Austin Playhouse to Present 2026 FESTIVAL OF NEW TEXAS PLAYS With Three World Premieres
Playwrights Emilie Budjaja, Carl Gonzales, and Kleo James Ryan will present staged readings at Austin Playhouse.
Austin Playhouse will present three new works as part of the 2026 Festival of New Texas Plays running August 15-16, 2026 at Austin Playhouse. As part of Austin Playhouse's dedication to supporting the new works of playwrights through world premieres, commissioned works, and new play festivals – this year three works were selected for staged readings from Texas playwrights Emilie Budjaja, Carl Gonzales, and Kleo James Ryan. The Festival of New Texas Plays celebrates works-in-progress from Texas-based playwrights.
Playwrights will be attendance at each performance with a talkback following each reading. There will be an opening mixer between performances on August 15 with light refreshments. Guests are welcome to stay after the 4pm performance, arrive early for the 7:30pm, or attend both. Sunday's reading will conclude with a closing reception.
Finalist runners-up were Everyone, give yourselves a pat on the back! by Erin Malone Turner and I'M GONNA BE THE GOVERNOR by Ainsley Powers.
Semi-Finalists for the 2026 Festival of New Texas Plays are Peanut Is A Vibe by Nate Southard; Two Million Years of Rain by Sheree L. Ross; First by Joey Banks and Vee Council; T-minus-15 by Diamante Martinez; and The Lily Problem by Max Langert.
The Selection Committee for this year's festival were Lowell Bartholomee, Brian Coughlin, Lara Toner Haddock, Tonie Knight, Stephen Mercantel, Laura Walberg, Cyndi Williams, and Ben Wolfe.
Tickets are Pick-Your-Price with a limited number of FREE for each performance. Tickets are available now at austinplayhouse.com/newplaydevelopment
ACES by Emilie Budjaja
Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 4pm
ACES turns questions of language, identity, and belonging into an experience that is funny, moving and magical. The play interweaves two storylines twenty years apart, revealing how the same hopes, pressures, and sacrifices echo across generations. Partially performed in Mandarin with no subtitles, it asks the audience to experience, rather than just observe, the struggle to understand one another.
Lulu Goes to the Jim Henson Memorial Service by Kleo James Ryan
Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 7:30pm
Lulu Goes to the Jim Henson Memorial Service is a wonderfully theatrical blend of heart, humor, grief, and puppetry. Yes, puppetry. The conceit that nearly everyone except Lulu's parents is a puppet allows the audience to see the world through Lulu's imaginative and deeply felt (pun fully intended) perspective. It is genuinely hilarious, delightfully weird, and ultimately profoundly tender.
Mom and Pop by Carl Gonzales
Sunday, August 16, 2026 at 2pm
Mom and Pop is a vivid exploration of family, culture, and community, set in a down-home restaurant where everyone dreams of bigger things. It is both a family comedy and a love letter to the Latine community - messy, exuberant, politically alive, and full of heart.
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