January 9-11, 2026
This exciting annual event features readings of five new plays in varying stages of development. Playwrights, directors, and actors join us from all over the country. Each reading is followed by a post-performance discussion.
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Learn about the history of the Perlberg Festival of New Plays.
Executive Producer: Diane PerlbergAssociate Producers: Sandra and Bernie Meyer
Sponsored in part by the Maurer Family Foundation


Jenny
Connell Davis
Resident Playwright/Literary Manager
Jenny Connell Davis, who was named both resident playwright and literary manager in 2024, was introduced to PBD audiences in 2020, when her play As I See It was included in the second annual New Year/New Plays Festival (now the Perlberg Festival of New Plays). She returned to the festival in 2023 with The Messenger, which subsequently had its world premiere at PBD during the 2023-24 season. Jenny is an affiliated artist with the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis and a member of The Gift Theatre in Chicago. Her plays have been developed or produced nationwide, including at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, Chance Theatre, ACT (Seattle), Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Shrewd Productions, and Asolo Rep. As a screenwriter, Jenny has sold projects to Sony, Disney/Fox, Amazon, and Iconoclast/Anonymous Content. She has also served as in-house writer for the award-winning Baobab Studios, where she helped develop television, film, and book projects. In addition, she has been a finalist and semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship, and her short films have screened worldwide, including at Toronto and SXSW. Jenny trained as an actor at Steppenwolf, and in playwriting at UT Austin.
For information about the festival programming, contact Jenny at