January 17-19, 2025
The Perlberg Festival of New Plays exemplifies one of the core missions of regional theatre: to nurture, develop, and bring to life thoughtful, stimulating, and entertaining new American plays. The festival enables playwrights to hear their words read in front of a live audience as they continue to shape their emerging work. New plays are the future of theatre, and the goal of the festival is to become a leader in fostering the future of the American theatre canon.
This annual event features readings of five developing plays. Each reading is followed by a post-performance discussion in which patrons offer feedback.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Submissions are accepted through established literary agents only, though we also find scripts on NPX or through other NNPN member theatres, as well as through our ongoing conversations with other theatres throughout the United States. Unsolicited materials will not be considered.
Learn about the history of the Perlberg Festival of New Plays and The Dramaworkshop – the program that initiated PBD’s new play development.
Executive Producers: Diane and Mark PerlbergAssociate Producers: Sandra and Bernie Meyer
Sponsored in part by the Maurer Family Foundation
PBD is an associate member theatre of the National New Play Network (NNPN).
Jenny
Connell Davis
Resident Playwright/Literary Manager
Jenny Connell Davis, who was named both resident playwright and literary manager in 2024, was introduced to PBD audiences in 2020, when her play As I See It was included in the second annual New Year/New Plays Festival (now the Perlberg Festival of New Plays). She returned to the festival in 2023 with The Messenger, which subsequently had its world premiere at PBD during the 2023-24 season. Jenny is an affiliated artist with the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis and a member of The Gift Theatre in Chicago. Her plays have been developed or produced nationwide, including at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, Chance Theatre, ACT (Seattle), Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Shrewd Productions, and Asolo Rep. As a screenwriter, Jenny has sold projects to Sony, Disney/Fox, Amazon, and Iconoclast/Anonymous Content. She has also served as in-house writer for the award-winning Baobab Studios, where she helped develop television, film, and book projects. In addition, she has been a finalist and semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship, and her short films have screened worldwide, including at Toronto and SXSW. Jenny trained as an actor at Steppenwolf, and in playwriting at UT Austin.
For information about the festival programming, contact Jenny at
