New Play Festival | January 3 – January 12, 2025
Join us! Celebrate the new year with an exciting series of groundbreaking new plays! Not only will you experience the performances, but you’ll also have the opportunity to engage with the playwrights about their creative process, share your insights with the creative team, and contribute to building these new works from the script up.
2025 New Play Festival LINEUP
STAGED READINGS
ICED
By Steve Sherman
Facilitated by David Ratliff
Dramaturgy by Alex Drinnen
Lab Theatre
Saturday, January 4 at 7pm
Sunday, January 12 at 2pm
A famed NFL kicker’s career takes a nosedive after he misses the kick that would’ve won the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, his wife, teammate, and agent all fumble with his downward spiral. When unexpected consequences arise, David struggles to move forward in a sports-obsessed, social media-driven world where you’re only as good as your last kick.
SANDBAGS
By Katie Myers
Facilitated by Madison M. Mansouri
Dramaturgy by Sherridan Smee
Lab Theatre
Saturday, January 4 at 2pm
Thursday, January 9 at 7pm
Six years ago, a group of young people fought an oil pipeline in southern Louisiana and lost. Now they’re scattered, Gloria’s the last one left in their old bayou town, and a big hurricane’s on its way. Follow the group’s memories of their time deep in the magic and the darkness of the occupation and in the love they had for each other. For Mature Audiences
SNALLYGASTER
By Barry Wallace
Facilitated by H. Caitlin Corbitt
Dramaturgy by Harrison Young
Lab Theatre
Friday, January 3 at 7pm
Saturday, January 11 at 7pm
A young writer goes in search of long-lost stories about his Appalachian heritage. He discovers an enigmatic relative who exposes a horrifying truth about his family’s past. Mountain folklore meets contemporary suspense on one writer’s journey as he rediscovers his forgotten childhood and confronts the power of storytelling.
SWEETHEART DARLING HONEY BOO
By Celeste Pelletier
Facilitated by Savannah Smith
Dramaturgy by Brady Craddock
Lab Theatre
Sunday, January 5 at 2pm
Friday, January 10 at 7pm
This outrageous, fast-paced farce takes you on a wild ride through the chaos of marriage and divorce. Packed with dry meatloaf, awkward threesomes, impromptu therapy sessions, and many other unexpected twists, it’s sure to leave you laughing, cringing, and questioning everything you think you know about love. For Mature Audiences
DECORATION DAY
By Linda Parsons
Dramaturgy H. Caitlin Corbitt
Addison’s Bookstore
Tuesday, January 7 at 7pm
On Decoration Day in East Tennessee, a young lawyer and her aunt visit the family cemetery. When her father returns from prison, old secrets and family tensions resurface. Through flashbacks and revelations, Kate confronts her family’s troubled past, seeking to understand the true meaning of home in a place steeped in history and remembrance.
RED, WHITE, & BLACK
By Greg Congleton
Dramaturgy by David Ratliff
The Emporium
Wednesday, January 8 at 7pm
Spanning 1840 to 1857, this powerful story follows a woman of mixed descent in her journey across the South as she navigates the realities of migration, identity, and belonging. With Indigenous and African spirits commenting on the choices of the living, we are faced with our nation’s conflicting struggle of manifest destiny and where we truly belong.
THE GRAY MAN
A NEW MUSICAL
Music & Lyrics by Eric Sorrels
A Collaboration with First Take Co.
LAB Theatre
Saturday, January 11 at 2pm
An exclusive first listen of this captivating new musical in progress that re-imagines the well-known legend of Pawley’s Island. A love story told in three hurricanes, this tale follows a couple’s ups and downs through the eyes of a shadowy figure who appears before storms to deliver life-saving warnings.
Thank You to our Partners & Sponsors
Julie Howard
Nancy Sharp Voith & Kenneth Stark
Liz Stowers
