The Old Globe Will Present 13th Annual Powers New Voices Festival

The Old Globe will present the 13th annual Powers New Voices Festival, a three-day play reading event featuring seven new plays by emerging and award-winning playwrights writing for the American theatre today, including new works by San Diegans. The free Festival runs Friday, Jan. 16 through Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Powers New Voices Festival kicks off with Celebrating Community Voices, an evening of short works created by local, first-time playwrights through the Globe’s Arts Engagement program. On January 16, there will be readings of three 20-minute plays by local artists Daimary Sánchez Moreno, Adena Varner, and Gastón Morineau and Veronica Burgess.

The festival continues January 17 and 18 with four full-length new American play readings: On the Far End by Mary Kathryn Nagle, The Valentine Vendetta: A Famous Girl Detective’s Least Famous Case by Laura Winters, This Is Not an Immigrant Story by Reza Salazar, and Three-headed Monster by JuCoby Johnson.

“The 2026 Powers New Voices Festival celebrates the art of American playwriting,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “The Globe’s development of new work for the American stage shapes the national repertoire through commissions, workshops, and productions, and the Powers New Voices Festival is central to our efforts. This year’s Festival once again brings brilliant writers and works to San Diego. The range of material we’re showcasing is dazzling—there’s comedy, drama, political inquiry, and the rich complexity of family relationships. All of the writing is deep, passionate, smart, and inventive. It’s a great moment in American playwrighting, and our Festival exemplifies what’s exciting about the reach and ambition of the American stage. I am delighted to share this variety of work with our audiences and also to express gratitude to Danielle Mages Amato, the Globe’s Director of New Plays and Dramaturgy, for her visionary leadership, and to the generous philanthropists who give our Festival its name, Paula and Brian Powers.

POWERS NEW VOICES FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

FESTIVAL SERIES OF NEW AMERICAN PLAY READINGS

On the Far End
By Mary Kathryn Nagle
Directed by Madeline Sayet
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026
4:00 p.m. 

Muscogee leader Jean Hill Chaudhuri traces her family’s history from the Trail of Tears to her grandfather’s allotment in central Oklahoma. In an astonishing one-woman play, she shares her story—the Native boarding school she fled on foot, her marriage to a young Bengali scholar, and the advocacy that became her life’s work. With On the Far End, a reference to the landmark 2020 Supreme Court opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma that rejected Oklahoma's attempt to extinguish the Muscogee Reservation, one of America’s leading playwrights (Sovereignty; Manahatta) weaves a deeply personal account of one family—her own mother-in-law’s—and a legacy of broken promises between nations.

The Valentine Vendetta: A Famous Girl Detective's Least Famous Case
By Laura Winters
Directed by Maggie Burrows
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026
7:30 p.m.

Teen detective Nancy Drew, her father, and her trusted housekeeper are heading up to an inn in the Adirondacks for a long weekend of skiing, cutting out paper Valentines, and can you believe it - murder. One of the most famous characters in American pop culture comes alive on stage in this original mystery comedy that is equal parts love letter to and send up of all the great whodunnits. It will take all of Nancy's smarts and stylish outfits to figure out which one of her fellow guests is actually a killer. 

This Is Not an Immigrant Story
Written and performed by Reza Salazar
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026
4:00 p.m. 

After taking her five-year-old son on a “vacation” that lasts several years, Reza Salazar’s young mom finds herself in a foreign land with nowhere to go and no money to pay for childcare. She paints a circle on his nose, then on her own, and they begin their lives as clowns performing on the streets to survive.

This Is Not an Immigrant Story is a remarkable solo performance told through the lens of Reza's memories as he excavates, integrates, and makes meaningful sense of the events that shaped his personal and artistic journey. A coming-of-age story about growing up together, Reza explores trauma, resilience, and love through humor, compassion, and arresting physicality.

Three-headed Monster
By JuCoby Johnson
Directed by H. Adam Harris
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026
7:30 p.m. 

After serving three years on Riker's Island for a crime he didn't commit, 21-year-old Kyrie returns to his neighborhood in the Bronx and moves in with his childhood best friends. Navigating the loss of his teenage years, the lingering wounds of his experience, and a changed dynamic amongst his friends, Kyrie tries to find his place in a world that has continued on without him. Three-headed Monster is a play about grief, lost time, and the healing power of friendship. 

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY VOICES
Friday, Jan. 16, 2026
7:30 p.m.

War Diaries
By Daimary Sánchez Moreno
Directed by Valeria Vega
Developed in collaboration with CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana)

War Diaries follows three soldiers: Bennie, Marti, and Lila, who emerge victorious at the end of a war they can no longer remember. With fading memories, weary bodies, and no clear story of what they fought for, they refuse to return home until they recover the truth. War Diaries is a poignant and poetic exploration of identity, memory, and the courage it takes to begin again.

Mother Wit
By Adena Varner
Directed by Desireé Clarke Miller
Developed in collaboration with the George L. Stevens Fourth District Seniors Resource Center

Mother Wit is a powerful intergenerational story that celebrates the strength, resilience, and lived wisdom of Black women. Follow the autobiographical memories of Dr. Suzanne Afflalo and Ms. Rosemary Pope as they reflect on their childhoods, their families, and the elders who shaped them, weaving humor and heartache, and honoring the practical wisdom passed through generations. Mother Wit is a moving tribute to the lessons that guide us, the communities that hold us, and the legacies we carry forward.

Los Alebrijes
By Gastón Morineau and Veronica Burgess
Directed by Valeria Vega
Developed in collaboration with Casa Familiar 

Los Alebrijes is a colorful and heartfelt journey into the Land of the Dead, where spirit guides help souls cross the bridge of cempasúchil (marigolds) for Día de los Muertos. Guided by Catrina, audiences meet a lively group of alebrijes as they learn what it truly means to accompany a soul with care. Filled with humor, music, puppetry, and Mexican folklore, Los Alebrijes celebrates memory, courage, and the love that connects families across generations.

The 13th annual Powers New Voices Festival will begin January 16 and concludes January 18, 2026. The festival will take place in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets to all festival readings are free and require reservations. Globe subscribers and donors can reserve seats beginning, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. PST. Subject to availability, reservations for the general public will be available beginning Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at noon. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Ticket Services Department at (619) 234-5623. A line for standby seating will form 30 minutes before each performance. Based on ticket-holder attendance, those standing in the standby line may be seated. Seating is based on availability and is not guaranteed. Latecomers with tickets are also not guaranteed admittance. For more information visit TheOldGlobe.org.

Major funding for the Powers New Voices Festival is provided by the Powers New Works Fund. The Old Globe’s Community Voices Program is supported by the Ann Davies Fund for Teaching Artists. Financial support of The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

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