2026-2027 NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
January 5th-17th, 2027
For over 37 seasons, Tennessee Stage Company has supported playwrights through hundreds of script readings, workshops, and 41 world premiere productions. This season continues TSC’s ongoing commitment to playwrights from East Tennessee, offering a robust development process for four new plays that culminates in a two-week rehearsal intensive and public readings at the TSC New Play Festival in January 2027.
SPOTLIGHT PRODUCTION | CBT LAB THEATRE
THE GRAY MAN
A New Musical
book, music & lyrics by Eric Sorrels / Wilson County
A love story told in three hurricanes, this highly anticipated world-premiere musical follows one couple’s ups and downs through the eyes of the famed Pawleys Island legend, whose appearance before storms brings haunting warnings and the promise of second chances.
Director: David Ratliff
Music Director: Melony Dodson
STAGED READING SERIES | BORDERLAND PLAYHOUSE
14 EXCEPTIONS
by Greg Congleton / Knox County
Library Reading: October 24, 2027 (1pm)
Festival Readings: January 9, 2027 (7pm), January 17, 2027 (2pm)
In the aftermath of the Civil War, former Confederates in East Tennessee must seek pardons from their Unionist neighbors. Divided communities come together in this moving historical drama inspired by our region’s past, as a nation struggles to move forward united.
Facilitator: Raine Palmer
Dramaturg: Harrison Young
GHOSTWRITTEN
by Alexandra Noelle / Knox County
Library Reading: October 10, 2027 (1pm)
Festival Readings: January 10, 2027 (2pm), January 15, 2027 (7pm)
Haunted by the ghost of her late husband, a reclusive violin prodigy confronts unfinished music and the unresolved tension that still binds them together in this beautifully poetic and deeply original meditation on grief, memory and the enduring resonance of love.
Facilitator: Drew Drake
Dramaturg: Dr. Natalie Graham
IMAGINARY SPECIES
by Jerico Bleu / Blount County
Library Reading: November 14, 2027 (1pm)
Festival Readings: January 8, 2027 (7pm), January 16, 2027 (7pm)
Blending Southern Gothic with 1980s horror films, a troubled man returns to his hometown seeking a twisted reckoning with his past, where buried trauma and darkness refuse to stay silent.
Facilitator: Madi Mansouri
Dramaturg: Katie Myers
TABLE READING SERIES | UNION AVENUE BOOKS
BIGFOOT MOUNTAIN
by Marius Palmour / Sullivan County
Festival Table Reading: January 5, 2027 (7pm)
A skeptical audio engineer joins the crew of an outrageously corny Bigfoot hunting reality show and discovers that the truth behind the cameras can often be stranger than fiction.
Facilitator: Steve Trigg
GOATMAN
by Jen Jarnigan / Jefferson County
Festival Table Reading: January 6, 2027 (7pm)
When two estranged siblings trek into the Appalachians to spread their mother’s ashes, an eccentric wilderness guide offers them an unusual path through grief. This absurdist comedy explores family dysfunction, mountain folklore and the powerful allure of a radical self-invention.
Facilitator: Steve Sherman
INTERSEXTIONS
by Peggy Douglas / Hamilton County
Festival Table Reading: January 12, 2027 (7pm)
Two Southern housewives stumble into a queer poetry slam where an unlikely circle of friends turns awkward first impressions into the unexpected joys of chosen family and embracing your authentic self.
Facilitator: H. Caitlin Corbitt
RUMINATION
by Madison M. Mansouri / Knox County
Festival Table Reading: January 13, 2027 (7pm)
Matilda is turning 30 and, by all appearances, thriving. She has a caring boyfriend, a great trauma-informed therapist, new position at her job, and the best group of friends. Everything is going just as planned: except she can barely stay present in her own body. As intrusive thoughts and fractured memories disrupt her carefully constructed life, Matilda must confront the invisible weight she carries, and learn what it means to let the people who love her carry her, too.
Facilitator: Sherridan Smee
Recent New Play Festivals
Check out our New Play Festival Premieres post detailing the premiere productions we have produced between 1989 and now. A lot has changed since we began; this list does not include the table/staged readings prior to 2020. You can also check out the content from recent years’ past: