DREAM UP FESTIVAL to Return to Theater for the New City

From August 23 through September 13, 2026, Theater for the New City (TNC), under the direction of Crystal Field, will present the 14th Dream Up Festival, an annual festival of new theatrical and performance works.

The festival is curated by TNC Literary Manager Michael Scott-Price. This year's lineup includes 23 productions comprising 18 world premieres, one special engagement, one workshop, and three shows with previous production histories.

The festival presents new work by emerging and established artists, with an emphasis on experimental and nontraditional performance. The festival seeks productions that explore unconventional approaches to theater and performance.  Audiences will savor the excitement, awe, passion, challenge and intrigue of new plays from around the country. 

Tickets for Dream Up Festival productions range from $15 to $25.

This year's festival will also contain, as associated events, two play readings from TNC's New City, New Blood Reading Series, a monthly staged reading program that showcases new plays in early development. It is curated by Michael Scott-Price and offers audiences a chance to share feedback with developing playwrights.

Michael Scott-Price, director of the festival, has directed productions at New York venues including Chashama, Dixon Place and Collective Unconscious. His original works have been presented throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Ireland and England. At Theater for the New City, he also curates the "New City, New Blood" reading series and "Scratch Night," a works-in-progress series. He is Artistic Director of Asteroid B612 Theatre Company, which debuted in the 17th Annual HERE American Living Room Series in 2006. His training includes study at the School of Physical Theatre in London; Odin Teatret in Holstebro, Denmark; and the International School of Theatre Anthropology (ISTA) in Wroclaw, Poland with Eugenio Barba and company. He is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and serves on the Board of Directors of Theater for the New City.

Theater for the New City (TNC) maintains a distinctive commitment to high artistic values and community service. In an effort to make theater accessible to all, TNC presents an assortment of distinct, exceptional events each year, including the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which celebrates the artistic and cultural diversity of TNC's Lower East Side community; an annual Village Halloween Ball and an annual summer Street Theater tour that presents a free, live, original musical in thirteen neighborhoods in all five boroughs. Most of these are free to the public.  

Performances

"#OneInnocentWoman," written and directed by Matt Okin

"042: Failure to Furnish" by Jess Foley, directed by Oliver Conant

"Be A Man," written and directed by James Bastone

"The Box," written and directed by Patrick Hamilton

"California's Fault," written by Michael Matasci, Directed by Karen Slade

"City of Ladies" by Lorraine Liscio, directed by Myriam Cyr

"The Edge Motel" by Tom Rowan, directed by Ron Lasko

"ENOUGH: The Agreement" by Jonathan G Galvez, Directed by Kristen Keim

"Happy Anniversary Darling!" written and directed by Darcy Sternberg

"Hear Me," a musical theater work in American Sign Language (ASL) and English

"It's not the end of the world" by The Bank Street Players

"Love Insurance" by Rita Mercury, directed by Brooke Tyler Benson

"Lullaby" by Nestor Guzman, directed by Rebecca Aparicio

"Magnus," written and directed by Wendy Biller

"Mahogany Hall," book and lyrics by Katharine McNair; music and score by Michael Gallant

"Queensbridge" by Marlin Thomas, directed by DeMone Seraphin

"Shangri-La-La," music and lyrics by Mike Meier, directed by Mike Meier, book by Mike Meier and Peter Giambalvo

"Somewhere, Virginia, a play" by John Harney, directed by Anna Rebek

"Syzygy" by Candice Lynne Fox, directed by Peter Marinaro

"The Theft" by Sofia Dao, directed by Sofia Figueroa

"This Memory doesn't Taste like a Birthday Cake," written and directed by Andi Cui

"Vatican Missteps" by A.N. Suleiman, directed by Barbara Schofield Suleiman

"Wilhelm Reich Unleashed: a Comedy about Cosmic Orgone Energy, Flying Saucers, and Magic Sex Boxes," written and directed by William Cane

Associated Readings

"Pleasant Dreams," written and performed by Robin Hirsch

"A Dream Beyond This Pain" by Jonathon Ward, directed by Lori Kee

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