CT Short Play Fest
’26

August 1 | South Norwalk

Nothing quite like it in Connecticut

Talking dogs, ghostly mammoths, and cursed ballerinas all meet at a miraculous diner on the road to nowhere. Divine intervention, fever dreams, illusions, and desperate promises at a Greyhound bus stop. Are we sailing into the void or a safe harbor? You’ll find out at CT Short Play Fest ’26. A kaleidoscopic lineup of the weird, the wonderful, and the wise awaits you at the Crystal Theatre, August 1 at 2 and 6 PM.

Two Sessions. One Epic Day of Theater.

  • The Afternoon Session (2:00 PM): Showcases plays written by high school and college-aged writers. A panel of judges selects the best of the bunch, and the winner advances to the evening session…

  • The Evening Session (6:00 PM): …featuring professional playwrights from across the country in a battle royale of the sacred and the profane, the heartbroken and the hilarious, the uncanny and the achingly true.

Get Tickets

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Afternoon Session

2:00 PM

Evening Session

6:00 PM

Tickets

  • Adults – $24/Session;
    $40/Both Sessions
  • 18 and Under – $12
    $20/Both Sessions
    (Rated TV-14)
  • Free front-row seats:
    first come, first served

New in ‘26

You Decide.

This year, you aren’t just sitting in the dark. Each session introduces a brand-new Audience Choice Award. After the final curtain, the crowd votes live on their favorite play of the block. You decide who wins.

The Front Row is $0.

Also new this year: Book free tickets in the front row. First come, first served until they’re sold out. Otherwise, it’s a very reasonable $24/session for adults and $12/session for ages 18 and under—with full-day passes at just $40 and $20, respectively.

The Most Fun You’ll Have With Strangers in the Dark All Year.

Whether you hit one session or two, or mix it up with a side quest to the SoNo Arts Fest in between, it will be a day to remember in South Norwalk!

Recommended for ages 14+.

At the Crystal Theatre

Meet the Celebrity Judges

Meet the Playwrights

Four of this year’s playwrights are back from CT Short Play Fest ’25 — including Anna Parker, whose play took the top prize in last year’s Afternoon Session. Anna returns alongside fellow alumni Audrey Hunter and Ashley Diaz in the afternoon, and Dana Schwartz brings her sharp wit back to the evening stage.

Afternoon Session

Wyn Alyse Thomas (22, she/her, Buffalo Grove, IL) – Out of the Void
A gay teenager on the verge of leaving for college summons the hosts of a home renovation show from the void of a dream, only to discover they might be going through something too.

Anna R. Parker

Anna Parker (19, she/her, Houston, TX, ★‘25 Alum) – Do Not Pet
At an airport gate, a restless overthinker, his optimistic girlfriend, and a very opinionated TSA dog work through the impossible pressure of being happy on purpose.

Frederick Durocher Jr.

Frederick Durocher Jr (19, he/him, Purchase, NY) The Wanderlust Roadrunner
A roadrunner desperate to escape Route 66 encounters a gregarious prairie dog, a haunted mammoth, and the uncomfortable possibility that home and prison might be the same place.

Ashley Diaz (16, she/her, Norwalk, CT, ★‘25 Alum) – Still Becoming
A young person escaping a turbulent home finds unexpected shelter, unlikely allies, and the slow, hard work of learning to take up space in the world.

Luca Vladimiroff

Luca Vladimiroff (21, he/him, Cold Spring, NY) Fata Morgana
A woman reports her brother's disappearance. The detective is skeptical of her account of a winged horse. But she has evidence.

Audrey Hunter (20, she/her, Dallas, TX, ★‘25 Alum) – Foaming, Biting, Close to Death
A camper bitten by a rabid bat begins to lose his grip on language, reality, and his friendships, while the bat herself has some thoughts about the whole situation.

Evening Session

H.E. Dunkle (she/her, Sioux Falls, SD) – What You Make of It
At Destiny's Diner, a late-night customer insists the food grants wishes. The person making it isn't so sure.

Dana Schwartz

Dana Schwartz (she/her, Los Angeles, CA, ★‘25 Alum) – Pas de Deux
A ballerina cursed to stone for thirty years wakes each dawn for one brief hour of movement. The curse lifts tomorrow. She is absolutely certain it's today.

Franky D. Gonzalez (he/him, Dallas, TX) — Miracles and Magic
Two strangers at a Texas Greyhound station talk through some hard truths about their next destination. And the next.

Marshall Logan Gibbs (they/them, Baltimore, MD) – Interplanetary Paul's Divorce Spectacular
Paul has rented a black box, built a space suit, and cast his ex-wife as an evil galactic empress. He didn’t think she’d buy a ticket.

Jack Karp (he/him, San Francisco, CA) — The Fine Print
Abraham and Sarah sit across from a very smooth-talking God in a heavenly conference room. The Promised Land has blackout dates, dietary restrictions, and a clause Sarah wishes Abraham had read before the meeting.

Produced and Directed by Jonathan Winn

Jonathan Winn is a founder, Co-Artistic Director, and Executive Director of Thrown Stone. Highlights include the 2026 off-Broadway world premiere of The Waterfall by Phanésia Pharel at WP Theater, which Thrown Stone co-produced; he directed the 2023 world premiere of Seven Cousins for a Horse by Tammy Ryan and the 2018 New England premiere of The Arsonists by Jacqueline Goldfinger; he performed the role of Danny in the 2017 U.S. premiere of Ross Dunsmore’s Milk,… Read more

Meet the Cast

Previous CT Short Play Fests