The New Works Festival develops plays in traditional and experimental formats, amplifying underrepresented voices and fresh perspectives.

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Announcing the 5th Annual
New Works Festival Finalist!

In a future where everyone is swapping out their body parts with the latest tech, this full-length sci-fi drama explores the relationship between the body and the self. Bionic tackles the implications of what it means to be human in a future of technology-assisted body modification. Will these “upgrades” bring people closer to their authentic selves or push them farther away?

Jenna Jane is an internationally-produced playwright, based in the Tampa area. She primarily writes comedies and sci-fi for the stage. Jenna’s writing puts authenticity front and center, blows up gender expectations, and explores the relationship between the body and the self. A national award-winning investigative journalist, she graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Jenna is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Bionic By Jenna Jane

Shout out to our
the 5th Annual
Semi-Finalist Titles

The Robots of Walmart by Jenny A. Kokai

Napkins by K.E.Mullins

Combined by Max Pinsky

Of The Lake by Connie Schindewolf

Swiped by Samara Siskind

Meet the Behind the Scenes Team

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Stephanie Lynge

  • "The NWF allows us to support and be part of theater growing and changing which is what theater does best. Bringing new voices into the conversation and supporting emerging artists is a dream come true and an integral part of our mission. The festival is my favorite time every year."

    Stephanie is an accomplished actor, director, producer, teacher and coach. Acting credits include performances in New York City on Broadway and Off Broadway at Lincoln Center, BAM, Jean Cocteau Rep, and the York Theater Workshop. Directing credits include the Hippodrome’s Revolutionists, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Blameless, and Lone Star Spirits. Stephanie holds a Master of Fine Arts in acting from University of Florida and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association since 1996.

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Michelle Bellaver

  • “The New Works Festival is the culmination of a dream to provide developmental support to playwrights in a welcoming, nurturing, and dynamic environment.”

    Michelle Bellaver is an acting company member of The Hippodrome Theatre and currently an Assistant Professor in Acting and Directing at California State University, Fresno. She loves supporting the development of new plays! Her playwriting has been in development at The Tank NYC, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, and Dixon Place. Her acting has been seen at The Hippodrome, La Mama NYC, Word for Word/Z Space, and some of her film acting has streamed on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and a Certified Trainer in Somatic Body Voice Kinesensics with the Lessac Research and Training Institute and a Registered Somatic Movement Educator with ISMETA.  She received her MFA in Theatre from the University of Florida.

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Bethany Dickens Assaf

  • "After two wonderful experiences participating in the New Works Festival as a playwright, I am so excited to be participating as a guest judge this year! I am passionate about new plays and cannot wait to read the submissions.”

2025 Interns

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  • Ava Sickler is a student at the University of Florida, currently majoring in Stage Management. They have worked on several productions at UF's School of Theatre + Dance; they were the Production Assistant for Cabaret, a Deck Stage Manager for Blood at the Root and Pipeline, and the Stage Manager for Dust. They are also interested in graphic design, linguistics, and play/screenwriting. Ava is extremely excited to be interning at the Hipp for the New Works Festival, and is looking forward to working with the playwrights as they develop their scripts on stage!

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  • “The New Works Festival is the culmination of a dream to provide developmental support to playwrights in a welcoming, nurturing, and dynamic environment.”

    Michelle Bellaver is an acting company member of The Hippodrome Theatre and currently an Assistant Professor in Acting and Directing at California State University, Fresno. She loves supporting the development of new plays! Her playwriting has been in development at The Tank NYC, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, and Dixon Place. Her acting has been seen at The Hippodrome, La Mama NYC, Word for Word/Z Space, and some of her film acting has streamed on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and a Certified Trainer in Somatic Body Voice Kinesensics with the Lessac Research and Training Institute and a Registered Somatic Movement Educator with ISMETA.  She received her MFA in Theatre from the University of Florida.

Past New Works Festivals

Started
in 2020

The Hippodrome Theatre’s annual New Works Festival was created to support narrative voices through the development and exploration of plays in traditional and experimental formats representing the diverse landscape of artists in Florida and their stories which reveal the American experience based on the kaleidoscope of identity.

We support innovative, experimental or thought provoking material, formats, and styles.

Buy Now

Started 2020

4th ANNUAL
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL (2023)

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The Art of Floating

  • Marian lives in the sleepy town of Spring Hill, Florida where she spends her days hanging out at the senior citizen center and drinking wine with her best friend Fran. After her estranged granddaughter has a crisis of faith and moves in with her, marvelous things begin to happen. A play about death, faith, and learning to float through Jello.

    Jennifer A. Kokai is a playwright who currently lives in Tampa, FL where she serves as the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of South Florida. Her plays have been performed by Birmingham Children’s Theatre, Riverside: The National Theatre of Parramatta (Sydney, Australia), Plan-B, Montana Rep, Moxie Theatre (NYC), Theatre Synesthesia, Wasatch Theatre Company, Building Better People Productions, Off-Key Anthem Collective (reading), and a variety of educational institutions as well as twice being supported with NEA grants. She was included in the Lark Play Development Center’s 2014 Playwrights Week. She has been a semi-finalist with the O’Neill’s play and National Musical Theatre Conference divisions, Bay Area Playwrights’ Festival, B-Street Theatre, and Seven Devils.

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Slaymaker

  • Jay and Meghan both agree: ‘Slaymaker’ is the badassest surname for anyone ever – especially a Magic The Gathering champion (or a champion in the making). But if Meghan is divorcing Jay and writing whiny articles about how tough it is to be a girl in Magic, then is she really entitled to keep using it? Legalities aside, the two decide to resolve their differences through a Magic tournament. If she wins, Meghan gets to keep ‘Slaymaker.’ But if Jay beats her…will anything ever change?

Slaymaker Behind the Scenes Pictures

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

Scenic landscape with mountains, a body of water, and rolling green hills under a cloudy sky.
mountain landscape with snow-capped peaks and rolling grassy hills with modern buildings
Modern small house with wooden exterior, large glass window, set in a mountain landscape with grassy foreground and rugged mountain peaks in the background.
A modern house with wooden exterior, stone steps, and a stone walkway, set in a grassy landscape with mountains in the background.
A modern wooden building in a grassy valley surrounded by rolling hills, with snow-capped mountains in the background.
Modern wooden house in a field of tall grass with mountains in the background.

The Art of Floating Behind the Scenes Pictures

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

A scenic landscape featuring a large body of teal water, green hills, and majestic mountains under a cloudy sky.
Mountain landscape with snow-capped peaks and a building on a grassy hill in the foreground.
A modern house with wooden exterior walls and large front window, set against a mountainous landscape with sparse vegetation and overcast sky.
Modern house with stone steps and wooden exterior in a mountainous landscape with green hills and snow-capped peaks in the background.
A wooden building situated in a grassy hillside landscape, with mountain peaks in the background and some blurred foliage in the foreground.
Modern wooden house in a field of tall grass with mountains in the background

3rd Annual
New Works Festival (Nov 2022)

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The Ultimate Cheeseburger

  • We’ve all been there: the district manager comes in and talks about how everyone in your job is a “family” and that you’re all a “team” who need to work together, right? Well, things are no different at Chicken & Roots, Co. where everyone is just trying to make ends meet like most of working America. But what happens when one person is finally pushed too far?

    Jena Rashid is a Pakistani, female-identifying playwright who is currently based in Orlando, FL. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Theatre Studies and a minor in music in 2021. Unlike most, she didn’t realize that she wanted to be a theatre practitioner until almost high school and hasn’t been able to shake the bug since. Her one acts and 10-minute plays have been developed by student developmental organizations since 2018.

    She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Theater Studies and a minor in music in 2021. Her career, so far, has consisted of working as a stage manager, director, playwright, actor and other roles through her schooling. Her favorite performance credits include Jessica Jewels in The Butler Did It! for the Orlando Fringe and Understudying Rani in America in One Room at Florida Studio Theatre. In her final semester of college, she was an intern at the Orlando Shakes as a New Play Development intern and most recently she completed a year-long internship at Florida Studio Theatre as a Literary intern. Jena currently works with Jobsite Theater, Theatre West End and the Orlando Shakes in many different capacities. In addition, she still writes plays when she can, and her works can be found on the NewPlayExchange.org.

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Evie & Loren

  • Evie and Loren look like a perfect match when they find each other on Tinder – except she’s his former mother-in-law. Over the course of a date, Evie and Loren learn a lot – maybe too much? – about each other before realizing they might be heading towards something dangerous.

    Bethany Dickens Assaf is a freelance playwright and the co-founder of Whiskey Theatre Factory, a theatre collective based in Orlando, Florida. Almost 100 of her plays have been performed across the country including her twisty sci-fi play, The Consciousness, which was performed at 10 fringe festivals and won “Best Play” at the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival. Her most recent play, The Vast of Darkness, won the Critics’ Choice for “Best Play – Drama” at the 2023 Orlando International Fringe Festival. 

    You can learn more through Bethany’s website: www.BethanyDickens.com

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Suture Bowl

  • Lights, Camera, Action! Welcome to Suture Bowl! Join top surgeons as they face off in the final episode of the highest-rated reality series ever, battling it out in a gameshow with higher stakes than they ever imagined.  Only one will survive –  I mean, win!

    Irene L. Pynn’s plays include I, Cockroach, The Church of Saint Bearer, Enter, Pursued by a Whale, The Train, How to Field Dress an Android, and several ten-minute shorts. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and her work has been produced throughout the United States and abroad. Irene holds an MFA in writing from Seton Hill University and a PhD in Texts and Technology from the University of Central Florida. Her other publications include short stories, short plays, interactive plays, alternate reality games, and more.

The Ultimate Cheeseburger Behind the Scenes Pictures

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

Scenic landscape of a large lake with turquoise water, surrounding green hills, and a mountain range with cloudy sky in the background.
Mountains with snow-capped peaks, grassy hills, and a few buildings in the foreground.
Modern house with wooden exterior in a mountainous landscape
A modern house with wooden exterior, stone steps, and outdoor patio surrounded by green grass and hills, with snowy mountains in the distance.
A wooden modern building in a grassy field with a mountain range in the background.
Modern wooden house in a field of tall grasses with mountains in the background.

Evie & Loren Behind the Scenes Pictures

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

Landscape of a lake with green hills in the foreground and tall mountains under a cloudy sky in the background.
Scenic view of snow-capped mountains in the background with rolling grassy hills and a modern building in the foreground
Modern building with wooden exterior and large glass window in a mountainous landscape with sparse vegetation.
Modern wooden house with stone steps leading up to it, set in a mountainous landscape with green hills and snow-capped peaks in the background.
Landscape scene with rolling hills, distant snow-capped mountains, and a wooden building in the foreground.
Modern building with wooden exterior walls in a field of tall, golden grass, with a mountain backdrop.

Suture Bowl Behind the Scenes Pictures

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

Scenic view of a lake surrounded by green hills and mountain ranges under a cloudy sky.
Snow-capped mountains above rolling grassy hills with a few buildings in the foreground.
Modern house with wooden and light-colored panels in a mountainous landscape with shrubs in the foreground.
Modern house with stone steps and wooden exterior, overlooking rolling green hills and mountains at sunrise or sunset.
A landscape with rolling green hills, a modern wooden building, trees, and snow-capped mountains in the background.
Modern wooden house with irregular roofline surrounded by golden grass and mountains in the background.

2nd Annual
New Works Festival

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Buckets of Rain

  • Buckets of Rain shows us two characters living on the margins and navigating life’s heartaches,  tragedies, and everyday humiliations. All the while they are just trying to keep going. Over many  decades the affection they share for each has weathered struggles and resentments; but their pain  has created a bond and their loyalties remain to each other, and to keeping one another from the  abyss until the end. 

    Douglas Gearhart’s plays include The Manager, Just Like Stealing, Squandered Blood, The Fat Sergeant, GWOT, and Bottom Lip. Born and raised in Maryland, Douglas has worked as a mental health counselor, a Soldier, a bellhop, and an intelligence analyst. He currently resides in the Tampa, FL area. 

    Just Like Stealing was selected as a Finalist for the 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting award, at the American Blues Theater in Chicago, IL. It was awarded a residency for development at The Greenhouse Theatre program at Florida International University and received a public reading in June 2021. The play was a finalist for the 2021 New Play Festival, at The Players Centre for Performing Arts in Sarasota FL, and received a public (online) reading in August 2021. 

    The Manager received a reading and was selected as the winning play of the New Play Festival, by The Players Centre for Performing Arts in Sarasota FL in July 2020.

    Cast
    Director – Clint Thornton
    Kyra – Laura Shatkus
    Nick – David Patrick Ford

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Channeling

  • A mother is lost in the forest searching for her missing baby. In the forest she meets one of its inhabitants, a forest child. But time works differently in the forest and child she seeks is the grown man before her. The mother cannot accept that this is the child that she hoped for, and the child seeking only to be seen for who he has become refuses to pretend to be the person the mother wants him to be. But the forest, which is a mother to all who come to her, provides as space for both mother and child to meet and reconcile and the chance for them to finally form a bond. 

    Monica Cross is a playwright and director in Gainesville, FL. She earned her MFA in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University (formerly Mary Baldwin College) in 2013. Monica’s first full-length play, Wonder of Our Stage, was winner of the 2018 New Play Festival at the Players Centre and was produced as part of their Summer Sizzlers Series in 2019, and she was also awarded John Ringling Towers Individual Artists Award in Performance for this production. Her Play The Aria of Julie d’Aubigny was an O’Neill Semifinalist and a Semifinalist for Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries in 2021. Her one-act Cyrano on the Moon was recently produced virtually by Whiskey Theatre Factory, an Orlando based artist collective. Her works can be found on the New Play Exchange and she is a Proud Member of the Dramatist Guild of America, and recently became the DG Regional Ambassador for Northern Florida.

    Cast
    Director – Laura Shatkus
    Lostmother – Kristin Clippard
    Forestchild – Kyle Brumley

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Terrence

  • Twelve-year-old Terrence dreams of college, playing pro ball like his cousin, and being a detective. He’s  mourning losing his dad to cancer when his crack-addict stepdad throws him out of the house. In middle  school, he sleeps in unlocked cars, starves, learns nothing because he sleeps in class, and thrives only after a dealer tells him to hide a bag of crack. Overnight, his untapped business acumen awakens. By 16, he’s flashing a gold grill and hot car. By 18, he’s doing 8-to-10. In prison, he learns to read, his hands  intuitively know how to cut hair, a new god loves him unlike the Slave Bible god he was raised to fear,  and he plans his life in order to stay sane during 6 months of undeserved solitary. Released, he follows  his plan and successfully builds homes for the disabled until the state revokes his license because he’s a felon for life, and his gold-digger wife takes everything and leaves him. Again, Terrence is homeless, except now he knows, “I’m too close to my destiny, and it’s too far to go back.”

    Terrence Jackson was a shy, rural 12 year old devastated by his dad’s death from cancer when he was terrorized by his crack-addicted stepdad and forced from his home. He gained wealth and notoriety as an international dealer by 16, began serving eight years in a fed pen at 18, and was “released” at 26 to be a felon for life. He survives with grace.


    Jane Arrowsmith Edwards writes plays, screenplays, fiction, and poetry. She was grateful to be invited to hear Terrence Jackson’s 2019 presentation at the Hippodrome for a social justice project introducing the community to survivors and victims. She adapted Terrence’s memoir essay and many remarkable anecdotes to the stage.

    Cast
    Director – Ryan Hope Travis
    Terrence – Jay Nixon
    Tonita – Mimi Paul
    Actor 1 – Elaina Walton
    Actor 2 – Kevin Mack

Chosen from 41 playwright submissions, the 5 finalists will work with directors, actors and producers  to develop and workshop their plays before showcasing them in staged readings in front of a live audience. 

Experience groundbreaking new works while participating in the creative process by sharing your reactions directly with the playwright and the production team at a post-show talk back. 

Each performance will showcase all 5 winning playwrights. 

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Ghost of Romeo

  • Ghost of Romeo begins immediately after the untimely deaths of Romeo and Juliet.  The Apothecary who sold Romeo the deadly poison is to be imprisoned but would be given a chance at redemption by a desperate Prince.  The Apothecary must battle against guilt and ghosts to change his own dark destiny.

    Bobby McAfee is an actor and filmmaker who has performed in Gainesville since 1996.  Starting with numerous performances of Shakespeare’s works (including Lear in King Lear, Polonius in Hamlet) at the Acrosstown Repertory Theater, he’s also enjoyed lead roles at the Gainesville Community Playhouse, in The Music Man and The King and I, among others.  Hippodrome Theater credits include Night of the Living Dead, The Dead Guy, and A Christmas Carol.  Ghost of Romeo is Bobby’s first play, and his short film based on the play is available at www.ghostofromeo.com.

    Cast
    Director – Kristin Clippard
    Prince – Kevin Mack
    Magistrate/ Apothecary’s Wife – Emily Jacobs
    Apothecary – Niall McGinty
    Gravedigger – Kyle Brumley
    Ghost(Romeo)/Other Apothecary – Jay Nixon

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Yes No Maybe Ommm

  • Yes No Maybe Ommm is a musical experiment.  An etude exploring the universal story of discovery, conflict, war, peace, heart, and family; all told in five words. And who will end up with the taco?

    Ken’s theatre background is as a composer. He has released two piano CDs. Deja Views charted as high as #3 on the ‘New Age Voice’ charts. His music is available on iTunes and Spotify. 

    Ken was a winner of the ‘New Voices’ program at Players by the Sea. His one-act musical, “God’s God” had a workshop production in May 2021.  

    Ken was a member of the Chicago New Tuner’s Writer’s Workshop from 1995 – 1998. He co-wrote the full-length musical ‘Rock That Town’ (Stages 1996 festival). His short musical ‘Yes, No, Maybe, Ommm,’ was workshopped at Chicago’s ‘Stages 2000.’  

    Ken Pedersen is a native of the Chicago area and now resides in Saint Augustine, FL with his wife, Adrilia. He has two sons Soren and Eric. He has medaled at three Florida state pickleball championships as well as at the USAPA Nationals and the US Open.

    Cast
    Musical Director – Tony Offerle
    Director – Laura Shatkus
    Yes – David Patrick Ford
    No – Anthony Offerle
    Maybe – Kelly Atkins
    Maybe Not – Lilly Mancini
    Ommm – Evan Gunter

Behind the scene view of the
New Works Festival

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A landscape featuring a building on a grassy hill with snow-capped mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.
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What People Are Saying

The Hippodrome celebrates Florida playwrights in its 2022 New Works Festival

— Theater director Stephanie Lynge
joins TV20′s Lisa Sacaccio (2/15/2022)

New Works Festival returns in person
to Hippodrome Theatre

— by Ben Crosbie published in the Alligator (2/24/2022)

1st Annual
New Works Festival (2020)

King Tide by Jessica Farr

Sana Sana Colita de Rana by Caleb Scott

Cardboard Moon by Kara Gordon

Good by Clayton Murray

I Miss All My Entrances by Hunter Levi Rothstein

2023’s New Works Festival was expanded and local playwrights, actors, directors, and designers were invited to participate in a 24-Hour Play Project!

Picture this:

a dash of caffeine, an abundance of creativity, and just 24 hours to craft a captivating 10-minute play, from inception to live performance. Two remarkable 10-minute plays are conceived, rehearsed, and brought to life in a mere day.

How does this work?

On Friday night we unveiled to our local playwrights the theme they are tasked with. What’s more, they created these plays based on actors and props chosen right out of a hat, right before the audience’s eyes!

On Saturday morning at 8 AM, the playwrights hand over their freshly minted plays and meet their directors. Actors joined the fray at 11 AM and began the exhilarating process of bringing these scripts to life. Our talented designers added their technical wizardry at 5:30 PM, and then, at 7:30 PM on Saturday – the plays were performed for the very first time in front of a live audience.

The Edge by Morgan Vanderlaan

Directed by Gregg Jones

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

Scenic landscape of a lake surrounded by mountains and rolling hills under cloudy sky.
Landscape of snow-capped mountains in the background with rolling green hills and a few buildings in the foreground.
A modern wooden house with a large glass window, set against a mountainous landscape with patches of snow, and surrounded by grass and small shrubs.
modern wooden house with stone steps leading to a patio, surrounded by grassy plants, with mountainous landscape in the background at sunset.
Photo of a modern wooden building in a grassy hillside with mountains in the background.
Modern wooden house surrounded by tall grass and a large tree, with mountains in the background under an overcast sky.

Lawyers Don't Dance by Esteban Alvarez

Directed by Calypso Haddad

Pictures by Michael A. Eaddy

Scenic landscape of a mountain range with a lake in the foreground and cloudy sky
Mountains with snow-covered peaks and a building on a grassy hill in the foreground.
Modern house with large front window set against a mountainous landscape with dry grass and small bushes.
Modern house with stone steps leading to a wooden exterior, set in a landscape with rolling grassy hills and mountains in the background.
A landscape view of rolling green hills with a modern wooden building at the bottom and snow-capped mountains in the background.
Contemporary wooden house in a natural landscape with tall grass, trees, and mountains in the background during daytime.