Lineup Announced for CT Short Play Fest ‘26

Lineup Announced!

CT Short Play Fest
’26

August 1 | South Norwalk

CT Short Play Fest ’26: Meet the Playwrights

The lineup for CT Short Play Fest ’26 is locked, and it’s a wild one.

Eleven new plays. One Cast. Two sessions. One day at the Crystal Theatre in South Norwalk — Saturday, August 1. You’ll get cursed ballerinas and ghostly mammoths, a talking TSA dog and a miracle diner, divine contract negotiations and a bat with a grudge. It’s the most fun you’ll have with strangers in the dark all year — in 11 ten-minute plays.

Every play is performed by a single professional ensemble cast, script in hand, stripped down to nothing but the words on the page. No sets, no costumes, no safety net. The afternoon session is for emerging playwrights, ages 14-22. Our panel of celebrity judges selects one winner, who advances to the Evening Session to compete for top fest honors.

New this year: You Get a Vote!

At the end of each session you’ll get the chance to vote for your favorite play and send a playwright home with an Audience Choice award.

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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

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.

Eleven plays. Two Sessions. One Cast.

The Perfect Summer Day.

Get Tickets

At The Crystal Theatre

Free parking in the two adjoining lots.

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