New Play Festival


January 3-12, 2025

NEW YEAR. NEW PLAYS.


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.

Staged readings will be held at the Clarence Brown Lab Theatre.

SINGLE TICKETS, FESTIVAL PASSES, & ALL-ACCESS PASSES COMING SOON!

2025 FESTIVAL LINEUP

STAGED READINGS

ICED

by Steve Sherman

Dramaturgy by Alex Drinnen

Facilitated by David Ratliff

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 missed kick.

SANDBAGS

by Katie Myers

Dramaturgy by Sheridan Smee

Facilitated by Madison M. Mansouri

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.

SNALLYGASTER

by Barry Wallace

Dramaturgy by Harrison Young

Facilitated by H. Caitlin Corbitt

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

Dramaturgy by Brady Craddock

Facilitated by Savannah Smith

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. Intended for mature audiences.

TABLE READINGS

DECORATION DAY

by Linda Parsons

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, AND BLACK

by Greg Congleton

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.

Thank you to our partners and sponsors

This season’s projects are being supported in whole or in part by federal award number SLFRP5534, awarded to the State of Tennessee, the City of Knoxville, and Knox County by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance.

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