Urbanite Theatre to Present Modern Works Festival
Sarasota company continues its focus on new play development with an upcoming festival lineup.
Returning for its seventh year, Urbanite's beloved Modern Works Festival is a two-week celebration of new works and female theatremakers. Our largest artistic undertaking of the season, the Modern Works Festival reflects Urbanite's commitment to developing new plays by providing paid opportunities for dozens of playwrights, actors, directors, designers, stage managers, technicians, and other theatre artists while creating a collaborative environment where bold new works can be explored, refined, and shared with audiences for the first time. The Festival spans two weeks from September 17-27, 2026 and offers numerous events including guest speaker, Jacqueline Goldfinger, staged readings of the three finalists' plays, and headlining production, Tea TIME by Erika MacDonald. Modern Works Festival passes are on sale now as well as single tickets. Student tickets are, as always, just $5.
'It's about tea. It's about time. F*** off, I'm steeping!' The Festival begins with a week of performances of Tea TIME by Erika MacDonald, a delightful blend of tea leaves, life lessons, and a few f-bombs. This quirky 60-minute solo show has won numerous 'Best of Fest' awards, including Critics' Choice Award for 'Outstanding Solo Show' at Orlando Fringe 2026. Erika is an internationally-touring theater-maker based in Covington, Kentucky, whose original works have been featured Off-Broadway and have won 'Best of Fest' honors on over 10 different occasions at Fringe Theater Festivals across both the U.S. and Canada. Erika's other award-winning original solo shows include The Barn Identity, Evacuated!, Tap Me on the Shoulder, and Fluid. Tea TIME runs September 17-20, 2026, with two shows on Saturday, September 19.
The Festival continues with a kickoff party on Thursday, September 24 that launches us into the Festival Finalist Staged Readings. With over 300 entries in this year's open submissions, selecting just three finalists was a labor of love shared by our Board of Readers. 'We were blown away by both the incredible quality and record number of submissions we received this year,' Producing Artistic Director, Summer Dawn Wallace commented. 'The response speaks to how much the Modern Works Festival has blossomed, and we're thrilled to present what promises to be our strongest festival yet!' The Board of Readers has selected the following favorite finalists: The Longest Walk by Stacey Isom Campbell, Conversations By The Beach by Mantra Radhakrishnan, and Spectres by Joz Vammer.
MODERN WORKS FESTIVAL LINE UP
7:30 pm Thursday, September 17, 2026 – Tea TIME by Erika MacDonald
7:30 pm Friday, September 18, 2026 – Tea TIME by Erika MacDonald
2 pm & 7:30 pm Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Tea TIME by Erika MacDonald
2 pm Sunday, September 20, 2026 – Tea TIME by Erika MacDonald
7:30 pm Thursday, September 24, 2026 – Festival Kickoff Party
Friday, September 25, 2026: 2 pm Staged reading: The Longest Walk by Stacey Isom Campbell
Friday, September 25, 2026: 5 pm Staged reading: Conversations by the Beach by Mantra Radhakrishnan
Friday, September 25, 2026: 7:30 pm Conversation with featured Guest Speaker, Jacqueline Goldfinger
Saturday, September 26, 2026: 2 pm Staged reading: Spectres by Joz Vammer
Saturday, September 26, 2026: 5 pm Staged reading: The Longest Walk by Stacey Isom Campbell
Saturday, September 26, 2026: 7:30 pm Staged reading: Conversations by the Beach by Mantra Radhakrishnan
Sunday, September 27, 2026: 2 pm Staged reading: Spectres by Joz Vammer
Sunday, September 27, 2026: 4 pm Audience Round Table & Festival Closing Celebration
Tickets & Information: urbanitetheatre.com/mwf
THE LONGEST WALK BY STACEY ISOM CAMPBELL
Ten years after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, former Marines Mags and Fee are still fighting a war no one else can see. As memories of combat collide with the realities of civilian life, their friendship becomes both a refuge and a reckoning. The Longest Walk is a powerful, deeply human exploration of PTSD, survival, and the invisible scars carried by those who serve.
September 25 @ 2pm
September 26 @ 5pm
About Stacey Isom Campbell: Stacey Isom Campbell is an Alaska-raised, Southern-rooted playwright. Her plays include: 1999 (WAM Theatre World Premiere, 2025 O'Neill Center National Playwrights Conference Finalist, 2025 Modern Works Festival Finalist & Selection, Carolina Playwrights Lab Selection, Florida Rep's Festival of New Works PlayLab Selection, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, Valdez Theatre Conference Play Lab Selection); THE LOOPHOLE (2019 Barter Theatre LORT-production and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Nomination, Great Plains Theatre Conference Selection, O'Neill Semifinalist); THE CONTROLLER (2026 FutureFest Finalist, 2024 Henley Rose Playwright Competition Finalist, Seven Devils Playwriting Conference Finalist); BUFFALO CREEK (Rose Henley Playwriting Competition Finalist, The New Harmony Project Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semifinalist; WHEN MOUNTAINS MOVE (Commission and Production, Lee University); MEMORY OF ICE (Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semifinalist, Seven Devil's Theatre Conference Semifinalist, O'Neill Semifinalist); ON THE 8's (Dan I Rodden Jr Award Winner, Rose Henley Playwriting Competition Finalist, Great Plains Theatre Conference Selection); SMOKIN' DEVILS (Barter Theatre's Appalachian Festival of Plays & Playwrights Selection, Plays for the 21st Century 2nd Place, Red Clay Theatre Production). Her short plays include: CICADAS (ATHE's New Play Development Workshop Selection) and LAUNDRY AT THE COIN & SPIN (The Collective: NY equity-showcase approved production and publication). Her work has also been seen at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, L.A. First Stage, EstroGenius Xtended, and others.
Stacey is a Fellow of Hambidge Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and Trillium Arts.
CONVERSATIONS BY THE BEACH BY MANTRA RADHAKRISHNAN
Three women. 20 years. Five beaches. Mona, and her two daughters, Meenu and Mariam, experience both grief and freedom after the death of the family patriarch. A dramedy that is infused with Bharathnatyam movement pieces, Conversations By The Beach is a dance-play that navigates the complexity of grief, growing up, and nontraditional family.
September 25 @ 5pm
September 26 @ 7:30pm
About Mantra Radhakrishnan: Mantra Radhakrishnan (she/any) is a Chicago-based playwright, director, and teaching artist from Bangalore, India. A soon-to-be graduate from Northwestern University's Theatre/Playwriting program, her work was recently seen Off-Broadway as a part of 24HourPlays, and produced by Vertigo Productions and Lovers and Madmen productions. As a director, she loves physical theatre, puppetry, stand-up, and rhyming words. She has taught piano, English, Visual Art and Music/drama at various schools across the world. At CCT, her favorite class to teach has been the Comedy camp for middle school!
SPECTRES BY JOZ VAMMER
When college freshmen and lifelong best friends Gracie and Roxi venture into a cave to investigate the legend of the mysterious Woman in White, what begins as a ghost hunt quickly becomes something far more unsettling. As eerie encounters blur the line between the supernatural and the deeply personal, the two friends are forced to confront the fears, grief, and unspoken truths haunting them both. Spectres asks what it really means to confront the things that refuse to let us go.
September 26 @ 2pm
September 27 @ 2pm
About Joz Vammer: she/they - is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work spans performance, directing, creative, and production in film, theatre, opera, circus, dance, music, and podcasting. Highlights include work Off-Broadway, at Carnegie Hall, La Jolla Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, The Old Globe, Tuacahn, The Kennedy Center, New York Fashion Week, Opera Western Reserve, and Edinburgh Fringe. Recent credits include directing THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Florida State, performing in La Jolla's DNA Works reading of RED TAXI, associate directing LES MISERABLES at Tuacahn, movement/intimacy for DRACULA, A FEMINIST REVENGE FANTASY, REALLY at Virginia Stage Company, and directing SHAKESPEARE45 for Asolo Rep. As a composer, Joz has most recently written music for Havoc Movement Theatre's ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Other plays have been developed with Roundabout's Director's Fellowship and the Connecticut Theatre Exchange. MFA: Old Globe/USD; RYS yoga/aerial yoga certified instructor. www.jozvam.com
The Modern Works Festival is best experienced with a MWF Pass ($128) that grants access to events, staged readings, and the headlining production. Urbanite aims to make theatre accessible so student tickets remain $5 and the Under 40 MWF Pass is priced at $108. Passes and single tickets are available now and more information can be found at urbanitetheatre.com/mwf. Urbanite Theatre is committed to creating visceral, shared experiences by fearlessly lifting up the boldest new voices in theatre. We believe in inclusive, artist-first storytelling, daring honesty, and the powerful connectivity of an intimate space.
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