Baylee Shlichtman: 2026 Festival of New Works Interview

Welcome to the third installment of our Playwright Spotlight series – 2026 Festival of New Works! Today we’re featuring PlayGround-LA alum Baylee Shlichtman and her play Good Romans, which will receive a staged reading at Potrero Stage and Simulcast on May 17th at 3pm PT.  Advance reservations are required: visit playground-sf.org/festivalreadings for details.

What was the seed of your play?
I read an analysis of ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA that said the tragedy of Octavia is that no matter how compelling she is she doesn’t have the personality to be a main character. I said, “wanna bet??”

Give a teaser for your play.
Siblings that slay together stay together.

What is a song that represents your play?
“Do What U Want” by Lady Gaga feat Christina Aguilera.

What do you do creatively other than writing?
I dabble in crochet.

What was the MNP prompt that started you on the journey of this play? If you hadn’t written this play, what is the play you would have written for this that prompt?
Shakespeare Sequels. I would’ve done a take on the Ruslaka myth where Ophelia finds an underwater community of drowned girls (in Slavic folklore, drowned women are transformed into creatures adjacent to freshwater mermaids).

Baylee Shlichtman writes magical plays about love and autonomy. Most recently, her work was developed or recognized by Great Plains Theatre Commons, Best of Playground-LA, Otherworld Theatre Paragon Play Festival, and Trinity Theatre New Works Festival. Her work has been additionally produced or developed with AlterTheatre Ensemble, Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, Curtis Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre/ LA, Flamboyán Theatre, The Larking House, Long Beach Shakespeare Company, New Relic Theatre, Playground-LA, Secondary Location Productions, South Texas College Latinx New Play Festival, UC Irvine, Urbanite Theatre, The Vagrancy Theatre, and The Workshop Theatre among others. MFA, UC Riverside ’27.

Our annual Festival of New Works, now in its 30th year, features performances of our top Monday Night plays through Best of PlayGround, a full-length premiere, a series of Staged Readings, and the finalists of our Young Playwrights Project.