With La Femme on the move, I have news to share.

First, La Femme’s NEA grant was terminated because our project did not meet President Trump’s priorities. We at La Femme were, of course, not surprised but certainly shocked and hope that the NEA reconsiders its priorities. And we thank the NEA Theatre Specialist who has respected our mission and expertly answered our questions throughout the application process. It was an honor to be a NEA grant recipient.

Second, as I previously announced, La Femme reinstated its two development programs, A Woman’s Storyland and Women on the Verge, under the umbrella of its newly conceived Women in Agency Festival. The esteemed playwright Jenny Lyn Bader served as Mentor Playwright to three Mentee Playwrights — Abigail Duclos, Zoe Geltman, and  Tess Inderbitzin. Inspired by the public service of my parents and extended family, I asked all of these playwrights to write short plays about agency as in federal and state agency or as in individual and collective agency. La Femme also recognized the emerging careers of director Britt Berke and stage manager Kyra Bowie under the auspices of the Women on the Verge initiative.

The work of these playwrights were developed under the Equity 29-Hour Reading Agreement. These readings ran from August 3 to August 17, 2025 at The Linney Theatre at Pershing Square Signature Center in NYC.