Details Revealed for Rattlestick Theater & Lucille Lortel's GLOBAL FORMS Festival

Rattlestick Theater and Lucille Lortel Theatre will present the 2026 edition of Global Forms, an all-international arts festival showcasing the work of immigrant theater artists. Through productions, panels, gatherings and a grant program, Global Forms uplifts immigrant stories, creates jobs for International Artists and provides international creatives with tangible resources and opportunities. Since its inception, Global Forms has grown to a major annual event that has hired over 150 artists from 50+ countries. 

The theme of the 7th annual edition of Global Forms is “Strength in Numbers.” The programming includes panels, workshops, a micro-grant program and a flagship concert reading of the new musical Fusong. The festival will take place June 6–8, 2026 at three Manhattan venues including Rattlestick, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, and A.R.T./New York's space at 520 8th Avenue. All events are free, however, reservations at https://www.rattlestick.org/global-forms are encouraged.

Global Forms will open on Saturday, June 6th with a celebration from 3pm–5pm in the courtyard at St. Johns in the Village. The event will feature networking opportunities, refreshments, and the presentation of three $1,000 microgrants to immigrant artists working in New York. The panellists for these grants are Italian artist Federica Borlenghi, Irish actor Doireann Mac Mahon and Taiwanese lighting designer Yung-Hung Sung.

On Sunday June 7th, the lead artists of Et Alia Theatre will curate a theater workshop at the Leynse Studio at 520 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10018 from 2pm-4pm. This company, founded by and for mujeres internacionales in the cosmopolitan civitatem of New York that uplifts multicultural, women+ centered storytelling in the performing arts, was originally founded in 2019, and received the inaugural 2025 Global Forms Space Grant last year.

On Monday June 8th, programming will resume at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, located  at 121 Christopher St.. From 3pm-4pm, Argentinian playwright Francsico Mendoza will lead a practical workshop and interactive Q&A on navigating the complex artist visa process (from OPT to O1 to EB1 to citizenship), alongside immigrant artists from China, South Africa, and Brazil.

That evening, at 7pm, Micheal Heitzman, the Artistic Director of New Musical Development at the Lortel, will introduce a concert presentation of Fusong, a new musical with book and lyrics by Christine Toy Johnson, music by Cecilia Lin, based on “The Lost Daughter of Happiness” by Geling Yan, and conceived and directed by Gabriel Barre. Fusong tells the story of two Chinese women in two different centuries linked by their complicated destiny. The concert features performances by Stephen Bogardus, Caitlin Burke, Marc De La Cruz, Matt Dengler, Brian Jose, Paolo Montalban, Christine Toy Johnson, and Xiaoqing Zhang.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Long-Running Broadway Show - Top 3

1. Hadestown

20.4% of votes

2. Hamilton

16.4% of votes

3. Wicked

11.5% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats