Play readings and workshops offer a chance to see exciting new work at various stages of development. Want to see the next big thing while it’s still being crafted? Get in on the ground level and see the creative process in action. Featuring new plays and musicals by local and national artists, h ere are the upcoming play readings and workshops in the DMV. MAY 2026 The Artless Bards, DC’s longest-running Shakespearean improv comedy troupe, presents a night of improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy Saturday, May 23 at 7:00 PM at The Puppet Co Playhouse, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD. Tickets range from $15-$35 and are available here. Proceeds benefit The Puppet Co. 18+. Solas Nua presents Galway-based children’s theater company Branar in You’ll See, a 45-minute reimagining of James Joyce’s Ulysses for young audiences, Friday, May 15 at 7:30 PM at Spooky Action Theater (1810 16th St NW, Washington, DC) and Saturday, May 16 at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM at Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St NE, Washington, DC). Tickets for Friday’s performance, presented with Spooky Action Theater and The Keegan Theatre, are $25 and available here. Tickets for the Saturday performances, presented with Atlas Performing Arts Center, are $18 and available here.  Spooky Action Theater presents a staged reading of Balance by Ukrainian veteran and playwright Alena Sarnatska, Monday, May 11 at 7:30 PM in Spooky Action’s performance space at Universalist National Memorial Church, 1810 16th St NW, Washington, DC. Directed by Elizabeth Dinkova and performed by 3-time Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz, Balance is inspired by Sarnatska’s experience as a frontline medic in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Tickets are free; reserve here with code spookyactionbalance.  Playing Against presents (One) Acts of Resistance, Monday, May 11 at 7:00 PM at Busboys and Poets Takoma, 235 Carroll St NW, Washington, DC. The performance will include an opening monologue by Rick Foucheux, a reading of The Boy by Rick Foucheux, performed by Vince Eisenson, and a reading of The Beggar and the King by Winthrop Parkhurst, performed by Erika Rose, Kimberly Schraf, and Craig Wallace. RSVP here and do one of the following: pay cash at the door, 100% of which will be donated to Common Cause, or show a receipt for a donation to Common Cause in calendar year 2026. Minimum $5 donation for either option.  Tela Coral presents Music for the Ocean, an evening of new compositions and improvisations by Emmy-nominated violinist and composer Chad Cannon, performed with concert pianist Hui Wu and guest harpist Cate Cannon Todd and featuring immersive original animations by Timothy Rauch, Saturday, May 9 at 7:00 PM at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. The event will close with a live QA with ocean scientists. Tickets are $100 general admission, $70 seniors, and $50 students with ID, and available here. Proceeds go toward building the first coral gene bank and marine biology laboratory on the Honduran mainland.  Edwin Bernal Productions presents Dar en la Tecla (Madre solo hay una), Friday, May 8 at 7:30 PM, Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, May 10 at 4:30 PM at the DC Arts Center, 2438 18th St NW, Washington, DC. This play is performed entirely in Spanish, without subtitles. Tickets are $28.52 and available here.  Spooky Action Theater presents All The Selves I Never Was, a new cabaret by Aaron Bliden, Thursday, May 7 at 8:00 PM and Friday, May 8 at 8:00 PM in Spooky Action’s performance space at Universalist National Memorial Church, 1810 16th St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $28 for a riser seat ($23 for theater industry professionals) or $38 for a table seat and are available here.  Arena Stage, Mosaic Theater Company, Theater Alliance, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company invite the DC theater community to join in the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) on Tuesday, May 5. Arena Stage (1101 Sixth St SW, Washington, DC) presents a community conversation and Indigenous Marketplace at 6:00 PM, followed by a reading of Quantum by Tara Moses at 7:30 PM. Tickets (free!) and information are available here.  Happenstance Theater presents PLAYdate: Coven Edition, a collection of original vignettes and scenes by DMV-area women artists, Saturday, May 2 at 7:00 PM at Prince George’s Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd, Hyattsville, MD. Tickets are $25 ($20 seniors and students) and available here.  Charm City Fringe announces the 2026 Charm City Fringe Festival, featuring 12 shows performed across six nights (April 24-26 and May 1-3) at The Peale, 225 Holliday St, Baltimore, MD. Tickets range from $18-$38 for a day pass to $98 for an all-access festival pass, and are available here.  Synetic Theater Company presents its teen production of Cyrano de Bergerac, running April 24-May 3 in Gunston Theatre I, 2700 S. Lang St, Arlington, VA. Performances from April 24-26 feature Synetic’s 15-minute preteen production of The Boy Who Cried Wolf as an opening act. Showtimes and tickets ($35 adults, $15 youth under 18) are available here.  Creative Cauldron presents its 2026 Bold New Voices Festival of new work by women playwrights and composers, April 11-May 9 at Creative Cauldron Stage, 127 E. Broad St, Falls Church, VA.  All performances take place on Saturdays at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. The lineup includes: April 11: The C Word Written by Sarah Lina Sparks | Directed by Sally Imbriano April 18: Live From My Dad’s Couch Written by Gaelyn D. Smith | Directed by A.Lorraine Robinson April 25: His Girl Friday Book by Danielle Moore | Music Lyrics by Zachary Sloan andDanielle Moore | Directed by Matt Conner May 9: Policarpa: Apocalypse Sur Amerikka Written by Diana Burbano | Directed byElena Velasco Tickets are free for in-person or livestream viewing and available here.  ...read more read less