2026 MODERN WORKS FESTIVAL
September 17-27, 2026
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Back for its seventh year at Urbanite Theatre, the 2026 Modern Works Festival is a two-week celebration of new play development and women in theatre. With a festival pass, you gain all-acess to entry to works in progress, including staged readings of finalist plays, a Kickoff Party, guest speaker events, artist performances, and post show conversations that bring audiences and creators into direct dialogue.
2026 FESTIVAL LINEUP
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2026
7:30pm, Festival Headliner, TEA TIME by Erika MacDonald
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
7:30pm, Festival Headliner, TEA TIME by Erika MacDonald
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2026
2:00pm & 7:30pm, Festival Headliner, TEA TIME by Erika MacDonald
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2026
2:00pm, Festival Headliner, TEA TIME by Erika MacDonald
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2026
7:30pm Kick Off Party-All Festival Artists & Pass Holders*
(light bites and cocktails provided)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
2:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #1
5:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #2
7:30PM Festival Guest Speaker, Jacqueline Goldfinger
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2026
2:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #3
5:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #1
7:30PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #2
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2026
2:00PM Staged Play Reading: Festival Finalist #3
4:00PM Audience Roundtable & Festival Closing Celebration*
Finalists to be announced later this summer, we are busy reading over 300 submissions!
*Indicates an exclusive event for Festival Passholders!
Festival Headling Production
TEA TIME by Erika MacDonald
Do you love TEA? Do you wish you had more TIME?
Or do you just need a MOMENT?
"Tea TIME invokes hearty laughter and tears in equal measure… The show begins as a simple, silly walkthrough on how to prepare a cup of tea—and believe it when you read that you will laugh. But as the brew continues to flow, MacDonald masterfully guides us through understanding that (this show) is much deeper." - Broadway World
Runtime:
60 minutes
Warnings:
Recommended for ages 18+
Adult Language | Hot Beverages
Meet the Playwrights
Meet the three 2026 Modern Works Festival Finalists
Festival Guest Speaker
Jacqueline Goldfinger
Jacqueline Goldfinger (she/they) is a playwright, dramaturg, librettist, and poet. whose work has been produced both in the U.S. and around the world. Her book, Playwriting with Purpose: A Guide and Workbook for Playwrights, is taught at colleges and universities around the country. Her plays have been produced by The Kennedy Center, United Solo (Off-Broadway), Court Theatre (New Zealand), École nationale de théâtre (Canada), Urbanite Theatre, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Theatre Exile, Vortex Rep, Perseverance Theatre, among others. Her work has been developed at Maryland Opera Studio, the National Theater (UK), New Georges, La Mama, Disquiet (Portugal), Drama League, Lark Playwrights Week, National New Play Network, among others. Her work has been supported by organizations including Yaddo, National Endowment for the Arts, Millay Colony, Sloan Foundation, and the Orchard Project.
Her opera, choral and art song libretti have been performed at Sydney Opera House (Australia), Opera Columbus, Resonance Works, BBC Radio 3 (UK), Voces8 (UK), Oberlin Opera, Chor Leoni (Canada), Chiesa di Ognissanti (Italy), San Diego Opera/Without Walls Festival, and others. The filmed version of her short opera, Letter to Our Children, with Composer Justine F. Chen has screened at film festivals around the world.
Her plays have won the Yale Prize, Generations Award, Smith Prize, Best One Man Show Off-Broadway at United Solo, among others. Her opera Alice Tierney won the Opera America Discovery Award with Composer Melissa Dunphy. Her short opera film Letter to Our Children with Composer Justine F. Chen won Best Music Video at the Paris Short Film Awards.Her plays and libretti have been published by Yale Press, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Concord Theatricals, Dramatists Play Service, Edition Peters, and others. Her poetry has been published by literary magazines including American Poetry Review, Poetry Wales, and Beyond Queer Words Poetry Anthology.She’s been commissioned by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Oberlin Opera, Maryland Opera Studio, Wilma Theater, Urbanite Theatre, National New Play Network, and others.
As a dramaturg, she specializes in new work and has worked with La Jolla Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Arden Theatre, and others.As an educator, she has taught playwriting and dramaturgy at University of Pennsylvania, UC Davis, and others. Her academic writing includes two books, Playwriting with Purpose: A Guide and Workbook for Playwrights and Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage published by Routledge. She was the Guest Editor for the Special Issue of the Journal of American Drama and Theatre themed “Revolutions in New Work Development.” She also runs the TikTok: playwriting.with.purpose.Learn more at: www.jacquelinegoldfinger.com
