South Florida residents and visitors will have several chances this month and in April to help develop new work for live theater.

First, Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD) will hold its annual Perlberg Festival of New Plays from Friday, Jan. 17 through Sunday, Jan. 19. The venue is the professional, nonprofit company’s intimate space on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach.

Then, a few months later, Theatre Lab, the resident professional company of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, will hold its own new play festival. Stay tuned for more information about that event. It is called the Owl New Play Festival. Theatre Lab has scheduled it for April. Theatre Lab’s website is located at https://www.fau.edu/artsandletters/theatrelab.

But for now, the focus is on PBD. Your comments about one or more new plays at PBD’s Perlberg Festival may help shape those pieces into prize winning masterworks. Indeed, audience feedback during talkback discussions play a big role at events such as PBD’s Perlberg Festival. Following the readings, the playwrights will finetune their work based, in part, on audience reaction.

“The development and production of new works is the lifeblood of theater,” Mark Perlberg said. He and his wife, Diane, are the festival’s executive producers. “There’s been a lot written lately about the many theaters throughout the country that are struggling. These unsettling times make it more difficult for playwrights to get their work out into the world. But PBD is zealous about nurturing and producing new plays, and the festival has proved to be an invaluable experience for artists and audiences alike. Diane and I recognize its potential to have a great impact on theater throughout the country and are delighted to assist in whatever way we can.”

The festival “exemplifies one of the core missions of regional theatre: to nurture, develop, and bring to life thoughtful, stimulating, and entertaining new American plays,” according to PBD’s website. “The festival enables playwrights to hear their words read in front of a live audience as they continue to shape their emerging work. New plays are the future of theatre, and the goal of the festival is to become a leader in fostering the future of the American theatre canon.

Tickets are $35 per play. Or, for all five plays, admission is $100.

In addition to the play readings, the festival will include a playwrights forum. It will take place at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19. Admission to the forum is free with the purchase of a ticket to any of the plays.

Friday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m.

Vineland Place by Steven Dietz, directed by Mark Perlberg.

For young writer Henry Sanders, it seemed like the perfect job: finishing the long-awaited final book of the novelist who was his hero. Hired by the novelist’s widow, Henry finds himself instead amid a rapidly developing mystery. Vineland Place is “an intimate thriller, filled with dangerous surprises to the final page,” according to PBD’s website.

Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Class C, by Chaz T. Martin, directed by Jessica Holt

In a future where American citizens have government-assigned classifications, identity politics and old party lines are set to ensnare a Homeland Security agent on the run. Set off the grid in the northern woods, Class C reimagines who can (or should) be trusted in a world built on blind loyalty.

Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.

The Mallard by Vincent Delaney, directed by J. Barry Lewis

Freya and Gillian are teachers who have offended their school board and lost their jobs. Davis and Reagan are yard sale fanatics in search of a priceless antique duck decoy. What follows is a fierce, funny, and escalating battle over a symbol that has wildly different meanings – intersecting the couples in a journey that far surpasses the quest for treasure.

Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

In Two by Chelsea Marcantel, directed by Hannah Wolf

Old and new magic converge in a decrepit vaudeville theatre in this sharp exploration of stagecraft, second chances, and the art of cutting a woman in half.

Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m.

Alba by Alejandro Rodriguez, directed by KJ Sanchez

Inspired by Federico García Lorca’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba, the play follows a strong-willed Cuban matriarch trying to hold onto control of her house in the face of myriad encroaching forces, including newfangled technology, impatient debtors, and a young suitor with suspicious motives. Narrated by her grandchild and set in working-class Miami, the play seeks to make sense of the unspoken secrets that led to a tragic family event.

For more information, go to https://www.palmbeachdramaworks.org/perlberg-festival/festival-2025.