St. Pete New Works Festival
At Story Keepers, we believe stories should be felt up close. Following the success of The Pink Unicorn, we are doubling down on our mission to bring bold, site-specific, and human-centric work to Tampa Bay.
The St. Pete New Works Festival is the heartbeat of that mission. By partnering with the city’s most innovative non-profits, we are ensuring that artists have a place to take risks, audiences have a seat at the table, and St. Pete remains a true "City of the Arts."
We’re starting the countdown now. It’s a year and a week until the lights go up, but the work starts today.
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Help us plant the seeds of new work
The St. Pete New Works Festival is a "living laboratory," and every lab needs resources. Your donation doesn't just buy a ticket—it funds the development process. It pays for scripts to be printed, for local actors to spend hours in rehearsal rooms, and for playwrights to travel to St. Pete to hear their words out loud for the first time. By donating today, you are providing the "seed money" that ensures our 2027 festival is as bold and inclusive as our city deserves.
The Details
The inaugural St. Pete New Works Festival arrives in Spring 2027, but the journey has already begun. Between now and opening night, we’ll be hosting pop-up events, developmental readings, and "behind-the-curtain" look-ins that you won't want to miss.
Don’t wait for the premiere. Sign up for our mailing list to get first-access alerts for ticket sales, workshop applications, and the full schedule announcement.
Sponsorships
Partner With Us The St. Pete New Works Festival is made possible through the support of community-minded organizations and individuals. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for our 2027 inaugural season and being part of this historic collaboration, we want to hear from you.
Get the Sponsorship Kit: Email Avery Anderson at avery@tbartspassport.com
““The St. Pete New Works Festival is a necessity for the growth of the arts here in St. Pete. We are thrilled to collaborate with freeFall, Story Keepers, and The Studio@620 to bring this festival to life and bring new stories to our community.”
““This festival is about proving that the ‘City of the Arts’ isn’t just a tagline—it’s a commitment to the messy, beautiful process of creation. We aren’t trying to build one singular organization to replace what’s been lost nationally; we are showing that through collaboration, St. Pete is a collective sanctuary where artists can take risks and find their voice.””
““At The Studio@620, our mission has always been to say ‘Yes’ to the artist. By partnering with our peers for this festival, we are amplifying that ‘Yes’ and ensuring that St. Petersburg remains a beacon for diversity, innovation, and the next generation of great American stories.””
““We are thrilled to participate in this project which creates an open format for organizations to show work that simply needs to be new. This allows us to bring one of our major season projects into the festival rather than needing to bow out of a project with more demanding thematic constraints for instance. It should be a fun and varied mix of events.””
About the companies
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Located in West St Petersburg, freeFall Theatre Company is one of Tampa Bay’s most exciting professional theater companies. freeFall was founded in 2008 and moved into its current space at 6099 Central Avenue in 2011. freeFall presents a varied range of classical and new works that are bold, daring, and presented in ways that invite, entertain, and challenge audiences. All freeFall productions are produced and presented locally using acclaimed theater professionals from across the country including many that make Tampa Bay their artistic home. In addition to a full season of shows, freeFall also presents an award-winning series of cabarets, concerts, and special programming as part of their Tandem Series.
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For more than 20 years, The Studio@620 has been a cultural cornerstone in St. Petersburg, a place where creativity, conversation, and community converge. Under the leadership of Artistic Executive Director Erica Sutherlin, the Studio is entering a bold new era with a renewed mission: to ignite cultural vibrancy and propel creative careers by connecting artists, audiences, and collaborators across disciplines. With a commitment to equity, access, and radical imagination, The Studio@620 provides space for exhibitions, performances, residencies, and community partnerships that reflect and shape the stories of our time. Learn more at thestudioat620.org.
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Located at 2260 1st Avenue South, The Off-Central sits in the heart of DTSP’s Grand Central District. Opened in 2021, The Off-Central is an intimate black box theatre and gallery space offering audiences an intimate storytelling experience in an immersive environment. Over the course of the past four seasons, The Off-Central has produced over thirty Main Stage productions, with many being award-nominated and winning, and has been home to a children’s educational theater program since its inception, The Big Break Youth Stage.
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Story Keepers is a Tampa Bay-based storytelling company producing bold, site-specific work rooted in community, access, and human connection. Focused on new plays and intimate storytelling experiences, Story Keepers brings work out of traditional venues and into shared spaces where stories can be felt up close.