Austin Playhouse Announces Lineup for 2025 Festival of New Texas Plays

Austin Playhouse has announced the lineup for its annual Festival of New Texas Plays, returning June 21–22, 2025. The festival showcases new works-in-progress by Texas-based playwrights and continues the company’s commitment to nurturing original voices through readings, commissions, and world premieres.

This year’s festival features staged readings of three new plays by C. Denby Swanson, Sarah Saltwick, and Raul Garza. All events will take place at Austin Playhouse’s Studio Stage, 405 West 22nd Street. Tickets are Pick-Your-Price, starting at free, and are available at austinplayhouse.com/newplaydevelopment.

Festival attendees will also have access to discounted tickets to the current mainstage production, Fat Ham, winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Discounted performances run June 20–22. austinplayhouse.com/fatham

The Elsewhere by C. Denby Swanson

Saturday, June 21 at 5:00 PM
Featuring: Sarah Fleming Walker, Huck Huckaby, Liam Minor

A heartfelt meditation on the pull between generations, The Elsewhere draws from Swanson’s own experience as a daughter and mother navigating the delicate terrain of emotional inheritance.

The Bone Wars by Sarah Saltwick

Saturday, June 21 at 8:00 PM
Featuring: Joseph Garlock, Tobie Minor, Ismael Soto III, Sarah Zeringue

Based on true events, The Bone Wars chronicles the fierce rivalry between 19th-century paleontologists O.C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, whose obsession with dinosaur discovery shaped natural history—and led to their mutual downfall.

Men in Shorts by Raul Garza

Sunday, June 22 at 4:00 PM
Featuring: Mical Trejo

Loosely inspired by author David Foster Wallace, Men in Shorts follows Dave, a once-celebrated writer, now spiraling into middle-aged obscurity, as he confronts fame, failure, and the limits of reinvention.

Austin Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. MATILDA: THE MUSICAL (Gaslight-Baker Theatre)

17% of votes

2. SISTER ACT (Bastrop Opera House)

6.3% of votes

3. SHREK (Broke Thespians Theatre Company)

5.7% of votes

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