2026 MODERN WORKS FESTIVAL
September 17-27, 2026
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Back for its seventh year at Urbanite Theatre, the 2026 Modern Works Festival is a two-week celebration of new play development and women in theatre.
Urbanite’s Modern Works Festival is a bold invitation inside the creative process, where audiences experience new plays as they are being shaped. With a Festival Pass, you gain all-access entry to the work in progress, including staged readings of finalist plays, a kickoff celebration, guest speaker events, artist performances, and post-show conversations that bring audiences and creators into direct dialogue.
This festival is a vital part of Urbanite’s commitment to new work. Past finalists have gone on to full productions on the Urbanite stage, including A Skeptic and a Bruja, The Apiary, Westminster, Ahoy Hoy, and 1999. As a passholder, you are not just attending a staged reading. You are part of that journey. Your voice matters, with opportunities to vote for your favorite works and help shape which stories move forward. Experience theatre at its most immediate and alive.
2026 FESTIVAL LINEUP
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2026
7:30pm Festival Headliner Production
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
7:30pm Festival Headliner Production
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2026
2:00pm & 7:00pm, Festival Headliner Production
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2026
2:00pm Festival Headliner Production
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
7:30pm Kick Off Party-All Festival Artists & Pass Holders*
(light bites and cocktails provided)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
2:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #1
5:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #2
7:30PM Festival Guest Speaker
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2025
2:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #3
5:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #1
7:30PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #2
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2025
2:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #3
4:30PM Audience Roundtable & Festival Closing Celebration*
Finalists & Headliners to be announced later this summer, we are busy reading over 300 submissions!
*Indicates an exclusive event for Festival Passholders!
Meet the Playwrights
Meet the three 2026 Modern Works Festival Finalists
More About the Festival
What goes into making the festival
The Modern Works Festival is more than a showcase. It is a significant investment in new play development and the artists who create it. Each year, the festival provides employment for more than 40 artists, bringing together playwrights, directors, actors, and stage managers in a collaborative process designed to support bold new work.
Behind the scenes, that process begins months in advance. A team of dedicated readers carefully reviews more than 300 submissions from playwrights across the country, narrowing the field to a handful of finalists. Those selected artists are then brought to Sarasota and given the time, space, and resources to develop their work. Each playwright is supported by a professional team, including a director, stage manager, and actors, along with rehearsal and script development time, travel and housing, a $1,500 stipend, a $245 per diem, and two public readings.
The result is a festival that not only introduces audiences to new voices, but actively shapes the future of American theatre.