Great Plains Theatre Commons (GPTC) has selected 10 playwrights to participate in the 21st annual New Play Festival’s 2026 PlayLab program. Hosted by Metropolitan Community College, this year’s convening is taking place Sunday, May 24 – Saturday, May 30.
GPTC Managing Director, Quinn Metal Corbin, spoke with Mike Hogan on KIOS-FM’s “Live & Local” about the festival. Quinn explained that as part of their commitment to make their beloved art form accessible to everyone, all of their programming is free, and all of their artists are paid.
The selected playwrights were chosen from a pool of more than 750 anonymous submissions. Each of the playwrights will work on their projects with a creative team, including a director, designer, dramaturg, and cast composed of local and national talent. Each lab will culminate in a free staged reading, after which the playwrights will receive feedback from other top national playwrights, dramaturgs, designers, and public audiences. All public events at the Festival are free and open to the public…