2025 Pacific Playwrights Festival

Launched in 1998, South Coast Repertory’s annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), part of The Lab@SCR, is a major national showcase for new plays.

The 27th festival—May 2-4, 2025—features two world premiere productions and five staged readings during an action-packed three days. PPF weekend attracts theatre professionals from across the nation, as well as SCR’s devoted new play audiences, who are drawn by the chance to be the first to see some of the best new theatrical works in the country.

The New York Times calls SCR “an incubator of major talent … South Coast has mounted an impressive list of acclaimed plays, long before the East Coast establishment got wind of them.” SCR’s 26 previous festivals have introduced such award-winning plays as Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2, Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band, Qui Nguyen's Vietgone, Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, Julia Cho’s The Language Archive and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole.

RACHEL, NEVADA
by jose sebastian alberdi
directed by Laura Dupper
Friday, May 2, at 1 p.m., on the Segerstrom Stage

Just off Route 375 sits the tiny town of Rachel, Nevada—a popular tourist spot for UFO enthusiasts. Searching for closure after a shared loss, an unlikely couple finds themselves pulled there. But in a place like Rachel, searches rarely come to an end, no matter how hard you look.

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THE RED MAN
by JuCoby Johnson
directed by H. Adam Harris
Friday, May 2, at 3:30 p.m., on the Segerstrom Stage

Have you ever been so lonely you could just…? Jaqueline has. That is until her estranged twin brother, Jackie, turns up one night at her shack in the Florida swamp. But Jackie’s brought home more than Jaqueline bargained for. Something is following him—and now it’s after her, too.

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TEN GRAND
by Kate Cortesi
directed by Rebecca Wear
an SCR commission
Saturday, May 3, at 10:30 a.m., on the Segerstrom Stage

When an unexpected item turns up in the donation bin at a Boston Goodwill, ordinary workplace drama takes on decidedly higher stakes. A new play about community, the American obsession with violence and how the stories we tell become our destiny.

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TRIP AROUND THE SUN
by Jake Brasch
directed by Shelley Butler
Sunday, May 4, at 10:30 a.m., on the Segerstrom Stage

Phil and Suze have settled into a predictable routine in their Florida retirement community—Jimmy Buffett karaoke during the day and bickering over virgin margaritas at night. But the evening before these Parrotheads are set to leave for Suze’s big birthday cruise, Phil decides to mix things up—for good.

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EAT ME
by Talene Monahon
directed by Josiah Davis
Friday, May 2, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 3, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 4, at 2:30 p.m., in the Nicholas Studio

R/gourmet_gourmands is a subreddit for fans of fine cuisine. An online community for like-minded people searching for superior nourishment, extraordinary experiences—fulfillment! Here you’ll find what you’ve always hungered for. And once you’ve consumed enough, you might just be transformed.

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE END OF THE WORLD!
by Keiko Green
directed by Zi Alikhan
April 5 - May 3 on the Segerstrom Stage

Take your seat for a comic, irreverent celebration of life! Since Greg’s terminal diagnosis, he’s felt a deep connection to the Earth—and to save himself, he’ll need to save the planet. Viv desperately wants to savor every last minute with her husband. Meanwhile M, our emcee, searches desperately to find meaning in the chaos of their final year with Dad. A heartfelt family story and joyful theatrical event, as magical as the world itself.

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THE STAIRCASE
by Noa Gardner
directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch
April 27 - May 18 on the Julianne Argyros Stage

Mother and Son spend their evenings playing cards and retelling stories of Hawaiian legend.  Better those than their own, which lurk below the surface. When Son’s former sweetheart resurfaces, both he and Mother must choose how they will embrace the future. A mysterious tale about holding on, letting go and the curious force that pulls us back home.

Sunday, May 4, at 9 a.m. on the Julianne Argyros Stage
Join us for a conversation with the PPF playwrights, moderated by SCR's Artistic and Audience Engagement Associate, H. Adam Harris.

No ticket or reservation required.

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Read more about the Pacific Playwrights Festival.

See the list of play titles presented during previous Pacific Playwrights Festivals.