Florida Repertory Theatre Announces Plays and Playwrights for 2023 PlayLab Festival.

After a two-season hiatus due to the pandemic, Florida Rep’s popular festival for new works and emerging artists returns!

Florida Repertory Theatre will hold its PlayLab Festival May 4 – 7 in the Historic Arcade Theatre. The 2023 PlayLab lineup includes five plays reflecting Florida Rep’s mission to produce a wide variety of work by emerging and well-established writers.

Selected works include:

• “See Monsters of the Deep” by Mark Shanahan
• “Trouble (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates)” by Audrey Cefaly
• “One-Shot” by Andrew Rosendorf
• “Long Layover” by Michelle Tyrene Johnson
• “Mountain Mamas” by Daryl Lisa Fazio
• Playwright’s Panel

Each of the festival playwrights works with a professional director and cast of actors and receives 15 hours to workshop and develop their piece before it has one public reading during the intensive weekend festival. The plays are each in consideration for a future premiere production in a subsequent Florida Rep season. The festival culminates with a playwright panel session moderated by Jason Parrish, Florida Rep’s associate artistic director.

Each reading performance includes a talk-back and a discussion with the playwrights, directors, and actors. Audience feedback is instrumental in the development process and helps the playwrights perfect their scripts and helps guide Florida Rep as it decides whether to include one of these plays in a future season.

Examples of past plays selected for production by Florida Rep include “Alabaster” by Audrey Cefaly produced in 2019, “Damascus” by Bennett Fisher, “The Dingdong” by Mark Shanahan in 2016, and “Split in Three” by Daryl Lisa Fazio produced in 2015.

Lee Moore and Dee Whited are grand sponsors of the 2023 Festival, with major support from playwright circle sponsors Darlene and Val Arnold, networking sponsor Naomi Bloom, and reading sponsors Dr. Susan B Herbel, Dr. Gail D. McClure, and Judy Weiner. Selected plays were chosen from an open call for submissions to literary agents and playwrights – some affiliated with the National New Play Network, of which Florida Rep is an Associate Member.

Tickets are $25 per reading or $120 for an all-access pass that includes admission to five readings plus the playwright’s panel.