Be Radical

Every month, Kansas City Public Theatre presents new and experimental work in development by area artists, as well as work which reflects the unique history and culture of Kansas City. Experience the creation of new work and support area artists as they put new ideas to the stage!

All events are FREE and open to the public.

Interested in submitting a play for our upcoming Theatre Lab?

Interested in directing? We’re looking for directors to direct our upcoming Theatre Lab productions!

The Old Man’s War
by Victor Wishna

Sunday, November 22
The Black Box

The Old Man’s War follows the remarkable true story of August Bondi, an idealistic Jewish immigrant who flees the failed 1848 revolutions in Vienna for America. After witnessing the horrors of slavery in the South, Bondi’s commitment to justice—rooted in his Jewish upbringing and his family’s values of equality—leads him to the plains of Kansas Territory. There, he joins radical abolitionist John Brown, whom he and others call “The Old Man,” in an armed struggle to keep Kansas a free state.

All Winged Creatures
by Lindsay Kennedy

Sunday, December 13
The Black Box

Is faith just a kind of madness? A court-appointed therapist tries to help an institutionalized young women that claims God told her to jump off a building. She insists God was going to help her fly to help the world believe in miracles again. The further they get in their sessions, the more questions arise about whose view of reality is true, and who needs a miracle the most.

BOXED
by Mylan Gray

Sunday, January 10
The Black Box

BOXED, is a dystopian, thriller office play set in a world where Black co-workers are forced to fight each other to the death at whim of their corporate overseers. In a world that encourages Black men to kill each other in order to economically survive, “BOXED,” asks if it’s possible for Black men to love each other in the face of state-sanctioned brutality or dream of liberation in a world where lethal violence is an everyday reality.

BOXED will be the featured production of our 6th Annual Theatre Lab FEST May 20-24, 2027.

Never is a Long Time
by James Teller

Sunday, February 7
The Black Box

Dennis Ungar goes to his father’s house one afternoon and sees his mother, June. She’s been dead five years and looks younger than she did when he was born, but that’s only the first surprise this Saturday afternoon has in store for Dennis, his family, and his friends, who must confront the question of what makes a human being, and what makes us ourselves.

Ink Stained Wretches
by Mike Rice

Saturday, May 22–Theatre Lab FEST

“Ink Stained Wretches” is a five-scene, five-character play about the decline of the newspaper industry and its impact on five reporters who navigate the travails of job loss, surviving layoffs, reporting news in the digital era and being forced to re-invent themselves. The play takes place between 2008 and 2016.

Home Town
by Ashley Nicole Audette

Sunday, May 23–Theatre Lab FEST

Home Town tells the story of the Warren family as they cope with heartbreaking losses. We follow those who remain as they navigate their new lives with this heavy weight of the future lingering at every turn. It explores the messy, dark nature of grief and the profound realization that life is truly so fragile. A five year gap between Act One and Act Two, we see this family overcome, fall short and push back about what it’s really like to grieve. How do you rationalize your regret while trying to find the light?