2025 NEW WORKS FESTIVAL
JULY 31 - AUGUST 3

OPC’S 2025 New Works Festival will include presentations of fresh new work and unique events designed to foster connections between the playwrights of today, the artists of tomorrow, and YOU.

Playwrights receive a two-week workshop to develop their new plays, culminating in a public performance of their work at OPC’s New Works Festival, July 31 - Aug 3. For the Festival, five writers will be joined by professional actors and production teams who help bring their vision to life; all eight of the playwrights will participate in events as part of the OPC artist community. Learn more about this year’s playwrights here.

Please join us in Ojai to experience these artists, their voices, and the future of the American theater!

Festival passholders receive unique benefits and become part of a community of people investing in OPC and our efforts to build connections and access for all. To provide access for a more expansive audience, we are again thrilled to share that all single tickets for the 2025 Festival are donation-based, or PAY WHAT YOU CAN. 

Festival passes are available now. Single tickets will be available closer to the Festival - check back here for Single Tickets in July. Read on for info about the public events of the Festival, or click below if you’re ready to purchase your passes now.

FESTIVAL PLAYS & EVENTS

SCHEDULE

IN CELEBRATION
Thurs, July 31, 7:30 p.m.
An evening highlighting new work from across the OPC artist community, including the Youth Workshop and Intern programs.

Heléne by Lisa D’Amour
Fri, August 1, 7:30 p.m.
Two years after the murder of her daughter, Heléne is called to take a road trip by her daughter's ghost. As she drives from her home near Baton Rouge, LA to Brooklyn, New York, Heléne arcs through the many siloed communities of America seeking answers, renewal, and new ground. As her ghost daughter pushes her deeper into our fraught American hellscape, Heléne renews her own sense of agency and her fierce determination to LOVE.

Stories in Mother Tongues by Deepak Kumar
Sat, August 2, 3:00 p.m.
Paati, a 79-year-old grandmother, is waiting to die. Her only joy comes from a one-woman play she runs every night. But when her family is corrupted by demons that threaten to destroy the play, Paati must team up with an unlikely ally: her existentially tortured grandson, Giri. Will Paati and Giri defeat the demons? Or will the show just… end? A metatheatrical action adventure about tradition, expectations, and learning to speak in your mother tongue.

burn for You by Regan Moro
Sat, August 2, 7:30 p.m.
A blistering August in upstate New York. No rain in 3 months. And the little daughter of Lila, a young worship leader at a charismatic church, doesn’t wake up one morning. Lila’s estranged sister Franny, a lesbian who fled the church seven years prior, returns home for the first time for what she thinks is a funeral; only to find that her sister and the church she left behind are determined to pray for the toddler’s resurrection—no matter how long it takes. A play about incongruous faith, sisters, and what happens when we pray for something dead to come back.

The Red Man by JuCoby Johnson
Sun, August 3, 11:00 a.m.
Have you ever been so lonely you could just…? Jacqueline has. That is until her estranged twin brother, Jackie, turns up one night at her shack in the Florida swamp. But Jackie’s brought home more than Jacqueline bargained for. Something is following him—and now it’s after her, too. The Red Man is a Southern Gothic thriller and love story that asks how far we’ll go to escape our past.

IN CONVERSATION
Sun, August 3,  1:00 p.m.
A discussion with the playwrights led by OPC Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen

Madre de Dios by Marvin González De León
Sun, August 3, 3:00 p.m.
Following years of estrangement, Moisés returns to his mother’s home in the Southern Nevada desert for his sister’s wake. Set against an apocalyptic landscape where supernatural forces loom, old grudges boil to the surface, and secrets are revealed as this family drama catapults into a mythic tale of Biblical proportion.

LOCATION: Milligan Center for the Performing Arts at The Thacher School, 5025 Thacher Road, Ojai, CA

General parking is just past the school entry gates on your right.  The theater is a short walk up the hill on the left.

Accessible parking: There are several handicapped spaces across from the theater. If full, there are several reserved spaces just beyond the theater or guests can also be dropped off directly in front of the theater.

Box office: Please arrive with plenty of time to park and make the short walk to the box office, located in front of the theater.

FESTIVAL PASSES

Festival passholders receive unique benefits and become part of a community of people investing in OPC and our efforts to build connections and access for all. We look forward to seeing you in Ojai!

OPC FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE
This all-access pass includes preferred seating for all events (Thursday-Sunday, July 31-Aug 3), an exclusive champagne toast with the artists before the first performance on Friday evening, and the option to include a meal between performances on Saturday and Sunday.

Events include In Celebration on Thursday evening, five performances throughout the weekend, and In Conversation, a discussion with the 2025 playwrights, between the two readings on Saturday.
$320: all events w/o meals
$400: all events w/meals (Reserve by July 26)

A DAY WITH OPC
This one-day pass includes preferred seating for all events on Saturday, August 3: two performances (3:00 pm and 7:00 pm); OR for all events on Sunday, August 4: two performances (11:00 am and 3:00 pm) and In Conversation, a discussion with the 2024 playwrights, in between the two readings.
$80: day pass w/o meal
$120: day pass w/meal (Reserve by July 26)

SINGLE TICKETS: PAY WHAT YOU CAN

We believe that the power of theater lies in its collective experience. And in the development of a new play, the opportunity to have a broader audience witness the work can make a significant impact.

To provide access for a more expansive audience, we are again thrilled to share that all single tickets for the 2025 Festival will be donation-based, or PAY WHAT YOU CAN. 

We are grateful to our single-ticket buyers who pay the suggested donation of $30 (or more) when making their reservation, as well as to our Festival passholders. Your generosity helps cover the cost of others who pay what they can.

Single tickets are general admission will be available on this page in July.