January closed out a successful Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre, a Phoenix Theatre Company annual staple! Thanks to our generous sponsor, creatives, and staff, patrons enjoyed 3 weeks of exciting events showcasing our commitment to amplify and develop new works and artists.
We sat down with Festival Director Michelle Chin to chat about her deep roots in developing new work and passion for The Phoenix Theatre Company’s Festival of New American Theatre. Her dedication continues to elevate the festival, solidifying its reputation as the Southwest’s premier destination for groundbreaking new voices.
Q: Describe your journey with developing new works to becoming the Festival Director for Festival?
Chin: I started my journey with new work development as an actor in 2010, and I was immediately drawn to the collaborative process and the energy that surrounds new work development – both in the rehearsal room and when sharing work with audiences for the first time. Since 2010 I have been fortunate enough to be a part of 8 world premieres and countless developmental readings as both a performer and creative. In that time I also participated in the Festival of New American Theatre at TPTC many times and when the need for a new Festival Director opened, I knew I was interested in getting to continue my new work journey with TPTC!
Q: Tell us about 2026 Festival! How did it go?
Chin: I am thrilled with the outcome of the 2026 Festival. This year’s festival featured:
- 58 actors, singers, and dancers
- 23 playwrights, book writers, composers, and lyricists
- 21 directors, choreographers, dramaturges, music directors, and designers
- 11 different Festival events
- 8 stage managers, festival staff, audio engineers, and others working behind the scenes
Many patrons shared that this was one of their favorite festivals to date, and all of the creatives also shared how beneficial their time was working with us and hearing from our audiences and artists.
Q: What does it take to add a new event to Festival? What inspired the new 2026 Festival event, [title to be determined]: An Improvised Musical?
Chin: Since becoming Festival Director in 2021, I have strived to continue to grow the Festival to create more opportunities for artists and also to enrich audience learning and community outreach. Some of this has resulted in shining a spotlight on different roles in the creative process – like with Design Panel and Choreography Lab – and this year I was interested in showing how spontaneous inspiration can strike. It started with a text from the event’s composer, Matt Villar, asking if we had ever considered doing a 24-hour musical or an improvised musical. For many years we hosted an improvised event called Improv-is-Action as part of the Festival and it was well-loved by patrons, but this did not involve music. Since our Festival has really embraced the development of new musicals, it felt like an improvised musical would be the perfect combination. From a text, we assembled artists, figured out the logistics, and hoped people would think it was as cool as we did… and they did. I’m ecstatic to say that this event was not only cool, it was a sold-out success full of laughs!
Q: What is your favorite Festival event, project, or memory?
Chin: This is such a difficult question to answer! I love all of the different events in the Festival and have had many wonderful memories with various works and writers throughout the years. I think something that has always drawn me to the Festival though is how it encourages people to connect. If you see a typical production, you’re likely not going to discuss what you just saw and analyze why it happened with the strangers in your row. But at the Festival of New American Theatre, this type of discussion is commonplace! As an actor and creative too, it’s so electric when thoughts and suggestions in the rehearsal room can turn into changes that stay with the piece forever. There’s something so exciting and unique about how new work encourages collaboration and connection and that is one of my favorite parts about the Festival.
Q: What are your and/or the theatre’s hopes for the future of the Festival of New American Theatre?
Chin: When I took on the role of Festival Director, Michael Barnard shared with me that his desire to cultivate new work development was something he shared in his initial interview for the company. I feel honored that our work in the Festival of New American Theatre continues to foster new works through their development process and beyond to world premieres and Off-Broadway and Broadway runs. In recent years, so many other theatres have needed to close their festivals and new work programs, making the work we do even more valuable for writers. My hope is that we can continue to grow the Festival and new work opportunities throughout the calendar year to provide the valuable space and resources for developing projects and to allow our patrons the opportunity to expand their creative palettes and engage in new art.
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