Festival of New Texas Plays

Austin Playhouse is hosting the Festival of New Texas Plays on Saturday, August 15, and Sunday, August 16, at its Austin Playhouse Arts Center in West Campus. It's a weekend of staged readings of new work by Texas playwrights, with each reading followed by a talkback where you can hear from the writer directly. The festival is part of the Playhouse's 27th season at the Arts Center, which it describes as its permanent future home.

There are three readings in total. On Saturday, August 15, you can catch ACES by Emilie Budjaja at 4 PM, followed by Lulu Goes to the Jim Henson Memorial Service by Kleo James Ryan at 7:30 PM. Sunday, August 16, brings Mom and Pop by Carl Gonzales at 2 PM. Each one is a reading, so you're hearing the text as it's being worked through, and the talkbacks let you ask questions and hear the thinking behind the play.

The festival is built around the storytelling and diverse voices of Texas playwrights, with submissions coming in from across the state. A Selection Committee picks the finalists, and those plays often go on to world premieres and workshops at Austin Playhouse. It's a good way to see new Texas writing before it's fully staged. One past finalist, Monroe by Lisa B. Thompson, opened the 2018-2019 season as a world premiere.

Tickets are Pick-Your-Price, and there's a limited number of free tickets available for each performance. The readings run Saturday, August 15, at 4 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sunday, August 16, at 2 PM, all at the Austin Playhouse Arts Center in West Campus.