KAYENTA NEW PLAY LAB
The Secret History of the Mahulley Monster (Or The Cryptid Play)
by Chelsea Sutton (Los Angeles, CA)
Friday, August 29, 7:30pm
Saturday, August 30, 3:00pm
The Lorraine Boccardo Theater
When Dr. Kam Vandermeer visits the Midland Paranormal Convention to present her research on the mysterious Mahulley Monster, C-List paranormal TV personality Peter McGillis seems determined to poke holes in her story. But as they delve deeper into Kam’s evidence, their bickering only unearths something stranger than either one of them can explain.
About Chelsea Sutton
Chelsea Sutton is a writer and theatre maker of what she likes to call gothic whimsy. She’s a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, a Humanitas PlayLA award-winner, a graduate of the 2022 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. Her macabre steampunk adaptation of Pinocchio written with Rogue Artists Ensemble, Wood Boy Dog Fish, appeared in the inaugural season at the Garry Marshall Theatre. She co-wrote the Emmy-nominated Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, an interactive film event for Blumhouse/Amazon; The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, an award-winning virtual event for TNT + Little Cinema Digital; and Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin with Lisa Sanaye Dring, an award-winning immersive horror theatre piece produced with Rogue Artists Ensemble. Chelsea was a 2018 Sewanee Writers Conference Playwright Fellow and has been an invited playwright at the 2023 South Dakota State University New Works Festival, the 2024 Valdez Theatre Conference Play Lab, and the 2024 Kayenta New Play Lab. Her short fiction has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Apex Magazine, and Bourbon Penn, among others, and her first flash fiction chapbook Only Animals is now available through Wrong Publishing. Her debut novella is forthcoming from Split/Lip Press in 2026. Chelseasutton.com
KAYENTA NEW PLAY LAB
Now in its third year, the Kayenta New Play Lab is where bold new voices in American theater come to life. Over three exhilarating weeks, six visionary playwrights—chosen by a panel of esteemed local and national theatermakers—dive into an intensive creative residency, shaping fresh, original works for the stage.
Audiences are invited to witness the magic unfold through staged readings of these brand-new plays—raw, real, and alive with possibility. Stay after each reading for an engaging dialogue with the artists, where your feedback helps shape the evolution of each piece.
Whether you’re a dedicated theatergoer, a curious creative, or someone who simply loves the thrill of live performance, the New Play Lab is your front-row seat to the next wave of theatrical storytelling. Come be part of the process. Come be inspired.
The 2025 Kayenta New Play Lab is generously sponsored by Douglas Caputo and Desert Dweller Real Estate.
