Fresh produce 2026
A Celebration of New Plays ABOUT Women
October 25 - November 8, 2026
Public Sharings - 7:00pm
2026 Festival Selections
Exorcise
By Brynne Frauenhoffer
Directed by Rebecca Willingham
In collaboration with First Floor Theater
Public Sharing: 10/25
Hercules of Houston County, Alabama
By Rachel Chin
Directed by Ensemble member Tanya Palmer
Public Sharing: 11/1
Tell Me I’m Not Crazy
By Sharyn Rothstein
Directed by Ensemble member Georgette Verdin
In collaboration with Raven Theatre
Public Sharing: 11/8
SUGGESTED DONATION: $10-$25
(Pay-What-You-Can tickets also available)
We are thrilled to announce the 2026 return of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble’s annual Fresh Produce: New Plays with Women+ at the Core. Originally launched in 2004, Rivendell has long cultivated the notion that thoughtfully planting new artistic seeds wields the richest harvest.
Our Fresh Produce series is known for risky, innovative, and compelling new work. During each series, our staff curates an exciting slate of new projects to be nurtured through an intensive, developmental workshop process.
Each project culminates in a public sharing with the opportunity for a moderated dialogue between artists and audience. We hope you will join us as we sow the seeds of original new work once again!
* Our festival mission utilizes the term “women+” to better capture an expansive definition of gender across the spectrum. To read our full gender identity statement, please visit our homepage.
Festival Staff
Artistic Producer: Caroline Michele Uy+
Festival Assistants: Charleigh Justice & Madison Blackwood
+ denotes Rivendell Ensemble member
Details
*This public sharing is performed offsite at Black Box Acting Studio 2625 W. North Avenue
*Public sharing at Rivendell Theatre
*Public sharing at Rivendell Theatre
EXORCISE
In collaboration with First Floor Theater
Public sharing: Sunday, October 25th at 7PM
at Black Box Acting Studio 2625 W. North Avenue
Participating Artists
Brynne Frauenhoffer #
Playwright
Rebecca Willingham #
Director
Dramaturgy by Caroline Michele Uy+ and Madison Blackwood
About the play
On the first Mother's Day after the birth of her daughter, Morgan's husband gives her an exercise bike. She did not ask for one. Still, she's motivated by gorgeous, relentless instructor Devon to pursue her fitness journey. But weird things keep happening while she spins.
Chris Acevedo
Tyler
Jenni Hadley #
Morgan
Ashley Neal +#
Paige
Bethany Thomas*
Mom/Aunt Dana/Others
* Denotes AEA membership
+ Denotes Rivendell Ensemble member
# Denotes First Floor Company Member
Netta Walker
Devon
HERCULES OF HOUSTON COUNTY, ALABAMA
Public sharing: Sunday, November 8th at 7PM at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue
Participating Artists
Rachel Chin
Playwright
Tanya Palmer +
Director
Dramaturgy by Caroline Michele Uy+ and Madison Blackwood
About the play
When his rebellious daughter returns home for Thanksgiving, Hank braces for conflict.
What he doesn’t expect is catastrophe. News of an impending crisis breaks, sending his protective instincts spiralling into obsession. As fear takes hold and certainties calcify, the enemy isn't just outside, it's across the dinner table. In a house divided against itself, where do you draw the line between piety and self-preservation? How do we heal a seemingly insurmountable divide? Can we move past the unforgivable?
Brandon Acosta
Steve
Jennifer Jelsema
Meg
Libby Lee*
Katie
Z Mowry
Wren
Daniel Lee Smith
Hank
Thomas B. Tran
Danny
Mark Ulrich *+
Podcaster
* Denotes AEA membership
+ Denotes Rivendell Ensemble member
TELL ME I'M NOT CRAZY
Public sharing: Sunday, November 8th at 7PM at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue
In collaboration with Raven Theatre
Participating Artists
Sharyn Rothstein
Playwright
Georgette Verdin+
Director
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Cruz Gonzalez Cadel*
Alisa
Krystel McNeil *+
Keith Kupferer*+
Sol
Dramaturgy by Sarah Slight+
About the play
Life can be overwhelming at any stage – kids to raise, in-laws to deal with, work-life to balance. In an age of shifting gender dynamics and rising cost of living, it can be a struggle to feel in control. But for recent retiree Sol Koening, a neighborhood crimewave proves to be the final straw. He buys a gun, joins a shooting range and sends his loving family running for cover. As barbed jokes fly and tempers flare, the once-close family threatens to break apart in this hilarious comedy about two generations struggling to find common ground in an America at odds with itself.
Additional artists to be announced...
Tara Mallen*+
Diana