We are thrilled to present our annual Iowa New Play Festival in the Theatre Building featuring full productions written by MFA playwrights Sixtus Chetachi Igbokwe, Eli Campbell, Xiaoyan Kang, and a collection of work by the Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop! Plus, there are readings daily from new, full plays written by MFA playwrights.

Productions:
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

Reading Series:
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - Free, but you must obtain a ticket

Schedule of Events:

Monday, May 5, 2025

10:30 am - 12:00 pm: Welcome Reception and Guest Panel

Join us for the kick-off of Iowa New Play Festival 2025! The Welcome Reception begins at 10:30 a.m. and the Guest Panel begins at 11 a.m.

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: POP!

By Cianon Jones
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Reading Series

POP! explores the proximity of humanity and nature through a forest that is very much alive and deliriously in danger.

Please be advised this reading includes mentions/portrayals/inferences to carnage, murder, human cruelty, animal cruelty, blood, death, drug use, destruction, questionable things of the natural and unnatural world.

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Adaku

By Sixtus Chetachi Igbokwe
Directed by Josh Turner
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

In 1979 Nigeria, a good man's sudden death in a hunting accident leaves his widow in a mourning chair. Their daughter, Adaku, seeks to bring honor to her community like her great hunter-father, but soon discovers the unwritten rules that govern her destiny as a woman, and even more so, as an Igbo woman.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Adaku

By Sixtus Chetachi Igbokwe
Directed by Josh Turner
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

In 1979 Nigeria, a good man's sudden death in a hunting accident leaves his widow in a mourning chair. Their daughter, Adaku, seeks to bring honor to her community like her great hunter-father, but soon discovers the unwritten rules that govern her destiny as a woman, and even more so, as an Igbo woman.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

10:30 am - 11:30 am: Guest Roundtable - Adaku

A roundtable discussion of the Iowa New Play Festival production Adaku by Sixtus Chetachi Igbokwe directed by Josh Turner.

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: LARPlay

y Randy Jackson-Alvarenga
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Reading Series

LARPlay follows Ash, a stubborn non-gamer recovering from a near-death experience, who is reluctantly pulled into a LARP designed by her late childhood friend. As she struggles with grief and the fear of her own mortality, the fantasy world begins to feel more real. Forcing her to confront what it truly means to fight, to play, and to keep living.

Please be advised this reading includes references to heart attacks, death, and grief.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - Free, but you must obtain a ticket

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: 3 Cubes and a Ghostlight

3 Cubes and a Ghostlight
By the Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop
Directed and choreographed by Michael C. Flores
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

A collection of works from the Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop, all inspired by the concept of three cubes and a ghostlight. Through a collaborative ensemble, these pieces will explore their unique voices and shared themes, shedding light on the creative process and storytelling.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

10:30 am - 11:30 am: Guest Roundtable - 3 Cubes and a Ghostlight

A roundtable discussion of the Iowa New Play Festival production 3 Cubes and a Ghostlight, a collection of work by the Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop, directed and choreographed by Michael C. Flores.

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Terminal

By Emily Kaufman-Bell
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Reading Series

A girl about to leave for college is compelled to navigate her grief in the landscape of her own mind with the help of her younger sister.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - Free, but you must obtain a ticket

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm: This is My Body

By Darrin Terpstra
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Reading Series

In Southern Baptist Suburbia, a pastor grapples with his failing health and faith as he falls in love with his fellow pastor.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - Free, but you must obtain a ticket

Thursday, May 8, 2025

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Go!

By Adrian Enzastiga
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Reading Series

In the amazing world of "Punymon Go!" expert trainers form lasting friendships with their creature companions, go on glorious adventures to improve their skills, and team up to battle an ultra-serious gaming addiction.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - Free, but you must obtain a ticket

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm: salt tongue

By Eli Campbell
Directed by Kayla Adams
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

It's 1615 on an island off the coast of Ireland, and Fintan has caught the last fish in the sea. When he finds a man washed ashore that same day, he assumes Rossa must be a shipwrecked sailor and takes him home to recover. But things turn strange the longer Rossa stays, and soon the family that's adopted him must decide whether they've made the right decision.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: salt tongue

By Eli Campbell
Directed by Kayla Adams
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

It's 1615 on an island off the coast of Ireland, and Fintan has caught the last fish in the sea. When he finds a man washed ashore that same day, he assumes Rossa must be a shipwrecked sailor and takes him home to recover. But things turn strange the longer Rossa stays, and soon the family that's adopted him must decide whether they've made the right decision.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

10:15 pm: Digital Graffiti showing

The world has seen the dazzling delights of digital artwork projection mapped onto some of the most iconic buildings: the Empire State Building, the Sidney Opera House... even our own Old Capitol! Now you can see the Theatre Arts building come to life with digital art made by students in the new UI course, Digital Graffiti.

The art of projection mapping is a growing sector in public art and engagement. Many cities are eager to engage their communities and shine light onto the facades of their downtown districts. Imagine the possibilities these architectural canvases can provide to explore the visual intersection of digital art and architecture while engaging local communities.

This event is FREE and open to the public, and it's part of #NewWorkCity, the spring initiative by #PerformingArtsAtIowa to highlight new work created by our talented graduate students in the performing arts. Join us as we celebrate one part of the full range of creative work happening at the University of Iowa.

Friday, May 9, 2025

10:30 am - 11:30 am: Guest Roundtable - salt tongue

A roundtable discussion of the Iowa New Play Festival production salt tongue by Eli Campbell directed by Kayla Adams.

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: The Milk Miracle

By Poonam Dhir
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Reading Series

The Milk Miracle centers on a playwright navigating questions of identity, place, and belonging—both personal and cultural—while writing a story about a family struggling with grief, community expectations, and the weight of tradition. The play explores the layered tensions between the act of writing and the forces that shape a story's creation.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - Free, but you must obtain a ticket

5:30 pm - 7:30 pm: The Words of Ants

By Xiaoyan Kang
Directed by Meredith G. Healy
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

The visit of an uninvited woman changes Yan's life forever. As the last natural inheritor, Yan embarks upon a journey to preserve an almost extinct language, but at what cost?

Please be advised this show includes discussions about death of loved ones and mention of child abuse.

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: The Words of Ants

By Xiaoyan Kang
Directed by Meredith G. Healy
Part of Iowa New Play Festival - Production Series

The visit of an uninvited woman changes Yan's life forever. As the last natural inheritor, Yan embarks upon a journey to preserve an almost extinct language, but at what cost?

Tickets
UI Students (with ID) - Free, limit 1 ticket per ID
General Admission - $5, cash only

10:15 pm: Digital Graffiti showing

The world has seen the dazzling delights of digital artwork projection mapped onto some of the most iconic buildings: the Empire State Building, the Sidney Opera House... even our own Old Capitol! Now you can see the Theatre Arts building come to life with digital art made by students in the new UI course, Digital Graffiti.

The art of projection mapping is a growing sector in public art and engagement. Many cities are eager to engage their communities and shine light onto the facades of their downtown districts. Imagine the possibilities these architectural canvases can provide to explore the visual intersection of digital art and architecture while engaging local communities.

This event is FREE and open to the public, and it's part of #NewWorkCity, the spring initiative by #PerformingArtsAtIowa to highlight new work created by our talented graduate students in the performing arts. Join us as we celebrate one part of the full range of creative work happening at the University of Iowa.

Date:
May 5 - 9, 2025

Location:
Theatre Building,
200 North Riverside Drive,
Iowa City, IA 52242

Click here for more information