From Idea to Opening Night: Inside Apollo New Works

The magic of live theater begins long before opening night. It's found in rehearsal rooms, around workshop tables, in conversations between collaborators, and in the early, messy stages of an idea taking shape.

For Kelley Girod, the Apollo's Senior Director of New Works, supporting emerging artists as they cultivate new ideas is what she finds most exciting.

"The Apollo New Works program is an extension of The Apollo's legacy to build, create, develop, and really be on the ground floor of new work. We've developed plays, dance pieces, we've incorporated digital technology and AI. We're really able to lean into what it means to birth new work at every level."

Leading up to the Fall/Winter 2026 season of Apollo New Works, we sat down to talk about exciting new additions to the cohort, how art creates the opportunity for solidarity and joy, and why these shows represent the core of The Apollo's mission to be not only a presenter of world-renowned entertainers, but a springboard for new artists.

A Legacy of Artist Development

When most folks think of The Apollo, they think of legendary names in the bright lights of the marquee. But before James Brown became the Godfather of Soul, he arrived at The Apollo with just one national hit under his belt. And when Michael Jackson first appeared here, he was just a nervous 9-year-old stepping onto the Amateur Night stage. They were far from legends. For over 90 years, we've built our legacy by providing a springboard and a training ground for artists who take creative risks, defy convention, and challenge audiences long before the mainstream catches on.

"We attract some of the biggest names in entertainment, and that comes with a responsibility to bring in and nurture emerging voices. As we create our cohort we want to also have artists who are just starting to build their career in theater."

One such emerging voice new to the cohort this year is Naima Ramos-Chapman. Introduced to Girod by Lena Waithe (creator of Showtime's 8-season phenom, The Chi) Ramos-Chapman is mostly known for their work in film and television. This commission with the Apollo however, will build upon a multi-year creative vision that combines live theater, interactive talk-backs, art, and community activation.

This season will also mark the exciting return of a familiar face with a brand new play. Jordan E. Cooper first joined the Apollo New Works cohort for a staged reading of his Tony-nominated play "Aint No Mo". Cooper also keeps busy as the showrunner for BET's the Ms.Pat Show, so we're excited to see how he merges his love for stage and screen in next month's reading of his new play "SITCOM".

Rounding out the cohort alongside our up-and-comers are seasoned artists making a foray into new forms of expression. Grammy-winner Billy Childs, for example, is an icon of the jazz world. So when he told Girod that he was working on an opera, she knew The Apollo had to be a part of it. This season The Apollo will host a follow-up to last season's workshop-residency where he shared the first 30 minutes of a work in progress which adapts Octavia Butler's sci-fi epic "Kindred" into an operatic work for the stage.

"Someone like Billy who is so acclaimed, so lauded, and known for the very specific work that he does, this has been a really great opportunity, as he will tell you, to stretch himself in a different direction."

From Harlem to Dublin, Collaboration is Key

Whether it's a play, a film, or a dance performance, the secret sauce that brings everything together is collaboration. Says Girod, "[Apollo New Works] has really allowed us to increase our partnerships with other institutions across the city, across the country, and now globally."

Last season we collaborated with Junebug Productions in New Orleans to co-commission 8 new playwrights, all hailing from Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. After debuting "Echoes of the Storm" at the Apollo, the program went on to Atlanta's National Black Arts Festival, and will make its New Orleans debut later this year. "Junebug is an almost 50-year-old Black theater institution in the South. We really wanted to create a bridge between not just our artists, but also our creative institutions up North and down South."

Meanwhile across the pond, our collaboration with the Irish Repertory Theatre (NYC) and Fishamble: The New Play Company (Dublin) has enabled The Apollo to mentor 4 Black Irish playwrights as they create new works. Audiences will soon have the opportunity to attend readings in both New York City and in Dublin, Ireland.

And finally this fall, we'll join forces with a fellow iconic NYC institution for Juilliard at The Apollo. This week-long jazz residency will celebrate Miles Davis' 100th birthday with a series of concerts and lectures as part of the first-ever collaboration between our institutions.

Creativity, Community & Joy

This season's cohort is packed with talent, but what happens on stage is only half the story. The final key piece of Apollo New Works is audiences who dare to experience what happens when we come together to share energy, be inspired, create beauty, confront tough ideas, and imagine new worlds. After all, in this age of bite-sized content and on-demand access, it's easy to wonder, "What still keeps us coming back to live theater anyway?" For Kelley, the answer is easy:

"We need the opportunity to be in shared spaces to remind ourselves of what unifies us. When we can be in a room together, focused on each other's stories, focused on each other's humanity, anytime that we're allowed the opportunity to collectively laugh or grieve or just recognize that we're not isolated in what we're going through, that creates opportunities for joy, for comfort, for community. That is so unique to the live experience. And I think it's something that is not going away."