Salt Tree Art to Host Berkshires NEW Theater Festival (The Berkshires NEWT)
The program gathers both emerging and established artists whose work explores the relationship between people, place, culture, and the natural world.
Salt Tree Art will host the first Berkshires NEW Theater Festival (The Berkshires NEWT) on Saturday, July 4, 2026, bringing together artists, audiences, and creative communities for a day of original performance in the Berkshires. Led by Artistic Director Chris Browne Valenzuela, the festival features artists from five continents working across theater, movement, dance, puppetry, and music. The program gathers both emerging and established artists whose work explores the relationship between people, place, culture, and the natural world.
The Berkshires NEWT grows from Salt Tree Art's commitment to creating spaces where artistic practice, ecological awareness, and community engagement intersect. Set within the cultural and natural landscape of the Berkshires, the festival invites artists from around the world into conversation with one another, with local audiences, and with the environment that surrounds them.
This year's inaugural program explores stories of land, migration, memory, identity, and belonging. Drawing from a wide range of theatrical traditions and contemporary performance practices, participating artists will present original work that crosses disciplines, experiments with form, and offers distinct cultural perspectives.
Taking place on the 250th anniversary of American independence, The Berkshires NEWT will celebrate the exchange of ideas, stories, and artistic practices that continue to shape American culture. By bringing together artists with varied backgrounds, perspectives, and creative disciplines, the festival aims to establish a new platform for bold performance and international artistic dialogue in the Berkshires.
Anissa Naji (Morocco/Germany), Sancho Alcina (Spain), Sasha Novich (Eastern Europe), Yun Gao (China), Cherie Chalouhi (USA/Lebanon), Chris Browne Valenzuela (Chile), Eliot Madrid (USA), Brian Soliwoda (USA), and Jen Jurek (USA).
