TheatreSquared Artistic Director Robert Ford, Executive Director Shannon A. Jones, and Director of New Play Development Dexter J. Singleton announce the 2026 Arkansas New Play Festival.
Quick Facts
- Dates: March 7–15, 2026
- Location: TheatreSquared, 477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville; select events in partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
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Showtimes: Performances occur over two weekends. The full schedule is available at arkansasnewplayfest.com.
- Prices: $15 single tickets, $50 full festival pass
- Tickets and Information: (479) 777-7477 or arkansasnewplayfest.com.
Now in its 18th year, the Arkansas New Play Festival (ANPF) brings playwrights from across the country to Northwest Arkansas for an intensive development process pairing each writer with a director, dramaturg, and professional cast, while inviting audiences into the development process.
The festival culminates in staged readings and public presentations, inviting audiences into the creative process at its most electric stage. The 2026 Festival will feature full-length plays, devised works, and short plays commissioned in partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as part of its America 250: Common Threads exhibition.
A National Investment in New American Stories
A $75,000 National Endowment for the Arts award recognizes the Arkansas New Play Festival’s role in advancing new work for the American stage and expanding access to the arts across Northwest Arkansas.
Since its founding, ANPF has helped incubate more than 80 new plays, many of which have gone on to full productions at TheatreSquared and beyond. The 2026 Festival reflects a wide spectrum of American stories — from immigration and motherhood to labor, digital identity, and civic memory — all unfolding in collaboration with regional and national partners.
"The Arkansas New Play Festival is a special time of year at TheatreSquared, and we are deeply grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for this investment," said Executive Director Shannon A. Jones. "We’re particularly looking forward to a new residency with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary. The program reflects a powerful cross-institutional collaboration, uniting TheatreSquared’s nationally recognized new play development pipeline with the Momentary’s commitment to boundary-pushing, interdisciplinary art."
"Playwrights need room to experiment," said Artistic Director Robert Ford. "This support affirms that the development of bold, timely stories—right here in Northwest Arkansas—is work of national significance. ANPF is a place for artists to discover what a play wants to become while surrounded by collaborators and an audience eager to engage in the process."
2026 Festival Highlights
All events take place at TheatreSquared unless otherwise noted.
LOS FELIZ, OR THE LIVE-IN NANNY PLAY
by Benjamin Benne
Directed by Cat Rodriguez
Saturday, March 7 at 5pm
Sunday, March 15 at 5pm
When Irene, a Latina mother and doctor living in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood, hires Guatemalan immigrant Emilia as a live-in nanny, the two women discover the many bonds and barriers between them—but are they more than just employer and employee? Are they friends? Colleagues? Family?
BUT TODAY I AM FINE
by Ying Ying Li
Directed by Jessica O’Hara Baker
Saturday, March 7 at 2pm
Saturday, March 14 at 7pm
A coming-of-age story of one woman’s motherhood, told in a series of scenes that are by turns poignant and unserious—always grounded in messy truth. Exhausted and sleep-deprived, she tells her life story with humor, vulnerability, and a touch of provocation. As she traces her path, she's astonished how much her childhood experiences have shaped the mother she has—fortunately?—become.
LABOR
by TyLie Shider
Directed by Daniel Boisrond
Sunday, March 8 at 5pm
Saturday, March 14 at 5pm
In this dark comedy, an ordinary workday in the life of an odd couple of freelance painters slips into a coup. This play explores the themes of work and the risks some people take to secure the American dream.
BOOKENDS
by the UARK MFA Theatre Cohort & Tectonic Theater Project
Friday, March 13 at 7pm
Sunday, March 15 at 2pm
Step inside this funky secondhand bookshop, where the shelves lean in and the books call out. Whimsy and tall tales, uncomfortable histories and personal truths, sweet scribbles in the margins and forgotten voices are all hiding here, waiting to be uncovered. This collectively devised new play by the UARK MFA Theatre Cohort in collaboration with Tectonic Theater Project was inspired by visits to Dickson Street Bookshop, and by all the independent community spaces that keep stories alive.
HEROES & MONSTERS
by The LatinX Theatre Project
Directed by Lacy Post
Thursday, March 12 at 7pm
Heroes & Monsters is a reboot of a previous LXTP production. Having originally been done completely online and over video chats due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, LXTP intends to bring this show to the real world using music, poetry, and fight/dance choreography. Heroes & Monsters is an online virtual world inhabited by some of the world's most prolific gamers, all amassed to answer one question: Who is the World's Next Legendary Warrior? Follow Xo, a newcomer to the game, who embarks on this quest and unravels the hidden lore and secrets this game holds in hopes of becoming the Hero this game needs, or the Villain who will take it all down.
AMERICA250: COMMON THREADS RESIDENCY READINGS
by Sarah Dianne Loucks, a.k. payne, and Iraisa Ann Reilly
Directed by Rudi Goblen
Sunday, March 8 at 2pm (TheatreSquared)
Saturday, March 14 at 11:30am (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art)
Sunday, March 15 at 11:30am (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art)
In partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and The Momentary, TheatreSquared has commissioned three playwrights to be "in residence" and create a series of short plays inspired by American artworks in Crystal Bridges’ exhibit America 250: Common Threads. The pieces are currently in development and will be workshopped and presented during ANPF at TheatreSquared and at Crystal Bridges as part of Crystal Bridges’ America 250 exhibit, running through July 2026.
"The residency is a meaningful expansion of our new work initiative," said Singleton. "It grows our commissioning model, strengthens our partnerships with Crystal Bridges and the Momentary, and makes Northwest Arkansas a launchpad for stories that resonate far beyond our region."
About Crystal Bridges’ America 250: Common Threads: As the United States marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the exhibit will both commemorate the events of 1776 and reflect on 250 years of American art and civic participation. An early engraving of the Declaration of Independence will anchor a group of historic documents displayed alongside textiles, paintings, toys, and other works from 1776 to the present. The exhibition considers how artists and national leaders document American history. America 250: Common Threads explores how American artists historically foster civic participation and strengthen community relationships.
The exhibition explores the symbols artists turn to when celebrating or commenting on the United States: George Washington’s many faces, eagles appearing across books, baskets, and coverlets, flags seen as quilts or as documentation of the moon landing, and more.
A Festival for Artists and Audiences
Following each reading, audiences are invited to participate in discussions with playwrights, directors, and dramaturgs—providing feedback that helps shape the next stage of each play’s life. Additional programming includes the Young Playwrights Showcase and community engagement opportunities throughout the week.
"As the country prepares to mark 250 years of American independence," said Jones, "ANPF centers voices that are diverse, daring, and rooted in community."
All-Access Pass & Ticket Information
All-Access Festival Passes are on sale now for $50 and include admission to all staged readings and events. Single tickets are $15. Seating is limited.
Reserve passes by calling (479) 777-7477 or visiting arkansasnewplayfest.com.
SPONSORS
The 2026 Arkansas New Play Festival is made possible with lead support from
Barbara Shadden; American Theatre Wing; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About TheatreSquared
TheatreSquared’s signature offering of bold new plays in an intimate setting at 477 W. Spring St in downtown Fayetteville, AR has driven its growth to become the state’s largest theater, offering more than 350 performances annually in an intimate setting. The playwright-led company is one of mid-America’s leading laboratories for new work, having launched more than 70 new plays. Offering far-reaching access and education programs and an open-all-day gathering space, the Commons Bar/Café, TheatreSquared remains rooted in its founding vision, that "theater—done well and with passion—can transform lives and communities."
Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 20 is provided by the Walton Family Foundation; the Walmart Foundation; the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation; the Windgate Foundation; the Shubert Foundation; the Simmons Family Foundation; the Tyson Family Foundation; the American Theatre Wing; the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts; Arts Midwest; Bob and Becky Alexander; Jane Hunt; Cece Box and Ric Cooper; Barbara Shadden; and Todd Simmons and Melissa Hall Simmons.
Marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 20 is provided by Experience Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville Flyer, 3W Magazine, CitiScapes, KUAF, 5NEWS, MailCo USA, iHeart Radio, NWA Daily, and ROARK.