Kansas City Public Theatre Unveils '25-26 Season Featuring Ryan Bernstein as Resident Playwright

Kansas City Public Theatre has revealed its 2025–2026 season, celebrating a dynamic year of new works through its signature Theatre Lab Series and the culminating Theatre Lab FEST in May 2026. This year’s season highlights include a yearlong residency with playwright and journalist Ryan Bernsten, whose biting new workplace satire, Reduction in Force, will anchor the season with a full production in spring 2026. Reduction in Force will be directed by KCPublic Producing Artistic Director, Nathan Bowman.

Ryan Bernsten joins KCPublic as this year’s Resident Playwright. His new play, Reduction in Force, kicks off with a Theatre Lab reading on September 14 at The Black Box and will be developed throughout the season with community feedback, culminating in a fully staged production at Theatre Lab FEST in May 2026.

“Reduction in Force” is a blistering comedy about power, performative politics, and the human cost of a mission-driven machine. When leadership at a youth suicide prevention nonprofit announces mass layoffs in the name of “sustainability,” employees scramble to survive in a workplace where loyalty trumps impact and gaslighting is policy.

Alongside Bernsten’s residency, the Theatre Lab Series continues with five new works by emerging and established playwrights, each reflecting bold artistic voices and urgent social questions.

2025–2026 SEASON LINEUP

Reduction in Force by Ryan Bernsten

Theatre Lab Reading: September 14, 2025 at The Black Box

Full Production: May 2026 at Theatre Lab FEST

North Avenue by Christopher Kess

Theatre Lab Reading: November 9, 2025 at The Black Box
A West Baltimore pastor is tempted by the promise of revitalization, only to face the true cost of a deal that may betray his community and his conscience.

Not a Love Story by Prisca Jebet Kendagor

Theatre Lab Reading: February 8, 2026 at The Black Box
Two former lovers can't escape each other, entangled in longing and heat that never fully burned out. A moody, magnetic exploration of desire and memory.

Wicked Creatures by Emma Carter

Theatre Lab Reading: April 12, 2026 at The Black Box
In a gothic horror where the real monsters are all too human, a woman takes revenge on a young eugenicist in a chilling tale of justice, liberation, and survival.

Broken Pieces by Mateo Moreno

Theatre Lab Reading: May 2026 at Theatre Lab FEST
This haunting anthology weaves six interconnected stories of fear, hope, and misinformation. Part Twilight Zone, part Black Mirror—we are who we break.

Preacher Man by Amber Dickinson

Theatre Lab Reading: May 2026 at Theatre Lab FEST
A preacher’s dark past resurfaces during a tense encounter with a local lawman. As truths unravel, the lines between right and wrong blur beyond recognition.