Join us for the kick-off of Iowa New Play Festival 2024! The Welcome Reception begins at 10:30 a.m. and the Guest Panel begins at 11 a.m.

Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series Forgottonia By Eli Campbell Directed by Sarah Gazdowicz In 1987, the people of Forgottonia, Illinois are on the edge of poverty. In a last-ditch effort to save their town, they enter the Prison Sweepstakes, which would win them a government-funded prison (and all the jobs that come with it). But competing for a prison drags out more than they were bargaining for. Please be advised this is a play about the prison industrial complex. There are themes of…

Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties By Derick Edgren Otero Directed by Meredith Healy Fourteen-year-old Cora harasses a prominent music critic and his family into changing his scathing review of a country-turned-pop star’s most divisive record. When he ignores her demands, an entire fandom works to save their queen’s #reputation. Please be advised this production includes hate speech, implied child abuse, loud noises, and the use of haze.

A roundtable discussion of Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties by Derick Edgren Otero.

Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series Leeches By Adrian Enzastiga Directed by Natalie Villamonte Zito Leeches is a full-length play that takes place at an eviction court in an ambiguously Midwest post-pandemic U.S. city. The play explores the process of an eviction, the cycle of poverty, and the corrupt oppression of the American capitalist system: Eviction court is a no man’s land; tenants’ rights are crushed under landlord’s command, and social workers (can) do little to offer a hand, but there are some who refuse to idly stand.Guest Roundtable to follow.

Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series Spells for Going Forth by Daylight By Leigh M. Marshall Directed by Josh Turner In a world where the Roman Empire meets the 24-hour news cycle, Cleo wakes up in the Egyptian Realm of the Dead without a Book of Life to guide her to Paradise. As she tries to navigate her way through a treacherous afterlife filled with traps and predators, she finds she’s able to tap into broadcasts from the living world that indicate her empire is on the brink of being conquered – and her greatest enemy is positioning himself to take control of it.Spells for Going Forth by Daylight grapples with the intimate consequences of conquest, the absurd ways history repeats itself, and the action that can be taken to change the future for the better.

Please be advised this production contains loud sounds mimicking gunshots, explosives, and staged violence; depictions of murder and discussions of war, murder, suicide, sexual themes, genocide; the use of haze and strong language.

A roundtable discussion of Spells for Going Forth by Daylight by Leigh M. Marshall.

Iowa New Play Festival – Reading Series And the Past Remains By Poonam Dhir Directed by Johanna Kasimow An exploration of kinship, commitment and recollection. Using non-linear etches in time and a series of shared moments, the story of a family and a childhood unfolds. A dramatic event grounds this vulnerable account. Through memory, witnessing and intimate encounters, And the Past Remains explores ideas of duty, devotion and belief. Please be advised this reading includes mentions of death, suicidal ideations, alcoholism, needles, sex, and nudity.Guest Roundtable to follow.