New West Playwrights | estlosangeles

EST/LA’s New West Playwrights is dedicated to fostering and developing the work of Los Angeles area playwrights under 30 years of age through weekly meetings, readings, and workshop productions.

Program Administrators

Jake Fiedler

Jake is a writer, occasional actor, and educator from Dallas and Houston, Texas. He graduated from the University of Houston's Playwriting and Dramaturgy program and had the privilege of studying under Mark Medoff, author of Children of a Lesser God. Jake writes about the messy spaces between faith and skepticism, loneliness and overstimulation, and logic and absurdity in our tech-saturated world. He has been a member of New West Playwrights since 2019 and a co-facilitator since 2023, and he was also a member of Flat Tire Theatre Company from 2018 to 2023. Jake is a recovering perfectionist with time blindness, but he has a special passion for new work development and is thrilled to serve New West’s writers in this role.

Aditi Pradhan

Aditi grew up in a neighborhood that was 80% Asian American, shaping her interest for different cultures. She has a degree in Political Economy from UC Berkeley, where she learned about systems of power. Aditi writes about family relationships, social change, and the South Asian diaspora. She’s a member of the New West playwriting group, a member of the Workshop Theatre’s writer’s group, an alum of the Rickshaw Foundation’s Writers’ Room, a semi-finalist for the Geffen Playhouse Writer’s Room, and a recipient of the Signpost Fellowship for BIPOC writers. In high school, she was nominated as “Most Dependable,” which is the highest honor she’s received.

Ally Lardner

Ally Lardner (she/her) is a Korean-American playwright and stage manager. She attended Boston College for undergrad and currently lives in Los Angeles. Her play Driving Lessens was recognized as a finalist for the 2022 Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival. She works as Script Coordinator for ABC’s General Hospital, and has stage managed at LA theaters including IAMA and the LATC. Ally’s passion is for new works, and writes for young adults navigating the contemporary technological wasteland. She also is Editor in Chief for the print and digital zine TRASH MAG. She enjoys spicy margaritas, Taylor Swift conspiracy theories, and walking in the rain.