Draft:Caitlin Saylor Stephens

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Caitlin Saylor Stephens is an American playwright known for her plays When We Went Electronic (2018), Modern Swimwear (2023), and Five Models in Ruins, 1981 (2025), which premiered at Lincoln Center Theater.[1]

Early life and education

Stephens grew up between Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City. She attended Sarah Lawrence College.

Career

Stephens began her career creating interdisciplinary performance works, frequently under the moniker Discount Therapy Club.[2][3] [4]

Her play When We Went Electronic premiered at The Tank in New York City in 2018. Set in an American Apparel store, the play follows two retail employees attempting to reconstruct the events of a traumatic evening through increasingly extreme methods.[5] The production later toured internationally.[6]

In 2023, Stephens's play Modern Swimwear, inspired by the life and death of swimwear designer Sylvie Cachay, premiered at The Tank in New York City under the direction of Meghan Finn.[7] The project received support from the New York City Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre, administered by the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.[8]

In 2025, Stephens's play Five Models in Ruins, 1981 premiered at Lincoln Center Theater in the Claire Tow Theater under the direction of Morgan Green.[9] The production starred Elizabeth Marvel. The play was originally commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater in 2019 and developed during Stephens's residency with LCT3 before premiering in 2025.[10]

Themes and style

Stephens's work frequently explores themes of American womanhood, labor, performance, and consumer culture. Fashion serves as a recurring motif throughout her plays.[11] She has cited Cindy Sherman, John Kelly (performance artist), and Sarah Kane among her artistic influences.[12]

Critical reception

Reviewing When We Went Electronic for The New York Times, Alexis Soloski described the play as possessing "absurdist edginess" and being "taut and brutal". [13]

Stephens's Modern Swimwear received critical attention for its treatment of the life and death of swimwear designer Sylvie Cachay. In The New York Times, Juan A. Ramírez characterized the play as "subtly gutting".[14] The New Yorker praised the production for its "scrupulous care" in reconstructing the circumstances surrounding Cachay's final hours.[15]

Reviewing Five Models in Ruins, 1981 for Vulture, Jackson McHenry noted Stephens' depictions of fashion culture "evince both horror and admiration."[16] Sara Holdren included Five Models in Ruins, 1981 in New York magazine's list of "New York's 25 Best Of" for Spring 2025.[17]

In The New York Times, Elizabeth Vincentelli praised the play's climactic turn, observing that, in its "final explosive scene," "Stephens goes nuclear."[18]

Writing for TheaterMania, Zachary Stewart described Five Models in Ruins, 1981 as "more than just a showcase for period fashion and timeless quips about bulimia," calling it "a tribute to the women who sacrifice their youth and physical wellbeing to create something beautiful."[19]

Awards and recognition

Stephens was commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater and served as a New Artist-in-Residence at LCT3 from 2019 to 2025 [20] and by Ensemble Studio Theater and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. [21] She is a three-time recipient of public art funding from NYSCA.[22]

Selected works

Plays

  • When We Went Electronic (2018)
  • Modern Swimwear (2023)
  • Five Models in Ruins, 1981 (2025)

References

  1. "Five Models in Ruins, 1981". Lincoln Center Theater. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  2. "Meet the Playwright of When We Went Electronic Caitlin Saylor Stephens". Art House Productions. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. "Borscht Is Back: 2019 Festival Lineup Announced". Miami New Times. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  4. Olmos, Matthew Paul (October 26, 2018). "The Reactions and Theatricals of Caitlin Saylor Stephens". Culturebot. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  5. "When We Went Electronic". Time Out New York. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  6. "When We Went Electronic". The Tank. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. "Modern Swimwear". Time Out. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  8. "Women's Fund for Media, Music & Theatre". NYCMayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  9. "FIVE MODELS IN RUINS Opens At Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  10. "Lincoln Center Theater launches play commission program for its Broadway house". Broadway News. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  11. Marston-Firmino, Amauta (February 3, 2023). "An Act of Survival: Caitlin Saylor Stephens Interviewed". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  12. "Caitlin Saylor Stephens: Ten Questions". Dramatists Guild. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  13. Soloski, Alexis (October 30, 2018). "Review: In 'When We Went Electronic,' Hell Is Available in Spandex". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  14. Ramírez, Juan A. (January 25, 2023). "'Modern Swimwear' Review: The Designer and the Murderer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  15. "Modern Swimwear". The New Yorker. February 6, 2023. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  16. McHenry, Jackson. "Theater Review: Five Models in Ruins, 1981". Vulture. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  17. Holdren, Sara. "New York's 25 Best Of". New York. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  18. Vincentelli, Elizabeth (May 6, 2025). "Review: Five Models in Ruins, 1981". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  19. Stewart, Zachary. "Review: Five Models in Ruins, 1981 – Voguing Into the Abyss". TheaterMania. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  20. "LCT Announces The Beaumont New Play Commission Program". Lincoln Center Theater. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  21. "Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Announce 2021 Artist Cultivation Event and EST/Sloan Project Commissions". Broadway World. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  22. "FY2026 Grant Awards List - Press Release" (PDF). NYSCA. Retrieved 11 October 2025.