The Moors production photo

New York City · Est. Winter 2024

Uptown One Train Theater

An independent theater company made up of emerging theater-makers—producing mainstage works, writers' workshops, and social events that foster cross-collaboration across the city.

A new play by Annie Stein

White Elephant

Dates June 5–7, 2026
Venue Court Square Theater
Tickets Coming soon — follow us for updates
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June 2026 · Court Square
Production photo

A Connecting Network
for Emerging Artists

Uptown One Train Theater Company is an independent theater company made up of emerging theater-makers. We produce mainstage works, writers' workshops, and social events aimed at fostering cross-collaboration between early-career artists across the city.

Our company name is a nod to the idea of a connecting system that allows for a communal artistic network—where new partnerships can be forged and long-standing creative relationships can flourish.

Founded in Winter 2024 by a group of friends and collaborators, we're a company committed to access, community, and high-quality work in New York theater.

What We Do

Mainstage
Full Productions
Original and contemporary works brought to life on stage — from concept to curtain call.
Writers' Room
Playwright Workshops & Open Readings
A home for new plays in development. We champion early drafts, messy rewrites, and first-time readings.
Community
Social Mixers & Speed Dating
Playwright-director speed dating, kickoff parties, and community mixers — because great collaborations start with a conversation.
Uptown 1 Kick Off Party poster Subway Series poster

Our Work

April 2025
The Moors
by Jen Silverman · Inaugural Mainstage Production · The American Theater of Actors
Fall 2025
Inaugural Playwriting Cohort
5 playwrights drafting, workshopping & editing new full-length works
Dec 2025
Subway Series
Reading series at The Tank NYC · World premieres of 5 new full-length works

Ensemble & Collaborators

Co-Founder & Producer
Ben Rosenn
he/him

Ben is interested in the intersection of public space, urbanism, and the arts. Outside of his producorial work with Uptown One, his career working to transform open space across the city is rooted in his commitment to world-building, communal play, and spatial equity. Performing since he was 8 years old, some of Ben's favorite credits include Mastiff (The Moors), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), and The Dentist (Little Shop of Horrors). Ben graduated from Brown University with a degree in History and has training in The Meisner Technique, Shakespeare, and musical comedy.

Co-Founder & Producer
Lydia Riess
she/her

Lydia is a writer, performer, and sometimes director born, raised, and based in New York City. Her original plays include Rocks and Geodes (The Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research), Scorpions Don't Bite (Providence Fringe Festival), RUFUS (Brown University), and The IKEA Play (The National Theater Institute). She's developed work with Invulnerable Nothings, The Connecticut Theater Exchange, and Brown/Trinity's Writing is Live. Her thesis film, This Was Really Great, was an NYCIFF official selection. In all of her work, she draws on her background in sketch comedy and clown.

Co-Founder & Producer
Elena Messinger
they/them

Elena is invested in creative, surprising, and funny work. They attended Columbia University, where highlights include Dr. Ride's American Beach House (co-director), Table for Two (co-writer/director), Fame (co-producer), and Pippin (assistant producer). Elena also founded a monthly storytelling series at Postcrypt Coffeehouse with the collective "The Cricket," which they have since adapted into a hub for recent projects including co-writing and directing a full-length staged reading at The Tank's 2024 Trashfest. They have previously worked at Pomegranate Arts, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Clubbed Thumb, and the Redwing Blackbird Theatre.

Spring 2026 Playwright & Co-Producer
Annie Stein
she/her

Annie is a completely-not-recent-anymore graduate of Brown University. Her one-act play The Ghost of Bob Dylan Shows One of Us Greatness was a finalist in the 2025 Soho Playhouse Lighthouse Series. (That means it did not win.) She was the associate producer for the Episodic Theatre Project Season 2. At Brown, Annie co-wrote and directed Hint: The Parody of the Play of the Movie of the Board Game and was a member of the theater producing board Something on the Green. This past spring she worked with Uptown One Train on The Moors, and she must have missed her stop or something because she is still on the train.

All
Aboard.

Follow us for show announcements, design and casting calls, and community mixers.