By EVM Staff

The Flint Rep has announced the lineup for its 2026 New Works Festival with plays by Larissa FastHorse, Shannon TL Kearns, James Anthony Tyler, and Lina Patel.

The annual festival, scheduled for February 13 to 15, 2026, is a three-day event of staged readings of new plays in development, “offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience bold new work and engage with the artists shaping the future of American theatre,” according to a Jan. 30 Flint Rep press release.

“The New Works Festival is one of the most exciting moments of our season,” said Flint Rep Producing Artistic Director Nicole Samsel. “It invites audiences into the creative process and celebrates writers who are pushing the form in powerful ways. We’re thrilled to bring these plays, and these artists, to Flint and to share this experience with our community.”

According to the Flint Rep’s press release, the 2026 New Works Festival lineup is as follows:

“Makoce”
by Larissa FastHorse
Friday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m.

Larissa FastHorse’s newest play, “Makoce,” is a zombie horror play with a twist. FastHorse, a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow and 2020 MacArthur Fellow, is the first known female Native playwright to be produced on Broadway. Her satirical comedy, “The Thanksgiving Play,” is one of the most produced plays in America, with more than 300 productions worldwide.

“Laughing, Flexing, Dying”
by Shannon TL Kearns
Saturday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m.

Ayden, Cayden, and Jayden are in a mountain cabin for their annual guys trip. But this year is different. As the weekend unfolds so do the tensions between these three friends as they grapple with what has changed and what it means to move forward. Kearns is an award-winning playwright and ordained priest whose work has been supported by the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship, Lambda Literary, and the Playwrights’ Center.

“The Drop Off”
by James Anthony Tyler
Saturday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m.

At Deer Lakes Assisted Living Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allain drops off her mother Delphina. When Delphina refuses to stay, long-buried memories, broken dreams, and an impending eviction surface in ways that threaten to unravel their mother/daughter bond forever. Funny, heartwarming, and ultimately touching, “The Drop Off” is a moving exploration of how to best care for our loved ones while also learning to care for ourselves.  Tyler is the recipient of the Horton Foote Playwriting Award and a graduate of Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. Tyler is also no stranger to Flint Rep. His play, “Into the Side of the Hill,” was developed through the 2023 New Works Festival, and Flint Rep produced its world premiere in 2024.

“Bonobos”
by Lina Patel
Sunday, February 15, at 2 p.m.

At a suburban book club, a group of women discover just how far they’ll go to protect one another when an abusive ex shows up. Can solidarity save us, or does violence always win? Patel is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has been commissioned and presented across the U.S. and internationally, and whose television credits include “Cherish the Day” and “Krypton.”

Readings will be followed by opportunities for conversation and reflection. Tickets for each reading are $11, or guests may purchase the complete festival package to attend all four performances for $20.

Opening image, from left to right: Playwrights Larissa FastHorse, Shannon TL Kearns, James Anthony Tyler, and Lina Patel. Their work will be presented during the FIM Flint Repertory Theatre’s 2026 New Works Festival from February 13-15, 2026. (Photos courtesy Flint Rep)