The beauty of a story is that it can truly come from anywhere. Stories come from happiness, they come from heartbreak, that spark of creation arising from both life’s most special moments and the most mundane. The act of storytelling is intrinsic to who we are as human beings—just as we harbor the need to eat, sleep and breathe, so too do we use stories to make sense of our world. In Sarasota, there is a building on the corner of 2nd Street and Lemon Avenue. In that building is a small black box theater, no more than 1,500 square feet. For the past 11 years, some of Sarasota’s most special stories have been told in that space. Founded in 2015, Urbanite Theatre has made a name for itself not just in Sarasota’s crowded theater scene, but nationally as an incubator for new voices within the industry. Committed to producing contemporary, diverse plays, Urbanite frequently stages world and regional premieres, championing the work of emerging playwrights. Seven years ago, co-founder and producing artistic director Summer Wallace added to the organization’s creative ecosystem when she launched the annual Modern Works Festival. 

“Female playwrights are still underrepresented,” says Wallace. “The festival grew out of me wanting to ensure that we have more plays written by women in our season. In our first year of the festival, we were still a new company and paving our way in the industry.”

Since its debut, the festival has grown into a two-week celebration of female playwrights and theater makers. A solo show headlines the first week of the festival—2026’s is slated to be Erika MacDonald’s Tea Time—and a guest speaker will address festival goers. This year’s is award-winning playwright and dramaturg Jacqueline Goldfinger; past years have included acclaimed playwrights such as Bess Wohl and Lauren Gunderson and Nan Barnett, executive director of the National New Play Network. “We’ve had incredible guest speakers that have been a part of the festival,” says Wallace. “It’s been great for providing a platform for women in our industry to talk about who they are and what they do.”

At its heart, the Modern Works Festival is a haven for new play development. Wallace and her team of readers receive over 300 submissions from female playwrights across the country. Of those 300, three are chosen as finalists—an endeavor that entails a full week of play development and two fully staged readings of each play to the public, replete with professional actors, a director and production team. 

“Once we get down to that last round of submissions, I try to put together a selection of plays that are different from each other and that need some development. I also want to make sure that it’s not just a festival of experienced playwrights, but we also have emerging playwrights represented as well,” says Wallace. “I want it to truly be a celebration of female playwrights and theater makers as a whole.”

For Wallce and her team at Urbanite, the production process behind the festival is immense. Wallace gives each chosen playwright a final deadline for the script—revisions are often made after the initial submission—before going into the casting process. “We like to find a mix of out of town directors and actors as well as local directors and actors. It’s important to us at Urbanite to support our local artists, so the playwrights know that it’s a combination of that,” says Wallace. “I want the playwrights to be happy, so I always ask, ‘is there a director that you want to work with?’ Because the festival includes so many human beings, we have our additional support staff to help with housing check-ins, travel bookings and an assortment of administrative stuff.”

So what does the Modern Works Festival actually look like, and perhaps more importantly, what can it do for the three plays selected to be a part of it?

For the playwrights, casts and directors, it’s a lot of work. There is about 15 hours of rehearsal prior to the public readings. During this period, playwrights can make changes to their script, be it as small as tweaking a line of dialogue or as sweeping as adding a flurry of new scenes. Those changes are welcome—Wallace stresses that the Modern Works Festival is geared toward supporting the development of these works, rather than just entertaining audiences. While there is an “Audience Favorite” award, there is no one “winner” of the festival. It is the rehearsal process, the reading and the audience’s reaction to each play, which is—in addition to a stipend and a per diem for each playwright—the prize in and of itself. “What you can tell from a reading is really strong writing and relationships,” says Wallace. “At a reading the audience has to use their imagination, so when a play truly elicits an emotional reaction from an audience member, that’s when a playwright knows that their play is working. Ideally, the festival gives  the opportunity for a playwright to know what worked and didn’t work from it being read by professional actors in front of an audience.”

In terms of what the festival can do for a play, the proof is in the pudding. Within the theater industry, a play is often read and developed at multiple festivals and or theaters, before being produced. Plays come to the Modern Works Festival at all different stages—some have been tested at other festivals, while others have only been read in the playwright’s living room. Afterwards, playwrights might submit their plays to other festivals or to other theaters to pick up. Some plays have even been picked up by Urbanite for production. Katie Douglas’s The Apiary was a part of the 2022 Modern Works Festival, and went on to an off-Broadway premiere before Urbanite produced it in its 2025-26 season. Brenda Wither’s Westminster was crowned the victor of the 2023 Modern Works Festival and made its world premiere at Urbanite later that year. “If plays are right for us, then we obviously want to produce them,” says Wallace. “Other times there are plays that have been a part of the festival that aren’t right for us, but I’ll send it to other theaters that might be interested in it. Having that development and being a finalist in the festival helps other theaters invest in the plays.”

For Wallace, the Modern Works Festival is about cultivating a creative ecosystem for female playwrights, an underrepresented sector within the industry. In her “dream of dreams”, the festival would grow to encompass six, seven or even eight new plays, with theater companies from across the country attending to scout new work. For Urbanite Theatre, the festival is a testament to the power of storytelling.  A spark turns into a story, a story turns into a submission, a submission into a staged reading and a reading into a produced play—all of which feeds the creativity of the future playwrights in the audience.SRQ  2026 Modern Works Festival, September 17-27, Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd St, Sarasota