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The Festival is now! View a full schedule of Cohen New Works Festival 2025 events, performances and installations.
are you ok in there?
Interactive Experience
are you ok in there? is a solo show for a solo audience — all within the claustrophobic confines of a single bathroom stall. With the aid of soundscapes, projections and myth, the performer — dressed as a Hindu deity — weaves together an intimate story about loss, divinity and those ethereal spaces between ‘here’ and ‘hereafter’ we’ve come to know as bathrooms.
Each experience is meant to be a one-on-one conversation between STRANGERS.
PLEASE DO NOT reserve a ticket if you have ever spoken to the performer, Matt Thekkethala, for longer than 30 SECONDS.
Project Lead: Matt Thekkethala
Contains mature language and themes related to death and blasphemy. Recommended for 18+
are you ok in there? may be an uncomfortable experience for some participants.
Participants will be seated inside a small bathroom stall with the performer.
The show employs UV black lighting.
All surfaces in the bathroom will be cleaned before the installation begins.
A toilet seat cover will be provided to you.
Approximate Run Time: 20-30 minutes
Location: Second Floor Men’s Bathroom, F. Loren Winship Drama Building
Tuesday, April 8 at 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m.
ArtVend
Installation
This is your chance to sample art created by your very own colleagues and peers! With just a quarter or two, you can visit our machine and receive a random and anonymous 2D artwork of your very own. Each piece is handcrafted by a member of the College of Fine Arts community. Looking forward to you stopping by! Share your experience and what piece you ended up with by including #UTArtVend on social media.
Project Leads: Marisa Lawrence and Jason Buchanan
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: First Floor Hallway, F. Loren Winship Drama Building
Available all week
At This Table
Dance
Why do we gather at a table? What draws us to sit, to break bread, to share stories? At This Table is a dance production that explores the profound intimacy of shared meals, inspired by Matthew 9:10-11. More than a place to eat, the table is where stories unfold, relationships form and perspectives collide. Through intricate movement and dynamic partnering, this work embodies the tension, transformation and reconciliation that arise when we gather together. The table becomes a stage for both division and unity, reflecting our shared humanity in all its rawness and grace. Seated, willing and ready, we come together—to give and receive, to listen and be heard, to find connection in the breaking of bread.
Project Lead: Makaila Natividad
Contains strobe lights. Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 20-30 minutes
Location: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Tuesday, April 8 at 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Biophilia
Concert
Biophilia is a multimedia concert where two intertwined forces drive the piece forward: sonic erasure and the creation of hyperreal ecosystems. Fractured sounds from the natural world delicately unravel, dissolving into shadows of their former selves. Echoes of quiet violence and slowly fading voices weave into the fabric of living landscapes. What lingers are ghostly remnants — artificial worlds that breathe with broken memories. These shimmering soundscapes blur the boundary between presence and absence, creation and ruin, inviting listeners to wander through echoing voids where nature’s voices are mourned and reshaped. Biophilia is a call to listen inwards, to listen to what's within familiar sounds and to live through soundscapes of dissolution.
Project Lead: Gabriel Araújo
Contains flashing lights, sensitive themes and loud noises. Recommended for ages 12+.
Approximate Run Time: 40 minutes
Location: WIN 1.134
Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00pm
Death and the Girl
Play (Staged Reading)
Dru dreams of being the first in her family to go to college. Tonight, her dream takes a dark turn as she meets a dead man. Was he electrocuted, beheaded, shot? He can't remember, but he knows what it feels like to die.
A surreal exploration of restorative justice, gun violence, the afterlife, and the misogynistic corners of the internet, Death and the Girl takes place in a dream and purgatory where a girl meets the man who murdered her.
Project Lead: Giulianna Lucia Marchese
Contains descriptions of violence. Recommended for ages 13+.
Approximate Run Time: 80 minutes
Location: B. Iden Payne Theatre
Monday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 2:30 p.m.
Emiliana: A Revolution Cabaret
Play/Cabaret
Emiliana is a queer woman who leads a double life. By day, she is Silvia Ibarra, the daughter of a prominent, Spanish-descendant doctor. By night, she transforms into Emiliana, a cabaretera who impersonates Emiliano Zapata and rallies her audience to fulfill the revolutionary hero's mission. Inspired by the prostitute melodramas of the Mexican Golden Age of film and the politics of post-revolutionary Mexico, Emiliana recreates the atmosphere of the cabarets in 1940's Mexico City to address issues of social justice for Indigenous, femme and queer folks.
Project Leads: Jessica Peña Torres and Laura Camacho
This play engages in difficult conversations around identity, including race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. There are mentions of suicide and physical violence, representation of substance abuse, representations of intimacy and mature language. Recommended for ages 17+
Approximate Run Time: 90 minutes
Location: B. Iden Payne Theatre
Tuesday, April 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Ephemera Genesis
Performance
A body moves. A space transforms. A world takes shape, only to dissolve and be reborn again. Ephemera Genesis is an immersive theatrical experiment where creation unfolds in real time, where performers become the architecture of an ever-shifting universe. Using movement, light, sound, projections and unexpected materials, the piece erases the boundaries between performer and environment, making scenography something that breathes, pulses and evolves before your eyes.
From the origin of time to the fleeting nature of a single moment, Ephemera Genesis explores the tension between permanence and impermanence, structure and spontaneity. Is the body a foundation or a fleeting spark? Is space something we exist within or something we create? Step inside a world where scenography is alive, where performance and design merge and where every moment is both a beginning and an end.
Project Leads: Daniel Ruiz Bustos, Deen Rawlins and Venese Medovich Alcantar
Audience members will be in and around the action. Lights and projections may occasionally be directed towards the audience. Recommended for ages 16+
Approximate Run Time: 45 minutes
Location: B. Iden Payne Theatre
Monday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00 a.m.
Friday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m.
facePiece
Performance/Installation
Faces serve as powerful sources of expression across different performances, from artistic to everyday ones. This piece is an exploration of faces where facial muscles - with their complexities and limitations of movement - are the core materials of a composition performed in 'unison' across many faces. facePiece reimagines and rethinks faces beyond mere emotion representations, seeking new expressive articulations. Some of which may evoke a sense of musicality.
Project Lead: Caio Costa Campos
Recommended for all ages
Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: Fine Arts Library
Available all week 10:00am - 5:00pm
Fanny Packs
Interactive Experience
What do a peach and a donkey have in common? They both are ways to refer to the buttocks, that piece of anatomy that has folks flocking to the gym, buying special leggings and becoming the focal point of countless bathroom selfies. WHY? Join us in this activation that is part structured performance and part interactive improvisation that blends dance, storytelling, humor and history as we unpack (pun intended) the current obsession with the gluteus, shed light on historical fetishization of the black behind, normalize that every body has a booty and (hopefully) understand the need to twerk and the proper technique. With a live DJ, projection and a cast acting as performers and facilitators, we will create a unique experience to share the many stories our fannies pack.
Project Lead: Aysha Upchurch
Contains mature language and images. Recommended for ages 16+.
Approximate Run Time: 60 Minutes
Location: WIN 2.180
Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 11:00 a.m.
Godfriend
Play
Godfriend is about us — or, a couple like us. Both have bodies that could carry a child, but neither are sure if they want to. Instead they become obsessed, and then possessed, by The Public Universal Friend, a colonial Quaker preacher who claimed God renounced them of their gender. How do we know what our legacy will be—and where do we put our faith? Using choral speaking that fluctuates between dissenting and unison, this play tries to make sense of the messy impulse to create new life. It looks at how amazing (and confusing) it is to love someone so much that you feel like the same person, whether that person is your spouse, your child, your god or your friend. Co-written and performed by Hal Cosentino and Ellenor Riley-Condit, directed by Caley Chase, with music by Hannah Read.
Project Leads: Hal Cosentino and Caley Chase
Content includes struggles of queer parenting and mild transphobia. Recommended for ages 18+.
Approximate Run Time: 75-90 minutes
Location: B. Iden Payne Theatre
Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 10:00 a.m.
Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Happenchance
Play/Interactive Experience
A tarot reading for the whole audience. Each tarot card pulled is a short play. Each play performed adds chaos and influence to the next, culminating in an attempt at divining our collective past, present and futures. Each and every show is experienced differently at the random or fated pull of a card:
The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, The World
Project Lead: Nick Hart
Contains mature content including strong language and some audience interactions. Recommended for ages 18+.
Approximate Run Time: 60 minutes
Location: WIN 1.134
Wednesday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 12:30 p.m.
Hysteria
Installation/Interactive Experience
An interactive sculptural installation made from warped plastic and steel, Hysteria invites the public to share their experiences with invisible illness onto the surface of the structure. As more stories are shared, the sculpture becomes a visible representation of the challenges and misconceptions surrounding hidden conditions.
Project Lead: Leah Austin
Contains mature content including discussions of mental and physical illness. Recommended for ages 12+
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: B. Iden Payne Theatre Lobby
Available all week
I Am 33% of the Truth
Performance
I Am 33% of the Truth is a multimedia performance portraying the artist's journey from mundane reality to self-transcendence using her collective unconscious activated by sounds, movements and visuals. The work draws inspiration from "The Conference of the Birds," a 12th-century Sufi poem by Iranian poet Farīdud-Dīn Attar, narrating the journey of thirty birds led by Hoopoe, the wise old bird, as they traverse seven metaphorical valleys: Quest, Love, Wisdom, Detachment, Unity, Astonishment and Nothingness in their search for the “Truth.”
Project Lead: Mojgan Misaghi
Contains mature content and loud noises. Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 45 minutes
Location: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Tuesday, April 8 at 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00 a.m.
Friday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m.
KILELE
Performance
KILELE is a cultural experience that immerses audiences in the spirit of the Colombian Pacific coast, blending dance, call-and-response, music and audiovisual dynamics. This performance honors the cultural identity and rich heritage of this Colombian community through Currulao, a traditional dance. The word KILELE, meaning both "celebration" and "rebellion," is inspired by the traditions, rhythms and stories of the Pacific region. It invites audiences to connect with the essence of this vibrant culture, celebrating life and freedom. Home is never far when it lives within you!
Project Lead: Valentina Reyes Rubio
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 30 minutes
Location: WIN 2.120
Monday April 7 at 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday April 9 at 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m.
Laughter in the Deep
Performance
Laughter in the Deep is a three-part multimedia performance merging concert and theatre with sound, dance and video projections. Through humor and absurdity, it navigates life’s anxieties and reveals surprising parallels between humans and animals.
“Snow, My Dearest Friend” reflects on Texas’ historic February 2021 freeze, where a performer conveys conflicting emotions—joy at the rare sight of snow and frustration over disrupted utilities. “Word of Mouth” turns a dentist visit into a comedic thriller, where a lone performer recounts their exaggerated fears through sound and imagination, blending reality with absurdity to explore how humor transforms horror into resilience. “Albert Run” highlights our shared nature with animals, featuring captivating dance, immersive soundscapes and dynamic projections; it reflects on freedom and the universal human longing to transcend life’s burdens.
Project Lead: Lydia Wayne Chang
Contains mature language and depictions of mental health struggles, including anxiety and suicidal thoughts. It also features sudden loud sounds, intense scratching and drilling noises, along with audio and visual depictions of dental treatment and drowning.
Approximate Run Time: 40 minutes
Location: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Monday, April 7 at 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m.
Mountain Lights
Installation
Based on my childhood in Appalachia, this installation distills a moment in the mid-summer when I was seven. In the waving oak trees, a galaxy of fireflies mirrored the stars overhead and everything felt so small and infinite and beautiful. To me, it felt like the vinyl lattice of the porch was the only barrier keeping me from tipping forward into space. The distant interstate seemed to rumble in harmony with the cicadas and the wind in the oak leaves. Everything felt so alive and so beautiful.
Project Lead: Gavin Strawnato
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: Light Lab (WIN 2.121)
Available all week
null(body)
Installation/Interactive Experience
null(body) is an interactive virtual reality experience and installation exploring the intersection between digital and physical bodies. Participants will engage in an experiment where they will be encouraged to explore their self-perception with movement, biometric feedback and virtual reality. With this experiment we hope to create a space where our audience can embrace acts of questioning, change and transformation.
Project Lead: Nitsan Scharf
Recommended for ages 13+
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: WIN B.202
Available Monday, April 7 from 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Available Wednesday, April 9 from 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Available Friday, April 11 from 10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Paracussion
Concert
Paracussion is a commissioning project and concert that promotes inclusivity in percussion by addressing inequities. Inspired by the Paralympics, it uses a classification system to ensure the compositions are accessible to and inclusive of musicians with diverse abilities. The project features five new works, each representing a classification, composed and performed by UT Austin students and alumni.
Project Lead: Jenna Boone
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 30-45 minutes
Location: Fine Arts Library
Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Perhaps While We Were Caught in a Fever
Installation
A theatrical treatment of the composition of the world and bodies in the making with and through fire, as thermal spaces and atmospheres, where the notions of being and becoming are subjected to a closer inspection. The flowers I bought yesterday are cold. Mother tongue is warm. Exam papers are freezing cold. Can you describe the rest of the world with thermal properties?
Project Lead: Yuge Ma
Recommended for ages 18+
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: WIN 2.116
Available all day Friday, April 11
Quiet Tears of Roses
Dance/Visual Art
Roses are the flower of all flowers, existing no longer as themselves but within the symbolism and expectations we have placed upon them. Their delicate, beautiful and soft petals are what we expect to cradle in our hand, until we grasp their stems and bleed mercilessly. The rose has always reminded my sister and I of ourselves - bearing the expectations placed upon our own feminine flesh to conceal the inner suffering unique to our own. A suffering we all conceal beneath the layer of thorns that uphold the soft petals expected from us. If we really took a second to see the rose for what it is, not what we expect it to be, we might finally notice the Quiet Tears of Roses. A multimedia dance and visual arts work, Quiet Tears of Roses compliments contemporary ballet choreography with anaglyph painting techniques to tell the stories of women bearing debilitating reproductive health issues.
Project Leads: London Lack and Paris Lack
Contains mature language, sensitive themes and loud noises. Recommended for ages 14+.
Approximate Run Time: 40 minutes
Location: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Monday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 2:30 p.m.
Random + Resonate + React: Interactive Math in the Real World
Installation/Interactive Experience
This exhibit features three interactive installations that are based on written examples from the book Humble Pi When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker. The installations are designed with the purpose of helping engage persons with neurodivergence, specifically ADD and ADHD, with the goal of facilitating their learning process. Each one includes mixed media visuals as well as physical interactions, including buttons, musical instruments and even an anemometer.
Project Lead: AJ Hurtado
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation
Location: WIN B.202
Available all week
Reconstructing Memory: Revisiting Images
Found Footage Filmmaking Workshop
Reconstructing Memory: Revisiting Images opens with a screening of our video essay, exploring Iran, shared experiences and the complex connection to homeland while reflecting on socio-political resistance. Combining personal narratives with found footage from recent protests in Iran, it seeks to uncover stories, examining how art documents, responds to and shapes public memory in times of political upheaval.
Following the screening, the project evolves into a series of workshops that merge theoretical and practical approaches to the video essay format. These sessions examine the historical, conceptual and technical dimensions of working with archival material in visual storytelling.
On the final day, the project culminates in a gallery showcase, where participants present their video installations, offering a collective reflection on the personal themes explored throughout the workshop.
Project Leads: Arash Baqipur, Alireza Mirzaeinezhad
Contains mature content. Recommended for ages 18+.
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing Installation with a 2 hour opening event/screening
Opening event/screening on Monday, April 7 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Fine Arts Library.
Installation available all day Friday, April 11 in WIN 1.148
Rigged: the Game Show
Interactive Experience
An immersive experience that welcomes its audience into the wacky world of reality television, where they will have actual influence on the events of the evening. Now, imagine: you are a production assistant showing up for the first day of your new job working behind-the-scenes of your favorite reality-competition show. Then, enter the contestants— a group of hopefuls ready to give it their all for the chance to win a grand prize of one million dollars. The competition is only getting started and it is anybody’s game.
Choose-your-own-adventure as you watch the competition unfold, with chances along the way to decide who goes home and who wins. With 24 possible outcomes, no two shows are the same!
Project Leads: Anthony Anello and Julia Kreutzer
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 80 minutes
Location: WIN 1.108
Tuesday, April 8 at 8:00pm
Wednesday, April 9 at 3:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 2:30 p.m.
riverwild
Play
One of Lupe’s favorite activities is floating down the river with his cousins on a hot summer day - he’s actually quite the expert. But, what happens when the river splits in two and Lupe is left alone on the river to find his way back to his cousins? Using puppetry, live-streaming video and a topographic map, this play for young audiences is a poem about how humans belong.
Project Lead: Mateo Hernandez
Recommended for ages 6+
Approximate Run Time: 30 minutes
Location: WIN 1.134
Monday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 11:00 a.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 2:00 p.m.
SIMP
Concert/Performance
"Simp." An internet term that encapsulates the foolish, almost obsessive devotion of a lover, someone who knows the relentless depths of both yearning and desperation—but only for the perceived facade of another person. This modern cultural archetype, simultaneously ridiculed and sympathized with, becomes the lens through which we explore complex themes of love, obsession and self-destruction.
SIMP is an ambitious, multidisciplinary live performance of an original experimental hip-hop/pop album. Drawing inspiration from the works of Tyler, the Creator, Doechii and other trailblazing artists like Dean Blunt and JPEGMAFIA, the project marries striking visuals, playwriting and innovative production techniques to craft an immersive artistic experience. At its core, SIMP tells the story of "the Simp," a character whose journey through love, loss and longing reveals why he has earned his infamous title.
Project Lead: CULTLEADERDON
Contains mature content. Recommended for ages 18+
Approximate Run Time: 45 minutes
Location: WIN 2.112
Tuesday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 11:00 a.m.
Softly and Tenderly
Installation
What do the dead wear?
While working on this piece for the last eight months, the act of pulling thread through fabric began to feel like praying. This installation is the result of myself seeking out the death and burial practices of my ancestors living in Ireland. Drawing on ancient Celtic artwork and the stories of saints, I tried to design a dress so beautiful that it would make the dead want to live again.
Project Lead: Katie Concannon
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: Ongoing installation, with one 30-minute activation
Location: B. Iden Payne Theatre Lobby
Available all week
There will be a short performance/activation on Friday, April 11 from 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
the discreet charm of the CEOs
Play
Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are reunited at a small, dank soundstage in Los Angeles to record a YouTube interview for an unspecified Condé Nast property. Much to the chagrin of Daria, the director, Sunny, the DP, and Lucky, the 1st AD, the rest of the criminally underpaid crew has walked out, seemingly in protest of “recent actions” made by some in the trio. The interview begins as planned, but the balance of power between the men and the underpaid crew twists when the CEOs realize that they all are mysteriously unable to leave the sound stage... Here is a farce of little consequence, inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel. A new take on the genre of "eat the rich" style commentaries, but with just a bit more praxis.
Project Lead: Gabi Giron-Vives
Contains simulated fighting, intimacy and inebriation, mature themes and language. Recommended for ages 18+
Approximate Run Time: 90 minutes
Location: WIN 2.112
Monday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00 p.m.
The Golden Hour
Film
Imagine this: low-rider cars, grillz, boombox speakers playing hip hop music and dancers freestyling on the street on a sunny day in Houston, Texas. Now, picture this scene reimagined in 2025, with today’s artists and dancers bringing a fresh take on the 90s hip hop culture of the South. This project explores how that iconic era would look if it were reinterpreted by the next generation.
Project Leads: Giuliana Velez and Saada Diggs
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 5 minutes
Location: WIN 1.148
The Golden Hour and Things That Happen To A Girl Walking To A Bus Stop will be screened on loop in WIN 1.148 during the following times:
Tuesday, April 8 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
THE SERPENTS FLY AT SUNDOWN
Outdoor Puppetry Performance
Underneath a darkening sky and under the guidance of a giant serpent, we will go on a walk to see what is difficult to see, aided by sounds and music that will guide our senses.
Project Leads: Khristián Méndez Aguirre, Laura Camacho and Michael DeWhatley
Audience will be transporting themselves slowly through the piece through pre-determined routes. Recommended for all ages.
Approximate Run Time: 30 minutes
Location: East Patio Outside the F. Loren Winship Drama Building
Monday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m.
A discussion with THE SERPENTS FLY AT SUNDOWN co-lead Khristián Méndez Aguirre will take place Tuesday, April 8 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Fine Arts Library.
The Tiger and the Spigot consider the Stars
Installation/Site-Specific Performance
The Tiger and the Spigot Consider the Stars is an interdisciplinary collaboration between artist Javier Robelo and dancer Leo Briggs, creating wearable sculptures activated through dance and movement to explore how bodies, costume and performance can monument queer feeling.
Project Leads: Javier Robelo and Leo Briggs
Recommended for all ages.
Approximate Run Time: 45 minutes
Location: East Patio Outside the F. Loren Winship Drama Building
Tuesday, April 8 at 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 12:30 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m.
Things That Happen To A Girl Walking To A Bus Stop
Film
Have you ever wished you could go crazy and rid the world of all the problems you face when walking to the bus stop? In this totally unrealistic and made-up scenario, Things That Happen To A Girl Walking To A Bus Stop follows Girl, a person who is just trying to get to her destination but can't due to the annoying hurdles that block her path, aka disrespectful men. Inspired by the many times women have been stopped and bothered while walking the streets in Austin, Texas. Girl goes through real-life situations; the outcome, however, is the sweet, sweet daydream that has come to life.
Project Lead: Madi Palomo & Kanea Mcdonald
Contains mature language and themes of harassment and violence.
Approximate Run Time: 5 minutes
Location: WIN 1.148
Things That Happen To A Girl Walking To A Bus Stop and The Golden Hour will be screened on loop in WIN 1.148 during the following times:
Tuesday, April 8 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
We Are The Only Poets
Play
“We are the only poets… and everyone else is prose.” Emily Dickinson, 1851
We Are The Only Poets is a play that uses the poetry that Emily Dickinson exchanged with Sue Dickinson, her sister in-law and rumored companion, to offer an interpretation of the writer that is not restricted by historical stereotypes or patriarchal narratives. If poetry is the most honest and vulnerable form of language, then Emily should be remembered by the words she wrote– free from the distortions of time and tradition.
Project Lead: Lola Rose McNallie
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 40-60 minutes
Location: WIN 2.120 and WIN 1.108
Tuesday, April 8 at 12:30 p.m. in WIN 2.120
Thursday, April 10 at 6:00 p.m. in WIN 1.108
Yes or No…
Play
Yes or No... is an exploration of curiosity and critique within the context of Theatre for Early Ages. The characters, Yes and No, navigate a world of confusion, ultimately arriving at their own unique reality—Yes-No. It is a surreal realm that taps into the inner child within everyone, using memories and imagery to construct a world where Yes might become No, No might become Yes and confusion remains delightfully unresolved.
Project Lead: Ishu
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 25-35 minutes
Location: WIN 2.180
Tuesday, April 8 at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00 a.m., 11:00a.m.
Friday, April 11 at 10:30a.m., 12:30 p.m.
You Got My Heart
Performance
A powerful and poignant dance piece that explores the complexities of love and codependency. This tragic love story unfolds through movement, revealing the painful truth that sometimes, love may not be enough to keep two people together. In three acts through dance, we aim to capture the universal experience of codependency and the struggles of an average relationship. Dance offers a profound way to express the intricate layers of human emotion, which is why it’s the perfect medium for this story. Through this performance, we invite you to empathize with our characters and, in doing so, hope to inspire a deeper understanding and compassion toward yourself and your own relationships.
Project Leads: Jose Salcido, Katelyn Doyle and Gabi Hernandez
Contains strobe lights
Approximate Run Time: 15 minutes
Location: WIN 1.172
Monday, April 7 at 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8 at 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00 a.m.
Friday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m.
You Need the Goo!
Musical
You Need the Goo! is a full-length dark comedy musical for audiences ages 14+. What is the goo? Do you need it? Signs point to yes.
Project Lead: Oren Ederi
Contains depictions of violence and suggestive/explicit language. Recommended for mature audiences.
Approximate Run Time: 120 minutes with one 10-minute intermission
Location: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
Wednesday, April 9 at 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 3:30 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 10:30 a.m.
Reading Series
(to leave) when you go
Play
A pair of quarks, Charm and Strange, repeatedly attempt to hold onto each other despite the obstacles of time, space and the nature of decay. At times absurd and at times subdued, (to leave) when you go is a theatrical exploration of bonded pairs, the laws of physics and why no matter how strong a relationship is, eventually someone has to leave.
Project Leads: Kaia L and Walker Zupan
Recommended for all ages
Approximate Run Time: 80 minutes
Location: Lab Theatre
Wednesday, April 9 at 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Absolute None!
Play
Five strangers seek refuge in a Chicago diner after a sudden government issued shelter-in-place warning. In this crisis that could mean everything or nothing they begin to wonder -- if this really is the end, why not risk it all?
Project Leads: Penny Lou Zimmerman and Natalie Tran
Contains mature language and references to death. Recommended for ages 13+
Approximate Run Time: 80 minutes
Location: Lab Theatre
Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m.
All Engulfing
Play/Fully Staged Performance
All Engulfing is a haunting full-length play that traces the implosion of a mixed Jewish family at the hands of dissonance, neo-Nazism, a suspicious social worker and the looming menace of a callous outside world. A slice of life but the pie has molded, this play explores the often-harrowing complexity of family dynamics, the confusion inherent to Jewish identity, the ramifications of caring and the struggle to exist in a world that seems to take pleasure in your misery.
Project Lead: Jax Schuck
Contains mature content, themes and language, references to sexual abuse, references to suicide and crude humor. Recommended for ages 18+
Approximate Run Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Location: Lab Theatre
Monday, April 7 at 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8 at 1:00 p.m.
Her Testimony, Our Story
Performance
Her Testimony, Our Story is a powerful performance that brings to life the untold stories of women of color who have shaped American history. Through movement and narrative, this production explores the resilience and struggles of these pioneers, shedding light on their impact while confronting the systemic barriers they faced. With a deep dive into defining moments of the past, Her Testimony, Our Story invites audiences on a journey of remembrance, recognition and empowerment.
Project Lead: Elyse Rosario
Contains themes of racial trauma. Recommended for all ages.
Approximate Run Time: 10-15 minutes
Location: Lab Theatre
Monday, April 7 at 1:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 at 8:30 p.m.
The Tragicall Comedie of Margery Lyall
Play
It had been an uneventful 14th century for Margery Lyall. When she falls pregnant outside of her marriage, she does the expected. She claims she’s pregnant with the second coming of Jesus Christ. Launched from her mediocre life into sainthood, Margery must grapple with her rapidly changing world and the value of truth in it. The Middle Ages—what a time to be alive!
Project Lead: Charlie Sharpe
Contains mature themes and language. Recommended for 18+
Approximate Run Time: 110 minutes
Location: Lab Theatre
Tuesday, April 8 at 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 10 at 1:00 p.m.
The Winship Atrium Series
Join us in the atrium, the heart of the festival, for ceremonies, salons, crafts, coffee and community.
The Kitchen Had a Party
Commune. Converse.
Relax. Rehearse.
Evolve. Emerge.
Now break the verse
Take a seat–
our salon,
grab a friend
Party’s on
Bare your fangs
Walk your talk
Take a sip
It’s your block
What’s more
Listen in
What’s next
Look up close
Only then you will see
How the room
Gets its teeth
Or the floor
Get its clothes
Poem by Khoa Le
Artistic Direction of Space by: Nora Borre and Khoa Le
Installation Artist: Amber Huchton
Showtimes, titles and project information subject to change.
View a full schedule of Cohen New Works Festival 2025 events, performances and installations.