PlayLab Festival of New Works

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PlayLab Festival of New Works

Each year, Florida Repertory Theatre hosts the PlayLabFestival of New Works, a dynamic celebration of storytelling and theatrical innovation. Since its founding in 2014, PlayLabhas become a vital part of our commitment to developing new voices and expanding the American theatre canon.

The annual festival features five new plays—a curated mix of works by both emerging talents and established playwrights—that reflect Florida Rep’s mission to produce a wide variety of compelling, thought-provoking theatre. Over four days, these plays are presented in staged readings, followed by talkbacks and audience conversations that help shape the work’s future. PlayLab also features a panel with all of the playwrights, where audience members get to learn more about their process and their work, and sometimes a keynote address.

What makes PlayLab unique is our focus on collaboration. We bring the playwrights to Fort Myers to work alongside professional directors, actors, and stage managers in a supportive, creative environment. These artists share their work, receive feedback, and often make meaningful revisions as part of the development process.

Florida Rep is proud Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN), and the NNPN is a partner in helping nurture these voices and bring powerful new stories to the stage. Many plays and musicals showcased in PlayLab have received fully realized productions at Florida Repertory Theatre and other professional and educational institutions. To date, Florida Rep has given fully realized productions to eight plays featured in PlayLab.

Florida Rep strives to educate and empower our audiences to go out and talk about new plays, how they are created, and why they are important. PlayLabis an engaging and impactful experience for everyone involved, and we hope you join us for it.

Save the date for Florida Rep’s 2026 PlayLab Festival – April 30 – May 3, 2026.

 

 

PlayLab Production History

*Indicates a subsequent world premiere, NNPN Rolling World Premiere, or regional premiere produced at Florida Rep

PlayLab 2025

  • WHY WE GO TO FLORIDA by Kenneth Jones
  • DALLOWAY: SUMMER AT BOURTON by Lindsay Joelle
  • SWIPED by Samara Siskind
  • 1999 by Stacey Isom Campbell
  • LEMONADE A Fresh Pressed Musical by Jesse Corbin

Watch the Interviews

PlayLab 2024

  • DUNK CITY by Stephen Brown
  • TEN MINUTES ON A BENCH by Kenneth Jones
  • MINDING MISS MAE MAE by Phillip Christian Smith
  • HOW IT FEELS TO FALL FROM THE SKY by Dominic Finocchiaro
  • ROOM 1214 by Michelle Kholos Brooks

Watch the Interviews

PlayLab 2023

  • 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

Watch the Interviews

PlayLab 2020 (Virtual Festival presented on Zoom)

  • SPAY by Madison Fiedler
  • TABLESCAPE by Jeanette D. Farr
  • JEROME by Ron Lagomarsino
  • WHITE PARTY by Brent Askari
  • A SHERLOCK CAROL by Mark Shanahan*

PlayLab 2019

  • GOOD AMERICANS by Bruce Graham
  • DEATH OF A DRIVER by Will Snider
  • THE LAST BUCKLEY by Nathan Cann
  • LOVING AND LOVING by Beto O’Byrne
  • THE CIRCLE GAME Conceived & Arranged by Victoria Casella, Book by Michael Bias
  • SAFETY NET by Daryl Lisa Fazio

PlayLab 2018

  • THE BURDENS by Matt Schatz
  • GARY by Bruce Graham
  • BERTA, BERTA by Angelica Chéri
  • ALABASTER by Audrey Cefaly*
  • MAYBE, PROBABLY by Eric Henry Sanders
  • HOSTAGE by Michelle Kholos Brooks

PlayLab 2017

  • LOVE, THE CRACKSMAN by Mark Brown
    • Now titled: The Gentleman Thief
  • SMOKE by Gloria Bond Clunie
  • THE FLOWER ROOM by Daryl Lisa Fazio
  • DAMASCUS by Bennett Fisher*
  • WE WILL NOT BE SILENT by David Meyers
  • GEORGE WASHINGTON’S TEETH by Mark St. Germain*

PlayLab 2016

  • DREAM WITHIN A DREAM: THE SPIRIT OF POE by Christopher T. Parks (Commission)
  • IN VIVO by Eric Coble
    • Now titled These Mortal Hosts
  • ECHO LOCATION by Carter W. Lewis
  • DOUBLEWIDE by Stephen Spotswood*
  • A PIER AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD by Nathan Cann

PlayLab 2015

  • WHERE I DWELL by Cynthia Babak
  • J’OY VEY by Lojo Simon & Anita Yellin Simons
  • A Special World Premiere Presentation of JOURNEY TO OZ by Christopher T. Parks
  • THE DINGDONG by Mark Shanahan*
  • THE FIRESTORM by Meridith Friedman

Inaugural PlayLab 2014

  • SPLIT IN THREE by Daryl Lisa Fazio*
  • RAINBOW’S by Stephen Mo Hanan
  • Mr. Perfect by William Missouri Downs
  • JOURNEY TO OZ an experiential play by Christopher T. Parks* (Commission)
  • THE EXCEPTIONALS by Bob Clyman

*indicates the play was produced by Florida Rep in a later season.

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