The Richard P. Stahl Festival Of New American Theatre
Trust us, it’s a process.
The Southwest’s Premier New Works Festival.
Hosted annually by The Phoenix Theatre Company, the Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre amplifies new voices and expands the canon of American theatre. The 29th Annual Festival will continue honoring our longstanding commitment to the development of new works, playwrights, and performers, and include a variety of events that allow artists of all kinds to see their work come alive onstage.
The Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre for the 2026/2027 season will be presented on December 4 – December 20, 2026! Stay tuned for information on ticket sales.
Due to the timing of the 29th Festival in the 2026/2027 season, we will not be doing open submissions this year and will instead be programming from finalists from the January 2026 Festival and curated selections. Please check back in the summer of 2027 for submission information for 2028 Festival submissions.
THE 24-HOUR THEATRE PROJECT
A Festival favorite is back by popular demand. Four playwrights are randomly paired with a director and group of actors to write, rehearse, and memorize a short play to be performed 24-hours later. Join us for the drawing to see what artists will be paired together as well as the performance for an evening of brand-new short plays!
Composer Lyricist Cabaret
The Composer Lyricist Cabaret is returning to this year’s Festival, and we will be featuring two different cabarets. This year we will highlight the work of Composer and Lyricist Danny Feldman and Composer and Lyricist team Amanda D’Archangelis & Sami Horneff . Each performance will feature a 45-minute set of music and will be followed by a talkback.
[title to be determined]: AN IMPROVISED MUSICAL
New for 2026, witness the opening and closing performance of a brand-new musical being created right in front of you. A group of artists will gather details from the audience to improvise a short musical – music, lyrics, dialogue – everything being made up in front of a live audience. Get your tickets to a truly one night only experience!
CHOREOGRAPHY LAB
Modeled after and inspired by the New York Theatre Barn event of the same name, this offering will showcase how movement and dance can elevate and expand storytelling in new musicals. This event will feature two different choreographers setting movement on four dancers to the same song from a new musical. The two interpretations will be presented in tandem to show the iconic mark a choreographer can leave on a musical. This event will be followed by a talkback.
First Draft Series: Young Playwrights (in collaboration with Spotlight Youth Theatre)
Through a collaboration with Spotlight Youth Theatre, we are presenting a special iteration of our First Draft Series featuring young playwrights. This free event will feature sit down readings of three different one-act plays which competed and won Spotlight Youth Theatre’s 2025-2026 Playfest, their annual playwriting competition for young adult playwrights.
