{"id":10201,"date":"2025-08-29T16:46:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T20:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/performingarts\/?page_id=10201"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:05:14","slug":"pegasus-playlab-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/performingarts\/pegasus-playlab-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Pegasus PlayLab"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t
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Pegasus PlayLab<\/span> is a new play festival hosted every summer at the University of Central Florida. This festival is dedicated to developing new works by emerging playwrights<\/span> from across the country. Two full-length plays are selected for workshops on campus, one piece brings together participants with and without disabilities to devise a completely original work, and one play is selected to receive a full developmental production on campus in UCF’s Black Box Theatre.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
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Workshops | Studio 1<\/h2>\n

Offshoot<\/em><\/h3>\n

Playwright: Drew Paryzer | Director: Rina Gjoka<\/strong>
\nOffshoot<\/em> is a play about what human-to-human connection might look like in a near-future world saturated with optimized AI relationships. In a dusty, abandoned classroom, a Teacher strives to connect with his new Pupil \u2014 a brilliant yet troubled seventeen-year-old who spends most of his time with his AI companion Paul, and the various \u201coffshoot\u201d entities Paul creates. Teacher and Pupil\u2019s struggle to see each other as part of the same world leads to revelation, betrayal, and the painful possibilities of new ways of living\u2026which is brought into deeper, more complex focus with the appearance of another Student. Offshoot<\/em> is a sci-fi tinged psychological drama about what happens when people dare to be inconvenient to one another.<\/p>\n

Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30<\/strong>
\nEach performance will be followed by a talkback with the audience<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTickets on Sale Now!\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n

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Eight-Hand Jig<\/em><\/h3>\n

Playwright: MC Crosby | Director: David Sterritt<\/strong>
\nImagine square dancing, but much better. That is an Irish C\u00e9il\u00ed (pronounced kaylee), a folk art in which an emcee calls out the names of dances and the crowd performs the partner work arm-in-arm, and solo moves in circles and sways. Within this framework of many Irish dances, including the titular Eight-Hand Jig, we learn the history of the O\u2019Malley family, both in Chicago 2036, and in Dublin 1701. The play switches swiftly from movement to dialogue, and each physical number moves the plot forward as we see past and future collide. Mel O\u2019Malley has three B-eautiful children: Brigid, Bree, and enby Brenda. Of Irish heritage, Mel is constantly straddling the worlds between the motherland and her daughters\u2019 childhood home in the U.S. When all four family members gather for Bree\u2019s baby shower in 2036, a heartbreaking secret is revealed. The family\u2019s experiences parallel that of their Irish ancestors, accused of witchcraft. These O’Malley women, separated by generations, have been subject to the same pain and injustices of womanhood. This play examines the nature of women\u2019s rights through the quirky lens of dance and the misfit O\u2019Malley family.<\/p>\n

Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6<\/strong>
\nEach performance will be followed by a talkback with the audience<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTickets on Sale Now!\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n

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Between Shadows and Lightness<\/em><\/h3>\n

Directors: Sage Tokach and Ralph Krumins<\/strong>
\nA devised theatre project that brings together artists with and without disabilities to create a theatrical piece about mental health, inspired by participants’ personal stories as well as collages and sculptures created by visual artists with and without disabilities.<\/p>\n

Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13<\/strong>
\nEach performance will be followed by a talkback with the audience<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTickets on Sale Now!\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n

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Developmental Production<\/h2>\n

Raccoon Play<\/em><\/h3>\n

Playwright: SMJ | Director: Nick Bazo<\/strong>
\nOn Election Night, the six young Millennials who make up the Danville, OH Lions Club eagerly await the results. However, the inner drama within the group, a missing member, a conspiracy theory about a school shooting not too far away, and the lack of resources for the 79th Annual Raccoon Dinner threaten to ruin more than just the positive vibe. Meanwhile, President Sly Cooper, a literal Raccoon, addresses the Danville, OH Raccoon Club after declaring martial law due to dubious election results. Facing an insurrection and a mole in their camp, Sly and her minions must find a way to bring their population to heel. Raccoon Play<\/em> is a satire examining how conspiracy theories threaten to destroy small town America.<\/p>\n

June 11 – 14<\/strong>
\nTalkbacks with the audience: June 11 and 12<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTickets on Sale Now!\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

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Play Submissions<\/h2>\n
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All submissions are due by 11:59 pm on September 12, 2025.<\/span>No late submissions will be accepted. Playwrights may only submit ONE play, and playwrights CANNOT submit scripts that have previously been submitted to Pegasus PlayLab in years prior.<\/p>\n

We will close submissions after receiving 300 applicants – so the sooner you submit, the better!<\/strong> UCF encourages all qualified applicants to apply, including women, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and members of traditionally underrepresented populations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tApply Online\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n