New Works Festival – Shorts
January 24, 2026 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Firehouse Center for the Arts – in partnership with The Actors Studio of Newburyport presents…
New Works Festival
An Evening of Shorts
$15 | General Admission
Join us at the Firehouse Center for the Arts Arakelian Theater in Newburyport, MA for an evening of New Shorts in our annual New Works Festival. Selected by a prestigious group of readers and judges, performed by incredible groups of local actors and directors, this evening of shorts highlights connection, laughter, and loss.
Toe to Toe (Winner of the Peter Honegger Prize)
by Peter Anderegg
When your pending retirement makes you realize how fast your life has flown by, you suddenly find yourself looking for ways to slow time down.
A Meeting of the Trustees of the Clarence County Historical Society
by Scott McCrea
A museum board deals with the personal tensions created by the bloody aftermath of their last meeting.
Cover Charge Out
by Scott Tobin
After all these years, cash is still king.
Glow in the Dark
by Charlie Hitchcock
Sometimes the light you need comes from those who see you even in the dark.
Hamsplaining
by Nina Mansfield
The plot of Hamlet explained (or mansplained) in under 10-minutes.
Nashville Handshake
by Charles Hertz
Two songwriter musicians, one successful, one obscure, meet by arrangement to explore what they might have to offer each other.
Puck
by Robert Whitney
A play about hockey, dashed dreams and finding a new lane forward
Red Line
by L.H. Finigan
A bickering couple are forced to confront their values after a chance encounter with a homeless passenger on a train.