Pacific Playwrights Festival

2024 Pacific Playwrights Festival Information

The Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) annually* presents seven new plays in full productions, staged readings and in-process presentations during a three-day period. Audiences consist of local playgoers and representatives from theatres nationwide.

PPF provides a gathering place for writers and theatre professionals to connect and share ideas and interests in the context of a festival promoting the latest and best in American playwriting.

South Coast Repertory launched the first annual Pacific Playwrights Festival in June 1998. The first festival consisted of five staged readings, workshops and the world premiere of Richard Greenberg's Hurrah at Last, marking the final performances of its five-week run.

Since then, the Pacific Playwrights Festival has introduced more than 150 plays to nationwide audiences, including Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2, Qui Nguyen's Vietgone, Julia Cho's The Language Archive, Amy Freed's The Beard of Avon, Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Donald Margulies' Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, Lauren Gunderson's I and You and Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band. The festival is part of the theatre's new-play development program, The Lab@SCR.

For the 26th festival (May 3-5, 2024), SCR is considering material from many sources, including commissioned work, projects nominated by other theatres and scripts submitted for production consideration. See complete information on submission procedures.

See the list of plays presented during previous Pacific Playwrights Festivals.