LONG BEACH, CALIF.: International City Theatre (ICT) has announced its 2016 season, including five plays and musicals by six contemporary writers.

“For ICT, this will be the year of the wordsmith,” said artistic director caryn desai in a statement. “We want to celebrate our great, contemporary living writers. These are writers who may have also written for other mediums but have never left the theatre. They have invested their careers in writing for the theatre. As they have matured, we have benefited from a wealth of theatrical experiences.”

The season begins with Closer Than Ever (Feb. 12–March 6, 2016), a how-to guide inspired by real-life experiences, with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and music by David Shire, .

Next will be Lee Blessing’s A Walk in the Woods (April 29–May 22, 2016), about a pair of arms negotiators who meet in the woods outside Geneva to discuss obstacles of the Cold War.

Following will be Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (June 10–July 3, 2016), a Chekhovian comedy about three middle-aged siblings and the complications of managing their deceased parents’ estate in Pennsylvania.

Next is John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable (Aug. 19–Sept. 11, 2016), about a Catholic school principal who begins a crusade to rid the church of a priest she suspects is having an inappropriate relationship with the school’s first black student.

Following is Donald Margulies’s Shipwrecked! An Entertainment—The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (Oct. 14–Nov. 6, 2015), a theatrical adventure about an intrepid explorer who became an instant celebrity upon his return to civilization in 19th-century England.