MAY 17th: SWIMMING LESSONS - written by RJ BEARDMORE & directed b EM HAUSMANN
New dramedy written by RJ Beardmore to be directed by Em Hausmann as part of 2025-26 Season.
Press Contact: neurodivergentplays@gmail.com
This May, Neurodivergent Plays - previously known as the Neurodivergent New Play Series - will present a reading of Swimming Lessons - written by RJ Beardmore and directed by Em Hausmann - at Brooklyn Art Haus, located at 24 Marcy Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, on May 17th at 4:30pm.
Tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/neurodivergent-plays-tickets-1980419719693, with a minimum $17.85 donation for limited in-person seating. Regular updates are available at www.neurodivergentplays.com and on Instagram & Facebook @neurodivergentplays.
“I started drafting Swimming Lessons in April of 2024,” according to playwright RJ Beardmore, stating “at the time, I was very preoccupied with the same questions this play ultimately confronts: how do our attachments to other people shape our stability, and can anyone really have both? Which sounds dramatic, but I think it’s a subconscious undercurrent for a lot of people. These characters are learning how to negotiate a sense of self with a sense of connection. The specific urgency and polarity of that challenge is so reflective of the neurodivergent experience. Swimming Lessons attempts to articulate a simple question that can feel overpowering to anyone navigating cognitive and social differences. Security versus intimacy -- which do you choose?
“I directed a short play of RJ’s in 2025 for Fresh Binder Productions and was really taken by their sort of off-beat approach to a coming-of-age story,” according to longtime Neurodivergent Plays director Em Hausmann. “There’s an uninhibited and playful quality to their writing that really resonates with me! I’ve also always been interested in the whimsy and spontaneity of the manic pixie dreamgirl archetype, but of course I hate the idea of a shallow female character written for a man. Swimming Lessons scratches the itch for eccentric, impulsive female characters while adding depth and realism to them despite their fantastical qualities.”
Ms. Hausmann adds that “there are so many neurodivergent folks working in the performing arts industry, yet so many of us are made to feel like outsiders in this business. In my opinion, the best art comes from true collaboration, where we can embrace each other to create and share stories across our differences. Neurodivergent artists bring unique perspectives to the table that deserve to be empowered and championed.”
Founded in 2023 by autistic playwright and producer Anthony J. Piccione, Neurodivergent Plays - previously known as the Neurodivergent New Play Series - is dedicated to presenting matinee readings on the 3rd Sunday of every month - with seasonal breaks in December, January, July, and August - of plays written entirely by neurodivergent and disabled playwrights (i.e. autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette syndrome, etc.) as part of a growing resident company of playwrights whose interests and specialties span a wide range of subjects, genres & structural approaches, with each play personally selected from a neuroinclusive resident company of directors. Learn more at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays or by following @neurodivergentplays on Instagram and Facebook.