3rd Annual AAPI Playwright Festival Press Release
A fast-paced, unforgettable evening of live theater, debuting six newly commissioned short plays and five original monologues written by AAPI playwrights
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 22, 2026 — Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS), in partnership with San Jose Stage Company, presents the third annual AAPI Playwright Festival, a celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) storytelling, on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at San Jose Stage in downtown San Jose.
Under the leadership of award-winning playwright and director Jeffrey Lo, who serves as artistic producer, the festival debuts six newly commissioned short plays by local AAPI playwrights and features a series of monologues written by Lo. This year’s festival creative leadership team also includes associate artistic producer Reed Flores, with Flores and Melissa Mei Jones as directors.
The 2026 AAPI Playwright Festival features theatrical staged readings of six new works by the following AAPI playwrights:
Tasi Alabastro
Anne Yumi Kobori
Suhashini Krishnan
Jenny Nguyen Nelson (returning playwright from last year’s festival)
Aimee Suzara
Phil Wong
“After our first two festivals sold out, we knew there was a clear community demand for new works by AAPI artists,” said Leianne Wong Lamb, board chair of CATS. “The AAPI Playwright Festival was created to provide playwrights with opportunities to develop and share new work while connecting audiences with stories that reflect the breadth and diversity of AAPI experiences. We are proud to continue supporting emerging and established artists and to see the festival grow in its third year.”
“New works are essential to the future of theatre and festivals like this offer an opportunity to uplift our community’s playwrights and celebrate their work,” added Jeffrey Lo, the festival’s artistic producer. “This year’s lineup of playwrights brings together an exciting range of voices, offering audiences a chance to experience a delicious collection of original works.”
Audiences will experience a theatrical staged reading format featuring six original short plays. The evening includes original monologues written by Lo, performed by actors between plays. The plays range from comedy and family stories to explorations of identity, culture, relationships, healing and belonging, including one that weaves together family traditions, cultural mythology and a dash of horror.
An optional Guided San Jose Japantown Cultural District Walking Tour is also available to festival attendees on Sunday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to noon. Presented by CATS in partnership with the Japanese
American Museum of San Jose, the guided tour takes place during the annual San Jose Obon Festival in San Jose Japantown.
CALENDAR LISTING:
WHO: Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS) in partnership with San Jose Stage Company
WHAT: Third Annual AAPI Playwright Festival, theatrical staged readings of six original short plays
and monologues written by local AAPI playwrights
WHEN: Saturday, July 11, 2026, 7:30 p.m. PDT, doors open at 6:45 p.m.
WHERE: San Jose Stage, 490 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95112
TICKETS: Festival admission starts at $23.18 for students and $33.85 for general admission.
Registration for the July 12 optional walking tour is $33.85 and includes special parking in Japantown. All tickets are available at Eventbrite.
About Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS)
Founded in 1995 by the late Dr. Jerry Hiura, the late Steve Yamaguma and Miki Hirabayashi Bellon, Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS) champions Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) artists in Silicon Valley and the greater Bay Area. The organization supports and presents artists through staged readings, comedy, music, film screenings and its annual signature events, the AAPI Playwright Festival and Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest. Located in San Jose’s Japantown, CATS continues its founders’ vision of enriching the cultural landscape by supporting, mentoring and presenting AAPI artists and their stories. CATS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Learn more at CatsAsianTheaterScene.org.
About Jeffrey Lo
Jeffrey Lo (He/Him/His) is a Filipino American playwright and director based in the Bay Area. He is the recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award, the Emerging Artist Laureate by Arts Council Silicon Valley and the Theatre Bay Area Director’s TITAN Award. Selected directing credits include “Primary Trust,” “Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical,” “Miss Bennet: Christmas” at Pemberley, “The Language Archive,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Santaland Diaries” at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, “The Glass Menagerie,” “Chinglish,” “The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin” and “Hold These Truths” at San Francisco Playhouse, “Vietgone” and “The Great Leap” at Capital Stage. As a playwright, he had his play “Writing Fragments Home” world premiere at Hillbarn Theatre, winning the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Play in the South Bay; his other plays have been produced and workshopped at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, BindleStiff Studio, City Lights Theatre Company, and Stanford University. For more:www.JeffreyWritesAPlay.com.
About San Jose Stage
San Jose Stage Company (The Stage) is recognized as the South Bay’s premier professional theatre, acclaimed for its bold, imaginative, and provocative productions that ignite conversation and deepen understanding of the human experience. Through compelling storytelling, The Stage fosters community, sparks dialogue, and forges dynamic partnerships both locally and internationally.
Locally, The Stage has cultivated key collaborations, including a three-year partnership with El Teatro Campesino that resulted in two world premieres and a commissioned work. Internationally, The Stage partnered with its sister city, Dublin, Ireland, and the Dublin City Arts Office to co-commission and premiere Donal O’Kelly’s The Memory Stick, extending its artistic reach across borders.
A multi-award-winning company, The Stage is the proud recipient of the City of San Jose Cornerstone of the Arts Award and the 2018 Paine Knickerbocker Award from the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for its sustained contributions to Bay Area theatre. To date, The Stage has produced over 200 productions, including 20 world premieres and 50 new works. Ranked as the second-largest professional theatre and the eighth-largest performing arts organization in Silicon Valley, The Stage welcomes more than 30,000 patrons annually and employs over 150 local artists, serving as a vital force in the region’s cultural and economic landscape. Learn more at www.thestage.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Leianne Wong Lamb
408-592-7766
leianne@catsasiantheaterscene.org
Caroline Kondo Moore
408-823-0302
caroline@catsasiantheaterscene.org
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