NEWSLETTER
New York, NY (January 27th, 2026) – Abingdon Theatre Company (Chad Austin, Producing Artistic Director) is thrilled to announce the lineup for Raise the Page, Uplift the Word: A BIPOC Festival of Short Plays in collaboration with AMT Theater, taking place on March 9th and 10th, 2026 at 7PM at AMT Theater (354 West 45th Street, New York, NY). The festival is sponsored by Owen Charles, Marcus Felder, Yasmeen Mock, and Jonathan D’Agostino.
After receiving a record-breaking number of submissions, this year’s festival playwrights are Steven A. Butler Jr., Joel Castillo, Amy Chen, Rena Patel, Tara Blau Smollen, and Lucy Wang. Directors and cast members to be announced at a later date.
The schedule for Raise the Page, Uplift the Word: A BIPOC Festival of Short Plays will be as follows:
Day 1, March 9, 2026, at 7PM: featuring Our Lady of Luck by Joel Castillo, When LA Burns by Rena Patel, and The Soledad Brothers by Tara Blau Smollen
Day 2, March 10, 2026 at 7PM: featuring Tongue in Cheek by Lucy Wang, Stump Worthy by Steven A. Butler Jr., and Unfuck Yourself by Amy Chen
Spotlighting stories written by BIPOC playwrights, Raise the Page, Uplift the Word’s mission is to continue creating opportunities for all voices to be heard. With that in mind, Abingdon Theatre Company is delighted to continue offering tickets free to the public, in efforts to make theatre more accessible. Reserve now & learn more about festival playwrights at: www.abingdontheatre.org/fsp-2026.
Kate Bell and Owen Mannion, producers of the festival said, “We’re ecstatic to highlight these six talented playwrights in our sixth annual festival, bringing their brave new work to the stage. With last year’s sold out festival marking its first in-person iteration, we couldn’t be more excited to present these pieces at AMT Theater again, giving emerging artists an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of New York audiences.”
AMT Theater stated, "The goal of theater artists should be not only to entertain but to enlighten. To educate. To inform. To stimulate. Abingdon Theatre Company does all of these things equally well, and what's more, they have been doing it for decades. AMT is so proud to partner up with this elite company once again and we look forward to having you join us for what we're sure will be another unforgettable experience.”
Established over 30 years ago, Abingdon Theatre Company (ATC) develops and produces critically acclaimed brave, new American work by emerging and established artists. Mainstage Productions include the Off-Broadway premieres of Max Mondi’s Maybe Tomorrow with Dan Amboyer and Elizabeth A. Davis, Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness written and performed by Dave Droxler, the New York premiere of Queens Girl in the World, which was nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance for the Vivian Robinson Audelco Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre, and the NYT Critics’ Pick Get on Your Knees written and performed by Jaqueline Novak, nominated for a Drama Desk Award. The One Night Only Series has showcased work such as Alex Edelman’s Just for Us which went on to receive Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations and has just completed its run on Broadway; Back by Matt Webster starring Emmy Award nominee Madeline Brewer and Tony Award nominee James Cusati-Moyer; The Prompter starring Oscar-winning actress Estelle Parsons; Date of a Lifetime, a new musical with book and lyrics by Carl Kissin and music by Robert Baumgartner Jr. ATC’s Around the Table Series has produced staged readings of new plays such as The Inferno by Chris Sherman and Arancini by Joey Merlo. In 2020, ATC established Abingdon Virtual led by Executive Producer Chad Austin, and has since produced three award-winning films, including As Apple Pie written and directed by Artist-in-Residence Pierre Marais, which was an official selection of the Cannes World Film Festival for Best Young Filmmaker and won multiple awards at festivals including Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Drama USA; Abingdon Virtual’s premiere film, It Cries Too Loudly, was an official selection of the Prague International Short Film Awards and won Best Cinematography and Best Short Film at the Eastern European Film Festival.
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