Flint Repertory Theatre To Present 2026 New Works Festival
Featuring plays by Larissa Fasthorse And James Anthony Tyler.
By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 30, 2026
Flint Repertory Theatre will present its 2026 New Works Festival in February. The festival includes staged readings of new plays by Larissa FastHorse, Shannon TL Kearns, James Anthony Tyler, and Lina Patel. Performances will take place over three days in Flint, Michigan.
The annual New Works Festival offers audiences the opportunity to experience new plays at an early stage of development and engage with the artists behind them. Each reading will be followed by opportunities for discussion and reflection.
“The New Works Festival is one of the most exciting moments of our season,” said Flint Rep Producing Artistic Director Nicole Samsel. “It invites audiences into the creative process and celebrates writers who are pushing the form in powerful ways. We're thrilled to bring these plays, and these artists, to Flint and to share this experience with our community.”
MAKOCE
Friday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Makoce is a new play by Larissa FastHorse that blends horror and satire. FastHorse is a Guggenheim Fellow and MacArthur Fellow and was the first known female Native playwright to be produced on Broadway. Her work includes The Thanksgiving Play, which has received hundreds of productions worldwide.
LAUGHING, FLEXING, DYING
By Shannon TL Kearns
Saturday, February 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Set during an annual getaway in a mountain cabin, Laughing, Flexing, Dying follows three friends as tensions surface and long-standing relationships are tested. Kearns is an award-winning playwright whose work has been supported by organizations including Humanitas, Lambda Literary, and the Playwrights’ Center.
THE DROP OFF
Saturday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m.
The Drop Off centers on a mother and daughter confronting unresolved history at an assisted living facility in Las Vegas. James Anthony Tyler is the recipient of the Horton Foote Playwriting Award and a graduate of Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. His previous work Into the Side of the Hill was developed at Flint Rep’s 2023 New Works Festival and received its world premiere there in 2024.
BONOBOS
By Lina Patel
Sunday, February 15 at 2:00 p.m.
Bonobos takes place within a suburban book club as a group of women confront the arrival of an abusive ex-partner. Patel is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has been presented nationally and internationally, with television credits including Cherish the Day and Krypton.
Tickets for individual readings are priced at $11, with a festival package available for $20, granting access to all four readings. Tickets may be purchased through the FIM Ticket Center box offices at FIM Whiting Auditorium and FIM Capitol Theatre, or by phone.
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