NEW YORK CITY: The Lark has announced the five plays and playwrights selected for its 25th Annual Playwrights’ Week. This year’s projects, selected from a pool of more than 1,200 blind submissions, will be presented as public readings Nov. 5-9.

The plays and playwrights include Sistren by Erin Buckley; Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes by Franky D. Gonzalez; As Is: Conversations With Big Black Women in Confined Spaces by Stacey Rose; form of a girl unknown by Charly Evon Simpson; and Desarrollo by Juliany Taveras.

“Together these five fantastic plays provide a compelling snapshot of the myriad evolving ways in which we identify, express, and understand ourselves as individuals navigating a shifting societal landscape,” said Andrea Hiebler, director of scouting and submissions at the Lark, said in a statement. “These writers deftly explore how profoundly the physical and psychological spaces that we construct and inhabit can shape discrete stories as well as shared cultural narratives writ large.”

The Lark’s committee of readers from across the country read the blind submissions and evaluated the scripts using a multi-step process that reviews the play’s strength of voice, uniqueness of perspective, and emotional impact.

The five playwrights will also participate in a week-long retreat with their creative teams, fellow writers, and Lark staff members. Playwrights’ Week will kick off with a Meet the Writers event sponsored by Dramatists Play Service, Inc., featuring a panel discussion with the writers and excerpts from each of the plays.