For 33 seasons, the LAByrinth Theater Company has stood as a distinct force in the New York theater landscape. Founded in 1992, it is not just a production house, but a diverse, multidisciplinary ensemble where members do it all: write, direct, produce, design and act. The company is a home for artists dedicated to the gritty, and at times, unglamorous, vital process of creating new work from the ground up.

Among its longtime members are Director of Acting and Associate Professor of Theatre Scott Hudson, M.F.A., and former visiting professor Martha Wollner.

This October, that shared commitment to process brought several of Shenandoah Conservatory’s faculty and alumni together for a public staged reading at one of New York City’s most prestigious venues: The Public Theater.

The company was developing a new play by Brett C. Leonard, a core LAByrinth member and prolific writer whose work spans the stage, film and television. Known for visceral, character-driven dramas (including “The Long Red Road” and “Guinea Pig Solo”), Leonard’s new work, “The Innumerable Ponies of Malachy Moore,” required a talented young singer/actor who could capture the role’s specific qualities.

Believing Brody Grant ’21 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre) could fit the role, and knowing the actor was a former student of Hudson and connected to Wollner, the playwright reached out to his fellow company members to help him contact Grant, the actor he wanted for the part.

Grant, a Tony nominee for “The Outsiders,” accepted the invitation to originate the role for the reading.

The play is a multigenerational family drama exploring the friction between a father — a failed singer in small venues — and his son, a professional singer whose modern success the father resents. The narrative required the actors to bridge a “genre clash” fueled by the memory of a grandfather who rejected them both.

Grant joined a cast of actors known for their integrity and dedication to complex material, performing alongside Christopher Abbott (“Poor Things,” “Catch-22”) and Laila Robins (“The Boys,” “Homeland”).

For Hudson, who traveled to New York to view the performance on Oct. 20, the event was a testament to the shared artistic process that he and his fellow company members have embraced for decades.

“It was especially rewarding to experience Brody on stage collaborating with my company,” said Hudson. “It was a full-circle moment to see the raw work — to see Brody as I knew him in the classroom, without production values, just him acting. And this is the LAByrinth process.”

The collaboration highlights a shared artistic lineage: a dedication to integrity, storytelling and the thoughtful development of new American theater.