LAUNCHPAD 2.0 to Close Theatrical Outfit's 49th Season With Four World Premieres

Theatrical Outfit will conclude its 49th Season with a “MADE IN ATLANTA” Festival – LAUNCHPAD 2.0 (July 14 – 28, 2026). 

In the 20/21 theatrical season, Theatrical Outfit launched the “MADE IN ATLANTA” new play development program which contains four components, including LAUNCHPAD – an exciting way to empower a new generation of theatre artists with the space, resources, development, and institutional support to create visceral, compact, innovative, and portable performance pieces than can be replicated in ANY space in Atlanta, Georgia, the nation, or even across the globe. This “MADE IN ATLANTA” festival has become an incubator for pioneering brand-new shows originating from the diverse creative ecosystem of ATL with each of the 4 World Premieres from last year seeing life past the festival. “MADE IN ATLANTA” champions the unheard stories that celebrate the richness and challenge the assumptions of who we are as a city. TO's goal is to contribute to the development of a diverse Southern dramatic canon with an emphasis on stories that embody an ever-evolving “Atlanta aesthetic.”

For year 2.0, LAUNCHPAD welcomes four World Premieres:

• BlerdMan by Thomas Brazzle (an adventure blending comedy, storytelling, and theatrical spectacle to celebrate Black resilience and the extraordinary power found in everyday heroes)
• The Penelopes by Kira Rockwell (a poetic two-hander about intergenerational kinship, the rituals we create to survive, and the hidden magic in the most ordinary of nights)
• Queen (of the American Nail Salon) by Ryan Vo & Corey Bradberry (a one-man show spanning thousands of miles, five decades, and an entire generation in a heartfelt eighty minutes)
• I'm A Motherf-ing Super Star by Valeka Jessica (a bold, electric fusion of stand-up and theatrical storytelling in which Valeka returns to the stage on her own terms)

Workshop Presentations include:

• TRIUNE by Stephen Ruffin & Filipe Valle Costa & Matt Mercurio (a piece moving through three intimate stories to reckon with how power mutates over time, from blade, to camera, to interstellar expansion)
• In Rapping Shakespeare by Caleb Clark (a whirlwind journey through hip-hop and Shakespeare that asks the audience to grapple with their own self-image, reconnect with the spoken word, and see their fellow human with a bit more kindness, curiosity, and wonder)

Theatrical Outfit is thrilled to welcome audiences to the Balzer Theater at Herren's (84 Luckie St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30303). Packages and single tickets for LAUNCHPAD 2.0 (July 14 – 28, 2026) are on sale NOW. We invite you to visit theatricaloutfit.org or call 678-528-1500 for more information.

ABOUT THE WORLD PREMIERES & WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS

BlerdMan by Thomas Brazzle

July 14, 21 & 25 at 7:30pm | July 18 at 2:30pm

BlerdMan follows a lifelong Black nerd whose world is shaken when a school bully claims there are no real Black heroes. Equipped with his own overactive imagination, he sets out on a hilarious and heartfelt quest to prove otherwise. His journey through pop culture, history, and personal memory leads to the revelation that the greatest hero he's ever known is his own mother. This one-man adventure blends comedy, storytelling, and theatrical spectacle to celebrate Black resilience and the extraordinary power found in everyday heroes.

The Penelopes by Kira Rockwell

July 15, 18 & 22 at 7:30pm | July 25 at 2:30pm

An estranged grandmother and granddaughter, both named Penelope, share a sleepless night on the porch. As the evening unfolds, Poppy's mischievous, magnetic spirit collides with Nell's quick-witted restlessness as they dance barefoot under moonlight, spill secrets over tarot cards, and face the shadows who've shaped them both. By dawn, both women discover a path toward transformation that glows as gently and defiantly as sunrise. The Penelopes is a poetic two-hander about intergenerational kinship, the rituals we create to survive, and the hidden magic in the most ordinary of nights.

Queen (of the American Nail Salon) by Ryan Vo & Corey Bradberry

July 16, 23 & 26 at 7:30pm | July 19 at 2:30pm

1979, in the cold unforgiving waters between Vietnam and Malaysia: Hue Le flees her life in war-torn Vietnam for the promise of a bigger dream in America. Fifty years later, her estranged son appears at her funeral and questions whether it was all worth it. In between, she was one of the pioneers of the American Nail Salon: a self-described “Queen of America” who scrubbed strangers' feet for a living. Queen (of the American Nail Salon) is a one-man show spanning thousands of miles, five decades, and an entire generation in a heartfelt eighty minutes.

I'm A Motherf-ing Super Star by Valeka Jessica

July 17, 19 & 24 at 7:30pm | July 26 at 2:30pm

In this bold, electric fusion of stand-up and theatrical storytelling, Valeka returns to the stage on her own terms. With Keysha—her no-filter, truth-spilling alter ego—by her side, and insights pulled from her bestselling book Blossoming After Divorce, she dismantles the lies, the rumors, and the people who underestimated her, transforming it all into her manifesting queendom. Abandoned mid-IVF. Broke. Alone. A survivor of sexual assault and divorce. Valeka steps forward to set the record straight—loud, raw, and unapologetically clear: “I'm A Motherf-ing Super Star.”

TRIUNE by Stephen Ruffin & Filipe Valle Costa & Matt Mercurio

July 27 at 7:30pm

TRIUNE traces the same act of conquest across three seemingly disparate moments in time. In the Past, Lapu-Lapu faces Ferdinand Magellan as Europe arrives by force; in the Present, two Hollywood producers fight over ownership of that history; and in the Future, a soldier surveys a new world for humanity's next claim. TRIUNE moves through three intimate stories to reckon with how power mutates over time, from blade, to camera, to interstellar expansion.

In Rapping Shakespeare by Caleb Clark

July 28 at 7:30pm

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