Announcing: Michelle J. Rodriguez is a 2024-2025 Tow Playwright-in-Residence at the Starr!

We're so excited to announce that Michelle J. Rodriguez will be in residence at the Starr for our 2024-2025 Season! ❤️

Tow's playwright-in-residence program provides transformational opportunities for playwrights to hone their craft and produce their first play on a New York City stage.

The residencies are awarded to New York City theaters to support and present the work of a pre-selected playwright. The award integrates the selected playwright into the theater’s day-to-day operations, allowing each playwright to gain experience and insight into all aspects of the nonprofit theater world.

"We are so thrilled to have Michelle J. Rodriguez join our team this year at the Starr. Michelle is an artist we've had the pleasure of working with on multiple projects and whose curiosity, creativity, generosity, and enthusiasm make her a perfect addition to our staff as we prepare to finally open our new home in Bushwick and dream up the many possibilities it offers. We can't wait to open her show PRESENCIA in June at the Connelly Theater and then continue our work this fall at 419 Eldert St. in Bushwick!"

- Noel Allain, Bushwick Starr Artistic Director

The Tow Foundation was established in 1988 by Leonard and Claire Tow as a way to give back to the communities that shaped them. Its five primary impact areas are equity and justice, medicine and public health, arts and culture, higher education, and civic engagement. Grounded in its decades of work in Connecticut and New York and based in New Canaan, CT, the foundation supports visionary leaders and nonprofit organizations to find and enact innovative solutions to persistent inequality. It works to ensure people can become full participants in their communities, achieve transformative and lasting progress, and develop approaches that allow everyone to reach their full potential.