Off-Broadway's Signature Theatre welcomes five new residents to its residency programs: playwrights Samuel D. Hunter, Sarah Ruhl, Anna Deavere Smith, and Lauren Yee, as well as theatre collective The Mad Ones, made up of Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Stephanie Wright Thompson, Lila Neugebauer, and Michael Dalto.

Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist Ruhl (In the Next Room, or the vibrator play) and Tony nominee and National Humanities Medal recipient Smith (Notes from the Field) will join Signature’s Residency 1 program, which is a year-long, intensive exploration of a writer’s body of work.

Drama Desk Award winner Hunter (The Whale), Drama Desk nominees and Innovative Theatre Award winners The Mad Ones (Miles for Mary), and Horton Foote Prize winner Yee (The Great Leap) will join Signature’s Residency 5 program, which guarantees playwrights three premieres over five years. They join current Residency 5 playwrights Annie Baker, Martha Clarke, Katori Hall, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Dave Malloy, and Dominique Morisseau.

“Over the past 28 years, Signature has celebrated many distinguished writers and given them an artistic home through its residency programs," says Signature Artistic Director Paige Evans. "I’m thrilled to bring these four extraordinary writers, and one incredible devised theater collective, to Signature. Sarah, Anna, Sam, Lauren, and the Mad Ones all have striking voices and unique perspectives on the human condition. I cannot wait to share their work with Signature’s vibrant and diverse community.”