Theatre NOVA Announces Lineup for 2025 Michigan Playwrights Festival

Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s resident nonprofit professional theatre dedicated to new plays, will present the 2025 Michigan Playwrights Festival September 11–14, showcasing a series of professionally acted and directed staged readings of new full-length plays by Michigan writers.

Launched to support playwrights and develop their work, the festival has become an important step for many writers, with past plays such as Mazel Tov, John Lennon by David Wells and Irrational by R. MacKenzie Lewis and David Wells going on to award-winning productions. This year’s event continues the tradition of combining community, collaboration, and creativity.

Featured playwright Sarah Elisabeth Brown noted that public readings are “essential for the growth of a piece of theatrical literature,” adding that “creative alchemy happens during a public interface that can’t happen alone in the writer’s head.” Fellow playwright Andrew Morton praised NOVA’s bold programming, observing that most of this year’s plays tell queer stories: “At a time when our community is under attack, Theatre NOVA is making a bold and necessary statement that our lives matter, our stories matter, and that they belong on the stage and in the world.”

The lineup begins on Thursday, September 11 at 8 p.m. with I Am A Sword by Joseph Zettelmaier, directed by Josie Herman, featuring Brittany Batell, Jonathan Davidson, and Andy Jones. The play follows Martine Lowe, a former Olympic fencer recovering from a brutal assault, who begins training with a mysterious coach as she struggles to reclaim her identity.

On Friday, September 12 at 8 p.m., Jennifer Lane’s Matrescence, directed by CJ Williams, features Bréon LaDawn, Princess Beyoncé Jones, Edward Colon, La’Paige, and Larry Rink. The play explores the story of Margot, an unmarried pregnant queer woman in her thirties, who must confront her conservative parents as she navigates the challenges of motherhood in the modern era.

Saturday, September 13 at 3 p.m. brings Jill Halpern’s Look at Me Now, directed by Bryana Hall, with Cassandra Svacha, Emily Wilson-Tobin, Evan Brown, and Trevor Maher. Inspired by James Baldwin’s reflections on identity, the play interweaves the lives of a lesbian couple, an orphaned Black teen, and a third-generation white supremacist on Death Row.

That evening at 8 p.m., Andrew Morton’s Blue Star Highway takes the stage, directed by Kevin Keller and featuring Mike Sandusky, Jordan Clime, AJ Dagenais, and Stirling Orlowski. Spanning decades, the play tells the story of a closeted high school teacher in 1994 Saugatuck, Michigan, and the family he left behind—revealing secrets that echo across generations.

The festival concludes on Sunday, September 14 at 2 p.m. with These My Queens by Sarah Elisabeth Brown, directed by Siri Quist and performed by Cassius Merriweather, Laura Nguyen, and Dirk Ever. This piece follows a 90s baby dyke performance artist who falls in love with a budding drag queen and begins to question her own sexuality.

Producing Artistic Director Shelby R. Seeley emphasized the collaborative spirit of the festival: “It’s Michigan playwrights, actors, and directors, but it’s also the audience coming together to help craft new plays. That’s my favorite part—how many people, old and new, come into our space and experience new theatre together.”

The festival runs September 11–14 at Theatre NOVA (410 W Huron St, Ann Arbor). Tickets are $10 per reading or $30 for a Festival Pass and can be purchased at theatrenova.org or at the door, which opens one hour before showtime. Seating begins 30 minutes before each performance, and ample free parking is available steps away from downtown dining.

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