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.
Table readings will be held at South Press.
ALL-ACCESS PASSES ON SALE SEPTEMBER 1, 2024!
All-Access Passes grant entry to all events. Seating is limited.
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 Emily Pope
Facilitated by Madison Mansouri
Saturday, January 4 at 2pm
Friday, January 10 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
Thursday, January 9 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
Saturday, January 11 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
Thank you to Addison’s Bookstore for sponsoring our New Play Fest Kick-Off Party!
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.
