Play readings and workshops offer a chance to see exciting new work at various stages of development. Want to see the next big thing while it’s still being crafted? Get in on the ground level and see the creative process in action. Featuring new plays and musicals by local and national artists, here are the upcoming play readings and workshops in the DMV.
MARCH 2026
Round House Theatre’s Teen Performance Company presents its 24th annual Sarah Metzger Memorial Play, At the End of the World by Morgan Gould, directed by Scout Amakali, Friday, March 27 through Sunday, March 29 at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD. Showtimes are Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 8:00 PM, and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $25 and available here. Free tickets are available for high school and college students; details here.
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington presents Body Beautiful, an evening of songs and stories celebrating body positivity, Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 PM at National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC. The performance will be ASL interpreted. Tickets are $48 general admission ($43 for seniors and $23 for young people 25 and under) and available here.
Better Said Than Done presents its 2026 Women’s Storytelling Festival, both in-person and streaming online, Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, March 22. The festival kicks off with a virtual-only showcase March 19 at 8:00 PM. In-person events (with livestream options) run March 20-22 at Sherwood Community Center, 3740 Blenheim Blvd, Fairfax, VA. Full festival passes ($70) and virtual-only passes ($50) are available here. Single-day passes will be available at the door only for $35.
Story District presents She Comes First, its annual night of true stories told live by women, Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 PM at Penn Social, 801 E St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $35 and available here.
Teatro de la Luna presents its Bilingual Artistic Festival for Children, Saturday, March 7 from 12:00 PM-4:00 PM at Casa Lala, 1244 Taylor St NW, Washington, DC. The festival will include theater, clown performances, music, dancing, storytelling, and activities for all ages. Tickets are $10 (free for children under 3) and available here.
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra presents three-time Tony Award winner Patti Lupone in a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of her acclaimed theatrical concert Matters of the Heart, which she performed for extended runs on Broadway, London’s West End, as well on tour nationally and internationally. Lupone performs Thursday, March 5 at 7:30 PM in the Concert Hall at George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Dr, Fairfax, VA. Tickets range from $85-$105 and are available here.
Shakespeare Theatre Company presents a staged reading of Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott‘s Dream on Monkey Mountain, Monday, March 2 at 7:00 PM at STC’s Klein Theatre, 450 7th St NW, Washington, DC. Directed by LeeAnét Noble, the play is presented as the culmination of seven weeks of performance and dramaturgical study by students from Howard University and Morgan State University. Tickets are free; RSVP here.
Omnium Circus launches its 2026 national tour of its award-winning show I’m Possible, Sunday, March 1 at 3:00 PM at the Warner Theatre, 513 13th St NW, Washington, DC. Led during this tour by Deaf ringmasters Malik Paris and Mandy Harvey, Omnium is the only circus in the United States to be presented bilingually in English and American Sign Language, and it incorporates unprecedented audience accessibility. Tickets start at $39.75 and are available here.
FEBRUARY 2026
Baltimore Center Stage presents a one-night-only staged reading of Squeaky, a deeply personal and often hilarious autobiographical comedy by Baltimore native Jeff Cohen, on Saturday, February 28 at 7:30 PM at Baltimore Center Stage, 700 North Calvert St, Baltimore, MD. The cast includes D.B. Sweeney, Tony Award nominee Craig Bierko, Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Richard Masur, two-time Obie Award winner Benja Kay Thomas, and Drama Desk, Theater World, and Elliot Norton Award winner Lizbeth MacKay. Tickets are $35 and available here.
Maryland Opera presents New Voices in Opera, a double bill of new one-act works, Saturday, February 28 at 7:00 PM at Grace United Methodist Church, 5407 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD. The event will feature Oshun (music by B.E. Boykin, libretto by Jarrod Lee) and Kandake (music by Timothy Amukele, libretto by Jarrod Lee), plus a mini-recital by voice students from Morgan State University and Towson University. Tickets are $40 ($20 students) and available here. Each ticket includes admission to preshow lecture at 6:00 PM featuring Yoruba Priestess Iyálorisà Olóyè Oyawunmi Awosade Ájàlá and librettist Jarrod Lee, and post-show Q&A.
Prologue Theatre presents two workshop readings of Ahoy-Hoy: A Play About That Relatable Feeling When Someone Else Invents the Telephone Three Hours Before You Do by Jenny Stafford, directed by Megan Thrift. Readings will be held Friday, February 27 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, February 28 at 2:30 PM at Prologue Theatre, 6408 Williamsburg Blvd, Arlington, VA. Tickets are free; RSVP here.
Arena Stage presents its 75th Anniversary New Play Festival, Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St SW, Washington, DC. The festival features readings of The Treatment by Amy Berryman, Emalani by Lee Cataluna, Code Red by Emily Mann, and Bunk Johnson…A Blues Poem by Ifa Bayeza, along with Power, Politics, and New Plays: A Conversation with Molly Smith and Hana S. Sharif. Individual event tickets range from $0-$25 and are available here.
Round House Theatre presents its fifth annual Bonnie Hammerschlag National Capital New Play Festival, including a series of developmental readings from February 26-March 8 at Round House, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD. Readings include The Cave by Lauren Gunderson, Help! Help! Want. Want. Want. by JuCoby Johnson, Noise in the Line by Matthew Capodicasa, and Marble Rooftop by Eliana Theologides Rodriguez. Tickets are free but readings are currently full; find more information and join the waitlist here.
US Karagoz Theatre Company brings the centuries-old tradition of Turkish Karagöz shadow theater to Baltimore with two solo shows by award-winning artist Ayhan Hulagu. The Other Side of Hollywood performs Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 PM and Friday, February 27 at 7:30 PM; The Forest of the Witch performs Saturday, February 28 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. All performances will be at Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St, Baltimore, MD. Tickets are $25 ($20 for seniors and artists, and $15 for students) and available for Hollywood here and Witch here.
Wolf Trap presents The Second City: Laugh Harder Not Smarter, running Wednesday, February 25 through Saturday, February 28 in The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Rd, Vienna, VA. Showtimes are 8:00 PM Wednesday-Friday, with 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM performances on Saturday. Tickets range from $63-$74 and are available here.
Theater Alliance presents its Hothouse New Play Block Party, running February 20-March 1 in Theater Alliance’s Southwest Arts Hub, 340 Maple Drive SW, Washington, DC. The festival features creative workshops, live comedy, staged readings, a playwrights’ open mic, a sampling of excerpts of new works by playwrights featured during Theater Alliance’s 2025/26 season, and more. Find full festival information and tickets (either individual events or multi-event Hothouse packages) here.
Atlas Performing Arts Center presents the 2026 Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival, February 14-March 15 at the Atlas, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. The INTERSECTIONS Festival invites audiences of all ages to engage with a diverse lineup of performances in the genres of story, movement, and sound. Tickets range from $25-$37 for individual events, with a 3-show pass available for $69, a 4-show pass for $88, and a 5-show pass for $100. Festival lineup and tickets are available here.
