PlayGround Reveals Lineup For 30th Annual Festival Of New Works
PlayGround will present premieres and staged readings at Potrero Stage this May, featuring works from emerging playwrights
PlayGround has announced the full lineup for the 30th annual Festival of New Works, a preeminent showcase for the next generation of great playwrights! This year's festival, all performed live at Potrero Stage May 15-31 and simulcast, is highlighted by the premiere presentation of Mycelium by Juliet Kang Huneke (May 16-17 & May 23-24), a PlayGround commission originally developed at the 2025 Festival of New Works and based on the Best of PlayGround(Chicago) '24 People's Choice short play of the same name. The festival also features staged readings of three brand-new plays in development - all under commission and developed as part of PlayGround's year-long Playwright Residency Program: Good Romans by Baylee Shlichtman (May 17), The Case of the Missing Messenger by Madeleine Butler (May 24), and Disloyal by Anne Brady (May 31). Four playwrights are also being recognized this year as Festival Finalists for their outstanding plays, each of which received an in-house reading earlier this season: Courting by Dana Leslie Goldstein, Merchant of Stratford by Maury Zeff, The Suit by Alex Kingsley, and The House of Flightless Birds by Baylee Shlichtman.
"It's humbling," said founding PlayGround Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann, "with everything our field and the arts in general have gone through particularly in the last six years, to see the impact PlayGround and the Festival of New Works have had in launching hundreds of new plays and playwrights over the past thirty years. I'm so proud of the numerous professional playwrights PlayGround has been able to support, nurture and champion."
Since 1997, the Festival of New Works has provided theatre-makers and theatregoers with one of the most varied and robust opportunities to discover leading new voices of the American Theatre while providing up-and-coming writers with the exposure, production experience, and networks they need to succeed on the national stage. Both Funny Like an Abortion by Rachel Bublitz (2022) and Sapience by Diana Burbano (2021) premiered in the PlayGround Festival of New Works before moving on to National New Play Network Rolling World Premieres. Other distinguished festival alumni include: Lauren Yee, Geetha Reddy, Jonathan Spector, and Cleavon Smith, among others.
The 2026 festival concludes with PlayGround's annual Young Playwrights Project (May 29) and Best of PlayGround(SF) 2026 (May 30-31), the 30th annual iteration of PlayGround's short play showcase featuring fully-produced versions of the top plays from this season's Monday Night PlayGround series. The festival begins with a special Kick-Off and Playwrights Panel (May 15), featuring many of this year's award-winning playwrights including: Baylee Shlichtman, Madeleine Butler, Juliet Kang Huneke and more. Admission for the entire festival is free (suggested donation: $10-$50) with extended on-demand viewing for Festival Sponsors.
Festival Schedule:
May 15 7pm PT: Festival Kick-Off & Playwrights Panel
May 16-17 & 23-24 7pm PT: Mycelium by Juliet Kang Huneke (Premiere)
May 17 3pm PT: Good Romans by Baylee Shlichtman (Festival Reading)
May 24 3pm PT: The Case of the Missing Messenger by Madeleine Butler (Festival Reading)
May 29 7pm PT: Young Playwrights Project
May 30-31 7pm PT: Best of PlayGround(SF) '26 (Premiere)
May 31 3pm PT: Disloyal by Anne Brady (Festival Reading)
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The Still Point: An Immersive Experience SOMArts Cultural Center (7/16-7/25) |
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark SPARC (7/03-7/26) |
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Goat Blood Theatre Rhinoceros (6/25-7/19) |
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Comedy Oakland at Elbo Room Fri July 24 7:30pm Elbo Room Jack London (7/24-7/24) |
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Fences by August Wilson Santa Cruz Shakespeare (7/28-8/28) |
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Pearl Ong’s Night Driver The Marsh Berkeley (7/11-8/08) |
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Comedy Oakland at Quinn's Lighthouse Fri July 31 8:30pm Quinn's Lighthouse (7/31-7/31) |
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An Evening with a Mentalist: Jay Alexander's Mind Tricks Live San Francisco Magic Theater (w/Jay Alexander) at the Marrakech (7/10-7/12) |
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Little Shop of Horrors 40th Anniversary Tour with Ellen Greene (the Original Audrey) Curran Theatre (8/16-8/16) |
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Company City Lights Theater Company (7/15-8/22) |