THE LOOP: LAB AND NEW WORK FESTIVAL to Present Two New Young Adult Works in 2026

The Loop: Lab and New Work Festival has announced the 2026 installment of its annual new works festival, taking place August 7-10, 2026, at The Hivve in downtown Grants Pass, Oregon.

The Loop Festival is the flagship program of The Loop: Lab and New Work Festival, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the canon of young adult theatre through the development of new plays and musicals. Through its innovative SAY Process (Story • Audience • Youth), The Loop brings together playwrights, professional theatre artists, young performers, and community members in a collaborative development model that places youth voices at the center of the creative process.

This year's festival marks the first Loop Festival produced under The Loop: Lab and New Work Festival's nonprofit structure and continues the organization's mission of developing new stories that speak to and are shaped by young people. Previously, this festival was produced by Aggregate Collective, LLC.

This year's festival will feature staged readings of two new works currently in development: 'The King's Table' written by Lee Cataluna and selections from 'Greek To Me,' a musical written by Maddy Sinclair and CV Wells.

Approximately thirty young adult actors throughout Southern Oregon will participate in a three-day development process from August 7-9. During rehearsals, the actors and stage managers serve as cultural consultants, providing insight into the resonance and impact of the material. Their feedback becomes an integral part of each work's continued development.

The public is invited to attend the festival's staged reading presentations on Monday, August 10, 2026, at The Hivve at 7:00 PM, or via YouTube Livestream. Following each reading, audience members in person and online will participate in facilitated discussions and act as responders to the work. These conversations become part of the creative "loop," providing playwrights with valuable feedback that may influence future revisions and productions.

"The Loop was founded on the belief that young people should have a voice in the stories created for them and about them," said Julia Cuppy, Founder and President of The Loop: Lab and New Work Festival. "By bringing together playwrights, youth artists, directors, and audiences, we create a collaborative environment where new work can be developed with authenticity, curiosity, and community at its core."

Now entering its third festival season, The Loop continues to build a national network of playwrights, educators, theatre artists, and young people committed to expanding opportunities for new work development in the field of young adult theatre. The festival's unique development model ensures that youth perspectives directly inform the creation of new plays and musicals, resulting in work that is both artistically compelling and deeply relevant to contemporary audiences.

Ticket information, artist announcements, and festival schedules will be released in the coming weeks and can be found at www.theloopfest.org

ABOUT THE SELECTED SHOWS:

THE KING'S TABLE

Playwright: Lee Cataluna
Director: Marjorie Mae Treger

Summary:
The King's Table is an inspiring and heartfelt play based on a true story. When a group of Iowa eighth graders learns that a small table belonging to Hawaiʻi's last king has been trapped in a decades-long ownership dispute, they take on an unlikely mission to help return it to its rightful home. As the students navigate friendship, teamwork, and civic action, their journey is interwoven with the story of Prince Jonah Kūhiō and King Kalākaua, whose lessons in leadership, diplomacy, and perseverance echo across generations. Filled with humor, history, and heart, The King's Table celebrates the power of young people to create meaningful change.

GREEK TO ME

Writers: Maddy Sinclair and CV Wells
Director: Julia Cuppy
Music Director: Bradley Behrmann

Summary:
Greek To Me is a hilarious and heartfelt new musical that reimagines Greek mythology through the lens of rebellion, romance, and destiny. As unrest grows against the rule of Zeus, the reluctant rebel Apollo is warned by the mysterious Fates that a powerful new goddess is about to arrive-one who could save civilization or doom it forever. Meanwhile, Aphrodite struggles with a curse that prevents her from experiencing love, the mortal charioteer Aristos finds himself caught between friendship and romance, and the endlessly optimistic Pandora searches for happiness in a world that blames her for its troubles. Filled with witty humor, unforgettable characters, and an original contemporary score, Greek To Me explores what it means to find your voice, challenge authority, and choose your own destiny.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS

Lee Cataluna is an acclaimed playwright, journalist, and author from Hawaiʻi. Her plays include Heart Strings (Atlantic Theater, Off-Broadway; Filament Theatre, Chicago; Purple Crayon Players at Northwestern University), Flowers of Hawaiʻi (Kumu Kahua Theatre; Native Voices at the Autry; Chautauqua Institution; University of Hawaiʻi; Maui OnStage), and Home of the Brave (La Jolla Playhouse; Honolulu Theatre for Youth). Current commissions include Emalani for Arena Stage, Super Aunty for the TYA/USA National BIPOC Superhero Project, and Sons of Maui, a finalist for the 2023 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Lee was a member of the inaugural Oregon Shakespeare Festival Indigenous Playwrights Cohort and has participated in both the 2024 Ojai Playwrights Conference and the 2025 SparkFest New Play Festival. Her honors include the Thomas Studie Gadugi Prize, the Von Marie Atchley Excellence in Playwriting Award, the Advanced Gender Equity in the Arts Grant, and the Cades Award for Literature.

Maddy Sinclair's highest achievements at school were curbing her disruptive behavior and almost suppressing her fabulously loud laugh. She joined London's workforce with undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia and no particular dream in mind-Theatre was going to have to come and find her. It did when she met an American drama teacher, visited LA and became an English Accent Coach for the cast of a school play. (Including a 9th-grade Jake Gyllenhaal) Seeing a need for material relevant to young actors, Maddy began writing monologues, then plays. Not knowing how to evolve early drafts of Greek To Me, her overly dramatic inner critic closed the show. Moving on to comic memoir pieces, then stand-up (her disruptive behavior was a hit), she was surprised by a commission for a one-woman show. Maddy was back in theatre but on stage when her real passion is to write for actors, sit in the audience, and let rip her fabulously loud laugh.

CV Wells describes himself as having 'The musical equivalent of multiple personality disorder-he writes and sings in varied genres from Rock to R&B, Reggae and Gypsy to Country Blues, Alternative Folk and Corny.' CV was offered a record deal at age twenty-three, but his lack of confidence prevented him from moving forward. He spent much of his life in sales, creatively paralyzed, avoiding his guitar. Songs would occasionally come to him in the shower, but were forgotten by the time he hit the sales floor. After escaping Corporate America, CV embraced his neurodivergence and unearthed his authentic songwriting voice, creating his CD, Back from Nowhere in 2013 with Grammy-nominated producer Reggie Griffin. He played regularly in the Central Coast Wine Country before moving to Colorado and forming the duo, Wells and Van Tyn. CV says he was 'Hog-tied and kidnapped' to compose and arrange for Greek To Me. 'Oddly, I really enjoyed it-the work, not being hog-tied.'

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL TEAM

Julia Cuppy (Festival Director & Board President) is a theatre educator, director, actor, and nonprofit arts leader whose work centers on arts education, new play development, and community-based practice. She is the founder and President of The Loop: Lab and New Work Festival, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the canon of young adult theatre through the development of new plays and musicals. Prior to founding The Loop, Julia served as Director of Education and Outreach at La Jolla Playhouse, where she oversaw programs serving more than 30,000 students, teachers, and patrons annually and commissioned new works by nationally recognized playwrights including Idris Goodwin, Gregg Mozgala, and A.A. Brenner. She currently serves as Director of Theatre at Grants Pass High School and is a member of Actor's Equity Association. Julia was recognized as the 2024 Reba R. Robertson Outstanding High School Theatre Teacher in America by the Children's Theatre Foundation of America.

Jaese Lecuyer (Festival Production Manager & Board Treasurer) is a multidisciplinary artist, director, choreographer, educator, and facilitator. He holds an MFA in Directing and Theatre Pedagogy from the University of Idaho and has collaborated with schools, arts organizations, and professional theatre companies throughout the West Coast. His work explores the intersections of theatre, movement, education, and community engagement. As a co-founder of The Loop Festival, Jaese is passionate about creating collaborative spaces where artists and young people can shape new work together.

Tianna Eddy (Festival Producer) is a theatre producer and arts administrator based in Southern Oregon. After beginning her artistic journey as a performer, choreographer, and stage manager, she discovered a passion for producing and supporting the work of other artists. Tianna has produced numerous productions throughout the region and serves as an assistant and associate producer for the Grants Pass High School Theatre Department. She is committed to fostering opportunities for young artists and helping bring new stories to life through collaborative artistic processes.

Trever Yarrish (Festival Technical Director & Facility Manager) has a deep-rooted love for theater, having spent years both on stage and behind the scenes in various productions. His background in the arts has shaped his approach to community building and creative collaboration. At The Hivve, a versatile community and event space in Grants Pass, Trever works to create opportunities for local artists and creatives to connect and thrive. The Hivve has become a gathering place for cultural events, including the The Loop Festival, where Tever's focus is on fostering a supportive environment for artistic expressions and innovation.

ABOUT THE ARTISTIC TEAM

Marjorie Mae Treger (Director, The King's Table and Board Secretary) is an award-winning theatre educator, director, and arts advocate with more than 30 years of experience in public education and youth theatre. She currently serves as Conservatory Director at La Jolla Playhouse, where she leads intensive training programs for teen artists focused on professional acting techniques, devised theatre, and collaborative ensemble work. Prior to joining La Jolla Playhouse, Marjorie served as the District Theatre Resource Teacher for San Diego Unified School District, where she designed TK-12 theatre curriculum, mentored educators, and cultivated partnerships with leading arts organizations. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Educational Theatre Association's Administrator's Award, Disney Performing Arts' Inspiring Brilliance Award, and the Enduring Artful Learner Ovation Award from the San Diego County Office of Education. Marjorie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from UC San Diego and a Master of Theatre Studies from Southern Oregon University. She is a passionate advocate for youth-centered storytelling and arts education and is honored to direct The King's Table as part of the 2026 Loop Festival.

Bradley J. Behrmann is a professional musical theatre nerd who splits his time between New York City, San Diego, St. Louis, and Amarillo. Hailing from Belleville, IL, he earned a B.Mus. in Music Ed from Lawrence University and a MFA in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University. A multi-hyphenate, he works primarily as an actor-educator-writer. As an actor, Bradley made his Off-Broadway debut in March 2018 as Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac. Regional favorites include Charles Clark in Titanic, Brit Craig in Parade, Dr. Craven in The Secret Garden, and Sebastian in The Tempest. Behind the table, Bradley has been director and music director for regional and educational productions, most recently at West Texas A&M University where he has served as Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre since 2018. Creative credits there include Musical of Musicals: The Musical, Spring Awakening, Songs for a New World, Monstersongs, and Alice By Heart. Connect on bradleyj.co.

ABOUT THE LOOP: LAB AND NEW WORK FESTIVAL

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