play Fest
Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 2pm
at Irvington Theater | Get Directions →
Life is short — and so are the plays in our Arts Incubator Short Play Festival, now in its 5th consecutive year! A celebration of short, new, in-development works of theater and the playwrights behind them, this year’s Fest will feature script-in-hand, staged readings of four original plays followed by an artist Q&A and opportunity for audience feedback.
Sign up for an email reminder when tickets for the 2025 Fest become available and the lineup is announced.
The 2025 Arts Incubator Short Play Fest is curated from a selection of open submissions and chosen by the following committee of readers:
Jessica Arinella is an award winning actress and activist. Select Off Broadway theatre credits include work with Naked Angels, NY Stage & Film, and On the Leesh Productions. With On the Leesh, Jessica created ‘What You Can Do’, the Webby-nominated social activism series that premiered on PBS. Recent TV credits include ‘Good Girls,’ ‘The Family,’ and NBC’s upcoming ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society.’ Jessica lives in Irvington where she plays her favorite role of wife to actor Matt Rashid and mother to Aria and James. Jessica became co-chair of the Irvington Theater Commission in 2025.
Gregory G. Allen is the manager of Irvington Theater and an award-winning writer and director of film and stage. He spent six years as artistic director of 4th Wall Theatre in New Jersey. He is a published author of several books, a member of the The Dramatist Guild, and a former member of the BMI Musical Theater Workshop. Claim to fame: he toured the country as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the early 90s. www.gregorygallen.com
Jaclyn Fine — Bio coming soon!
Robert Firpo-Cappiello is a two-time Emmy nominee and an award-winning journalist whose creative writing has appeared in Roi Fainéant Press and Cowboy Jamboree. He has performed his stories and songs at venues including Irvington Theater’s Solo Series on YouTube, Dixon Place, St Lou Fringe, Bad Theater Fest, Urban Stages, Spark Theatre Festival, Rockwood Music Hall, and Freddy’s Bar & Backroom.
Kim Gilligan recently moved from Irvington to Minnesota after serving on the Irvington Theater commission as chair for four years and overseeing and curating the "In Our Own Words" series since its inception. Kim has been in the arts for over 30 years, having been a professional stage manager on national tours in the 90s. Kim has been a proponent of original works throughout her arts career and has served on the Arts Incubator committee for the last several years.
Brad Ogden is a theatre director and marketing professional based in Brooklyn, New York. He is the Marketing Manager for Irvington Theater as well as off-Broadway’s Keen Company in NYC. Brad’s work as a director has been seen at festivals, universities, and regional theatres from Philadelphia and New York to the Czech Republic. He develops, devises, and directs projects that unravel the past, speak to the present, and move us toward a more progressive future. www.brad-ogden.com / www.ogden.design
Marc Palmieri is an Assistant Professor at Mercy University’s School of Liberal Arts, where he has received the Outstanding Research Award as well as the Faculty Innovation Award. He is also the proud faculty advisor for the Mercy University theatre club, and also serves as the baseball program’s pitching coach. His numerous plays are published by Dramatists Play Service and his 2022 memoir She Danced With Lightning is published by Post Hill Press. Screenwriting credits include Miramax Films’ Telling You. Marc is resident dramaturge at the Drama Desk-Nominated theatre, Axis Company, in New York City. www.marcpalmieri.com