May 14-19, 2026
at The Arts Asylum
824 E Meyer BLVD KCMO 64131
All events are FREE to attend and participate!
Join Kansas City Public Theatre for the 5th Annual Theatre Lab FEST, a celebration of our city’s playwriting talent! Over the course of the festival weekend, audiences can attend nightly performances of the new comedy Reduction in Force by Ryan Bernsten, and new play-in-development readings! ALL are welcome to attend and participate!
Festival Schedule Coming Soon…
Featured Production
About Reduction in Force: Leadership at S.L.A.Y., a struggling youth suicide prevention nonprofit, is planning mass layoffs in the name of “sustainability.” Employees scramble to keep their jobs in a workplace where loyalty trumps impact, performative virtue masks ambition, and gaslighting is policy. Reduction in Force is a blistering comedy about power, performative politics, and the human cost of a mission-driven machine.
General Admission is FREE at the door.
A limited number of reservations may be purchased in advance. All reservations come with a complimentary beverage!
PLAY-IN-DEVELOPMENT READINGS
Broken Pieces
by Mateo Moreno
BROKEN PIECES is an anthology piece with six seperate stories, connected by fear, longing and misinformation. A father reconnecting with his daughter. A young designer trying to get her big break.Two lovers reminiscing in a rainstorm. A not so distant future where women’s rights are stripped away. Two newlyweds who are being torn apart by an unknown force. And a horrifying game show called America the Beautiful, where Freedom is a prize.
Preacher Man
by Amber Dickinson
A small town preacher hides more than just a past when he locks wits and conjures up memories in a tense encounter with a local lawman. Preacher Man’s revelations may ultimately test the faith and morals of both men, and blurs the lines between right and wrong.
Kansas City Public Theatre 