Humana Festival Of New American Plays

About Us:

The Humana Festival is a world-renowned event that has introduced more than 450 plays into the American and international theatre repertoire. Celebrated past premieres include Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate, Jen Silverman’s The Roommate, Kimber Lee’s brownsville song (b-side for tray), Idris Goodwin’s How We Got On, Molly Smith Metzler’s Cry it Out, A. Rey Pamatmat’s Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, Jordan Harrison’s Maple and Vine, Gina Gionfriddo’sBecky Shaw, Naomi Iizuka’s Polaroid Stories, Charles Mee’s Big Love, José Rivera’s Marisol, Naomi Wallace’s One Flea Spare, Emily Mann’s Execution of Justice, John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God, and Marsha Norman’s Getting Out. The Festival has also featured new work made by acclaimed ensemble companies, such as Rude Mechs (The Method Gun), UNIVERSES (Ameriville), and SITI Company (Steel Hammer, Cabin Pressure, Charles Mee’s bobrauschenbergamerica, and more).

Three Humana Festival plays have won the Pulitzer Prize—The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, and Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies—and plays launched in Louisville have received a host of prestigious honors, including the Obie Award, Kesselring Prize, Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and many others. More than 400 Humana Festival plays have been published in anthologies and individual acting editions, making Actors Theatre a visible and vital force in the development of new work.

The Humana Festival is the premier event of its kind in the nation, drawing theatre lovers, journalists, and film and stage producers from around the world. About 38,000 patrons attend the six weeks of plays and associated events, including students from more than 50 colleges and universities. The Festival culminates in two industry weekends, which bring together a collection of amazing new plays with one-of-a-kind panels, cocktail parties, discussions and networking events. It is the perfect opportunity to see new work, make new connections, and support the creation of new American theatre.