READINGS & DEVELOPMENT
READINGS & DEVELOPMENT SERIES
Nurturing New Plays
Being dedicated to new work means supporting the process of new play development at every stage. Since our founding in 2015, Theatre Lab has presented more than 100 developmental readings of new plays which have gone on to literally hundreds of productions in theaters across the country! This year’s festival continues that tradition and invites attendees to engage in the play development process in a variety of ways.
Events are individually priced and will all take place in The Marleen Forkas Studio One Theatre.
The Last Queen of San Domino by Chandler Hubbard
Saturday, April 25, 7pm
A Developmental Workshop Presentation of a New Play
Directed by Michael Leeds
Sponsored by: The Our Fund Foundation
Tickets: $25
In 1930's fascist Italy, homosexuals were illegally deported and marooned in an island prison because, in the words of Mussolini, "in Italy, there are only real men". Instead of despair, they find comfort in each other, in celebration, and, sometimes, putting on a show - even as they are subjected to solitude and physical torment at the hands of their captors. When World War II arrives, however, this exile-turned-community is forced to return to their homeland, scattered, alone, and lost to history.
Winner of the 2024 Fair Play Initiative, a commission and development program for LGBTQ+ plays and stories made possible with support from the Our Fund Foundation, The Last Queen of San Domino received its first public reading at the 2025 festival. This year, Michael Leeds, one of South Florida’s premier directors, joins us to continue the show’s development via a two-week workshop of the play in preparation for a world premiere production. Audiences are invited to join us for this one-night only event featuring a book-in-hand, partially-staged and designed, presentation of a portion of this stunning new play.
DEVELOPMENTAL READINGS:
Tickets: $15
Plain Sight by Michael McKeever
A reading of a new play
Saturday, 4/18, 2pm
Elliot and Alan are two gay men of a certain age, who after eleven years, are finally about to tie the knot. Or are they? How do you reconcile choices made to escape an unforgiving past, when they undermine everything you are today? The past, present and future collide as one family attempts to deal with long buried secrets and a rapidly changing world.
One of South Florida’s most prolific playwrights brings his newest drama - centered on a blended “modern family” and the secrets that threaten to destroy them - to the 2026 festival!
The Saga of Peaches and the Black King by Gretchen Suárez Peña
A reading of a new play
Sunday, 4/19, 12pm
Peaches doesn't need a man, but she wants one to adore her. King has always thought Peaches has all the body he could ever want. Friends for a long time, intimacy grows in an irreverent text message thread that spills over to reality.
Suárez Peña, playwright and Assistant Professor of Stage & Screen Writing at FAU, brings this seductive and scintillating story to the festival as she prepares it for the “Messy Coming of Age Project” with Conch Shell Productions in the 2026-27 season.
Elephant In the Room by Jeff Bower
A reading of a new play
Saturday, 4/25, 2pm
A remote Airbnb and the most horrifying thing of all...the unvarnished truth. Four successful adults have their fun-filled business retreat hijacked by anonymous texts threatening to expose the worst thing they're ever done...unless one of them is sacrificed to the court of online opinion. As dark secrets surface and alliances fracture, the night warps into a high-stakes, private trial where the group (and audience) are left to decide how accountability should be handled. If everyone has crossed a line, who decides which lines matter?
The playwright of last season’s stunning world premiere, The Impossible Task of Today (2025 Carbonell finalist for Outstanding New Work), returns to the 2026 festival with his newest thriller!
Baker Street Beginnings by Gina Montét
A reading of a new play
Saturday, 4/26, 12pm
Sponsored by: The Heckscher Foundation for Children
Journey into the bustling streets of 1870s London to uncover the story behind one of the world’s greatest fictional detectives. Young Arthur Conan Doyle, an aspiring doctor with a curious mind, is taken under the wing of the brilliant Dr. Joseph Bell, a man with sharp observations and keen intellect. When a thrilling new mystery emerges, Arthur and his lively circle of friends must unravel a web of intrigue, danger, and deception. An exciting adventure that blends suspense, history, and heart, imagining how the seeds of a legend could have been planted in the mind of a young storyteller.
The playwright of two past World Premieres, Overactive Letdown (2022) and Heebie Jeebies: Tales from the Midnight Campfire (2025), returns with her newest play, commissioned for our annual Heckscher Theatre for Families Series, as we prepare for its world premiere in Fall of 2026!
READINGS OF STUDENT WORK
Free of charge, reservations encouraged
LabRATS
Readings of original student work
Saturday, 4/18, 5pm
Sponsored by: The Heckscher Foundation for Children
Theatre Lab’s educational outreach program, LabRATS (Rising Artists Theatre Society) provides high school students from around Palm Beach County the opportunity to work with industry professionals to create and produce original work. This group of students in grades 10-12 were recommended by teachers at partner schools and spent time working with playwright, Jeff Bower (The Impossible Task of Today), to create original short plays. Now, as part of the New Play Festival, these students will work with professional directors and actors to further develop their scripts for a first public reading!
Playwriting 101
Readings of original student work
Wednesday, 4/22, 7pm
Hear what’s on the minds of the next generation of playwrights! Under the guidance of Associate Professor of Writing for Stage & Screen, Gretchen Suárez Peña, students enrolled in Playwriting 101 share their original monologues, scenes, and short plays. Join us for an exciting evening exploring the hearts, minds, and dreams of these young artists as they prepare to enter the professional world!